NOTE: This article was posted from New York prior to the start of the holy Sabbath.
At least two Arab terrorists were killed and more than a dozen were injured, including one critically, in violence at the Gaza border on Friday. Some 8,000 Gazans showed up at the border, with thousands more heading to special events that were being held by Hamas organizers to “thank the resistance for battling Israel.”
The fatalities were due to IDF gunfire on Friday after using explosives to blast open the security fence in an attempt to infiltrate into Israeli territory, according to Arab sources.
The Gaza health ministry reported that 14 people had been brought in with injuries to hospitals in the enclave. There were no confirmations about the deaths or the critically-wounded status.
The IDF had warned Gazans ahead of Friday there would be “no restraint shown” to the so-called “protesters” at the Gaza border. Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) Maj. Gen. Kamil Abu Rukun said in an Arabic-language video released on Thursday evening, “Whoever comes within 100 meters of the [security] fence is putting himself at risk. You’ve been warned.”
Earlier this week, Hamas and the allied Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization fired more than 460 rockets, mortar shells and missiles at southern Israeli civilians, killing at least one person and wounding 100 others. The IDF responded with air strikes that destroyed 160 Hamas and PIJ terror targets in locations across the enclave. An Egyptian-mediated ceasefire led to the resignation of Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, who warned that Israel was “surrendering to terror.”
Gaza Legal Committee representative and member of the “international community” Issam Hamed told reporters that the Egyptian delegation “asked us to stay away from the fence for at least three weeks.”
The directive was ignored, with Gazans streaming in the thousands to the security fence on Friday, albeit more quietly and with fewer violent incidents.
Nevertheless, tire-burning continued, as did stoning attacks aimed at IDF soldiers. Hamas terror attacks continued as usual, including the bombing of the security fence near Khan Younis. In response, IDF tanks reportedly opened fire on Hamas terrorist targets in Gaza east of the town, according to sources posting live on Facebook from the Shehab News Agency.
So, what else is new?