TIL Desk/World/Gaza City/ Clashes erupted as tens of thousands of Gazans marched near the Israeli border in a major protest on Friday, leaving 16 Palestinians dead and hundreds more wounded in the conflict’s worst single day of violence since the 2014 Gaza war.
Late in the day, Israel’s military targeted three Hamas sites in the Gaza Strip with tank fire and an air strike after what it said was an attempted shooting attack against soldiers along the border that caused no injuries.
Protesters, including women and children, had earlier gathered at multiple sites throughout the blockaded territory, which is flanked by Israel along its eastern and northern borders. Smaller numbers approached within a few hundred metres (yards) of the heavily fortified border fence, with Israeli troops using tear gas and live fire to force them back.
Israeli security forces used a drone to fire tear gas toward those along the border, in one of the first uses of the device, a police spokesman said. The health ministry in Gaza said 16 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces. More than 1,400 were injured, including 758 by live fire, with the remainder hurt by rubber bullets and tear gas inhalation, it said. Palestinians accused Israel of using disproportionate force, as did Turkey.
