Israeli soldiers used gunfire and teargas on Friday to keep more than 3,000 Hamas supporters from approaching one of the Gaza Strip's main border crossings with Israel, wounding at least six Palestinians, witnesses said. Palestinian medical workers said at least two of the wounded were in a critical condition.
"The IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) will operate with all its strength to prevent the demonstrators from approaching the security fence or the crossing ... and from entering the state of Israel," an Israeli military official said, according to Reuters. During the standoff, Israeli forces shot into the crowd to "make the rioters back off", the official said.
The demonstrators on Friday burnt tyres, waved Hamas flags and chanted "Dismantle the siege".
Separately, Palestinian medical workers said a 65-year-old woman died on Friday from injuries suffered a day earlier during an Israeli army operation near her home in the southern Gaza Strip.
