JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military says it has destroyed a Gaza attack tunnel that penetrated Israeli territory.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman, says Sunday the new tunnel was connected to a network dug by Hamas militants in the northern Gaza Strip and entered Israel near the Israeli community of Nahal Oz. It’s the fifth such Hamas tunnel Israel has destroyed in as many months.

Conricus says the tunnel was adjacent to the site of recent mass protests, which Israel says Hamas is using as a cover for attacks.

He says Hamas began building the tunnel following the 2014 war. Israel has placed a high priority on halting the tunnel threat since Hamas infiltrated Israel during the war.</s>Smaller groups moved closer to the fence, throwing stones, torching tires and burning large Israeli flags, U.S. flags, as well as posters of Israel's prime minister and defence minister. Large plumes of black smoke from burning tires rose into the sky.

Israeli forces fired tear gas, rubber-coated steel pellets and live rounds. Military spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said that Palestinians repeatedly tried to damage the border fence, throwing several explosives and fire bombs at it.

Footage distributed by the military showed an area of the fence made up of several layers of barbed wire coils. Protesters stuck a Palestinian flag into the fence and affixed a rope, using it to tug at the coils. One man threw a burning tire into the fence, while another was seen walking nearby with the help of a crutch.

Gaza has endured a border blockade by Israel and Egypt since Hamas overran the territory in 2007, a year after winning Palestinian parliament elections.

The blockade has driven Gaza deeper into poverty, with unemployment approaching 50 per cent and electricity available for less than five hours a day.

The marchers are protesting against the blockade, but are also asserting what they say is a "right of return" of Palestinian refugees and their descendants to what is now Israel.

Hamas leaders have sent mixed signals about whether they plan an eventual mass breach of the border fence. The protests are to culminate in a large rally on May 15, the 70th anniversary of Israel's creation. Palestinians mourn the event as their "nakba," or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands were uprooted in the 1948 war over Israel's creation.

Several thousand people gathered Friday at one of the tent camps, east of Gaza City. The camp was decked out in Palestinian flags. At the entrance, organizers had laid a large Israeli flag on the ground for protesters to step on.

Hamada, the construction worker, was critical of Hamas, saying the group has set back Gaza by decades, but added that "this is the reality and we have to deal with it."

Critics argue that Hamas's refusal to disarm is a key reason for the continued blockade. One path toward lifting the blockade would be to have Hamas's political rival, West Bank-based Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, take over the Gaza government, but recent Egypt-led talks on such a deal appear to have run aground.

The debate over Israel's open-fire regulations has intensified with a rising number of dead and wounded since the first protests on March 30.

In all, 35 Palestinians were killed in the past two weeks, 28 during protests. Seven were killed in other circumstances, including six militants engaged in apparent attempts to carry out attacks or infiltrate Israel.

The Israeli military has argued that Gaza militant groups are trying to turn the border area into a combat zone, and said it has a right to defend its sovereign border.

Conricus said Friday that the military is trying to minimize Palestinian casualties, but hadn't changed open-fire regulations.

Yair Lapid, the leader of Israel's centrist Yesh Atid party, called Hamas a "despicable terror organization" and accused it of exploiting civilians. He said the Israeli military is "operating against it (Hamas) with determination and according to international law."

Human rights groups have reiterated that soldiers can only use lethal force if they face an apparent imminent threat to their lives.

The Israeli rights group B'Tselem said Friday that open-fire policy must not be dictated by worst-case scenarios, such as a feared mass breach of the border. "An order to open live fire at unarmed protesters is manifestly unlawful," it said.

Another Israeli group, Breaking The Silence, published a statement by five former snipers in the Israeli military who said they were "filled with shame and sorrow" over the recent incidents in Gaza.

"Instructing snipers to shoot to kill unarmed demonstrators who pose no danger to human life, is another product of the occupation and military rule over millions of Palestinian people, as well as of our country's callous leadership, and derailed moral path," said the statement.

The group has been criticized in Israel for publishing often anonymous testimony by current or former Israeli soldiers who have misgivings about their military service and treatment of Palestinians.

The five ex-snipers in Friday's statement were identified by name.</s>Israeli troops shot and wounded 30 Palestinians during a large protest on the Gaza-Israel border on Friday in which demonstrators hurled stones and burning tires near the frontier fence, Palestinian medics said.

Some in the Gaza crowd threw firebombs and an explosive device, according to the Israeli military.

Thousands of Palestinians arrived at tented camps near the frontier as a protest dubbed “The Great March of Return” - evoking a longtime call for refugees to regain ancestral homes in what is now Israel - moved into its third week.

Israeli troops have shot dead 30 Gaza Palestinians and wounded hundreds since the protests began, drawing international criticism of the lethal tactics used against them.

An Israeli military spokesman said troops were being confronted by rioters and “responding with riot dispersal means while also firing in accordance with the rules of engagement.”

On Friday, groups of youths waved Palestinian flags and burnt hundreds of tires and Israeli flags near the fenced-off border after Friday prayers. At one camp east of Gaza City, youths carried on their shoulders a coffin wrapped in an Israeli flag bearing the words “The End of Israel.”

Israel has declared a no-go zone close to the Gaza border fence, and deployed army sharpshooters along it.

No Israelis have been killed during the demonstrations, and human rights groups say the Israeli military has used live fire against demonstrators who pose no immediate threat to life.

Israel says it is doing what it must to defend its border, and to stop any of the protesters getting across the fence.

The planned six-week protest has revived a longstanding demand for the right of return of Palestinian refugees to towns and villages from which their families fled, or were driven out, when the state of Israel was created 70 years ago.

The protest began on March 30, and is expected to culminate on May 15.

That is the day Palestinians will mark the 70th anniversary of the “Nakba” or “Catastrophe”, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced amid violence culminating in war between newly created Israel and its Arab neighbors in May 1948.

Successive Israeli governments have ruled out any right of return, fearing the country would lose its Jewish majority.

“Some people believe we are idiots to think the Israelis will allow us in, they may not, but we will not stop trying to return,” said a protester, 37-year-old civil servant Ahmed, as he stood on a hilltop overlooking the Israeli fence.

Like most of the 2 million Palestinians packed into the tiny, impoverished Gaza Strip, Ahmed is a descendant of refugees from Jaffa, a coastal town in Israel just south of Tel Aviv.

“No peace, no jobs, no unity and no future, so what difference would death make? If we are going to die, then let it not be in vain,” said Ahmed, who refused to give his full name, fearing Israeli reprisals.

The Israeli government accuses Hamas, the Islamist movement that has ruled Gaza largely since Israeli soldiers and settlers withdrew in 2005, of having instigated the protests and of using them as cover to launch attacks.

“Israel will continue to defend its borders and its citizens. Your country would do the same,” an Israeli foreign ministry spokesman said on Twitter.

In recent days the Israeli military has displayed video footage in which the frontier fence is seen being cut and breached, with, Israel says, explosives planted there to target its troops.</s>GAZA BORDER (Reuters) - A Palestinian was killed and more than 200 others wounded during clashes with Israeli troops as thousands gathered in protest along the Gaza-Israel border on Friday, Gaza officials said.

 Palestinians hurled stones and burning tyres near the frontier fence, where Israeli army sharpshooters are deployed. Some in the crowd threw firebombs and an explosive device and tried cross into Israel, according to the Israeli military.

 Palestinian medical officials said Israeli troops opened fire on the demonstrators, killing one and wounding 220.

 An Israeli military spokesman said troops were being confronted by rioters and responded "with riot dispersal means while also firing in accordance with the rules of engagement".

 Palestinians had arrived en masse at tented camps near the frontier as a protest dubbed “The Great March of Return” - evoking a longtime call for refugees to regain ancestral homes in what is now Israel - moved into its third week.

 Israeli troops have shot dead 31 Gaza Palestinians and wounded hundreds since the protests began, drawing international criticism of the lethal tactics used against them.

 On Friday, groups of youths waved Palestinian flags and burnt hundreds of tyres and Israeli flags near the fenced-off border after Friday prayers. At one camp east of Gaza City, youths carried on their shoulders a coffin wrapped in an Israeli flag bearing the words "The End of Israel".

 Israel has declared a no-go zone close to the Gaza border fence.

 No Israelis have been killed during the demonstrations, and human rights groups say the Israeli military has used live fire against demonstrators who pose no immediate threat to life.

 Israel says it is doing what it must to defend its border, and to stop any of the protesters getting across the fence.

 The planned six-week protest has revived a longstanding demand for the right of return of Palestinian refugees to towns and villages from which their families fled, or were driven out, when the state of Israel was created 70 years ago.

 The protest began on March 30, and is expected to culminate on May 15. 

 

 "CATASTROPHE" OF 1948

 That is the day Palestinians will mark the 70th anniversary of the “Nakba” or “Catastrophe”, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced amid violence culminating in war between newly created Israel and its Arab neighbors in May 1948.

 Successive Israeli governments have ruled out any right of return, fearing the country would lose its Jewish majority.

 "Some people believe we are idiots to think the Israelis will allow us in, they may not, but we will not stop trying to return," said a protester, 37-year-old civil servant Ahmed, as he stood on a hilltop overlooking the Israeli fence.

 Like most of the 2 million Palestinians packed into the tiny, impoverished Gaza Strip, Ahmed is a descendant of refugees from Jaffa, a coastal town in Israel just south of Tel Aviv.

 "No peace, no jobs, no unity and no future, so what difference would death make? If we are going to die, then let it not be in vain," said Ahmed, who refused to give his full name, fearing Israeli reprisals.

 The Israeli government accuses Hamas, the Islamist movement that has ruled Gaza largely since Israeli soldiers and settlers withdrew in 2005, of having instigated the protests and of using them as cover to launch attacks.

 "Israel will continue to defend its borders and its citizens. Your country would do the same," an Israeli foreign ministry spokesman said on Twitter.

 The Israeli military has displayed video footage in which the frontier fence is seen being cut and breached during the recent clashes, with, Israel says, explosives planted there to target its troops.

 

 (Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Editing by Mark Heinrich)</s>Palestinian terror organization Islamic Jihad said Saturday that four of its members were killed in an accidental explosion near the Gaza Strip border with Israel.

The group said in a statement that the four died during “preparations,” without giving further details. Army Radio reported that the terrorists were killed while carrying explosives in an all-terrain vehicle, suggesting the blast may have been a “work accident.” AFP said they were riding a tuk tuk vehicle which exploded a few hundred meters from the border with Israel.

The four fatalities were named as Hisham Abdel Al, Elias Al Katrous, Ae’d Al Hamaydeh, and Mohammad Al Krinawi, according to Palestinian sources.

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Islamic Jihad is an ally of terrorist group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip. The group, which is supported by Iran, has fought alongside Hamas against Israel in multiple wars, most recently in 2014.

The Hamas-controlled Health Ministry initially claimed the blast east of Rafah in southern Gaza was caused by an Israeli strike. The IDF denied any involvement in the incident and said none of its forces had opened fire in the area.

The incident came amid tensions along the security fence in recent weeks, with the Palestinians holding mass marches near the border, and in some cases rioting, for the last three consecutive weekends. Israel says the violence is being orchestrated by Hamas, which it accuses of trying to carry out border attacks under the cover of large protests.

Israel has noted a gradual decrease in the number of Gazans protesting each week.

On Friday, at least 10,000 Gazans took part in large-scale demonstrations, with the Israeli military saying protesters hurled an explosive device and firebombs at Israeli troops deployed at the border, as well as making “several attempts” to damage the fence between Israel and Gaza and cross over into Israeli territory.

Protesters torched tires and burned large Israeli flags, as well as posters of Israel’s prime minister and defense minister. Large plumes of black smoke from burning tires rose into the sky. They also burned pictures of US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Last Friday, about 20,000 Palestinians took part in the demonstrations, with the previous week attracting an estimated 30,000.

More than 30 Palestinians have been killed in the clashes over the part three weeks, according to Hamas-run health authorities. Hamas has acknowledged that several of those killed were its members, and Israel has identified other fatalities as members of terrorist groups.

The protests are part of what Hamas said will be several weeks of “March of Return” demonstrations, which Hamas leaders say ultimately aim to see the removal of the border and the liberation of Palestine.

The idea of mass protests was initially floated by Palestinian social media activists in Gaza, but was later co-opted by Hamas, which avowedly seeks Israel’s destruction, with the backing of smaller terror groups.

Gaza leaders have planned the so-called Marches of Return to culminate in a million-strong march in mid-May, coinciding with Israel’s 70th Independence Day, the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem, and Nakba Day — when the Palestinians mark what they call the “catastrophe” that befell them with Israel’s creation.

The “Return” refers to Palestinians’ demand that tens of thousands of refugees and their millions of descendants be allowed to live in today’s Israel, an influx that would spell the end of Israel as the world’s sole Jewish-majority state.

Agencies contributed to this report</s>Mohammed Daraghmeh And Fares Akram, The Associated Press 

 



GAZA, Palestinian Territory -- Thousands of Palestinians flocked Friday to tent camps on Gaza's border with Israel for a third mass protest, amid concerns about more bloodshed after 27 Palestinians were killed and hundreds wounded by Israeli fire during the rallies in the preceding two weeks.

Rights groups have branded the Israeli military's open-fire regulations as unlawful, saying they permit soldiers to use potentially lethal force against unarmed protesters. Israel has accused Gaza's Islamic militant Hamas rulers of using the protests as a cover for attacks and says snipers only target the main "instigators."

The marches have been organized by Hamas, but large turnouts on two preceding Fridays were also driven by desperation among the territory's 2 million residents. Gaza has endured a border blockade by Israel and Egypt since Hamas overran the territory in 2007, a year after winning Palestinian parliament elections.

The blockade has driven Gaza deeper into poverty, with unemployment approaching 50 per cent and electricity available for less than five hours a day. The marchers are protesting against the blockade, but are also asserting what they say is a "right of return" of Palestinian refugees and their descendants to what is now Israel.

About 2,000 people gathered Friday at a tent camp east of Gaza City, one of five set up by organizers, and located several hundred meters from the border fence. Several dozen young men moved closer to the fence, some of them throwing stones. The Gaza Health Ministry said three Palestinians were wounded by Israeli fire Friday.

In the camp, 37-year-old construction worker Omar Hamada said he is protesting to draw world attention to Gaza and get the border reopened.

"We want to live like everyone else in the world," he said. "We came here so the world can see us and know that life here is miserable, and that there should be a solution."

Hamada was critical of Hamas, saying the group has set back Gaza by decades, but added that "this is the reality and we have to deal with it."

Critics argue that Hamas' refusal to disarm is a key reason for the continued blockade. One path toward lifting the blockade would be to have Hamas' political rival, West Bank-based Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, take over the Gaza government, but recent Egypt-led talks on such a deal have run aground.

The protest camp was decked out in Palestinian flags. At the entrance, organizers had laid a large Israeli flag on the ground for protesters to step on.

The debate over Israel's open-fire regulations has intensified with a rising number of dead and wounded since the first protests March 30.

In all, 34 Palestinians were killed in the past two weeks, 27 during protests. Seven were killed in other circumstances, including six militants engaged in apparent attempts to carry out attacks or infiltrate Israel.

Gaza's Health Ministry said some 1,300 Palestinians were wounded by live fire in the past two weeks.

The Israeli military has argued that Gaza militant groups are trying to turn the border area into a combat zone, and said it has a right to defend its sovereign border. It has said that soldiers fire live bullets as a last resort, in a "precise and measured manner."

Human rights groups have said soldiers can only use lethal force if they face an apparent imminent threat to their lives.

The Israeli rights group B'Tselem said Friday that open-fire policy must not be dictated by worst case scenarios, such as a feared mass breach of the border. "An order to open live fire at unarmed protesters is manifestly unlawful," it said.

Another Israeli group, Breaking The Silence, published a statement by five former snipers in the Israeli military who said they were "filled with shame and sorrow" over the recent incidents in Gaza.

"Instructing snipers to shoot to kill unarmed demonstrators who pose no danger to human life, is another product of the occupation and military rule over millions of Palestinian people, as well as of our country's callous leadership, and derailed moral path," said the statement.

The group has been criticized in Israel for publishing often anonymous testimony by current or former Israeli soldiers who have misgivings about their military service and treatment of Palestinians.

The five ex-snipers in Friday's statement were identified by name.

Akram reported from Khuzaa, Gaza Strip. Associated Press writer Karin Laub in Ramallah, West Bank, contributed to this report.</s>Palestinians carry the body of Islam Herzallah, 28, who was killed after Israeli occupation forces opened fire during Friday demonstrations on the border of the Gaza Strip, at his funeral ceremony in Shujaiyya neighbourhood, Gaza, on Saturday (Anadolu Agency photo)

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories —Thousands protested for a third consecutive Friday along Gaza’s border with Israel amid violence in which Israeli occupation forces have killed 34 Palestinians and wounded hundreds of others.

The numbers of protesters were smaller than in previous weeks, though still substantial and with Gaza’s health ministry reporting dozens more Palestinians wounded and one killed by Israeli gunfire.

Islam Herzallah, 28, died in a hospital after being shot by Israeli occupation forces east of Gaza City, the ministry said.

More than 500 people were wounded, including 122 from gunfire, according to Gaza’s health ministry, with the other injuries including those from tear gas.

Two journalists were wounded by gunfire, the Palestinian journalists’ syndicate said, a week after a Gazan journalist was killed by Israeli occupation forces.

Israel estimated the number of people protesting at 10,000 and alleged there were attempts to damage and breach the border fence.

Israeli claimed occupation forces responded “with riot dispersal means and are firing in accordance with the rules of engagement”.

It distributed a photo claiming to show “a terrorist wielding an item suspected of being an explosive device”, but an AFP journalist who witnessed the event said it was a firework that did not explode.

Dozens of Israeli flags were burned, as were photos of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, seen by protesters as cooperating with Israel.

Israel has dismissed criticism from human rights groups of its use of live fire, saying its rules of engagement are “necessary” and “will not change”.

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Friday that “there are fewer riots on our border”, adding that “our resolve is well-understood on the other side”.

In the northern Gaza Strip, Sumaya Abu Awad, 36, attended the protest with her three daughters and son.

“I am not afraid of death because there is no life in Gaza already,” she said.

The protests, planned to last six weeks, are calling for Palestinian refugees to return to their former homes, from which they were forced to flee amid violence surrounding the creation of Israel. Israelis say that “amounts to calling for the country’s destruction”.

The first two Fridays saw tens of thousands gather at five locations along the border with Israel.

Smaller numbers have approached the fence, throwing stones and rolling burning tyres towards soldiers who took up positions on the other side.

Israel accuses Hamas, the Islamist resistance movement that runs Gaza and with whom it has fought three wars since 2008, of using the protests as “cover to carry out violence”.

But Palestinians say protesters are being shot while posing no threat to soldiers, and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the European Union have called for an independent investigation.

The dead from last Friday included a journalist, Yasser Murtaja, who witnesses said was wearing a press vest at the time he was shot by Israeli occupation forces.

Israel claimed he was a paid member of Hamas, but produced no evidence.

The company Murtaja co-founded had been vetted for US government funding, while an international journalists federation said he was harassed and beaten by Hamas police in 2015.

Rights groups have strongly criticised Israeli forces while pointing to unverified videos that have spread online of Gazans appearing to be shot, including one seeming to show a Palestinian targeted as he ran away from the fence while holding a tyre.

“The Israeli authorities must put an immediate end to the excessive and lethal force being used to suppress Palestinian demonstrations in Gaza,” Amnesty International said Friday.

Hamas officials had said in recent days they wanted this week’s protest to see less bloodshed and hoped to keep momentum building for May 14, when the United States is expected to move its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The embassy move has deeply angered the Palestinians, who see the Israel-annexed eastern sector of Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

Organisers have reiterated their call for peaceful protests.

The official end date of the protests is May 15, when Palestinians mark the Nakba, or “catastrophe”, commemorating the more than 700,000 who fled or were expelled during the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation.

Gaza has been under an Israeli blockade for more than 10 years, while its border with Egypt has also been largely closed in recent years.</s>An explosion in the southern Gaza Strip killed four Palestinians on Saturday, the local health ministry said.

Medics at the scene in the Rafah area said it was caused by an Israeli tank shell.

But an Israeli military spokesman said the army was not involved. “We have no knowledge of any Israeli strike in the area,” he said.

Local residents at the hospital morgue identified the four dead men as members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group. Islamic Jihad did not immediately confirm the men were members.

Violence has flared in the Gaza Strip since March 30, when Palestinians began protests along the border area with Israel.

Israeli troops have shot dead 31 Gaza Palestinians and wounded hundreds since the protests began, drawing international criticism of their lethal tactics.

Protesters have set up tented camps near the frontier as a protest dubbed “The Great March of Return” – evoking a longtime call for refugees to regain ancestral homes in what is now Israel – moved into its third week.

Israel has declared a no-go zone close to the Gaza border fence.

Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005. The Palestinian enclave is ruled by the Islamist Hamas movement, designated by Israel and the West as a terrorist group.

Citing security concerns, Israel maintains a naval blockade of the coastal territory, keeping tight restrictions on the movement of Palestinians and goods across the frontier.

Egypt, battling an Islamist insurgency in neighbouring Sinai, keeps its border with Gaza largely closed.</s>GAZA: The Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group said four of its members were killed in an apparent accidental blast in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, reported Reuters.

The group said in a statement that it was “mourning its fighters who were martyred during preparations”.

It usually employs those terms to refer to casualties caused by the accidental detonation of weapons or explosives used in attacks against Israel.

The Gaza Health Ministry confirmed four fatalities in the incident. Medics at the scene in the Rafah area said the explosion was caused by Israel. But an Israeli military spokesman said the army was not involved.

“Contrary to reports currently circulating I can tell you that the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) is not aware of any IDF fire in the area surrounding Rafah,” the spokesman said.

Violence has flared in the Gaza Strip since March 30, when Palestinians began protests along the border area with Israel.

Israeli troops have shot dead 31 Gaza Palestinians and wounded hundreds since the protests began, drawing international criticism of their lethal tactics.

Protesters have set up tented camps near the frontier as a protest dubbed “The Great March of Return” – evoking a longtime call for refugees to regain ancestral homes in what is now Israel – moved into its third week.

Israel has declared a no-go zone close to the Gaza border fence.

Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005. The Palestinian enclave is ruled by the Islamist Hamas movement, designated by Israel and the West as a terrorist group.

Citing security concerns, Israel maintains a naval blockade of the coastal territory, keeping tight restrictions on the movement of Palestinians and goods across the frontier.

Egypt, battling an Islamist insurgency in neighboring Sinai, keeps its border with Gaza largely closed.</s>Clashes erupted as thousands gathered for a third consecutive Friday of mass protests along Gaza’s border with Israel after violence in which Israeli forces have killed 33 Palestinians and wounded hundreds of others.

Limited clashes between stone-throwing Palestinians and Israeli soldiers took place in at least two areas along the border, AFP reporters said, with larger protests expected after Friday Muslim prayers.

At least eight Palestinians were wounded, the health ministry in Gaza said, with one shot in the head.

Most were injured east of Gaza City, but two were hurt in clashes near Al-Bureij in central Gaza.

Many protesters left for midday prayers but larger numbers are expected to gather in five spots along the border on Friday afternoon.

In northern Gaza, a large Israeli flag was burned that had earlier been set on the ground for protesters to walk over.

The protests since March 30 have posed a challenge to Israel, which has dismissed criticism of its use of live fire, saying its rules of engagement are necessary and will not change.

Organisers were calling on Friday’s demonstrators to burn Israeli flags and raise Palestinian ones.

In the northern Gaza Strip, Sumaya Abu Awad, 36, attended the protest with her three daughters and son.

“I am from the village of Hiribya and it is my right to return to it,” she said, referring to a village north of Gaza destroyed in the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation.

“I am not afraid of death because there is no life in Gaza already.”

Last week, protesters burned mounds of tyres, sending plumes of smoke into the air in the border area. Israeli soldiers used large fans in a bid to push the smoke away.

The protests, planned to last six weeks, are calling for Palestinian refugees to return to their former homes that are now inside Israel — which Israelis say essentially amounts to calling for the country’s destruction.

The first two Fridays — with far less on intervening days — saw tens of thousands gather near the border with Israel at five locations.

Smaller numbers approached the fence, throwing stones and rolling burning tyres toward soldiers taking up positions on the other side.

Israel accuses Hamas, the Islamist movement that runs Gaza and with whom it has fought three wars since 2008, of using the protests as cover to carry out violence.

It has pledged to stop attacks, damage to the fence and infiltration bids, and says there have been attempts at all three.

But Palestinians say protesters are being shot while posing no threat to soldiers, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the European Union have called for an independent investigation.

The dead from last Friday included a journalist, Yasser Murtaja, who witnesses said was wearing a press vest at the time he was shot.

Israel claimed he was a paid member of Hamas, but produced no evidence.

The company Murtaja co-founded had been vetted for US government funding, while an international journalists federation said he was harassed and beaten by Hamas police in 2015.

Rights groups have strongly criticised Israeli forces while pointing to unverified videos that have spread online of Gazans appearing to be shot, including one seeming to show a Palestinian targeted as he ran away from the fence while holding a tyre.

Hamas officials have said in recent days they want this week’s protest to see less bloodshed and hope to keep momentum building for May 14, when the United States is expected to move its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The embassy move has deeply angered the Palestinians, who see the Israel-annexed eastern sector of Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

Organisers also again said they want the protest to be peaceful this week, but it is unclear to what extent they or even Hamas remain in control.

The official end date of the protests is May 15, when Palestinians mark the Nakba, or “catastrophe,” commemorating the more than 700,000 who fled or were expelled during the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation.

Gaza has been under an Israeli blockade for more than 10 years, while its border with Egypt has also been largely closed in recent years.

In a rare move, Egypt opened its crossing with Gaza on Thursday and it will remain open until Saturday.

Israeli media reports have said Egypt, one of only two Arab countries to have signed a peace treaty with the Jewish state, had been negotiating with Hamas to seek to calm the crisis, but there has been no confirmation.
An explosion near the Israel–Gaza border fence kills at least four Palestinians. Hamas says terrorists from Islamic Jihad were killed. Locals claim the explosion was from the Israeli Defence Forces shelling Hamas. Israel denies any involvement.