Four Palestinians armed with rifles and grenades, including one who crossed the border with Israel from the Gaza Strip, were killed on Saturday, the Israeli army said. "Patrols spotted several terrorists approaching the fence in the southern Gaza Strip, the terrorists were equipped with AK-47 assault rifles, grenade launchers and grenades," the army said. a statement.
She added that "four" had subsequently been "neutralized". Contacted by AFP, an army spokeswoman said the four people had been "killed". "The army opened fire after one of the terrorists crossed the fence and threw a grenade at the soldiers," she added.
Israeli fire to contain protesters
Since March 2018, the Gaza Strip has been the theater along the border fence with Israel, weekly protests usually accompanied by violence, including demanding the lifting of the strict Israeli blockade imposed for more than ten years.
Since then, at least 301 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire, most of them in clashes with these rallies. Others died in Israeli strikes in retaliation for hostile acts from the enclave.
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Seven Israelis were also killed in the violence. The demonstrations are less significant in recent months following a truce between Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, under the auspices of Egypt and the UN.
Hamas and Israel have waged three wars since 2008. Saturday's shooting comes as Israeli security forces continue their search for those responsible for the murder of an Israeli soldier stabbed Thursday near a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank. .