6 Palestinians killed, 252 wounded in clashes with Israeli soldiers

GAZA, Oct. 12 -- At least six Palestinians were killed and 252 others were injured on Friday by Israeli soldiers during clashes along the Gaza Strip's borders with Israel, medics said.

On Friday, thousands of Palestinian protesters demonstrated close to the border. Chanting anti-Israeli slogans, they burned tries, released dozens of arson balloons into Israel, cut the barbed wire of the border fence, and clashed with Israeli soldiers, eyewitnesses said.

The Israeli soldiers stationed on the border fired tear gas and even opened live fire at the Palestinian protesters.

Ashraf Al-Qedra, spokesman of the Health Ministry in Gaza, said that Ahmad al-Taweel, 27, Mohamed Ismail, 29, Ahmad Abu Ne'eim, 17 and Abdullah al-Daghma, 25, were killed in east of al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, close to the border with Israel.

He said that Tamer Abu Ermanah, 27, was shot dead by in east of Rafah town in southern Gaza Strip during clashes with Israeli soldiers stationed on the borders.

Al-Qedra added that that Afifi Mahmoud Afifi, 18, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in eastern Gaza city close to the border with Israel during an anti-Israeli demonstration.

Among the 252 injured Palestinians, 154 of them were shot by Israeli soldiers' live gunshots, including 50 children, 10 women, two paramedics and one local journalist.

Gaza and Israeli media outlets reported that the first four Palestinians were shot dead at the border with Israel in east of Al-Bureij refugee camp after they cut the barbed wire of the fence and attacked an Israeli army post.

Israeli media quoted Israeli army officers as saying that a group of Palestinians infiltrated into Israel from the area, detonated a bomb and tried to attack an Israeli army post. Israeli soldiers opened fire and killed four of them.

Gaza-based social media released a video of a crowd of Palestinian demonstrators surrounding Islamic Hamas movement politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh to protect him from the tear gas.

Sources from Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, said that Haniyeh suffered light suffocation after he inhaled tear gas fired by Israeli soldiers at Palestinian protesters in eastern Gaza city close to the Israeli border.

Al-Qedra said that since the Palestinians staged the Great March of Return demonstration on March 30, a total of 204 Palestinians have been killed and more than 21,000 others wounded, at least half of whom were shot by live gunshots.