Palestinian killed in IDF attack in Gaza

Sources in Strip say army fired at Hamas members' procession in protest of blockade. Military officials say soldiers shot at armed Palestinians approaching border fence
Ali Waked

A Palestinian was killed and 18 others were injured Thursday after Israel Defense Forces soldiers opened fire at protestors taking part in a procession organized by Hamas, Palestinian sources in the Gaza Strip reported.

IDF officials said that the troops fired at several Palestinians approaching the border fence. At first, the army said, the soldiers attempted to disperse the people using crowd dispersal means, but at a certain stage the forces spotted a number of gunmen and fired at the lower part of their bodies.

Earlier Thursday

Truck bomb set off at Erez crossing; no injuries among IDF soldiers / Ali Waked

(Video) Palestinian gunmen launch attack combining gunfire, detonation of truck at terminal on Gaza-Israel border; Islamic Jihad, Fatah claim responsibility. Palestinian assailant dead; no reports of injuries among soldiers manning terminal. IDF: We prevented more severe attack

Full story

The Palestinians reported that the man killed in the incident was 22 years old, and that three youths were among the injured. They claimed that the IDF used live ammunition and fired tear gas at the demonstrators, who had been hurling stones at a force near the crossing.

The Hamas demonstration was held in protest of the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip, on the backdrop of estimates that the current round of talks in Cairo will not bring about a lull.

Hamas has warned against the outcomes of an Israeli rejection of the truce offer, and a delegation on behalf of the movement is expected to leave the Egyptian capital later Thursday, awaiting Israel's answer.

Hanan Greenberg contributed to this report