Gaza City - One Palestinian was killed and dozens injured by
Israeli gunfire during protests along the Gaza border on Friday, a
Gaza Health Ministry spokesman said.
The protests come despite Hamas announcing late Thursday that a
ceasefire had been reached with Israel after two days of cross-border
fire that killed three Palestinians, including one Hamas militant.
Ashraf al-Qedra, spokesman for the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry,
said the killed Palestinian was a volunteer medic treating
demonstrators along the border.
At least 45 Palestinians were injured by Israeli gunfire on Friday
and 35 others were hospitalized for other injuries sustained during
the protests, al-Qedra said.
Hamas has been orchestrating near-weekly protests along the Gaza
border since March 30. Since then over 160 Palestinians have been
killed in the protests and confrontations with Israeli army.
Israel says that Hamas - considered a terrorist group by the US and
much of the West - is using the protests as a mask to attempt attacks
on Israeli border communities.
The truce was brokered overnight by Egypt and UN Middle East envoy
Nickolay Mladenov, according to Hamas-run al-Aqsa television.
Israel has not confirmed the agreement but a spokesman for Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier Thursday evening that the
security cabinet had "instructed the [Israeli Defence Forces] to
continue to act with force against perpetrators of terror."