File photo
Scores of Palestinian demonstrators have been killed near the Gaza-Israel buffer zone within the last six months, but the stories of these intrepid protesters -- who insist on defying Israel’s decades-long occupation -- remain largely unknown.
Men, women, boys, girls: they come from all over the Gaza Strip. One young girl runs from side to side, trying to avoid the deadly hail of Israeli bullets and clouds of teargas.
The trademark black-and-white Palestinian keffieh wrapped around her neck, she advances ever closer to the frontline: the heavily-fortified buffer zone separating blockaded Gaza from Israel.
An Egyptian security delegation has managed to reach a de-escalation deal between Israel and Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip, according to a Palestinian source.“The Egyptian mediation succeeded in halting the escalation that broke out early today in Gaza,” the source told Anadolu Agency, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media.According to the source, the delegation made intensive contacts with faction leaders in Gaza and Israeli officials with a view to restoring calm.Palestinian gov’t condemns Israeli attacks in GazaThe delegation arrived in Gaza on Tuesday for talks with Hamas leaders on inter-Palestinian reconciliation and truce with Israel.On Wednesday, Israeli warplanes carried out a series of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire into southern Israel.One person was martyred in the Israeli attacks, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.The Israeli army said it bombed 20 targets throughout Gaza, including an underground tunnel, going on to hold Palestinian group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, responsible for the escalation. Israel using Saudi statements on Khashoggi: OfficialIsraeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman also announced on Wednesday that all crossings into Gaza were being shut and the fishing zone around the Palestinian territory was being limited.Since March, more than 200 Palestinians have been martyred and thousands more injured by Israeli army fire in anti-occupation protests along Gaza border. Demonstrators demand an end to Israel’s 12-year Gaza blockade and the right to return to their homes in historical Palestine from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.Palestinian factions slam rocket fire into IsraelGazan martyred in fresh Israeli airstrikeIsrael conducts airstrike on Gaza Strip
Egypt brokers de-escalation deal in Gaza: Source
She finds herself beside a number of other Palestinian protesters -- other children like her and several elderly people -- all of whom have converged on the buffer zone to express their rejection of the status quo.
Since the demonstrations began on March 30, more than 200 Palestinians have been martyred -- and thousands more injured -- by Israeli army gunfire.
Protesters demand the right to return to their homes in historical Palestine, from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.
They also demand an end to Israel’s 12-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its roughly two million inhabitants of many basic commodities.
The Ramallah-based Palestinian government on Wednesday condemned Israeli airstrikes in the blockaded Gaza Strip.“The non-stop escalation in Gaza is part of [Israel’s] escalation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem,” government spokesman Yousef al-Mahmoud said in a statement.He held the Israeli government responsible for the safety of Palestinians and their property in the seaside enclave.Palestinian factions slam rocket fire into Israel“Israel is continuing to violate international law and regulations and is committing crimes against the Palestinian people,” he said.Israeli warplanes carried out a series of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday in response to rocket fire into southern Israel.One person was killed in the Israeli attacks, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.The Israeli army said it bombed 20 targets throughout Gaza, including an underground tunnel, going on to hold Palestinian group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, for the escalation.Gazan martyred in fresh Israeli airstrikeIsraeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman also announced on Wednesday that all crossings into Gaza were being shut and the fishing zone around the Palestinian territory was being limited.Since March, more than 200 Palestinians have been martyred and thousands more injured by Israeli army fire in anti-occupation protests along Gaza border. Demonstrators demand an end to Israel’s 12-year Gaza blockade and the right to return to their homes in historical Palestine from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel. Israel conducts airstrike on Gaza Strip
Palestinian gov’t condemns Israeli attacks in Gaza
Defiance
Frequently at the frontline, Saadiyeh Haniyeh, a 54-year-old Palestinian medic, provides treatment to a young demonstrator suffering from teargas exposure.
“Even though Israeli occupation forces use teargas and bullets against us, we will continue to demonstrate to demand our rights,” Haniyeh told Anadolu Agency.
She went on to urge the international community -- especially the Arab states -- to take action against Israel’s crippling blockade.
Protester Reda al-Banna, 43, says she will continue to take part in the almost-daily rallies until all the demonstrators’ demands are realized.
“We are participating in these demonstrations as a means of defending our land -- and our rights -- which the occupation stole from us,” she told Anadolu Agency.
An Israeli security official said Israel is relying on official statements coming from Saudi Arabia regarding missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi."Tel Aviv is counting on statements made by Saudi Arabia, not stories coming out from Turkey," the official told the London-based Elaph newspaper, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media.The Israeli official argued that reports emerging from Turkey “were not based on evidence” and that Tel Aviv indirectly stood with Riyadh over the case.Recordings reveal Khashoggi tortured then dismembered while still aliveHe said Israel was waiting for the completion of a Saudi-Turkish joint probe into Khashoggi’s disappearance.The security official claimed that international media was counting on social media accounts while reporting on Khashoggi’s case, instead of Saudi sources.The official’s statement is the first reaction coming from Israel regarding the disappearance of the veteran Saudi journalist.Five Khashoggi suspects linked to crown prince: NY TimesAccording to Elaph, the Israeli media did not give much coverage to the case.Yossi Melman, a security analyst from Israel's Maariv Daily, had previously argued that Israeli intelligence service Mossad might have been involved in Khashoggi’s case."I hope that Mossad doesn't have a hand in the murder of Khashoggi, not even indirectly," he had said.He cited that Mossad had been involved in the abduction of Mehdi Ben Berka, a Moroccan opposition leader who disappeared in Paris in 1956.Khashoggi, a columnist for the Washington Post newspaper, has long been feared killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul after he entered on Oct. 2 and was never seen exiting.US's Pompeo to meet President Erdoğan, Turkish counterpartOn Monday, Turkish and Saudi officials searched the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul after the start of a joint probe into the missing journalist.Saudi authorities have yet to give a clear explanation of what happened to Khashoggi, while several countries -- particularly Turkey, the U.S., and the U.K. -- are pressing for the mystery to be cleared up as soon as possible.
Israel using Saudi statements on Khashoggi: Official
Solidarity
Near the buffer zone’s northernmost segment, one young protester braves the teargas and gunfire with a Palestinian flag wrapped around his face. Carrying a bag full of stones to throw at Israeli soldiers, he gradually approaches the frontline.
But before he gets there, he is clipped by an Israeli bullet and abruptly falls to the ground. With the help of a friend, he is put aboard a Palestinian ambulance and whisked off to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Almost immediately afterward, several more young Palestinian protesters set several tires ablaze near the site where their friend was injured.
Dubbed the “Kushuk Unit”, these young protesters specialize in setting fire to car tires, the thick black smoke from which obscures the vision of Israeli snipers deployed along the other side of the buffer zone.
Palestinian resistance factions said rocket fire from the Gaza Strip into Israel undermines Egyptian efforts to achieve inter-Palestinian reconciliation and truce with Israel.In a statement on Wednesday, the factions said they “reject all irresponsible attempts that seek to sabotage the [Egyptian] effort.”An Egyptian security delegation arrived in Gaza on Tuesday for talks with Hamas officials regarding inter-Palestinian reconciliation and truce with Israel.In their statement, the Palestinian factions affirmed their readiness to “confront all Israeli aggression”.Gazan martyred in fresh Israeli airstrikeEarly Wednesday, the Israeli army carried out a series of airstrikes in Gaza in response to rocket fire, killing one man and injuring three people, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman also announced on Wednesday that all crossings into Gaza were being shut and the fishing zone around the Palestinian territory was being limited.Since March, more than 200 Palestinians have been martyred and thousands more injured by Israeli army fire in anti-occupation protests along Gaza border.Demonstrators demand an end to Israel’s 12-year Gaza blockade and the right to return to their homes in historical Palestine from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.Australia says trade agreement with Indonesia on track despite Israel commentsIsrael conducts airstrike on Gaza Strip
Palestinian factions slam rocket fire into Israel
Resistance on high seas
The ongoing rallies along the buffer zone have been accompanied by similar protests off Gaza’s coast, where Palestinian activists have staged demonstrations near Gaza’s maritime border with Israel.
One such protest was held on Oct. 8, when more than 20 Palestinian vessels -- bearing dozens of activists -- approached the maritime border in defiance of the Israeli Navy.
Naval forces eventually opened fire, however, leaving at least 29 activists suffering injuries, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Israel first imposed its blockade on Gaza in 2006 after resistance movement Hamas -- which supports armed resistance to Israel -- swept Palestinian legislative polls.
Israel tightened the blockade the following year (while Egypt, too, sealed its border with Gaza) after Hamas seized the entire strip -- which it still holds today -- from rival Palestinian faction Fatah.