GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The leader of Gaza's ruling Hamas group and Israel's prime minister staked out tough positions Monday, making de-escalation on the Israel-Gaza border in the near future unlikely.

Since late March, 26 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds wounded by Israeli fire in mass border protests led by Hamas, but also driven by widespread desperation over the territory's decade-old border blockade by Israel and Egypt.

The protests are seen, in part, as an attempt by Hamas to break the blockade.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh renewed a pledge Monday that the marches would pave the way for a return of Palestinian refugees and their descendants to what is now Israel.

"We will return to Palestine, our villages and Jerusalem," Haniyeh said in a fiery speech at one of five protest camps set up along the border.

He stopped short of threatening a mass breach of the border, though another Hamas leader has done so in recent speeches.

Israel has accused Hamas of using the protests as a cover for carrying out attacks and bringing infiltrators into Israel. It has said some of those at the border tried to damage the fence, planted explosives or hurled firebombs.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Sderot, an Israeli community near Gaza, and said Israel's top priority is its security.

"We have one clear and simple rule and we seek to express it constantly: If someone tries to attack you — rise up and attack him," Netanyahu said. "We will not allow, here on the Gaza border, them to hurt us. We will hurt them."

Israel has said it has the right to defend its sovereign border, amid mounting international expressions of concern about the escalation of the past 10 days.

Israel's military said Monday night that it is "thoroughly" investigating after media broadcast video that appears to show a soldier shooting a Palestinian near the Gaza fence as audio of other soldiers are heard cheering when the individual falls.

The circumstances of the shooting are unclear. Israeli media said the footage was taken during the recent border clashes. The military said the incident apparently occurred several months ago.

On Sunday, the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court said Israel's "violence against civilians — in a situation such as one prevailing in Gaza" may constitute war crimes. But in an apparent reference to Hamas, she also said "the use of civilian presence for the purpose of shielding military activities" could also be a war crime.

Haniyeh, the Hamas chief, said protests would continue. Since March 30, there have been two mass demonstrations on Fridays, and another one is expected this Friday.

In addition to 26 Palestinians killed in protests, three were killed by Israeli tank fire and three were gunmen apparently trying to sneak through the border fence.

Hamas' promise of a "Great March of Return" has particular resonance in Gaza, where two-thirds of 2 million residents are descendants of refugees, uprooted in the 1948 war over Israel's creation.

Israel and Egypt have enforced a blockade since Hamas, an Islamic militant group, overran the territory in 2007. Hamas has fought three cross-border wars with Israel, and its political charter calls for Israel's destruction.

Earlier Monday, Israeli fighter jets struck a Hamas target in Gaza, in response to two explosive devices found near Israel's border with the territory, the military said. No injuries were reported in the strike.</s>GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The leader of Gaza's ruling Hamas group and Israel's prime minister staked out tough positions Monday, making de-escalation on the Israel-Gaza border in the near future unlikely.

Since late March, 26 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds wounded by Israeli fire in mass border protests led by Hamas, but also driven by widespread desperation over the territory's decade-old border blockade by Israel and Egypt.

The protests are seen, in part, as an attempt by Hamas to break the blockade.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh renewed a pledge Monday that the marches would pave the way for a return of Palestinian refugees and their descendants to what is now Israel.

"We will return to Palestine, our villages and Jerusalem," Haniyeh said in a fiery speech at one of five protest camps set up along the border.

He stopped short of threatening a mass breach of the border, though another Hamas leader has done so in recent speeches.

Israel has accused Hamas of using the protests as a cover for carrying out attacks and bringing infiltrators into Israel. It has said some of those at the border tried to damage the fence, planted explosives or hurled firebombs.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Sderot, an Israeli community near Gaza, and said Israel's top priority is its security.

"We have one clear and simple rule and we seek to express it constantly: If someone tries to attack you — rise up and attack him," Netanyahu said. "We will not allow, here on the Gaza border, them to hurt us. We will hurt them."

Israel has said it has the right to defend its sovereign border, amid mounting international expressions of concern about the escalation of the past 10 days.

Israel's military said Monday night that it is "thoroughly" investigating after media broadcast video that appears to show a soldier shooting a Palestinian near the Gaza fence as audio of other soldiers are heard cheering when the individual falls.

The circumstances of the shooting are unclear. Israeli media said the footage was taken during the recent border clashes. The military said the incident apparently occurred several months ago.

On Sunday, the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court said Israel's "violence against civilians — in a situation such as one prevailing in Gaza" may constitute war crimes. But in an apparent reference to Hamas, she also said "the use of civilian presence for the purpose of shielding military activities" could also be a war crime.

Haniyeh, the Hamas chief, said protests would continue. Since March 30, there have been two mass demonstrations on Fridays, and another one is expected this Friday.

In addition to 26 Palestinians killed in protests, three were killed by Israeli tank fire and three were gunmen apparently trying to sneak through the border fence.

Hamas' promise of a "Great March of Return" has particular resonance in Gaza, where two-thirds of 2 million residents are descendants of refugees, uprooted in the 1948 war over Israel's creation.

Israel and Egypt have enforced a blockade since Hamas, an Islamic militant group, overran the territory in 2007. Hamas has fought three cross-border wars with Israel, and its political charter calls for Israel's destruction.

Earlier Monday, Israeli fighter jets struck a Hamas target in Gaza, in response to two explosive devices found near Israel's border with the territory, the military said. No injuries were reported in the strike.</s>The Latest on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (all times local):

Israel's defense minister says a Gaza journalist who was killed by Israeli gunfire over the weekend was a Hamas militant.

Yasser Murtaja was shot Friday while covering a mass demonstration near the Israeli border. He was carrying a video camera and wearing a flak jacket marked with the word "press" when he was shot.

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman told reporters on Tuesday that Murtaja had been on the Hamas payroll since 2011 and held a rank similar to captain. He said Murtaja had used a drone to collect intelligence on Israeli forces along the border.

He provided no evidence to support the claim.

Lieberman accused Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, of using the media, as well as ambulances and medical patients, as cover to carry out attacks.

Israel's military says soldiers heard in video footage cheering as a Palestinian is shot during Gaza border clashes will be disciplined.

It said Tuesday an initial probe shows the video was taken in December during "violent riots."

The footage emerged Monday appearing to show a soldier shooting a Palestinian near the Gaza fence as other soldiers are heard cheering when he falls. The military said the man was a main instigator in the clashes and was shot in the leg and wounded.

It said the troops' behavior does not reflect the army's values and they will be dealt with "accordingly," without elaborating.

The Islamic militant group Hamas that rules Gaza is currently leading a campaign of mass protests at the border and 26 Palestinians have been killed since it began two weeks ago.</s>GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The leader of Gaza's ruling Hamas group and Israel's prime minister staked out tough positions Monday, making de-escalation on the Israel-Gaza border in the near future unlikely.

Since late March, 26 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds wounded by Israeli fire in mass border protests led by Hamas, but also driven by widespread desperation over the territory's decade-old border blockade by Israel and Egypt.

The protests are seen, in part, as an attempt by Hamas to break the blockade.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh renewed a pledge Monday that the marches would pave the way for a return of Palestinian refugees and their descendants to what is now Israel.

"We will return to Palestine, our villages and Jerusalem," Haniyeh said in a fiery speech at one of five protest camps set up along the border.

He stopped short of threatening a mass breach of the border, though another Hamas leader has done so in recent speeches.

Israel has accused Hamas of using the protests as a cover for carrying out attacks and bringing infiltrators into Israel. It has said some of those at the border tried to damage the fence, planted explosives or hurled firebombs.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Sderot, an Israeli community near Gaza, and said Israel's top priority is its security.

"We have one clear and simple rule and we seek to express it constantly: If someone tries to attack you — rise up and attack him," Netanyahu said. "We will not allow, here on the Gaza border, them to hurt us. We will hurt them."

Israel has said it has the right to defend its sovereign border, amid mounting international expressions of concern about the escalation of the past 10 days.

Israel's military said Monday night that it is "thoroughly" investigating after media broadcast video that appears to show a soldier shooting a Palestinian near the Gaza fence as audio of other soldiers are heard cheering when the individual falls.

The circumstances of the shooting are unclear. Israeli media said the footage was taken during the recent border clashes. The military said the incident apparently occurred several months ago.

On Sunday, the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court said Israel's "violence against civilians — in a situation such as one prevailing in Gaza" may constitute war crimes. But in an apparent reference to Hamas, she also said "the use of civilian presence for the purpose of shielding military activities" could also be a war crime.

Haniyeh, the Hamas chief, said protests would continue. Since March 30, there have been two mass demonstrations on Fridays, and another one is expected this Friday.

In addition to 26 Palestinians killed in protests, three were killed by Israeli tank fire and three were gunmen apparently trying to sneak through the border fence.

Hamas' promise of a "Great March of Return" has particular resonance in Gaza, where two-thirds of 2 million residents are descendants of refugees, uprooted in the 1948 war over Israel's creation.

Israel and Egypt have enforced a blockade since Hamas, an Islamic militant group, overran the territory in 2007. Hamas has fought three cross-border wars with Israel, and its political charter calls for Israel's destruction.

Earlier Monday, Israeli fighter jets struck a Hamas target in Gaza, in response to two explosive devices found near Israel's border with the territory, the military said. No injuries were reported in the strike.</s>The drone floats above the farmland at the east of Gaza’s narrow coastal strip where beyond the fence – the transition is almost invisible – Israel’s border communities begin.



The video is among the last footage filmed by Palestinian photographer Yasser Murtaja in Gaza before he was shot dead by Israeli troops last Friday – and it eerily foreshadows his own fate.

Palestinian demonstrators walk through the flat fields, hold signs or sit in the shade of tents in the five border protest camps that dot the landscape from east of Jabaliya in the north to Khuza’a, a short drive from the southern city of Khan Yunis.

Murtaja died on the second of a series of mass Friday protests called the “Great March of Return”, which will culminate on “Nakba” Day (catastrophe in Arabic) on 15 May, which will commemorate the events of 1948 when, following the creation of the state of Israel, more than 700,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes.



Despite wearing body armour clearly marked with a press sign, Murtaja was shot in the stomach while covering the protests and died later of his wounds. He was one of nine Palestinian men killed in a space of a few hours.

Murtaja’s video footage – provided to the Guardian by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) – shows an injured man being rushed away on a stretcher. Burning tyres billow black smoke close to the fence. A zoomed shot shows a grainy image of Israeli soldiers, one raising his rifle.

Commenting on the killing of Murtaja, Israel’s defence minister Avigdor Lieberman suggested the journalist, a father of one, was responsible for his own death – despite the fact that Israel was warned that its shooting of civilians could amount to a war crime by the International Criminal Court.

“I don’t know who he is, a photographer, not a photographer. Whoever operates drones above [Israeli] soldiers needs to understand that he is endangering himself,” said Lieberman.

An Israeli military statement was more circumspect, announcing an investigation into his killing. “The IDF [Israeli Defence Forces] does not intentionally fire on journalists. The circumstances in which journalists were hit, allegedly by IDF fire, are unknown to us and are being examined.”



Commissioned by NRC to document the protests, Murtaja, a 30-year-old photographer well known for his drone footage, never got to complete his project.

“I talked to Yasser on Wednesday evening by phone, after he came back from the Access Restricted Zone in Gaza where Palestinians were demonstrating,” said NRC’s media adviser in the Middle East, Karl Schembri.

“We talked about the stories we wanted to cover – families affected by violence, as well as children again exposed to trauma and their ensuing nightmares.

“Two days later, he was killed by an Israeli sniper while peacefully observing the demonstrations. He was killed doing his job: recording his people’s right to protest for their human rights.”

Jan Egeland, NRC’s secretary-general, added: “Yasser Murtaja was a civilian and a journalist who was wearing clear press identification while he was filming the demonstrations at the Gaza fence with Israel. He was there because he wanted to document civilians exercising their right to peacefully protest.”

The stories that NRC and Murtaja were working on focus on the impact of persistent violenceon the mental health and wellbeing of children in Gaza.

One of the cases documented by NRC is that of 14-year-old Reham. She was attending the Return March in Gaza with her mother, father, sister and two brothers on 30 March when her father was shot in the leg. Reham’s father may now need to have his leg amputated.

“The ongoing and unjustifiable border closure and extreme economic deprivation of civilians in Gaza amounts to nothing short of collective punishment,” said Egeland.

“And now the indiscriminate shooting at peaceful protesters on their land – while running away, while waving flags, while praying, while reporting, while giving first aid and while working on their land – is abominable. This cannot be allowed to continue, and those responsible must be held to account.”</s>GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The leader of Gaza's ruling Hamas group and Israel's prime minister staked out tough positions Monday, making de-escalation on the Israel-Gaza border in the near future unlikely.

Since late March, 26 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds wounded by Israeli fire in mass border protests led by Hamas, but also driven by widespread desperation over the territory's decade-old border blockade by Israel and Egypt.

The protests are seen, in part, as an attempt by Hamas to break the blockade.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh renewed a pledge Monday that the marches would pave the way for a return of Palestinian refugees and their descendants to what is now Israel.

"We will return to Palestine, our villages and Jerusalem," Haniyeh said in a fiery speech at one of five protest camps set up along the border.

He stopped short of threatening a mass breach of the border, though another Hamas leader has done so in recent speeches.

Israel has accused Hamas of using the protests as a cover for carrying out attacks and bringing infiltrators into Israel. It has said some of those at the border tried to damage the fence, planted explosives or hurled firebombs.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Sderot, an Israeli community near Gaza, and said Israel's top priority is its security.

"We have one clear and simple rule and we seek to express it constantly: If someone tries to attack you — rise up and attack him," Netanyahu said. "We will not allow, here on the Gaza border, them to hurt us. We will hurt them."

Israel has said it has the right to defend its sovereign border, amid mounting international expressions of concern about the escalation of the past 10 days.

Israel's military said Monday night that it is "thoroughly" investigating after media broadcast video that appears to show a soldier shooting a Palestinian near the Gaza fence as audio of other soldiers are heard cheering when the individual falls.

The circumstances of the shooting are unclear. Israeli media said the footage was taken during the recent border clashes. The military said the incident apparently occurred several months ago.

On Sunday, the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court said Israel's "violence against civilians — in a situation such as one prevailing in Gaza" may constitute war crimes. But in an apparent reference to Hamas, she also said "the use of civilian presence for the purpose of shielding military activities" could also be a war crime.

Haniyeh, the Hamas chief, said protests would continue. Since March 30, there have been two mass demonstrations on Fridays, and another one is expected this Friday.

In addition to 26 Palestinians killed in protests, three were killed by Israeli tank fire and three were gunmen apparently trying to sneak through the border fence.

Hamas' promise of a "Great March of Return" has particular resonance in Gaza, where two-thirds of 2 million residents are descendants of refugees, uprooted in the 1948 war over Israel's creation.

Israel and Egypt have enforced a blockade since Hamas, an Islamic militant group, overran the territory in 2007. Hamas has fought three cross-border wars with Israel, and its political charter calls for Israel's destruction.

Earlier Monday, Israeli fighter jets struck a Hamas target in Gaza, in response to two explosive devices found near Israel's border with the territory, the military said. No injuries were reported in the strike.</s>GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The leader of Gaza's ruling Hamas group and Israel's prime minister staked out tough positions Monday, making de-escalation on the Israel-Gaza border in the near future unlikely.

Since late March, 26 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds wounded by Israeli fire in mass border protests led by Hamas, but also driven by widespread desperation over the territory's decade-old border blockade by Israel and Egypt.

The protests are seen, in part, as an attempt by Hamas to break the blockade.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh renewed a pledge Monday that the marches would pave the way for a return of Palestinian refugees and their descendants to what is now Israel.

"We will return to Palestine, our villages and Jerusalem," Haniyeh said in a fiery speech at one of five protest camps set up along the border.

He stopped short of threatening a mass breach of the border, though another Hamas leader has done so in recent speeches.

Israel has accused Hamas of using the protests as a cover for carrying out attacks and bringing infiltrators into Israel. It has said some of those at the border tried to damage the fence, planted explosives or hurled firebombs.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Sderot, an Israeli community near Gaza, and said Israel's top priority is its security.

"We have one clear and simple rule and we seek to express it constantly: If someone tries to attack you — rise up and attack him," Netanyahu said. "We will not allow, here on the Gaza border, them to hurt us. We will hurt them."

Israel has said it has the right to defend its sovereign border, amid mounting international expressions of concern about the escalation of the past 10 days.

Israel's military said Monday night that it is "thoroughly" investigating after media broadcast video that appears to show a soldier shooting a Palestinian near the Gaza fence as audio of other soldiers are heard cheering when the individual falls.

The circumstances of the shooting are unclear. Israeli media said the footage was taken during the recent border clashes. The military said the incident apparently occurred several months ago.

On Sunday, the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court said Israel's "violence against civilians — in a situation such as one prevailing in Gaza" may constitute war crimes. But in an apparent reference to Hamas, she also said "the use of civilian presence for the purpose of shielding military activities" could also be a war crime.

Haniyeh, the Hamas chief, said protests would continue. Since March 30, there have been two mass demonstrations on Fridays, and another one is expected this Friday.

In addition to 26 Palestinians killed in protests, three were killed by Israeli tank fire and three were gunmen apparently trying to sneak through the border fence.

Hamas' promise of a "Great March of Return" has particular resonance in Gaza, where two-thirds of 2 million residents are descendants of refugees, uprooted in the 1948 war over Israel's creation.

Israel and Egypt have enforced a blockade since Hamas, an Islamic militant group, overran the territory in 2007. Hamas has fought three cross-border wars with Israel, and its political charter calls for Israel's destruction.

Earlier Monday, Israeli fighter jets struck a Hamas target in Gaza, in response to two explosive devices found near Israel's border with the territory, the military said. No injuries were reported in the strike.</s>JERUSALEM (AP) - The Latest on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (all times local):

Israel's defense minister says a Gaza journalist who was killed by Israeli gunfire over the weekend was a Hamas militant.

Yasser Murtaja was shot Friday while covering a mass demonstration near the Israeli border. He was carrying a video camera and wearing a flak jacket marked with the word "press" when he was shot.

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman told reporters on Tuesday that Murtaja had been on the Hamas payroll since 2011 and held a rank similar to captain. He said Murtaja had used a drone to collect intelligence on Israeli forces along the border.

He provided no evidence to support the claim.

Lieberman accused Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, of using the media, as well as ambulances and medical patients, as cover to carry out attacks.

Israel's military says soldiers heard in video footage cheering as a Palestinian is shot during Gaza border clashes will be disciplined.

It said Tuesday an initial probe shows the video was taken in December during "violent riots."

The footage emerged Monday appearing to show a soldier shooting a Palestinian near the Gaza fence as other soldiers are heard cheering when he falls. The military said the man was a main instigator in the clashes and was shot in the leg and wounded.

It said the troops' behavior does not reflect the army's values and they will be dealt with "accordingly," without elaborating.

The Islamic militant group Hamas that rules Gaza is currently leading a campaign of mass protests at the border and 26 Palestinians have been killed since it began two weeks ago.</s>As the world watches the thousands-strong demonstrations at Gaza’s border with Israel, images and videos that have emerged since the protests began have sparked fresh debate about Israel’s use of force against Palestinians.

The latest alarming video, making the rounds on Monday, appears to show a Palestinian man standing still on the Gaza side of the security fence that divides the territory from Israel. Behind the camera, Israeli soldiers can be heard discussing shooting the man. After the sound of a gunshot, he falls to the ground.

It was not initially clear when or where the video was taken, but it drew attention after 10 days of protests in Gaza, during which some 30 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces.

The Israel Defense Forces said Monday that the video appeared to have been taken months ago and on Tuesday confirmed that it was from December 2017, when other protests had erupted in Gaza, Haaretz reported. After a preliminary inquiry, the military cleared the shooter, saying he acted after other steps had been taken to warn the man away from the security fence. They said the man was shot in the leg.

When the specifics of the video were still unclear, human rights groups said it showed just one instance among many of Israeli forces using undue lethal force against Palestinian protesters.

“Incidents such as the one in the video published [Monday] occurred hundreds of times over the past few weeks in the Gaza Strip, causing death and injuries — with the full support of policymakers and top military officials,” Israeli human rights group B’Tselem said in a statement.

Other images and videos have emerged over the last dozen days depicting Palestinians shot by the Israeli military during the current protests, driving a fierce discussion over the military’s response to unarmed demonstrators. One video appeared to show an unarmed protester being shot. Other photos captured a Palestinian journalist after he was shot while covering the unrest.

Since March 30, tens of thousands of Palestinians have participated in protests along the fence that separates Gaza from Israel. Held under the name “The Great March of Return,” the protests are meant to last until Nakba Day on May 15, when Palestinians commemorate the displacement of their people during the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.

In addition to the at least 30 Palestinians who have been killed by the Israeli military, hundreds more have been wounded during the demonstrations. Israel’s response to the protests has drawn international concern, with the European Union stating Saturday that there were “serious questions about the proportionate use of force.” Human rights groups have called out the Israeli military’s use of gunfire against Palestinian demonstrators “who posed no imminent threat to life.”

In one of the first videos to emerge from the protests ― posted to YouTube on March 31 ― a young man was shown apparently carrying a tire and running away from the fence on Gaza’s border when he suddenly collapsed. The person shot and killed was 19-year-old Abdul Fattah Abdul Nabi, his family told The Washington Post.

Over the past weekend, other images circulated on social media and in news outlets worldwide showing Palestinian journalist and photographer Yasser Murtaja wounded after being shot by Israeli forces in Friday’s demonstrations. He eventually died. In the photos, Murtaja can be seen lying on a stretcher, with the word “PRESS” written in large print across his vest.

The Israel military said it was looking into that incident. On Tuesday, Israel’s defense chief claimed that Murtaja was a paid member of Hamas ― the militant group that controls Gaza and that the U.S. considers a terrorist group ― but offered no proof. The media group that Murtaja co-founded, Ain Media, had recently received a grant from the U.S. government and had been strictly vetted, The Associated Press reported.</s>GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The leader of Gaza's ruling Hamas group and Israel's prime minister staked out tough positions Monday, making de-escalation on the Israel-Gaza border in the near future unlikely.

Since late March, 26 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds wounded by Israeli fire in mass border protests led by Hamas, but also driven by widespread desperation over the territory's decade-old border blockade by Israel and Egypt.

The protests are seen, in part, as an attempt by Hamas to break the blockade.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh renewed a pledge Monday that the marches would pave the way for a return of Palestinian refugees and their descendants to what is now Israel.

"We will return to Palestine, our villages and Jerusalem," Haniyeh said in a fiery speech at one of five protest camps set up along the border.

He stopped short of threatening a mass breach of the border, though another Hamas leader has done so in recent speeches.

Israel has accused Hamas of using the protests as a cover for carrying out attacks and bringing infiltrators into Israel. It has said some of those at the border tried to damage the fence, planted explosives or hurled firebombs.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Sderot, an Israeli community near Gaza, and said Israel's top priority is its security.

"We have one clear and simple rule and we seek to express it constantly: If someone tries to attack you — rise up and attack him," Netanyahu said. "We will not allow, here on the Gaza border, them to hurt us. We will hurt them."

Israel has said it has the right to defend its sovereign border, amid mounting international expressions of concern about the escalation of the past 10 days.

Israel's military said Monday night that it is "thoroughly" investigating after media broadcast video that appears to show a soldier shooting a Palestinian near the Gaza fence as audio of other soldiers are heard cheering when the individual falls.

The circumstances of the shooting are unclear. Israeli media said the footage was taken during the recent border clashes. The military said the incident apparently occurred several months ago.

On Sunday, the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court said Israel's "violence against civilians — in a situation such as one prevailing in Gaza" may constitute war crimes. But in an apparent reference to Hamas, she also said "the use of civilian presence for the purpose of shielding military activities" could also be a war crime.

Haniyeh, the Hamas chief, said protests would continue. Since March 30, there have been two mass demonstrations on Fridays, and another one is expected this Friday.

In addition to 26 Palestinians killed in protests, three were killed by Israeli tank fire and three were gunmen apparently trying to sneak through the border fence.

Hamas' promise of a "Great March of Return" has particular resonance in Gaza, where two-thirds of 2 million residents are descendants of refugees, uprooted in the 1948 war over Israel's creation.

Israel and Egypt have enforced a blockade since Hamas, an Islamic militant group, overran the territory in 2007. Hamas has fought three cross-border wars with Israel, and its political charter calls for Israel's destruction.

Earlier Monday, Israeli fighter jets struck a Hamas target in Gaza, in response to two explosive devices found near Israel's border with the territory, the military said. No injuries were reported in the strike.
Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Liberman calls Gazan journalist Yasser Murtaja, shot dead by Israel while covering border protests, as a "Hamas terrorist" engaged in intelligence gathering against the Israeli military.