When all was said and done, there were at least 62 dead Gazan rioters according to Arab sources who say they were shot by Israeli forces by Monday night, with at least 2,238 wounded. Close to 50,000 Gazans had arrived at the security fence to join the rioting in 13 separate locations by nightfall.
Three armed Gazans were killed as they attempted to plant a bomb along the security fence, as seen below in the video.
תיעוד צה"ל: חוליית המחבלים שניסתה לחדור את גדר הביטחון pic.twitter.com/q2aT3r8Yqn
— חדשות עשר (@news10)
In response, the Israel Air Force attacked five Hamas terrorist targets at a terror training camp in the northern Gaza town of Jabalya. A second IDF strike was carried out by Israeli tanks who attacked a Hamas terrorist post east of Jabalya.
One IDF soldier was wounded Monday afternoon, possibly during a stoning attack at the fence. He was treated at the scene.
The IDF said Monday’s disturbances were the largest riots to take place so far.
Israeli military forces are responding with standard riot dispersal methods, and shooting in accordance with the IDF open-fire regulations. “Our forces are determined to carry out the task of defending the sovereignty of the state and the citizens of Israel,” the IDF said in a statement. “The IDF is acting decisively against widespread terrorist attacks carried out by the Hamas terrorist organization in the northern Gaza Strip. Every terrorist act will see a sharp response,” the IDF said.
The Palestine Liberation Organization, meanwhile, declared a general strike on Tuesday in the Palestinian Authority territories to “mourn the dead” in Gaza, according to Israel’s Channel 10 television news. The Ramallah government raced to accuse the Israel Defense Forces of carrying out a “horrible massacre” at the border.
Hamas had allegedly planned for tens of thousands of Gazans to storm the security fence at precisely the same time the U.S. Embassy is to be inaugurated in Jerusalem, perhaps with the hope that media will face a dilemma in covering the events, but ultimately it didn’t work out that way. The eyes of the entire world were fastened upon events in Jerusalem — and even perhaps the eyes of Gaza as well — as events seemed to slow to a crawl during the time the inauguration was taking place.
Israeli military officials said Monday Hamas also plans to abduct Israeli soldiers, using the violence at the Israeli-Gaza border as a cover for the attempt. The IDF Spokesperson says the IDF is prepared for any scenario, however.
Just before the start of the planned “Nakba” Day riots, and the inauguration of the US embassy in Jerusalem, Gazan men began to cut off a piece of barbed wire east of Al-Bureij in the central Gaza Strip on the border with Israel, launching the start of a day in which Gazans tested the will of the IDF to protect the Gaza border and the Jewish communities living just beyond.
The IDF had dropped warning leaflets from the sky, warning individuals not to approach the fence, threatening they would be met with fire.
The IDF also threw incendiary materials near the tents in Khan Younis Monday morning, and burned some of the Gazan tires, in an attempt to discourage the demonstrators. Using D-9 bulldozers, the IDF flattened the Gazans’ sandbag fortifications in several areas, leaving them exposed to snipers.
It appeared the Gazans were able to knock down a small IDF drone in the morning. They also claimed the IDF shut down their cellular service near the fence.