GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Black smoke from burning tires mixed with streaks of tear gas fired by Israeli forces Friday as several thousand Palestinians staged a sixth weekly protest on the Gaza-Israel border. At least 70 Palestinians were wounded by Israeli fire, the lowest casualty toll since the protests began.

Hundreds of demonstrators broke into the Gaza side of a cargo crossing with Israel, damaging pipelines that carry fuel and gas into Gaza, the Israeli military said. Photos on social media showed large flames near the Kerem Shalom crossing, near where the borders of Gaza, Israel and Egypt converge.

Palestinian officials said protesters smashed some equipment near the crossing but were unaware of any damage to pipelines. The Israeli military called the incident a "cynical act of terror" that harms Gaza civilians.

Elsewhere, witnesses said small Israeli drones faced off against flaming kites that were flown by Palestinians over the border fence in recent weeks to set ablaze dry wheat fields on the Israeli side. The witnesses said two kites with burning rags were brought down by the drones, while two other drones crashed after being hit by stones.

The protests are part of a weekly campaign organized by Gaza's Hamas rulers. The marches each Friday are aimed, in part, at breaking a decade-old blockade of the territory that imposed by Israel and Egypt after the Islamic militant group took control there in 2007.

The Islamic militant group Hamas has said the protests would culminate in a mass march on May 15, with some officials suggesting a possible border breach at the time and others saying the protests might continue beyond that date.

Israel has warned that it will prevent such a breach at any cost.

May 15 is the day Palestinians commemorate their mass uprooting in the 1948 war over Israel's creation. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were driven from homes in what is now Israel. Two-thirds of Gaza's residents are descendants of refugees.

Despite the risks faced by the protesters near the border, turnout has been sustained by the widespread desperation of blockade-linked hardships of life in Gaza. Virtually all of the territory's 2 million people are barred from travel, about two-thirds of young people are unemployed and power is on only a few hours a day.

On Friday, 229 protesters were hospitalized, including 70 with bullet wounds, the Gaza Health Ministry said. Three of the wounded were in serious condition.

Since late March, 40 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1,700 wounded by Israeli army fire. Friday marked the first weekly protest in which no Palestinian were reported killed by sundown.

Yehiyeh Amarin, 18, said he and his friends will keep going to the border until the blockade has been lifted.

"If no solution happens by May 15, we will continue the protests or we die," he said, as another protester behind him brandished a yellow wire cutter. "We will cut through the fence."

He said he and his friends call themselves the "tires unit," spending their weekdays collecting tires for the weekly demonstrations. "We want a dignified life and a return to our lands," said Amarin, as he and others rolled tires toward the fence to set them ablaze.

The mounting casualty toll has led to growing criticism of Israel. Rights groups say Israeli open-fire regulations are unlawful because they permit troops to use potentially lethal force against unarmed protesters. Israel's Supreme Court is currently weighing a petition by six rights groups to restrict or ban the use of live fire on the border.

The European Union and the United Nations have also criticized the use of lethal force.

Israel says it is defending its sovereign border, including nearby communities, and that soldiers only target instigators. It accuses Hamas, sworn to Israel's destruction, of trying to carry out attacks under the guise of the mass protests. It has said that some of those protesting at the border in recent weeks tried to damage the border fence or plant explosives along it.

Hamas says the protests are aimed at breaking the border blockade and pressing for the "right of return" of displaced Palestinians and their descendants.</s>Nearly 50 demonstrators have been killed in six weeks of protests along Gaza border

Dozens of Palestinians were wounded by Israeli gunfire on Friday as thousands returned to the Gaza border for a sixth week of protests that have seen nearly 50 demonstrators killed.

Medics treated 1,143 people, most for tear gas inhalation but 83 for wounds caused by live fire, the Gaza health ministry said.

Black smoke billowed over a protest camp east of Gaza City where Palestinians burned tyres and flew kites, at least one carrying a Molotov cocktail intended to set fire to nearby Israeli fields. After advancing toward the border fence, protesters would retreat as the Israeli army fired tear gas.

A military spokeswoman said that some of the protesters threw stones at the Israeli forces. The army also said there was an attempt to “sabotage the security fence and to infiltrate into Israel.” It said the attempt was “thwarted” when soldiers arrived at the scene and the Palestinians involved returned to the Gaza Strip.

Forty-nine Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since protests and clashes began along the Gaza border on March 30, and hundreds of others have been wounded by gunfire.

Crowds were smaller on Friday afternoon than in previous weeks, with Palestinians saying they expect a major protest on May 14, when the United States will move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Israel says its soldiers only open fire when necessary to stop infiltrations, damage to the fence and attacks. No Israelis have been hurt in the weeks of protests and the military has faced international criticism for its use of live ammunition.

Shifa Abu Qadous, 28, whose family is originally from Jaffa, part of Tel Aviv, was bringing water to protesters near the border fence. Wearing a headscarf and a dust-mask hanging around her neck, she said she came to the protests every week. “I’m not afraid, there’s only one death,” she said. “Today or tomorrow or after that we will return to our homes.”

In central Gaza, protesters gathered east of the Bureij refugee camp.

Youths met behind a series of bunkers reinforced with sandbags in the area leading up to the border with Israel, while older demonstrators remained further back at protest tents. Early in the day, a group of Palestinian youths threw stones in the direction of Israeli soldiers, who had taken up position some 50 meters away on the other side of the fence.

A Guy Fawkes mask strapped to his belt and a Palestinian flag around his neck, Abdullah Issa, 22, said they hoped to send dozens of kites with Molotov cocktails over the fence. “We will put Molotov cocktails on the Israeli farms,” Issa said. “They have no solution for the kites.”

Israeli media have in recent days reported significant damage to farms due to kite-flown Molotov cocktails, though the devices face difficult odds in making it across the fence while still lit.

The Israeli army estimated that 10,000 Palestinians took part in this Friday’s demonstrations in five main locations along the border fence.

Hundreds of Palestinians vandalized the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom goods crossing and torched the pipes that carry fuel and gas from Israel, the army said.

“This is a cynical act of terror that harms the wellbeing of the Gaza residents and the humanitarian efforts made by Israel and many other countries,” the army said.

In addition, two army drones crashed in the Gaza Strip during the day’s events. “The matter is being looked into,” a statement from the army said.

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

The Israeli military has come in for criticism from abroad over its use of live fire, with U.N. chief Antonio Guterres and the European Union calling for an independent investigation, rejected by Israel.

Demonstrators are demanding the right to return to their homes seized by Israel in 1948, which Israel argues would effectively spell the end of their country. The protests are due to continue until mid-May, when the U.S. plans to move its embassy. The move has deeply angered the Palestinians, who see the Israeli-annexed eastern sector of the city as the capital of their future state.</s>Two Palestinians were killed and another wounded after IDF troops opened fire while they were trying to sabotage the border fence and cross into Israel from the southern Gaza Strip, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said Sunday.



According to a statement by the IDF the four men who “arrived at the perimeter fence to infiltrate into Israeli territory and attempt to carry out hostile terror activity” were under surveillance by troops who opened fire on them when they acted suspiciously next to the fence.





One of the terrorists was found to have a camera, an ax, a jacket, oxygen mask and gloves. Two bottles of gasoline was found next to another Palestinian who was killed by troops.Palestinian Health Ministry identified the fatalities as 23 year-old Baha Abdul Rahman Qdeih and 20 year old Mohammad Khaled Abu Rideh. A third was said to have been evacuated to hospital in serious condition.Overnight Sunday the IDF struck a Hamas outpost in the northern Gaza Strip near the border fence that the military said was used as a location from which terrorists launched incendiary kites and other objects in an attempt to burn Israeli territory."We will continue to act against terror attacks above and below ground," the IDF said in a statement. "The Hamas terror organization is solely responsible for any terrorist activity emanating from the Gaza Strip."The military also stressed there was no connection between the strike and an earlier explosion in the central Gaza Strip city of Deir al-Balah Saturday evening that killed six Hamas members.On Friday, riots broke out at five locations along the Gaza-Israel security fence for the sixth consecutive week of demonstrations called “The March of Great Return” by Palestinian organizers. According to the IDF, protesters burned tires, threw stones and flew kites with flammable material with the aim of starting fires in Israeli territory.Prior to the demonstrations, the army’s Arabic Spokesperson warned Gazans against using the incendiary kites, posting on Twitter that the IDF is taking the issue seriously.“The arson phenomenon is not hidden from our eyes, and we are taking it very seriously. Attack kites are not a kids' game, and we don’t see it that way,” Maj. Avichai Adraee posted, warning Gazans that "Hamas is using you, and is pushing you toward the cycle of terrorism."The heads of security for the Israeli communities along the border of the Gaza Strip warned residents not to touch any kites that have landed in Israeli territory, stating that the kites could be booby-trapped.The IDF accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover to carry out attacks against IDF troops.Gazans have ramped up their use of these kite bombs in recent weeks as a way to breach the border and cause damage within Israeli territory.Israeli farmers in Gaza border communities have asked the Tax Authority for compensation after an approximate 800 dunams (200 acres) of fields were destroyed in fires sparked by these kites."When the courts in Jerusalem are discussing petitions from left-wing organizations to tie the hands of the soldiers standing in front of the Gaza rioters who want to break through the fence, the arson continues in the fields of farmers," said Shai Hajaj, head of the Merhavim Regional council.Hajaj continued: "It is necessary to remind both the judges and advocates for Palestinian rights that stone-throwing and the burning of fields is violence, which has already caused severe economic damage and threatens human life. Palestinian rioters burning fields with kites is no longer limited to the Friday 'right-of-return' demonstrations, but rather an everyday event. We demand that the IDF put a stop to this violence immediately."Member of Knesset Haim Jelin, from the political party Yesh Atid, weighed in on the situation after the attack on Wednesday: "It is forbidden to downplay the most recent kite terrorist attacks from the Gaza Strip, which have ignited fields in three separate attacks. The person who downplays this now will find himself with more threats in Israeli territory."While the army does not have any response to these rudimentary kites, during the clashes on Friday an IDF drone was reported to have downed a kite by cutting its strings.Jonathan Weber Rosen contributed to this report.</s>GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel's military says its forces shot and killed two Palestinians who breached the Gaza border and entered its territory as tensions there mounted Sunday.

Palestinian medic Izzat Shatat said that soldiers fired tank shells and machine guns. He said the Palestinians killed may have been "too close" to the fence but he was not sure if they had actually crossed into Israel.

The Gaza border has been the scene of violence over the past weeks.

The Islamic militant group Hamas that rules Gaza has been leading mass Palestinian protests there every Friday as part of a weeks-long campaign against a decade-old blockade of the territory.

Since protests began at the end of March there have been 42 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire along the border, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

Israel says that it is defending its sovereign border, including nearby communities, and that its troops target only instigators. Israel accuses Hamas, which is sworn to Israel's destruction, of trying to carry out attacks under the guise of the mass protests.

The military said soldiers on Sunday thwarted "an attempt to infiltrate into Israeli territory and sabotage security infrastructure."

Earlier Sunday, Hamas vowed revenge after blaming Israel for an explosion the night before that killed six of its fighters.

Hamas said that Israel "will pay a heavy price" for the Saturday explosion.

Gaza media initially reported the blast as a "work accident," but Hamas now says the militants, including two commanders, were killed "dismantling booby-trapped spying equipment planted by Israel during the past decade in Gaza." It did not elaborate or provide any evidence.

Also Sunday, Hamas' supreme leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was among thousands of Palestinians who attended funerals held for militants.

The weekly protests also press for a "right of return" for Palestinian refugees and their descendants to what is now Israel. The protests are to culminate on May 15, the anniversary of Israel's founding. Palestinians mark the date as their "nakba," or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were displaced in the 1948 war over Israel's creation.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip >> Black smoke from burning tires mixed with streaks of tear gas fired by Israeli forces Friday as several thousand Palestinians staged a sixth weekly protest on the Gaza-Israel border. At least 70 Palestinians were wounded by Israeli fire, the lowest casualty toll since the protests began.

Hundreds of demonstrators broke into the Gaza side of a cargo crossing with Israel, damaging pipelines that carry fuel and gas into Gaza, the Israeli military said. Photos on social media showed large flames near the Kerem Shalom crossing, near where the borders of Gaza, Israel and Egypt converge.

Palestinian officials said protesters smashed some equipment near the crossing but were unaware of any damage to pipelines. The Israeli military called the incident a “cynical act of terror” that harms Gaza civilians.

Elsewhere, witnesses said small Israeli drones faced off against flaming kites that were flown by Palestinians over the border fence in recent weeks to set ablaze dry wheat fields on the Israeli side. The witnesses said two kites with burning rags were brought down by the drones, while two other drones crashed after being hit by stones.

The protests are part of a weekly campaign organized by Gaza’s Hamas rulers. The marches each Friday are aimed, in part, at breaking a decade-old blockade of the territory that imposed by Israel and Egypt after the Islamic militant group took control there in 2007.

The Islamic militant group Hamas has said the protests would culminate in a mass march on May 15, with some officials suggesting a possible border breach at the time and others saying the protests might continue beyond that date.

Israel has warned that it will prevent such a breach at any cost.

May 15 is the day Palestinians commemorate their mass uprooting in the 1948 war over Israel’s creation. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were driven from homes in what is now Israel. Two-thirds of Gaza’s residents are descendants of refugees.

Despite the risks faced by the protesters near the border, turnout has been sustained by the widespread desperation of blockade-linked hardships of life in Gaza. Virtually all of the territory’s 2 million people are barred from travel, about two-thirds of young people are unemployed and power is on only a few hours a day.

On Friday, 229 protesters were hospitalized, including 70 with bullet wounds, the Gaza Health Ministry said. Three of the wounded were in serious condition.

Since late March, 40 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1,700 wounded by Israeli army fire. Friday marked the first weekly protest in which no Palestinian were reported killed by sundown.

Yehiyeh Amarin, 18, said he and his friends will keep going to the border until the blockade has been lifted.

“If no solution happens by May 15, we will continue the protests or we die,” he said, as another protester behind him brandished a yellow wire cutter. “We will cut through the fence.”

He said he and his friends call themselves the “tires unit,” spending their weekdays collecting tires for the weekly demonstrations. “We want a dignified life and a return to our lands,” said Amarin, as he and others rolled tires toward the fence to set them ablaze.

The mounting casualty toll has led to growing criticism of Israel. Rights groups say Israeli open-fire regulations are unlawful because they permit troops to use potentially lethal force against unarmed protesters. Israel’s Supreme Court is currently weighing a petition by six rights groups to restrict or ban the use of live fire on the border.

The European Union and the United Nations have also criticized the use of lethal force.

Israel says it is defending its sovereign border, including nearby communities, and that soldiers only target instigators. It accuses Hamas, sworn to Israel’s destruction, of trying to carry out attacks under the guise of the mass protests. It has said that some of those protesting at the border in recent weeks tried to damage the border fence or plant explosives along it.

Hamas says the protests are aimed at breaking the border blockade and pressing for the “right of return” of displaced Palestinians and their descendants.</s>Israeli troops have shot and killed another three Palestinians at the Gaza border fence, the military said Sunday.

The Israeli military said the men were tried to breach the fence, and that an ax and wire cutter were found in their possession.

Soldiers fired tank shells and machine guns at the men, according to a Palestinian medic, Izzat Shatat. He said the men had been close to the border fence, but that he was not sure if they actually crossed into Israel.

The attempted breach came at a time of heightened tension on the Gaza-Israel border, including more than a month of weekly mass protests near the fence. Gaza's Hamas rulers have said the marches would continue until a decadeold blockade of the territory by Israel and Egypt is lifted. More protests are expected on Friday, as well as on May 14 and 15.

On May 14, the United States is to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, whose Israeli-annexed eastern sector is sought for a Palestinian capital. The move is seen by Palestinians as a U.S. breach of long-standing promises to help negotiate a fair arrangement for the contested city.

On the following day, Palestinians mark the "nakba," or catastrophe, to commemorate the anniversary of their mass uprooting during the 1948 war over Israel's creation. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were expelled from what is now Israel, and the border protests are also billed as a "Great March of Return."

Since late March, at least 49 Palestinian protesters have been killed and more than 1,700 wounded by Israeli army fire, not including the deaths reported Sunday.

Israel has come under international criticism, including from the United Nations and the European Union, for the use of lethal force against unarmed protesters. Rights groups say the army's open-fire orders, under which troops are permitted to shoot at those approaching the border fence, are unlawful.

Israel says that it is defending its sovereign border, which is in a "state of war." Israel says it only aims at "instigators," but video from some shootings contradicts that claim.

The military's statement Sunday was unclear about whether the Palestinians managed to get into Israel. The army spokesman's office, when asked to clarify, said the men did break through and were shot and killed at the fence area.

Earlier Sunday, thousands led by Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh joined a Gaza funeral procession for six members of the Hamas military wing who were killed in an explosion a day earlier.

Hamas said the six, including two commanders, were killed "dismantling booby-trapped spying equipment planted by Israel during the past decade in Gaza."</s>GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Black smoke from burning tires mixed with streaks of tear gas fired by Israeli forces Friday as several thousand Palestinians staged a sixth weekly protest on the Gaza-Israel border. At least 70 Palestinians were wounded by Israeli fire, the lowest casualty toll since the protests began.

Hundreds of demonstrators broke into the Gaza side of a cargo crossing with Israel, damaging pipelines that carry fuel and gas into Gaza, the Israeli military said. Photos on social media showed flames near the Kerem Shalom crossing, near where the borders of Gaza, Israel and Egypt converge.

Palestinian officials said protesters smashed some equipment near the crossing but were unaware of any damage to pipelines. The Israeli military called the incident a "cynical act of terror" that harms Gaza civilians.

Elsewhere, witnesses said small Israeli drones faced off against flaming kites that were flown by Palestinians over the border fence in recent weeks to set ablaze dry wheat fields on the Israeli side. The witnesses said two kites with burning rags were taken down by the drones, while two other drones crashed after being hit by stones.

The protests are part of a weekly campaign organized by Gaza's Hamas rulers. The marches each Friday are aimed, in part, at breaking a decade-old blockade of the territory that was imposed by Israel and Egypt after the Islamic militant group took control there in 2007.

The Islamic militant group Hamas has said the protests will culminate in a mass march May 15, with some officials suggesting a possible border breach at the time and others saying the protests might continue beyond that date.

Israel has warned that it will prevent such a breach at any cost.

May 15 is the day Palestinians commemorate their mass uprooting in the 1948 war over Israel's creation. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were driven from homes in what is now Israel. Two-thirds of Gaza's residents are descendants of refugees.

Despite the risks faced by the protesters near the border, turnout has been sustained by the widespread desperation of blockade-linked hardships of life in Gaza. Virtually all of the territory's 2 million people are barred from travel, about two-thirds of young people are unemployed and electricity is on only a few hours a day.

On Friday, 229 protesters were hospitalized, including 70 with bullet wounds, the Gaza Health Ministry said. Three of the wounded were in serious condition.

Since late March, 40 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1,700 wounded by Israeli army fire. Friday marked the first weekly protest in which no Palestinians were reported killed by sundown.

Yehiyeh Amarin, 18, said he and his friends will keep going to the border until the blockade has been lifted.

"If no solution happens by May 15, we will continue the protests or we die," he said, as another protester behind him brandished a yellow wire cutter. "We will cut through the fence."

The mounting casualty toll has led to growing criticism of Israel. Rights groups say Israeli open-fire regulations are unlawful because they permit troops to use potentially lethal force against unarmed protesters. Israel's Supreme Court is currently weighing a petition by six rights groups to restrict or ban the use of live fire on the border.

The European Union and the United Nations have also criticized the use of lethal force.

Israel says it is defending its sovereign border, including nearby communities, and that soldiers target only instigators.

Separately Friday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued an apology after an uproar over a speech he made this week that was condemned as anti-Semitic and dismissive of Jewish historical connections to the Holy Land.

Palestinian officials said Abbas was under "tremendous" pressure from numerous diplomats and foreign ministers to apologize. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to the media.

Abbas, in remarks that were part of a speech to the Palestine Liberation Organization parliament Monday, said it was the Jews' "social function," including money lending, that caused animosity toward them in Europe. He also described the creation of Israel as a European colonial project, saying "history tells us there is no basis for the Jewish homeland."

The Palestinian president's remarks were sharply condemned by the United Nations, European Union, United States, Israel and others as perpetuating anti-Semitic stereotypes and falsifying history.

Information for this article was contributed by Ian Deitch of The Associated Press.</s>Israeli troops shot and killed three Palestinians who tried to breach the Gaza border fence, the military said on Sunday, adding that an axe and a wire cutter were found in their possession.

Soldiers fired tank shells and machine guns at the men, according to a Palestinian medic, Izzat Shatat. He said the men had been close to the border fence, but that he was not sure if they actually crossed into Israel.

The attempted breach came at a time of heightened tension on the Gaza-Israel border, including more than a month of weekly mass protests near the fence. Gaza's Hamas rulers have said the marches would continue until a decade-old blockade of the territory by Israel and Egypt is lifted. More protests are expected on Friday, as well as on May 14 and 15.

On May 14, the United States is to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, whose Israeli-annexed eastern sector is sought for a Palestinian capital. The move is seen by Palestinians as a U.S. breach of long-standing promises to help negotiate a fair arrangement for the contested city.

On the following day, Palestinians mark the "nakba," or catastrophe, to commemorate the anniversary of their mass uprooting during the 1948 war over Israel's creation. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were expelled from what is now Israel, and the border protests are also billed as a "Great March of Return."

Since late March, 40 Palestinian protesters were killed and more than 1,700 wounded by Israeli army fire.

Israel has come under international criticism, including from the United Nations and the European Union, for the use of lethal force against unarmed protesters. Rights groups say the army's open-fire orders, under which troops are permitted to shoot at those approaching the border fence, are unlawful.

Israel says that it is defending its sovereign border, including nearby communities, and that its troops target only instigators. Israel accuses Hamas, which is sworn to Israel's destruction, of trying to carry out attacks under the guise of the mass protests.

In addition to those killed and wounded in the context of the protests, 10 Palestinians were killed since March 30 in other border incidents.

Of those, three were shot dead Sunday.

The Israeli military said four men arrived in the area of the fence "with the intention of infiltrating and conducting a terror attack."

It said troops arrived at the scene and fired shots, killing three of the men. The statement said troops found an axe, a wire cutter, an oxygen mask, gloves and two gas tanks.

The statement was unclear about whether the Palestinians managed to get into Israel. The army spokesman's office, when asked to clarify, said the men did break through and were shot and killed at the fence area.

Earlier Sunday, thousands led by Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh joined a Gaza funeral procession for six members of the Hamas military wing who were killed in an explosion a day earlier.

Gaza media initially reported the blast as a "work accident," suggesting the men were killed when explosives they were preparing detonated prematurely.

Hamas later said the six, including two commanders, were killed "dismantling booby-trapped spying equipment planted by Israel during the past decade in Gaza." It did not elaborate or provide any evidence.</s>A fourth Palestinian also attempted to enter with the group, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement, though it wouldn't comment on the person's condition or location.

Two of the deceased were identified by the Palestinian Ministry of Health as 23-year-old Bahaa Qdeih and 20-year-old Mohammed Abu Rida.

"In this incident, an attempt to damage the security infrastructure, breach Israel's sovereignty and carry out an attack was thwarted," a statement from the IDF said.

Sunday's deaths came after six weeks of protests by Palestinians along the Israel-Gaza border. Since the protests began at the end of March, 51 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, according to a CNN count based on figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

No Israeli soldiers have been killed or injured. Palestinians are calling for an end to Israel's blockade of the territory and their right to return to lands their families fled or were expelled from during Israel's founding seven decades ago. Israel has said Hamas is playing a leading role in the demonstrations and has accused the group of exploiting protesters to pursue its own interests.</s>IDF troops shot and killed three Palestinians trying to sabotage the border fence and infiltrate Israel from the southern Gaza Strip, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said on Sunday.



According to a statement by the IDF, four men “arrived at the perimeter fence to infiltrate into Israeli territory and attempt to carry out hostile terror activity.” The men were under surveillance by troops who opened fire on them when they acted suspiciously next to the fence.

One of the terrorists was found to have a camera, an ax, a jacket, an oxygen mask and gloves. Two bottles of gasoline were found next to the other killed Palestinian.Palestinian Health Ministry identified the fatalities as 23-year-old Baha Abdul Rahman Qdeih and 20-year-old Muhammad Khaled Abu Rideh. The third died of serious injuries after being evacuated to hospital. He wasn’t identified.Early Sunday morning, the IDF struck a Hamas outpost in the northern Gaza Strip near the border fence that the military said was used as a location from which terrorists launched incendiary kites and other objects in an attempt to burn Israeli fields.“We will continue to act against terror attacks above and below ground,” the IDF said in a statement. “The Hamas terror organization is solely responsible for any terrorist activity coming from the Gaza Strip.”The military also stressed there was no connection between the strike and an earlier explosion in the central Gaza Strip city of Deir al-Balah Saturday evening that killed six Hamas members.On Friday, riots broke out at five locations along the Gaza-Israel security fence for the sixth consecutive week of demonstrations called “The March of Great Return” by Palestinian organizers. According to the IDF, protesters burned tires, threw stones and flew kites with flammable material with the aim of starting fires in Israeli territory.Prior to the demonstrations, the army’s Arabic Spokesperson warned Gazans against using the incendiary kites, posting on Twitter that the IDF is taking the issue seriously.“The arson phenomenon is not hidden from our eyes, and we are taking it very seriously. Attack kites are not a kids' game, and we don’t see it that way,” Maj. Avichai Adraee posted, warning Gazans that "Hamas is using you, and is pushing you toward the cycle of terrorism."The heads of security for the Israeli communities along the border of the Gaza Strip warned residents not to touch any kites that have landed in Israeli territory, stating that the kites could be booby-trapped.The IDF accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover to carry out attacks against IDF troops.Gazans have ramped up their use of these kite bombs in recent weeks as a way to breach the border and cause damage within Israeli territory.Israeli farmers in Gaza border communities have asked the Tax Authority for compensation after an approximate 800 dunams (200 acres) of fields were destroyed in fires sparked by these kites."When the courts in Jerusalem are discussing petitions from left-wing organizations to tie the hands of the soldiers standing in front of the Gaza rioters who want to break through the fence, the arson continues in the fields of farmers," said Shai Hajaj, head of the Merhavim Regional council.Hajaj continued: "It is necessary to remind both the judges and advocates for Palestinian rights that stone-throwing and the burning of fields is violence, which has already caused severe economic damage and threatens human life. Palestinian rioters burning fields with kites is no longer limited to the Friday 'right-of-return' demonstrations, but rather an everyday event. We demand that the IDF put a stop to this violence immediately."Member of Knesset Haim Jelin, from the political party Yesh Atid, weighed in on the situation after the attack on Wednesday: "It is forbidden to downplay the most recent kite terrorist attacks from the Gaza Strip, which have ignited fields in three separate attacks. The person who downplays this now will find himself with more threats in Israeli territory."While the army does not have any response to these rudimentary kites, during the clashes on Friday an IDF drone was reported to have downed a kite by cutting its strings.Jonathan Weber Rosen contributed to this report.

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The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) open fire on a group of Palestinian men trying to sabotage the Israeli-Gazan border fence, killing three and injuring two others. The IDF also attacks a Hamas outpost near the border, stating that the location was used to launch incendiary kites and other objects in an attempt to burn Israeli fields.