Hundreds of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip rioted on the Israeli border on Friday afternoon, as the Hamas terror group, which rules the territory, appears to have resumed regular provocations along the frontier.
Footage showed tires set on fire along the Israeli security barrier, and troops responding with tear gas.
The Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip said nine Palestinians were wounded by Israeli fire and crowd dispersal means.
According to Palestinian media, among the injured was a photojournalist who was hit in the hand by a tear gas canister.
The Israel Defense Forces did not immediately comment on the riots, which came after six Palestinian rioters were killed on Wednesday, during an attempt to detonate a makeshift bomb on the border.
The IDF said hundreds of rioters participated in Wednesday’s violent protest, including some who hurled explosive devices and grenades at the security barrier. Troops responded with riot dispersal means.
لحظة إصابة الحبيب اشرف
إصابة المصور الصحفي أشرف أبو عمرة بقنبلة غاز من قوات الاحتلال في يده شرقي خان يونس pic.twitter.com/6dJPRoqxFF
— حسن اصليح | Hassan (@hassaneslayeh) September 15, 2023
At one stage during Wednesday’s riot, Palestinians attempted to plant and detonate a makeshift bomb against troops operating near the border fence, but the device exploded prematurely in the Gaza Strip, leading to fatalities.
توافد أعداد كبيرة من المتظاهرين عند السياج الفاصل شرق غزة في “جمعة شهداء معركة الأسرى” وإشعال الإطارات pic.twitter.com/x2dC6cdMJe
— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) September 15, 2023
In a statement, the Hamas terror group said it mourned the six “heroic martyrs” who were killed in the blast.
On September 6, Palestinians detonated a large explosive device on the Gaza border during a riot that saw a number of explosives go off and grenades hurled at the border barrier in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
There have been several riots along the Gaza border in recent weeks.
The recent riots signal a return by Hamas and other terror factions in the Gaza Strip to a policy of regular mass protests and violence along the border, as Hamas seeks to draw attention to the worsening living conditions in the impoverished coastal strip after Qatar, one of the biggest donors of the regime, has cut back on monthly disbursements.
A Palestinian rioter runs during clashes with Israeli soldiers along the Israel-Gaza border, east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on September 15, 2023. (SAID KHATIB / AFP)
Weekly protests along the frontier began at the end of March 2018 and continued almost every Friday until the end of 2019, with the demand that Israel lift its restrictions on the movement of people and goods into and out of the coastal enclave and a call for the return of Palestinian refugees and their descendants to lands that are now a part of the Jewish state.
Israel says its blockade of Gaza is necessary to prevent Hamas from freely arming itself for war and attacks.
The weekly protests on the border in 2018 and 2019 frequently involved violence, including the hurling of explosives, rocks and firebombs at IDF soldiers, as well as attempts to storm and sabotage the border fence, and in some cases, live fire toward Israeli soldiers. Troops often responded with rubber-coated bullets and tear gas, as well as live fire.
More than 200 Palestinians were killed in the riots and thousands were injured.
In addition, Palestinians regularly flew helium balloons into Israel carrying explosives and incendiary devices, sparking fires that destroyed large swaths of foliage.
