The Latest: Gaza demonstrators gather for anniversary march
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Latest on protests at Gaza border with Israel (all times local):
1:45 a.m.
The Israeli military says five rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip and landed in open areas in the south of the country.
No casualties were reported.
No Palestinian group claimed responsibility for the early Sunday attack, but the rockets appeared to be in retaliation for the killing of four Palestinians during protests along Gaza-Israel fence Saturday.
The rocket fire threatens to annul what Gaza’s Hamas rulers said was an Egyptian-brokered deal to ease economic burdens in the Palestinian enclave in exchange for pacifying the yearlong border protests.
Hamas launched the marches to protest against a crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade on Gaza, home to 2 million people.
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11:10 p.m.
Gaza’s health officials say another Palestinian teenage boy has succumbed to wounds sustained in east Gaza Strip.
Belal al-Najjar, 17, was killed by an Israeli gunshot at one of five protest locations Saturday, officials said.
Earlier in the day, two other 17-year-old boys were killed as tens of thousands of Palestinians rallied at the Israel-Gaza border fence to mark the first anniversary of their mass protests.
A 21-year-old Palestinian also died around dawn after sustaining injuries in overnight protests before the main demonstration.
Israeli authorities did not immediately confirm or deny the deaths reported by Gaza officials.
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6:50 p.m.
Gaza’s health ministry says a second Palestinian teenager has died from a gunshot wound in protests along the territory’s frontier with Israel.
Tamer Abu el-Khair, 17, was hit with a gunshot in the chest Saturday in the southern city of Khan Younis and died at the hospital, the ministry added.
This puts to three the number of Palestinians killed Saturday.
Earlier, another 17-year-old protester was shot dead in Gaza City.
At dawn, before the protests began, a Palestinian youth was killed after night-long skirmishes along the fence.
Saturday’s protests, which drew tens of thousands, marked the first anniversary of the weekly events Gaza’s Hamas rulers have launched against a crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade.
The ministry said 64 protesters were wounded with live fire.
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5:55 p.m.
Organizers of protests at the Gaza-Israel border say the weekly event will continue into a second year.
The protest committee Saturday called on Palestinians to hold a new protest along the perimeter fence next Friday.
The call comes despite an announcement by Gaza’s Hamas rulers that Egypt, mediating between the militant group and Israel, has brokered a deal to ease Gaza’s blockade in exchange for calm.
The year-long marches press for an end to an Israeli-Egyptian blockade imposed since Hamas took over Gaza by force in 2007.
The emerging deal would see Israel allow more goods into Gaza, expanding its fishing zone off the coast and other economic incentives.
Hamas says the marches will continue until the closure is fully lifted.
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4:15 p.m.
Gaza’s health ministry says a Palestinian teenager has been killed by Israeli fire during the ongoing mass protest along Gaza-Israel frontier.
The ministry said Saturday that Adham Amara, 17, was wounded in the face and died in one of the protest camps in east Gaza City.
Thirteen Palestinians have been wounded by live fire in the protests marking the first anniversary of the demonstration movement.
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3:40 p.m.
The Israeli army says that some 30,000 Palestinians have gathered along the Gaza fence for the mass rally marking one year of weekly demonstrations aimed at breaking the Israeli-Egyptian blockade.
The military said Saturday that protesters hurled stones and explosive devices at the fence and set tires ablaze.
It added that most of the demonstrators remained in encampments away from the border fence.
The army said it was responding with “riot dispersal means and firing in accordance with standard operating procedures.”
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3:25 p.m.
Health officials say 33 Palestinians have been injured as protests along the Gaza-Israel fence began.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said Saturday ten people have sustained injuries from live fire coming from Israeli troops, who also fired tear gas as dozens of protesters approached the fence.
The territory’s Hamas rulers are trying to restrain the rallies.
The militant group hopes a calmer demonstration would allow for the implementation an Egyptian-brokered agreement with Israel to ease the economic blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip since 2007.
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3:00 p.m.
The Israeli army says that some 20,000 Palestinians are gathering along the Gaza fence for the mass rally marking one year of weekly demonstrations aimed at breaking the Israeli-Egyptian blockade.
The military said Saturday that protesters hurled stones and explosive devices at the fence and set tires ablaze.
It added that most of the demonstrators remained in encampments away from the border fence.
The army said it was responding with riot dispersal means and live fire “in accordance with standard operating procedures.”
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12:50 p.m.
Crowds of Palestinians are heading to rallying points near the Israeli border fence an hour before the planned mass rally to mark one year of weekly protests in the Gaza Strip.
Dozens of volunteers in fluorescent vests prepared to restrain demonstrators from getting too close to the border fence. Ambulances lined up in front of clinics and police supervised encampments erected far from the fence.
Some protesters started approaching the barrier, prompting Israeli forces to respond with tear gas.
Fouad Aishan, 40, came with his five children to the frontier. He said he plans to show his children the Israeli soldiers and return to safety before the march started.
“I come here driven by personal national motivation,” he said. “It has nothing to do with what the politicians do.”
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8:55 a.m.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says a Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli forces near the perimeter fence with Israel, hours before an expected mass protest there.
The ministry said 21-year-old Mohammed Saad was shot early Saturday at a protest camp near the fence. The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
The fatal shooting came hours before Palestinians were to hold a large rally, capping a year of weekly marches against the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza, imposed after the 2007 takeover of the territory by Hamas.
Egypt has been trying to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. Palestinians with knowledge of the talks have said that as part of the proposed deal, Gaza protesters were to keep away from the fence Saturday and Israeli snipers were to hold their fire.
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