Blockade in Gaza: more than 20 injured in clashes with Israeli army near border
Tear gas fired at the Israel-Gaza border fence during a demonstration, August 25, 2021. REUTERS - MOHAMMED SALEM
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About 20 Palestinians were injured Wednesday August 25 in clashes with the Israeli army on the sidelines of a demonstration near the border fence separating the Gaza Strip and the Hebrew state, according to rescuers.
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"
About 20 Palestinians were injured, some with live ammunition fired
" by the Israeli army, Palestinian rescuers said.
“
They were taken to a field hospital west of Khan Younes
” in the southern Gaza Strip.
Earlier on August 25, a Palestinian died of injuries sustained five days earlier in similar clashes along the fence, heavily guarded by the IDF.
At the call of several factions in the Palestinian enclave, including the ruling Islamist Hamas, some 3,000 demonstrators gathered again on Wednesday afternoon to protest in particular against the blockade imposed by Israel on Gaza for nearly 15 years. .
Numerous Palestinian police officers present tried to prevent them from approaching the barrier, AFP journalists noted.
But some who managed to advance threw stones at the Israeli security forces positioned on the other side.
The army fired rubber bullets, live ammunition and tear gas grenades, according to an AFP team on the spot.
On Saturday August 21, around 40 people were injured by Israeli fire, according to the Gaza authorities, including Ossama Khaled Daiah, 32, who died on Wednesday.
A crowd gathered in the afternoon in the Jabalia refugee camp (north) where he came from to attend the funeral.
A member of the Israeli security forces, hit on Saturday by gunfire from Gaza during the clashes, is still in critical condition.
Air raids against Hamas
"
We will not allow these violent riots to start again,
" Amnon Shefler, the spokesman for the army, who had sent reinforcements along the barrier in anticipation of the new rally said Wednesday.
For more than a year, from March 2018, weekly rallies had been held near the border fence to demand an end to the blockade and "the right of return" of Palestinians forced into exile during the creation of Israel in 1948. Around 350 Palestinians had been killed by gunfire by Israeli soldiers at the time.
After Saturday's clashes, the Jewish state carried out airstrikes against
Hamas'
“
four weapons and storage sites
”.
Other strikes, which did not claim any casualties, took place overnight from Monday to Tuesday, in retaliation for the launching of incendiary balloons that caused bushfires on the Israeli side.
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See also:
Gaza targeted by Israeli airstrikes after launching incendiary balloons
Israel and Islamist Hamas fought an
11-day lightning war in May
, in which 260 Palestinians were killed by Israeli strikes, including fighters, according to local authorities.
In Israel, rocket fire from Gaza killed 13 people, including a soldier, according to police and military.
►
Also listen:
Gaza: the destruction of the al-Jalaa tower by Israel could constitute a war crime
(With
AFP
)
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