Israeli fire yesterday killed at least 37 Palestinians during mass protests along the Gaza Strip border, marking the deadliest day of violence there since a devastating 2014 cross-border war and casting a pall over Israel’s festive inauguration of the new US embassy in contested Jerusalem.
In a show of anger fueled by the embassy move, protesters set tires on fire, sending plumes of black smoke into the air, and hurled firebombs and stones toward Israeli troops across the border.
The Israeli military said its troops had come under fire and accused protesters of trying to break through the border fence.
Photo: EPA
It said troops shot and killed three Palestinians who were trying to plant a bomb.
By mid-afternoon, at least 37 Palestinians, including a 14-year-old boy, were killed, while at least 772 were wounded, including 27 critically, Palestinian health officials said.
The Hamas-led protest in Gaza was meant to be the biggest yet in a weeks-long campaign against a decade-old blockade of the territory.
The march was also directed at the inauguration of the US embassy in Jerusalem later yesterday.
The relocation of the embassy from Tel Aviv, a key campaign promise of US President Donald Trump, has infuriated the Palestinians, who seek east Jerusalem as a future capital.
“A great day for Israel!” Trump tweeted early yesterday.
Yesterday marked the biggest showdown in years between Israel’s military and Gaza’s Hamas rulers along the volatile border.
The sides have largely observed a ceasefire since the 2014 war — their third in a decade.
The protests mark the culmination of a campaign, led by Hamas and fueled by despair among Gaza’s 2 million people, to break the decade-old border blockade of the territory imposed by Israel and Egypt after Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007.
Since weekly border marches began in late March, 79 Palestinian protesters have been killed and more than 2,300 wounded by Israeli army fire.
Hamas said four members, including three security men, were among the dead yesterday.
Ismail Radwan, a senior Hamas figure, said the mass border protests against Israel would continue “until the rights of the Palestinian people are achieved.”
“Moving the US embassy to Jerusalem will be a disaster on the American administration and a black day in the history of the American people, because they are partners with the occupation and its aggression against the Palestinian people,” he added.
Most of the casualties were in the southern Gaza towns of Khan Younis and Rafah.
Israeli forces were firing volleys of tear gas to disperse the crowds and the sound of heavy gunfire could be heard.
Sirens were constantly wailing as the wounded were carried to nearby ambulances.
Groups of young activists repeatedly approached the fence, but were quickly scattered by gunfire and tear gas.
Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli military spokesman, said the army had set up additional “layers” of security in and around communities near the border to defend Israeli civilians.
He said there already had been several “significant attempts” to break through the fence.
“Even if the fence is breached, we will be able to protect Israeli civilians from attempts to massacre or kidnap or kill them,” he said.
European foreign ministers yesterday said the embassy move was unwise and likely to exacerbate tensions. Their comments came after the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania blocked the 28-nation EU from publishing a statement about the US move.
Yesterday’s opening was attended by Trump’s daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who both serve as White House advisers.
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
A senior US military official yesterday warned his Chinese counterpart against Beijing’s “dangerous” moves in the South China Sea during the first talks of their kind between the commanders. Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of Taiwan and China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions, but they have sought to re-establish regular military-to-military talks in a bid to prevent flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control. Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and Wu Yanan (吳亞男), head of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, talked via videoconference. Paparo “underscored the importance
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
RSS