One Palestinian has been killed and 15 injured, one of them critically, in the sixth consecutive night of rioting near the Gaza Strip-Israel border fence Thursday night, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. On what was the sixth consecutive night of such border riots, Gazans stormed the border, set off fireworks, and detonated explosive devices.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

Around 1:00 a.m., Palestinian media outlets reported Qatari envoy to Gaza Mohammed al-Emadi had entered the coastal enclave through the Erez Border Crossing. Al-Emadi was set to meet with senior Hamas officials ahead of the distribution of Qatari cash.

Ahmed Mustafa Salah was killed when the explosive device he was trying to throw at Israeli security forces exploded in his hand, according to various reports. Another rioter standing in close proximity to Salah was critically wounded.

Hundreds of rioters were stationed across various points stretching from the north to the south of the Gaza border, according to Palestinian media outlets. Rioters clashed with Israeli forces on the border, throwing IEDs, Molotov cocktails, and rocks, and burning tires. Israeli forces responded with riot control measures.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post Qatari envoy enters Gaza after 6th consecutive night of border riots appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Family members of Border Police officer Barel Hadaria Shmueli, who was fatally shot and wounded by a Palestinian terrorist along the Israel-Gaza border on August 21, are demanding a commission of inquiry into his death.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

A letter was sent to IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, as well as other senior military officials, by attorney Ran Cohen Rochberger, who represents the family.

It said, among other things, that the IDF failed to properly prepare for dispersing the violent Palestinian rioters, used insufficient means and stationed soldiers along openings in the barrier, despite the obvious dangers.

Amateur video from the Palestinian side taken during the rioting showed a protester running up to the concrete barrier and firing a pistol into a hole reportedly used by Shmueli. He succumbed to his wounds at Soroka Medical Hospital on Monday afternoon.

The post Family of officer shot at Gaza border demand military inquest appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

An initial IDF probe revealed that, contrary to the procedures, the soldier responsible for the shooting did not receive authorization to open fire from senior command. The soldier apparently believed that he was allowed to open fire because he was under the impression that the border fence was about to be breached.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

"An initial inquiry suggests that a Hamas operative arrived at the security fence on the Israel-Gaza border where two Palestinians were wandering the area," the military said in a statement. "It appears that IDF troops who arrived at the location misidentified the Hamas operative as an armed terrorist and fired as a result," the IDF added.

The soldier is expected to be questioned amid an inquiry into the incident.

Mahmoud Ahmed Sabri al-Adham, 28 from Jabalia, sustained mortal wounds, Gaza's Health Ministry announced on Thursday afternoon.

The Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing, confirmed in a statement that one of its operatives was "martyred by the Israeli occupation."

"The enemy fired deliberately on one of our border control personnel while fulfilling his duty. We will conduct our examinations and assessments concerning this grave crime. And we emphasize: this will not pass unnoticed and the enemy will bear the consequences," a follow-up statement warned.

The IDF targeted two observation posts in the northern and southern borders of the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian media, initially injuring a Hamas field commander tasked with surveying the border for potential attempts to breach the border.

He was shot in the leg by IDF forces east of Beit Hanoun in the north, and he later died of his wounds.

Palestinian media reported that the IDF was conducting an engineering operation by the Rafah border crossing before the shooting take place.

In another unrelated incident, Israeli military boats opened fire at Palestinian fishermen boats off the northwest coast of Gaza City.

This article was originally published by i24NEWS.

The post IDF: Soldier who killed Hamas operative near border not authorized to shoot appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

An Israel Defense Forces spokesman said "hundreds of rioters and demonstrators" had gathered along the border.

"The rioters were burning tires and hurling burning tires and firecrackers," the spokesman said, adding that the soldiers "responded with riot dispersal means" and operated "in accordance with standard operating procedures."

Gaza's Health Ministry said one Palestinian was shot dead and 20 others wounded. The man who was killed belonged to a group that systematically creates diversions using burning tires and firecrackers to distract Israeli soldiers, medical officials said.

As the violent clashes continued, Hamas operatives continued to launch remote arson attacks on southern Israel. Balloons carrying incendiary devices were launched over the Gaza border fence, sparking 12 wildfires in southern Israel.

In a slight deviation from the customary firebombs used by Gaza arson terrorists in recent months, balloons carrying more sophisticated explosives detonated over the Kissufim forest in southern Israel.  No injuries were reported in the incident.

Firefighter Hamad Abu Siam witnessed the explosion.

"I was looking up and I saw a bunch of balloons. Something fell and I heard an explosion. I realized that it was apparently explosives that had been tied to the balloons. I talked with the army, and they arrived on the scene," Abu Siam told Israel Hayom.

The Israel Police reported that military personnel had ensured that the area was safe. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit told Israel Hayom that they were not aware of a mass balloon detonation, despite the fact that soldiers had been scrambled to the scene and there is footage of the balloons exploding.

On Monday, Israeli Air Force aircraft executed a strike on a Hamas cell responsible for sending balloons into Israel.

Also on Monday, several dozen vessels attempted to sail from the Gaza Strip toward Israel. Once the boats were close to the maritime border, demonstrators on board set tires on fire. The IDF responded by firing shots in the air and at the boats, in accordance with live fire regulations.

With no end to the months of violence in sight, Gaza's Hamas rulers have announced a halt to their indirect cease-fire talks with Israel, which have been brokered by Egypt and the United Nations.

Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri on Sunday blamed the impasse on the Palestinian Authority, which has voiced its strong opposition to the talks.

Abu Zuhri said that in response, his Islamist group would escalate its protests in new locations along Gaza's border with Israel.

The post Gaza rioter killed as Palestinian arson attacks terrorize Israel appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Judging by past demonstrations, which have been staged on a weekly basis since late March, protesters were expected to throw rocks and firebombs at Israeli troops securing the border and try to breach the border fence and infiltrate Israeli territory.

A spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committee posted a call online for all Gaza residents to march to the border to protest the blockade on the Gaza Strip. "We will break the blockade, at any price," he wrote. "The price of freedom in blood."

Since the demonstrations began in March, 20,000 Gazans have been wounded in clashes with Israeli forces and dozens have been killed. Several of the wounded have criticized Hamas for organizing the demonstrations but then abandoning stricken participants.

Islamic Jihad spokesman Daoud Shahab told the Palestinian news agency Maan that the demonstrations would continue, because the residents of Gaza have no other means of pressuring Israel to lift the blockade.

Shahab added that the number of Palestinian demonstrators at the border marches has consistently increased, particularly since talks in Cairo regarding the blockade have yet to yield results.

On Thursday, the Israeli Air Force targeted a Palestinian terrorist cell launching incendiary balloons into Israel from the Gaza Strip, the Israeli media reported. Local reports in Gaza maintained that there were several casualties in the incident.

Meanwhile, incendiary balloons from Gaza set 10 fires in Israeli communities on Thursday. One such balloon carried a device that exploded some 300 feet from a residential area in the Sdot Negev regional council.

"The balloon terrorism is escalating, and today an explosive mechanism went off," the council said in a statement. "The device was spotted by our security chief and a police sapper unit was dispatched to the site and found its wreckage. We were extremely lucky not to have any casualties, as there were civilians nearby."

The head of the council, Tamir Idan, said that "this incident is a terrorist attack in every respect. We want a harsh response and we trust the IDF to take the necessary actions."

Earlier Thursday Eyal Hajbi, the chief of security at the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council, said that the incendiary balloons were gradually becoming more sophisticated, saying that recently they have been upgraded from mere arson devices to delivering grenades and explosives.

"We have seen an escalation when it comes to their quality, not their quantity. They can cause real harm and death," he said.

The post IDF braces for fresh violence on Gaza border appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The IDF said it used force necessary to repel 13,000 Palestinians who massed at several points on the fence.

Some hurled rocks, fire-bombs and grenades at troops under cover of smoke from burning tires, wounding one soldier. Nine Palestinians briefly crossed into Israel, the army said.

Gaza medical officials reported three Palestinians killed, one of them an 11-year-old boy, and at least 248 wounded Friday after taking part in the weekly border riots.

There were conflicting reports surrounding the death of the Gazan boy, which Palestinians initially blamed on Israel.

The IDF said its evidence shows the 11-year-old was hit by a rock thrown by protesters. Two Gaza rights groups said he died after being struck "with a solid object."

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Shady Abdel Aal was killed by Israeli fire. A ministry spokesman said Saturday he died from head wounds, without elaborating.

Asked about the boy's death, an IDF spokesperson said only that troops had adhered to their rules of engagement.

In May, the Gaza Health Ministry removed a baby from its official death toll after The Associated Press reported she died from a pre-existing medical condition, not from Israeli tear gas as it had claimed.

U.N. and Egyptian mediators have been trying to reach a deal to calm Gaza, where Israel and Hamas have fought three wars in the last decade. The brokering efforts have been complicated by Hamas' feuding with the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which has restricted funding to Gaza.

Hamas' cross-border arson campaign also continued unabated over the weekend, as a bundle of incendiary balloons landed in a theme park near a kindergarten in Kiryat Gat in southern Israel.

There were no casualties as a result of the incident. Another incendiary balloon landed in an agricultural field in the Sdot Negev Regional Council. Four fires were reported to have been caused in other locations by incendiary devices.

The post Conflicting reports surround Gaza boy's death as border clashes continue appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The Palestinians identified one of the teens as ‎Ahmad Abu Tayoor, 16, saying only that the other ‎victim was 17 years old. They said 200 protesters ‎were wounded Friday at a border riot organized by ‎Hamas.‎

The terrorist group that controls the Gaza Strip ‎launched its border riot campaign on March 30. Since ‎then, some 150 protesters have been killed.‎
The IDF said some 6,000 Palestinian demonstrated ‎near the fence. Rioters rolled burning tires at the ‎border fence and hurled stones and explosives at the ‎troops patrolling the fence. ‎

The troops responded with crowd control measures and ‎sporadic live fire. ‎
Earlier, the Palestinians released footage of Abu ‎Tayoor's alleged shooting. ‎
It shows the teen throwing rocks at the border fence ‎and shouting at soldiers who were observing the ‎incident from their position on the Israeli side of ‎the border before being shot.‎

Following the video's release, the IDF ‎Spokesperson's Unit issued a statement saying, ‎‎"Violent riots erupted along the Gaza border fence on ‎Friday. IDF soldiers responded with crowd control ‎measures, in accordance with the rules of ‎engagement, over attempts to breach the fence and ‎harm our forces.‎

‎"We are familiar with the claim that two people were ‎killed in the riots. The incidents will be ‎investigated by the relevant ‎commanders and the ‎findings will be handed over for ‎review by the IDF's ‎General Staff," the military ‎statement said. ‎

Also on Friday, the IDF carried out three strikes in ‎Gaza, one against an arson terrorist cell gearing up ‎to send incendiary balloons over the border and two ‎against Hamas positions in the Strip.‎

The post IDF to investigate death of 2 Palestinian teens in Gaza border riot appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

According to the Israeli military, some 7,000 ‎Palestinians took part in border demonstrations. ‎Troops opened fire to ward off rioters who threw ‎rocks and firebombs ‎and rolled burning ‎tires at the security fence in ‎attempts to sabotage ‎it.‎

The IDF targeted a Hamas position in Gaza on Friday ‎evening after Palestinians opened fire on Israeli ‎troops patrolling the northern side of the security ‎fence. No injuries were reported in this incident.‎

Also on Friday, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman ‎visited Kibbutz Or Haner, some 3 kilometers (1.8 ‎miles) from Gaza. ‎

‎"If we have Color Red here, Gaza will turn deep ‎red, too," Lieberman said, referring to the rocket warning system that operates across ‎the western Negev.‎

"We would prefer not to be dragged into war, and ‎we're doing everything we can to avoid a large ‎operation, but the ball is not in our court. I ‎highly recommend Hamas be wise about it," he said.‎

Commenting on the residents' criticism that Israel's response to ‎Hamas violence is not sufficiently forceful, ‎Lieberman said, "I think we are mounting a forceful ‎response. Do things need to go to the next level? ‎Probably, but at the end of the day, our ‎responsibility is to deal with all threats at all ‎times, to ensure the normal routine here – and ‎everywhere else. ‎

Channel 10 News reported that Prime Minister ‎Benjamin Netanyahu informed senior cabinet ministers ‎that a new initiative to resolve the humanitarian ‎crisis in Gaza was in the works with the aim of ‎facilitating a stable cease-fire.‎

Hadashot evening news reported that the recent ‎flare-ups on the Gaza border have prompted Lieberman ‎to propose dealing Hamas a more crippling blow, but ‎Netanyahu opposed the move.‎

Meanwhile, after a few relatively calm days, ‎Palestinian arson terrorism raged again over the ‎weekend, as 28 fires were sparked in Israeli ‎communities near the border by incendiary balloons. ‎

The terrorist arson campaign, launched in late ‎‎‎April, has so far decimated nearly 10,000 acres of ‎‎forest ‎and farmlands on the Israeli side of the ‎‎border. Incendiary kites and balloons have caused ‎‎millions of dollars in damage to the area over the ‎‎past three months and environmental experts ‎say it ‎‎will take at least 15 years to rehabilitate ‎the ‎‎vegetation and wildlife that have been destroyed. ‎ ‎
‎
‏ ‏

The post Gaza will turn 'deep red' if Israel is attacked, ‎defense minister warns appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Two Palestinians rioters were killedon Tuesday, during Hamas-orchestrated ‎Nakba Day demonstrations on the border, marking ‎the displacement of Palestinians during ‎Israel's 1948 War of ‎‎‎Independence.

Still, the international criticism leveled at Israel and Hamas over Monday's deadly riots prompted Hamas to pull back, as Tuesday's protests were far less ‎violent than expected. ‎

Only 4,000 violent rioters demonstrated along the border fence with Gaza on Tuesday, significantly fewer than the 40,000 who rioted there Monday. Despite the reduction in number, they also hurled Molotov cocktails, set tires on fire and sent incendiary kites into Israeli territory.

The military said troop opened fire at protesters who were hurling firebombs and grenades at the troops, as well as on terrorists who had fired on them and tried to set off explosives by the security fence.

The IDF revealed Tuesday that in one incident, Maglan special forces, who specialize in advanced warfare behind enemy lines, engaged and killed eight Hamas terrorists dressed as protesters.

The incident took place several feet from the security fence. Grenades, ammunition, weapons, landmines and cutting tools were found on the scene when the dust settled.

The IDF said the weapons were to be used by two cells, made up of four operatives each.

"This shows how terrorists exploit civilian protesters, hiding among them to carry out shooting attacks and place mines," said Maglan's deputy commander, Maj. I.

"We are ready for this and know how to identify this type of activity," he said. "The troops are constantly deployed in front of the demonstrators. There were some 1,500 demonstrators on the border and we could see how a number of operatives were directing protesters to move from place to place so that we would move also.

"At a certain point, we received intelligence about a cell that was going to try to carry out a terrorist attack. Then we saw that those same operatives were moving the masses and they quickly dispersed. At this stage, they started shooting and throwing pipe bombs and grenades at us. We returned fire at four terrorists and neutralized them. We then noticed a vehicle with another cell racing toward us and opening fire, and they were also neutralized."

I. said that "those directing the demonstrations are the same ones who give instructions to the masses to torch tires, throw stones and gather in front of IDF positions to divert the forces' attention in the hope that they could find the right moment to perpetuate an attack. Our mission is clear: to protect the towns of the area surrounding [Gaza]," he said.

In another incident Monday, Israeli soldiers killed three terrorists near Rafah in southern Gaza who, under the cover of fog, placed land mines along the border fence.

Also on Tuesday, the IDF presented additional proof that Hamas stepped up its use of civilians as human shields in an effort to portray Israeli soldiers attacking innocent civilians.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad increasingly hide behind women, children and people with disabilities until the time is right for them to strike Israeli troops. In addition, a trend has emerged of men dressing as women and approaching the fence intending to carry out attacks, the military said.

IDF soldiers have recently reported a phenomenon of women leading those approaching the fence every time there are disturbances. Almost all are reportedly armed with slingshots, some with Molotov cocktails.

The post IDF: Dozens of known terrorists among border riot fatalities appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.