Israeli jets hit Hamas targets after confrontations at Gaza border
The Israeli air force have targeted several positions of the Islamist Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip after clashes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian protesters near the border in eastern Gaza, according to the Israeli army.
Four weapons and storage manufacturing sites belonging to the Hamas were hit by Israeli fighter jets, the army said early on Sunday morning.
The Gaza Health Ministry said on Saturday that 41 demonstrators were injured by live ammunition, including 22 children, and two of them are in critical condition.
According to the army, an Israeli border policeman is also in critical condition after being hit by live ammunition.
Hamas, which rules Gaza, on Friday called for called for protests near the border to commemorate the 52nd anniversary of the fire at the al-Aqsa Mosque. In 1969, a man with mental problems started a fire that destroyed parts of the mosque. The Temple Mount in Jerusalem, with the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque, is widely considered the third holiest site in Islam.
The Israeli army said in a statement that around 100 Palestinians approached the fence at the border and threw explosive objects at the soldiers, who opened fire to disperse them.
The clashes on Saturday were the most violent since the end of the weekly "March of Return" that was organized near the border between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel.
The protests ended in 2019 after Egypt, Qatar, and the United Nations mediated an agreement between Israel and Hamas, where Israel agreed to relax its blockade.
In May, an 11-day armed conflict broke out between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. According to official figures, 13 people were killed in Israel and 255 people died in Gaza. Egypt eventually brokered a ceasefire.
The European Union, Israel and the United States classify the Hamas as a terrorist organization.
On Monday, according to Israeli sources, Palestinian militants fired a fired a rocket from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel. It was the first rocket fired from the coastal area since the armed conflict in May. (dpa)