A Palestinian demonstrator returns a tear gas canister fired by Israeli troops during a protest at the Israel-Gaza border fence, in the southern Gaza Strip January 4,2019. (photo credit:” IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA / REUTERS)
By ANNA AHRONHEIM
An ambulance was also hit with gas bombs in eastern Gaza, wounding six paramedics, the Hamas-affiliated Palestinian Ministry of Health said.
One Palestinian was killed and dozens more injured by IDF fire during the weekly protests which saw some 10,000 demonstrators riot along the Gaza security fence.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 25 year-old Ehab Atallah Abed was killed during clashes with IDF troops east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Another 24 were injured including fourteen minors, the ministry was quoted by Palestinian Wafa news as saying.
An ambulance was also hit with gas bombs in eastern Gaza, wounding six paramedics, the Hamas-affiliated Palestinian Ministry of Health said.
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said that the rioters had been burning tires,throwing rocks and hand grenades at Israeli troops who responded by riot-dispersal means, including firing rubber-coated steel rounds and live bullets at the protesters.
According to the military, two grenades were thrown at an army vehicle along the fence in the northern Gaza Strip. There were no casualties and no damage was done to the vehicle.
Earlier on Friday two Palestinians were taken into custody after they crossed the border fence from Gaza. The military said they were unarmed.
The demonstrations took place against the backdrop of Hamas’s refusal to accept funds from Qatar and the escalation in violence last week. Islamic Jihad, the second largest group in the Gaza Strip after Hamas, voiced support for the Hamas move and called for the continuation of the weekly demonstrations near the border with Israel.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza over 210 Palestinians have been killed and over 23,000 others injured since the beginning of the Great March of Return protests along Gaza border which began on March 30,calling for an end of the 12 year long Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Two Israeli soldiers have been killed and several wounded since March, one by a Palestinian sniper and another during a botched special forces operation inside Gaza.
The Palestinian Health Ministry in the blockaded coastal enclave has warned numerous times that health facilities and services will soon be forced to cease operation due to a severe fuel crisis.
Also on Friday a Palestinian was killed by IDF troops near the village of Silwad.
The military said that troops had opened fire on three men who had been throwing stones at Israeli vehicles traveling on Route 60. The suspects received medical treatment at the scene by the force, but one later succumbed to his wounds.
The event will be investigated, the army said.
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