GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: A Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli forces on the Gaza border Tuesday, the health ministry in the strip said, as tensions remained days after 17 people were killed when a mass demonstration led to clashes.

The ministry identified the dead man as 25-year-old Ahmed Arafa, saying he was shot in the chest during clashes east of Bureij in central Gaza.

The Israeli army said it was looking into the incident and could not immediately comment.

It was the first death since at least 17 Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops on Friday when a protest by tens of thousands of people resulted in clashes.

It was the deadliest day since the 2014 war between Israel and Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas.

Smaller protests have continued since, with thousands expected to take to the streets again on Friday.

Israel's use of live fire has come under criticism from rights groups, while the European Union and UN chief Antonio Guterres have called for an independent investigation.

But earlier Tuesday, Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman issued a new warning, saying those who approach the fence between Gaza and Israel will put "their life in danger."

Israel has defended its soldiers' actions on Friday, saying they opened fire only when necessary against those throwing stones and firebombs or rolling tyres at soldiers.

It said there were attempts to damage the fence and infiltrate Israel, while alleging there was also an attempted gun attack against soldiers along the border.

Palestinians say protesters were fired on while posing no threat to soldiers.

Human Rights Watch on Tuesday said Friday's killings were unlawful and "calculated", also saying the border protests posed no immediate threat to Israeli soldiers. — AFP </s> A Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli forces on the Gaza border Tuesday, the health ministry in the strip said, as tensions remained high days after 17 people were killed when a mass demonstration led to clashes

The ministry identified the dead man as 25-year-old Ahmed Arafa, saying he was shot in the chest during clashes east of Bureij in central Gaza, reported AFP.

Israel’s army said in a statement that “throughout the day, tens of Palestinians participated in violent riots in four main locations along the Gaza border.”

It added that “troops used riot dispersal means, and fired towards suspects who were involved in damaging the security fence.”

It was the first death since at least 17 Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops on Friday when a protest by tens of thousands of people resulted in clashes. That was the deadliest day since the 2014 war between Israel and Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas.

Smaller protests have continued since, with thousands expected to take to the streets again on Friday.

Israel’s use of live fire has come under criticism from rights groups, while the European Union and UN chief Antonio Guterres have called for an independent investigation.

But earlier Tuesday, Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman issued a new warning, saying those who approach the fence between Gaza and Israel will put “their life in danger.”

Israel has defended its soldiers’ actions on Friday, saying they opened fire only when necessary against those throwing stones and firebombs or rolling tyres at soldiers.

It said there were attempts to damage the fence and infiltrate Israel, while alleging there was also an attempted gun attack against soldiers along the border.

Palestinians say protesters were fired on while posing no threat to soldiers.

Human Rights Watch on Tuesday said Friday’s killings were unlawful and “calculated,” also saying the border protests posed no immediate threat to Israeli soldiers. </s> A Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli forces on the Gaza border Tuesday, the health ministry in the strip said, as tensions remained days after 17 people were killed when a mass demonstration led to clashes.

The ministry identified the dead man as 25-year-old Ahmed Arafa, saying he was shot in the chest during clashes east of Bureij in central Gaza.

The Israeli army said it was looking into the incident and could not immediately comment.

It was the first death since at least 17 Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops on Friday when a protest by tens of thousands of people resulted in clashes.

It was the deadliest day since the 2014 war between Israel and Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas.

Smaller protests have continued since, with thousands expected to take to the streets again on Friday.

Israel's use of live fire has come under criticism from rights groups, while the European Union and UN chief Antonio Guterres have called for an independent investigation.

But earlier Tuesday, Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman issued a new warning, saying those who approach the fence between Gaza and Israel will put "their life in danger."

Israel has defended its soldiers' actions on Friday, saying they opened fire only when necessary against those throwing stones and firebombs or rolling tyres at soldiers.

It said there were attempts to damage the fence and infiltrate Israel, while alleging there was also an attempted gun attack against soldiers along the border.

Palestinians say protesters were fired on while posing no threat to soldiers.

Human Rights Watch on Tuesday said Friday's killings were unlawful and "calculated," also saying the border protests posed no immediate threat to Israeli soldiers. </s> GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Latest on developments related to Gaza protests (all times local):

The Hamas militant wing is suggesting that a Palestinian engineer and lecturer shot dead in Malaysia was one of its commanders.

The armed wing of Hamas has opened a mourning house in Gaza Saturday for Fadi al-Batsh.

A main banner at the entrance of the tent described al-Batsh as a member of the military wing and "a commander."

Ten masked militants in camouflage uniforms stood in a line outside the tent in Jabaliya, the slain man's hometown, to greet mourners. The ceremony is typical for senior Hamas commanders.

A photographer says a Palestinian teen who was killed by Israeli army fire was dozens of meters (yards) from the Gaza border fence when he was hit by a bullet.

Gaza health officials have identified Mohammed Ayyoub, either 15 or 14 years old, as one of four Palestinians killed Friday by Israeli troops firing from across the fence in the fourth round of weekly Hamas-led protests near the border.

Photographer Abed Alhakeem Abu Rish said Saturday he saw the teen standing about 150 meters (164 yards) from the fence. He says Ayyoub was about to take cover behind a low sand berm when he was shot and fell to the ground.

Abu Rish's photographs show the teen as he collapses head first and then lies motionless in the same spot.

The European Union has urged the Israeli military to "refrain from using lethal force against unarmed protesters," after four Palestinians, including a teen-age boy, were killed by army fire in protests along Gaza's border with Israel.

In Saturday's statement, the European Union's diplomatic service called for a full investigation of Friday's shootings.

Friday marked the fourth round of weekly mass border protests, led by Gaza's ruling Hamas group.

The marches are aimed, in part, at breaking a border blockade of Gaza enforced by Israel and Egypt since 2007, when the Islamic militant group seized the territory, a year after winning Palestinian parliament elections.

Since late March, 32 Palestinians were killed and more than 1,600 wounded by Israeli army fire in these protests, according to Gaza health officials.

Israel's defense minister says Gaza's Hamas rulers are the "only culprits" in the death of a Palestinian boy who was killed by Israeli army fire in protests on the Gaza-Israel border.

Avigdor Lieberman alleged on Twitter that Hamas uses women and children as human shields. His comments Saturday came after a top U.N. envoy in the region, Nikolay Mladenov, said it is "outrageous to shoot at children" and demanded an investigation.

The Israeli military has not commented on the killing of Mohammed Ayyoub. Gaza health officials initially gave his age as 15, but a local rights group, citing official documents, said he was 14.

Ayyoub was one of four Palestinians killed Friday by Israeli army fire in the fourth round of weekly border protests led by the Islamic militant Hamas.

Health officials say Israeli soldiers firing from across a border fence have killed four Palestinians, including a 15-year-old boy, and wounded more than 150 others as several thousand people in blockaded Gaza staged a fourth round of weekly protests on the border with Israel.

Huge black plumes of smoke from burning tires engulfed the border area on Friday. Some of the activists threw stones toward the fence or flew kites with flaming rags dangling from their tails.

The latest deaths brought to 32 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli troops in protests since late March. More than 1,600 have been wounded by live rounds in the past three weeks, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. </s> Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - A Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli forces on the Gaza border Tuesday, the health ministry in the strip said, as tensions remained days after 17 people were killed when a mass demonstration led to clashes.

The ministry identified the dead man as 25-year-old Ahmed Arafa, saying he was shot in the chest during clashes east of Bureij in central Gaza.

The Israeli army said it was looking into the incident and could not immediately comment.

It was the first death since at least 17 Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops on Friday when a protest by tens of thousands of people resulted in clashes.

It was the deadliest day since the 2014 war between Israel and Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas.

Smaller protests have continued since, with thousands expected to take to the streets again on Friday.

Israel's use of live fire has come under criticism from rights groups, while the European Union and UN chief Antonio Guterres have called for an independent investigation.

But earlier Tuesday, Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman issued a new warning, saying those who approach the fence between Gaza and Israel will put "their life in danger."

Israel has defended its soldiers' actions on Friday, saying they opened fire only when necessary against those throwing stones and firebombs or rolling tyres at soldiers.

It said there were attempts to damage the fence and infiltrate Israel, while alleging there was also an attempted gun attack against soldiers along the border.

Palestinians say protesters were fired on while posing no threat to soldiers.

Human Rights Watch on Tuesday said Friday's killings were unlawful and "calculated," also saying the border protests posed no immediate threat to Israeli soldiers. </s> A Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli forces as he broke through the Gaza security fence on Tuesday, as tensions continued days after at least 16 people were reported killed in a mass border demonstration.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry identified the dead man as 25-year-old Ahmed Arafa, saying he was shot in the chest during clashes east of Bureij in central Gaza. The military wing of the DFLP (Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine) terrorist group identified him as a member.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that it used live fire against a group of Palestinians who broke through the security fence during the protest.

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Surveillance camera footage, provided by the army, showed one person smashing the fence with what appears to be a metal pipe. He is joined by four others, two of whom go through a hole in the fence. Then it appears warning shots were fired.

The two men run back into Gaza, and once they are through the fence the video cuts out. It was unclear when Arafa was shot.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, dozens of Palestinians took part in “violent riots in four locations along the Gaza Strip.”

The army said it used mostly less-lethal riot dispersal measures against the demonstrators — tear gas and rubber bullets — but used live rounds against the people who sabotaged the fence.

“The IDF will not allow security infrastructure and the fence, which protects Israeli citizens to be damaged, and we will take action against terrorists who are involved,” the army said in a statement.

“We again warn against approaching the fence,” the IDF added.

On Friday, over 30,000 Palestinians demonstrated along the Gaza border, in what Israel describes as a riot orchestrated by the Hamas terrorist group, which rules Gaza, and what Palestinians say was supposed to be a peaceful protest.

There were discrepancies in Palestinian reports on the Gaza death toll from Friday. While Hamas claimed Monday that 18 had died, the official news agency of the Palestinian Authority had the number at 16. Israel has no official death toll figures. Over 1,000 were reported injured.

Violent protests have been staged every day since Friday’s mass demonstration, though on a far smaller level, usually involving a few dozen people. Nevertheless, the army has remained on high alert in the area out of concerns that terror groups could capitalize on the tensions and carry out attacks.

Earlier on Tuesday, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said Israel will not be changing its policies toward Palestinians rioting along the Gaza security fence and brushed off criticism that the army used a heavy hand during Friday’s protests.

“We have set clear rules of the game and we do not intend to change them. Anyone who approaches the fence endangers his life, and I would recommend that Gaza residents put their efforts not into protesting against Israel, but into regime change within the Strip,” Liberman said during a tour of Israeli communities just outside the coastal enclave.

“I think the [Israel Defense Forces] operated exceptionally well, as expected, and I have no doubt that we will continue to act in the same way in the days to come,” he added.

Speaking to local leaders and the heads of security for the communities, the defense minister defended the army’s actions. “It needs to be understood that the majority of the people killed were terrorists whom we know well, operatives in the military arm of Hamas, as well as in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. These weren’t innocent civilians who came as part of a civil protest,” Liberman said.

The IDF on Saturday named and detailed 10 of the dead as members of terror groups including Hamas. (Hamas, an Islamist terror group that avowedly seeks to destroy Israel, had earlier acknowledged five of them were its members.) Islamic Jihad later claimed an 11th.

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The defense minister put the blame for Friday’s violence solely on Hamas.

“We didn’t initiate any provocations against the residents of Gaza; we protect our residents,” he said.

Asked what the IDF was anticipating for this upcoming Friday, when Hamas has called for renewed clashes on the border, the defense minister said he “didn’t want to make an assessment. We are prepared for every scenario.”

The United States on Saturday blocked a draft UN Security Council statement urging restraint and calling for an investigation of clashes on the Gaza-Israel border, diplomats said.

The draft council statement also expressed “grave concern at the situation at the border.” And it reaffirmed “the right to peaceful protest” and expressed the council’s “sorrow at the loss of innocent Palestinian lives.”

Council members “called upon all sides to exercise restraint and prevent a further escalation,” the draft said. The proposed statement stressed the need to promote peace between Israel and the Palestinians based on a two-state solution.

On Saturday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for “those concerned to refrain from any act that could lead to further casualties.” He also called for an independent and transparent investigation into the deaths and injuries during Friday’s clashes.

TOI staff contributed to this report. </s> JERUSALEM (JTA) — A 25-year-old Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli troops near the border in the central Gaza Strip, the Palestinians are reporting.

The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the man as Ahmed Omar Arfa and said he was shot in his chest with live fire east of the Bureij refugee camp, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. He died at a Gaza hospital, according to the report.

Arfa was attempting to vandalize the border fence when he was shot, Israel’s Hadashot news reported, citing Palestinian reports.

Wafa reported that 17 Palestinian men have been killed since Palestinian protests started Friday on the border with the March of Return. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been injured, the Gaza Health Ministry told Wafa. </s> GAZA CITY - A Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli forces on the Gaza border Tuesday, the health ministry in the strip said as tensions remained high days after 17 people were killed when a mass demonstration led to clashes.

The ministry identified the dead man as 25-year-old Ahmed Arafa, saying he was shot in the chest during clashes east of Bureij in central Gaza.

The Israeli army said it was looking into the incident and could not immediately comment. It was the first death since at least 17 Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops on Friday when a protest by tens of thousands of people resulted in clashes.

It was the deadliest day since the 2014 war between Israel and Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas.

Smaller protests have continued since, with thousands expected to take to the streets again on Friday.

Israel’s use of live fire has come under criticism from rights groups, while the European Union and UN chief Antonio Guterres have called for an independent investigation. But earlier Tuesday, Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman issued a new warning, saying those who approach the fence between Gaza and Israel will put “their life in danger.”

Israel has defended its soldiers’ actions on Friday, saying they opened fire only when necessary against those throwing stones and firebombs or rolling tyres at soldiers.

It said there were attempts to damage the fence and infiltrate Israel, while alleging there was also an attempted gun attack against soldiers along the border. Palestinians say protesters were fired on while posing no threat to soldiers. Human Rights Watch on Tuesday said Friday’s killings were unlawful and “calculated,” also saying the border protests posed no immediate threat to Israeli soldiers. </s> An 18-year-old Palestinian man was killed and two others were moderately wounded after the IDF opened fire toward them in the southern Gaza Strip.



The three were near the border fence between Rafah and Israel on Tuesday night and were hit by tank fire after attempting to cross the border, the IDF said.

It is not clear why they were approaching the fence, but according to initial reports, the three appeared to IDF soldiers to be in the act of planting bombs.Ashraf al-Qudra, the spokesman for the health ministry in Gaza, identified the 18-year-old as Yousef Abu Azra. He and the two wounded, no names given, were evacuated to the Abu Yousef al-Najjar hospital in Rafah, the southern Gaza Strip, in moderate and critical condition with shrapnel wounds over their bodies, according to the spokesman.The Palestinian Authority condemned the Israeli artillery fire on east Rafah, with government spokesman Tariq Rishmawi calling on the international community “to put an end to the continued and premeditated Israeli aggressions on our people in all places that they exist.”The IDF said it was investigating the incident.Two weeks ago, two bombs were neutralized in an off-limits area in the northern Gaza Strip. The charges were taken in for further examination. There were no casualties in the incident.Hamas has recently built military outposts every dozen meters along the border with Israel and also carries out regular patrols, to both impose its control on the Strip by preventing Palestinians from crossing into Israel and to watch what is happening on the Israeli side.The incident comes as the military finished its largest planned drill of the year, calling up some 2,000 reserve soldiers to simulate a war in Gaza. The surprise drill, which was carried out by the Southern Command’s reserve division, the Sinai Division, included four reserve brigades – two infantry and two armored brigades. The IDF’s Home Front Command also carried out a drill this past week in the South.Despite tension between Israel and the Gaza Strip running high, the IDF said that both drills were planned in advance.The last two months have seen gunfire targeting IDF troops along the border as well as seven rockets launched at Israel.Most of the attacks have been claimed by small jihadist groups, often as a means of pressuring Hamas by raising tensions between the terrorist organization and Israel.Hamas has cracked down on these small groups, recently carrying out a series of arrests among Salafi, jihadist, pro-Islamic State organizations. Nonetheless, Israel holds Hamas responsible for all fire coming from the Strip.

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Hamas claims Israeli forces fatally shoot a 25-year-old man at the border fence near Bureij.