Thousands of Palestinians held mass-demonstrations along the Gaza Strip’ border-barrier with Israel, during violent protests to mark the 71st anniversary of what Palestinians call the “Nakba”, Arabic for catastrophe, which refers to their perception of the outcome of the 1948 Jewish-Arab war, following the creation of modern-day Israel, when thousands of Arabs either fled or were expelled from lands that are now part of the Jewish state.
During the course of the demonstrations, that were held in several locations along the Gaza-Israel security-fence, groups of rioters set tires on fire and hurled rockets and a number of explosive devices towards Israeli forces that were stationed along the frontier.
According to the IDF spokesperson’s unit, the “IDF troops responded with riot dispersal means,” and in several incidents – in accordance with the rules of engagement that were dictated by Jerusalem – opened live fire toward rioters that sought to damage the frontier’s security infrastructure, cross the border-barrier into Israel, or in cases of imminent dangers to the deployed Israeli forces.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, at least 47 Palestinians were wounded, though it was not clear how many of those were hit by live ammunition or were hurt by rubber bullets or by inhaling tear-gas.