Millions of people across Iran and other world countries are gathering for the International Quds Day rallies to show their solidarity with the Palestinians and condemn Israel’s decades-long occupation and atrocities. In Tehran and other cities and towns, people from all walks of life are taking to the streets for the annual event which falls on the last Friday of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. In Cape Town, a march will get underway from Keizergrahct at 2pm, and will be supported by residents of District Six. The march is organised annually by the Islamic Unity Convention.

Similar events are planned in London and Toronto as well as in 800 cities worldwide, which usually see people chanting anti-Israeli slogans and burning the occupying regime’s flags.

Organizers in Toronto said the theme of the rally is to push for “justice, peace and love” and countering Islamophobia and racism as well as opposing the “Zionism and Israeli war crimes”.

Near the Israeli fence separating Gaza from the occupied territories, Palestinians are expected to throng the site which has become the scene of bloodshed in recent weeks.

The International Quds Day is a legacy of the late founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini, who designated the day in solidarity with the Palestinians.

This year, Quds Day has become a larger rallying cry as it comes after months of mass protests in Gaza which proved Israel’s inability to stop the Palestinians despite widespread use of deadly force against unarmed protesters.

Since late March, over 120 Palestinian protesters have been killed and thousands more wounded by Israeli forces, mainly sharpshooters. The Israeli military has come under intense international criticism for permitting its forces to open fire on unarmed protesters in Gaza.

Tensions have been running high near the Gaza fence since March 30, which marked the start of a series of protests, dubbed “The Great March of Return,” demanding the right to return for those driven out of their homeland.

The Gaza clashes reached their peak on May 14, the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Nakba Day (the Day of Catastrophe), which coincided this year with the US embassy relocation from Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem al-Quds. </s> Israel says it will expand response if Gaza clashes go on

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel will target militant groups inside Gaza if violence along the territory's border with Israel drags on, the chief military spokesman warned on Saturday, a day after 15 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in the area's deadliest violence in four years.

The violence significantly petered down Saturday as just small groups of Palestinians threw stones in several areas near the border fence, drawing Israeli fire that injured 25 people, the Gaza Health Ministry said.

Friday's mass marches were largely led by Gaza's ruling Hamas group and touted as the launch of a six-week-long protest campaign against a stifling decade-old blockade of the territory.

Protests are aiming to culminate in a large border march on May 15, the 70th anniversary of Israel founding. The date is mourned by Palestinians as their "nakba,"or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands were uprooted in the 1948 Mideast war over Israel's creation.

Organizers set up five tent encampments, each several hundred meters from the border to serve as launch points for protest.

Some young men broke away Saturday, throwing stones at Israeli soldiers on the other side of the fence, drawing live rounds and tear gas.

In two separate incidents, an Associated Press reporter saw two men who walked close to the fence get shot in the legs by soldiers.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated the soldiers Saturday for allowing the rest of the country to celebrate the Passover holiday safely.

"Israel is acting determinedly and decisively to protect its sovereignty and the security of its citizens," he said.

Palestinian health officials said 15 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire and more than 750 hit by live rounds Friday, making it the bloodiest day in Gaza since the 2014 cross-border war between Israel and Hamas.

It appears unlikely protests will continue at such a scale, with larger turnouts only expected after Friday noon prayers, the highlight of the Muslim religious week.

In Friday's confrontations, large crowds had gathered near the fence, with smaller groups of protesters rushing forward, throwing stones and burning tires.

Israeli troops responded with live fire and rubber-coated steel pellets, while drones dropped tear gas from above. Soldiers with rifles were perched on high earthen embankments overlooking the scene.

Israel's military initially claimed Friday that "thousands of Palestinians are rioting in six locations throughout the Gaza Strip, rolling burning tires and hurling stones." Video released by the army appeared to show fewer actually engaged in direct violence.

On Saturday, the chief army spokesman, Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis, said that while thousands of Palestinians approached the border Friday, those engaged in stone-throwing were in the hundreds.

Manelis denied soldiers used excessive force, saying those killed by Israeli troops were men between the ages of 18 and 30 who were involved in violence and belonged to militant factions. The army later released the names and ages of 10 of the dead, including eight members of Hamas and two from other militant groups.

Manelis alleged Gaza health officials exaggerated the number of wounded, and that several dozen at most were injured by live fire, with others suffering from tear gas inhalation or other types of injuries.

Manelis said soldiers knew who they were shooting at and how many people were hit by live fire.

The Gaza Health Ministry did not provide names and ages of those killed.

Four of the 15 dead were members of the Hamas military wing, the group said Saturday. The group said a fifth member who was not on the Health Ministry list was killed near the border, and that Israel has the body. It said another man is also missing in the border area.

Gaza City's Shifa Hospital received 284 injured people Friday, the majority with bullet injuries, said spokesman Ayman Sahbani. He said 70 were under the age of 18 and 11 were women.

He said 40 surgeries were performed Friday and that 50 were planned Saturday. "These are all from live bullets that broke limbs or caused deep, open wounds with damage to nerves and veins," he said.

Among those recovering from surgery was 16-year-old Marwan Yassin who said he had thrown stones with a slingshot at the fence Friday and was shot in both legs. One leg was wrapped in bandages and the other had a cast and metal fixtures.

Yassin said he would not return to the border because of the risks. His mother said at his bedside that she would forbid him from participating in future protests.

Protest organizers have said mass marches would continue until the day of the "nakba," an anniversary with particular resonance in Gaza where the vast majority of 2 million residents are descendants of refugees. The day, May 15, will this year also coincide with the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Manelis reiterated Saturday that Israel "will not allow a massive breach of the fence into Israeli territory."

He said that Hamas and other Gaza militant groups are using protests as a cover for staging attacks. If violence continues, "we will not be able to continue limiting our activity to the fence area and will act against these terror organizations in other places too," he said.

The border protests were seen as a new attempt by Hamas to break the border blockade, imposed by Israel and Egypt after the Islamic militant group seized Gaza in 2007 from forces loyal to its rival, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The continued closure has made it increasingly difficult for Hamas to govern.

Life in the coastal strip has deteriorated further in recent months, with rising unemployment, grinding poverty and daily blackouts that last for hours.

The prospect of more protests and Palestinian casualties in coming weeks could also place Israel on the defensive.

At the United Nations, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an independent investigation, while Security Council members urged restraint on both sides. The council didn't decide on any action or joint message after an emergency meeting Friday evening.

Abbas, the West Bank-based leader, renewed a call for international protection of Palestinians.

In the West Bank, shopkeepers observed a commercial strike called by political activists Saturday to protest Israel's response to the Gaza marches.

Heller reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writer Karin Laub in Ramallah, West Bank, contributed to this report. </s> GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israel will target militant groups inside Gaza if violence along the territory’s border with Israel drags on, the chief military spokesman warned on Saturday, a day after 15 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in the area’s deadliest violence in four years.

The violence significantly petered out Saturday as just small groups of Palestinians threw stones in several areas near the fence, drawing Israeli fire that injured 25 people, the Gaza Health Ministry said.

Friday’s mass marches were largely led by Gaza’s ruling Hamas group and touted as the launch of a six-week-long protest campaign against a stifling decade-old blockade of the territory.

Protests are aiming to culminate in a large border march on May 15, the 70th anniversary of Israel founding. The date is mourned by Palestinians as their “nakba,”or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands were uprooted in the 1948 Mideast war over Israel’s creation.

Organizers set up five tent encampments, each several hundred meters from the border to serve as launch points for protest.

Some young men broke away Saturday, throwing stones at Israeli soldiers on the other side of the fence, drawing live rounds and tear gas.

In two separate incidents, an Associated Press reporter saw two men who walked close to the fence get shot in the legs by soldiers.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated the soldiers Saturday for allowing the rest of the country to celebrate the Passover holiday safely.

“Israel is acting determinedly and decisively to protect its sovereignty and the security of its citizens,” he said.

Palestinian health officials said 15 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire and more than 750 hit by live rounds Friday, making it the bloodiest day in Gaza since the 2014 cross-border war between Israel and Hamas.

It appears unlikely protests will continue at such a scale, with larger turnouts only expected after Friday noon prayers, the highlight of the Muslim religious week.

In Friday’s confrontations, large crowds gathered near the fence, with smaller groups of protesters rushing forward, throwing stones and burning tires.

Israeli troops responded with live fire and rubber-coated steel pellets, while drones dropped tear gas from above. Soldiers with rifles were perched on high earthen embankments overlooking the scene.

Israel’s military initially said Friday that “thousands of Palestinians are rioting in six locations throughout the Gaza Strip, rolling burning tires and hurling stones.” Video released by the army appeared to show fewer actually engaged in direct violence.

On Saturday, the chief army spokesman, Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis, said that while thousands of Palestinians approached the border Friday, those engaged in stone-throwing were in the hundreds.

Manelis denied soldiers used excessive force, saying those killed by Israeli troops were men between the ages of 18 and 30 who were involved in violence and belonged to militant factions.

He alleged Gaza health officials exaggerated the number of wounded, and that several dozen at most were injured by live fire, with others suffering from tear gas inhalation or other types of injuries.

Manelis said soldiers knew who they were shooting at and how many people were hit by live fire.

The Gaza Health Ministry did not provide names and ages of those killed.

Four of the 15 dead were members of the Hamas military wing, the group said Saturday. The group said a fifth member who was not on the Health Ministry list was killed near the border, and that Israel has the body. It said another man is also missing in the border area.

Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital received 284 injured people Friday, the majority with bullet injuries, said spokesman Ayman Sahbani. He said 70 were under the age of 18 and 11 were women.

He said 40 surgeries were performed Friday and that 50 were planned Saturday. “These are all from live bullets that broke limbs or caused deep, open wounds with damage to nerves and veins,” he said.

Among those recovering from surgery was 16-year-old Marwan Yassin, who said he had thrown stones with a slingshot at the fence Friday and was shot in both legs. One leg was wrapped in bandages and the other had a cast and metal fixtures.

Yassin said he would not return to the border because of the risks. His mother said at his bedside that she would forbid him from participating in future protests.

Protest organizers have said mass marches would continue until the day of the “nakba,” an anniversary with particular resonance in Gaza, where the vast majority of 2 million residents are descendants of refugees. The day, May 15, will this year also coincide with the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Manelis reiterated Saturday that Israel “will not allow a massive breach of the fence into Israeli territory.”

He said that Hamas and other Gaza militant groups are using protests as a cover for staging attacks. If violence continues, “we will not be able to continue limiting our activity to the fence area and will act against these terror organizations in other places too,” he said.

The border protests were seen as a new attempt by Hamas to break the border blockade, imposed by Israel and Egypt after the Islamic militant group seized Gaza in 2007 from forces loyal to its rival, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The continued closure has made it increasingly difficult for Hamas to govern.

Life in the coastal strip has deteriorated further in recent months, with rising unemployment, grinding poverty and daily blackouts that last for hours.

The prospect of more protests and Palestinian casualties in coming weeks could also place Israel on the defensive.

At the United Nations, Secretary-General António Guterres called for an independent investigation, while Security Council members urged restraint on both sides. The council didn’t decide on any action or joint message after an emergency meeting Friday evening.

Abbas, the West Bank-based leader, renewed a call for international protection of Palestinians.

In the West Bank, shopkeepers observed a commercial strike called by political activists Saturday to protest Israel’s response to the Gaza marches. </s> GAZA — Thousands of Palestinians gathered on Saturday at rallying points near the Israeli border fence for a mass demonstration to commemorate a year of weekly protests in the Gaza Strip against the Israeli-Egyptian blockade.

Hours before the rally began, the Gaza Health Ministry said a Palestinian man, Mohammed Saad, 21, had been shot and killed by Israeli forces at a protest camp near the perimeter fence.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

The Palestinians’ rally was to cap a year of demonstrations against the blockade imposed after Hamas took control of the territory in 2007.

Dozens of volunteers in fluorescent vests were deployed to restrain demonstrators from getting too close to the border fence. </s> Fares Akram And Mohammed Daraghmeh, The Associated Press 

 



GAZA, Palestinian Territory -- Thousands of Palestinians, some burning Israeli flags and torching tires, staged a mass protest on Gaza's sealed border with Israel for a third consecutive Friday, as part of a pressure campaign to break a decade-old blockade of their territory.

Israeli live fire from across the border fence killed a 28-year-old Palestinian man and wounded at least 223, Gaza health officials said.

The death brought to 28 the number of protesters killed in two weeks, with more than 1,500 wounded by Israeli fire since March 30, they said.

The marches have been organized by Gaza's Hamas rulers, but large turnouts on two preceding Fridays were also driven by desperation among the territory's 2 million residents who have been enduring a crippling border closure by Israel and Egypt since 2007.

"We want to live like everyone else in the world," said 37-year-old construction worker Omar Hamada, an unemployed father of eight. "We came here so the world can see us and know that life here is miserable, and that there should be a solution."

On Friday, the turnout seemed to be significantly lower than on previous Fridays -- some 10,000 protesters according to the Israeli military -- raising questions about the organizers' goal of keeping the mass marches going until mid-May.

Gaza's Health Ministry said that 969 people were hurt Friday, including 223 by live fire and the rest by tear gas, rubber-coated steel pellets or shrapnel. Fifteen of the wounded were in serious conditions, including a Gaza journalist. The count also included 67 minors and 20 women, health officials said.

Rights groups have described 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."

On Friday, most of the demonstrators assembled at five tent camps located several hundred meters (yards) from the border fence.

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 spokesman 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' 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 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.

Akram reported from Khuzaa, Gaza Strip. Associated Press writer Karin Laub in Ramallah, West Bank, and Ian Deitch in Jerusalem contributed to this report. </s> Palestinian mourners carry the body of nurse Razan al-Najar, 21, during her funeral in Khan Younis on Saturday. The young Palestinian nurse was shot dead on Friday by Israeli soldiers during clashes near the border fence in the southern Gaza Strip. Photo by Haitham Imad/EPA

June 2 (UPI) -- Funeral of a 21-year-old medic shot and killed as she was trying to give aid to a protester drew thousands of Palestinians on Saturday.

Medical workers dressed in white uniforms were part of the funeral procession for Razan al-Najjar, who witnesses say was shot by Israeli soldiers near the border fence Friday.

Witnesses said Razan was killed while trying to evacuate a wounded protester lying on the Israeli side of the fence after cutting a hole to get through.

She was wearing her medic's vest as she approached the fence with both of her arms raised to show Israeli soldiers she posed no threat but was shot in the chest, according to the witnesses.

The protests, dubbed the Great March of Return, began as a six-week campaign organized by Palestinians to rally on Fridays near the Gaza-Israel border to demand Palestinian refugees to be allowed to return to what is now Israel.

Since the conflict began in March, more than 120 Palestinians have been killed at the Gaza Strip. Israeli officials say they have a right to defend the border during Palestinian protests at the fence.

The Israeli military on Saturday said that it would investigate the death but said its troops worked "in accordance with standard operating procedures."

"The IDF (Israel Defence Forces) constantly works to draw operational lessons and reduce the number of casualties in the area of the Gaza Strip security fence," according to a statement. "Unfortunately, the Hamas terror organization deliberately and methodically places civilians in danger."

On Friday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley vetoed a resolution that would have offered "international protection" for Palestinian civilians.

Kuwait introduced the resolution to the U.N. Security Council as a response to recent violent escalations between Palestinians and Israeli security forces on the Gaza Strip. </s> GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli live fire from across the border fence killed a 28-year-old Palestinian man and wounded at least 223 on Friday, Gaza health officials said.

Thousands of Palestinians, some burning Israeli flags and torching tires, staged a mass protest on Gaza’s sealed border with Israel for a third consecutive Friday, as part of a pressure campaign to break a decade-old blockade of their territory.

The death brought to 28 the number of protesters killed in two weeks, with more than 1,500 wounded by Israeli fire since March 30, they said.

The marches have been organized by Gaza’s Hamas rulers, but large turnouts on two preceding Fridays were also driven by desperation among the territory’s 2 million residents who have been enduring a crippling border closure by Israel and Egypt since 2007.

“We want to live like everyone else in the world,” said 37-year-old construction worker Omar Hamada, an unemployed father of eight. “We came here so the world can see us and know that life here is miserable, and that there should be a solution.”

On Friday, the turnout seemed to be significantly lower than on previous Fridays — some 10,000 protesters according to the Israeli military — raising questions about the organizers’ goal of keeping the mass marches going until mid-May.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said that 969 people were hurt Friday, including 223 by live fire and the rest by tear gas, rubber-coated steel pellets or shrapnel. Fifteen of the wounded were in serious conditions, including a Gaza journalist. The count also included 67 minors and 20 women, health officials said.

Rights groups have described 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.”

On Friday, most of the demonstrators assembled at five tent camps located several hundred meters (yards) from the border fence.

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 defense 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 spokesman 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 percent 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’ 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 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.

© Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hundreds attended the funeral of a well-known Palestinian journalist in Gaza on Saturday who was killed while covering mass protests along the Israeli border the previous day.

Yasser Murtaja died from a gunshot wound he sustained while filming Friday in an area engulfed in thick black smoke from protesters setting tires on fire. Israeli troops opened fire from across the border, killing at least nine Palestinians and wounding 491 others in the second mass border protest in eight days. The deaths brought to at least 31 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since last week. The border area appeared calm Saturday.

Witnesses said Murtaja was over 100 meters (yards) from the border, wearing a flak jacket marked "press" and holding his camera when he was shot in an exposed area just below the armpit.

The Israeli military has said it fired only at "instigators" involved in attacks on soldiers and was investigating Murtaja's death amid a very hectic environment.

"The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) uses means such as warnings, riot dispersal means, and as a last resort firing live rounds in a precise, measured way," it said Saturday. "The IDF does not intentionally target journalists. The circumstances in which journalists were allegedly hit by IDF fire are not familiar to the IDF, and are being looked into."

Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since a 2007 takeover and calls for Israel's destruction, has called for a series of protests until May 15, the anniversary of Israel's founding when Palestinians commemorate their mass uprooting during the 1948 war over Israel's creation.

The Islamic group hopes the mass protests can create pressure to break a border blockade enforced by Israel and Egypt since 2007, without having to succumb to demands that it disarm. The blockade has made it increasingly difficult for Hamas to govern. It has also devastated Gaza's economy, made it virtually impossible for people to enter and exit the territory, and left residents with just a few hours of electricity a day.

Israel argues that Hamas could have ended the suffering of Gaza's 2 million people by disarming and renouncing violence.

It says Hamas is exploiting the mass marches as a cover for attacking the border fence, and has vowed to prevent a breach at all costs. The military said that on Friday protesters hurled several explosive devices and firebombs, using the thick plumes of smoke from burning tires as cover, and that several attempts to cross the fence were thwarted.

Colleagues said Murtaja was not affiliated with Hamas or any other militant group, and there were no Hamas symbols normally seen at the funerals for militants.

In an apparent sign of solidarity, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh attended the funeral Saturday.

"The Return March is a battle of truth and awareness," Haniyeh said of the protests. "Yasser held his camera to direct the arrows of truth to convey the image of the besieged people."

At the funeral, Murtaja's body was draped in a Palestinian flag with his flak jacket reading "press" placed upon him as he was carried through the streets of Gaza. The drone he had used for shooting footage of Gaza hovered above to film his funeral. Dozens of his close friends and colleagues were sobbing after the coffin was taken out of the morgue.

Murtaja, 30, was the co-founder of Ain media, a local TV production company that has done projects, including aerial drone video, for foreign media clients such as the BBC and Al Jazeera English. He was one of the first to bring a drone camera into Gaza and his images captivated many of its residents who have never seen Gaza from above since it has no airport or skyscrapers.

His death, along with the other recent casualties, seemed likely to draw renewed criticism from rights groups that have branded Israel's open-fire orders on the border as unlawful, after Israel's defense minister warned that those approaching the fence were risking their lives.

Three other journalists sustained tear gas injuries and at least one cameraman a gunshot in his leg, health ministry and media activists reported.

AIDA, a network of more than 70 non-government organizations operating in the Palestinian territories, condemned Saturday what they called "the unlawful killing of civilians" Friday. It follows accusations from the United Nations' human rights office that it has indications of Israeli forces using "excessive force" the previous week.

The European Union on Saturday issued a statement saying Friday's violence "raises serious questions about the proportionate use of force which must be addressed."

Witnesses described the area in which Murtaja and others were shot as a chaotic scene in which protesters torched large piles of tires, engulfing the area in black smoke that was meant to shield them from Israeli snipers. Footage showed that visibility was limited and the faces of some of the activists were covered with black soot.

Israeli troops on the other side of the fence responded with tear gas, rubber-coated steel pellets and water cannons, as well as occasional live fire. Footage taken of the wounded journalist shortly after he was shot shows medics frantically bandaging his chest and trying to connect an IV drip. Murtaja himself is seen moving his head from side to side and talking to those around him before he is placed on a stretcher and taken to an ambulance.

Just two weeks ago, Murtaja posted a drone photo of Gaza's seaport at sunset on his Facebook page with the following caption: "I wished I could take this photo from the sky, not from land. My name is Yasser Murtaja, I am 30 years old. I live in Gaza City. I have never traveled."

Friends say it reflected his greatest wish — to escape Gaza's isolation.

Hana Awad, his colleague and close friend, said he had long dreamt of traveling and was recently granted an Al Jazeera scholarship for training in Doha. She described him as active and friendly and not at all interested in politics.

"We didn't know his political views, he was passionate about his job and wanted to travel and learn," she said of Murtaja, who was the father of a 2-year-old boy. </s> It is one year since tens of thousands of Palestinians took part in a Great March of Return to the Gaza-Israel border launching regular mass protests along the border that have drawn a deadly response from the Israeli army

A Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire on the Gaza border early Saturday, the territory's health ministry said, hours ahead of planned mass protests.

The ministry said Mohammed Saad, 20, died after being hit in the head with shrapnel caused by Israeli army fire east of Gaza City.

Protesters at the site said he had been taking part in an overnight rally ahead of the main demonstration scheduled for Saturday afternoon.

They said he was more than 100 metres (yards) from the heavily-fortified border fence when he was hit and had been on crutches due to a previous injury.

Thousands are expected to demonstrate on Saturday afternoon at various points along the Gaza-Israel border, one year after the start of regular mass protests demanding the right of return for Palestinian refugees to homes now in Israel.

At least 259 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the protests began, the vast majority along the border.

Two Israeli soldiers have also been killed.
On Quds Day – the last Friday of Ramadan – thousands of Palestinians protest near the Gaza border fence. Israeli troops fire live rounds and tear gas, killing four people and injuring over 600.