Palestinians clash with Israeli forces along the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, east of Rafah, on August 30, 2019. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
Gazan said to die of wounds from border clashes
Hamas-run health ministry says Badr Abu Moussa, 25, was hospitalized after being hit in the head with a bullet on Friday
By AGENCIES
A Palestinian man reportedly died of wounds sustained from Israeli gunfire during clashes Friday in the Gaza Strip.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said Saturday that Badr Abu Moussa, 25, had been treated at a hospital in the southern Gaza Strip after being struck in the head by a bullet.
Abu Moussa was among 6,000 Palestinians who participated in the weekly “March of Return” protests along the border between Gaza and Israel.
The Gaza health ministry said 75 Palestinians were injured during clashes with Israeli troops, 42 of them from live fire.
An Israeli soldier was lightly injured during the clashes by shrapnel. The army said it was not clear whether the shrapnel came from a grenade or a firecracker.
The Israel Defense Forces also said an army vehicle was damaged as Palestinians threw grenades at the border fence.
Palestinians clash with Israeli troops at a demonstration on the Gaza border, August 30, 2019. (Hassan Jedi/Flash90)
At the start of Friday’s demonstrations, Israeli soldiers captured four Palestinians who crossed into Israel from the Strip armed with a grenade and a knife. The four were arrested shortly after crossing the border and taken in for further questioning, the army said.
The incident came shortly after an incendiary balloon launched from Gaza sparked a fire in the Sdot Hanegev Regional Council and as Palestinians took part in the weekly “March of Return” rallies along the border.
Recent weeks have seen an increase in violence from Gaza, which is ruled by the Hamas terror group.
Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since the Islamist organization took over Gaza in 2007, the last of which ended five years ago this week.
According to a report Friday in Lebanon’s al-Akhbar newspaper, Israel has offered Hamas economic concessions and to ease its blockade of Gaza in return for a long-term ceasefire.
The report said the proposal was made by Egyptian intelligence officials during a meeting with top Hamas members.
Illustrative: Masked Hamas members carry a model of a rocket during a rally in the central Gaza Strip on December 12, 2014. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
While making the proposal, the Egyptians were said to warn Gaza officials that Israel is serious in its threats to carry out a wide-ranging military campaign if the violence continues.
Hamas said it was not responsible for the recent firing of rockets from the coastal enclave toward Israel, blaming “rogue elements.”
Israel has accused the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad of being behind the recent violence emanating from Gaza. But it maintains that Hamas, as the Strip’s ruler, is ultimately responsible for all attacks emanating from the territory, while saying that it believes the Islamic Jihad is instigating the current unrest.
Both Israel and Egypt enforce a number of restrictions on the movement of people and goods into and out of Gaza. Israel says the blockade is necessary to keep Hamas and other terror groups in the Strip from arming or building military infrastructure.
Since the start of August, an increase in rocket fire and attempts by Palestinian gunmen to cross from Gaza into Israel have been met with IDF airstrikes on Hamas targets, threatening a fragile ceasefire between Israel and the ruling terror group.
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