Palestinians tried to fly a Molotov cocktail attached to a kite over the border between Gaza and Israel as more than 10,000 protested along the fence for a third straight Friday.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Palestinians have no intention of giving up on their violent protests against Israel, no matter how many people have to die in the process. For a second week straight, over 10,000 Palestinians, under the direction of terror group Hamas, did their best to incite and provoke the IDF to shoot at them. But ironically, most of the bombs they hurled at Israel actually failed to reach thier target and blew up Palestinians instead.
The daring plot did not go as planned as the kite was instead blown into Gaza before it crashed to the ground and exploded. Another bomb was detonated near the Karni crossing, and may have caused Palestinian casualties.
Other demonstrators burned large Israeli flags and torched tyres while soldiers fired tear gas and live bullets at them from across the border fence as large plumes of smoke filled the sky. Gaza health officials said 363 people were wounded by Israeli fire or treated for tear gas inhalation, but did not provide a breakdown.
Among those hurt was a Gaza journalist who was shot in the abdomen, the officials said, making him at least the second reporter to be shot during the protests since March 30.
The Israeli military said demonstrators hurled an explosive device and several fire bombs near the fence in what it said was an apparent attempt to damage. Others tried to cut through the fence to either flee inside Israel or raid security infrastructure before returning.
Footage distributed by the military showed an area of the fence made up of several layers of barbed wire coils. Protesters stuck a Palestinian flag into the fence and affixed a rope, using it to tug at the coils.
One man threw a burning tire into the fence, while another was seen walking nearby with the help of a crutch.
Rights groups branded the Israeli military's open-fire regulations as unlawful, saying they permit soldiers to use potentially lethal force against unarmed protesters. Israel in turn accused Gaza's Islamic militant Hamas rulers of using the protests as a cover for attacks and says snipers only target the main 'instigators.'
The marches were organized by Hamas, but large turnouts on two preceding Fridays were also driven by desperation among the territory's 2 million residents.
Gaza has endured a border blockade by Israel and Egypt since Hamas overran the territory in 2007, a year after winning Palestinian parliament elections.
The blockade has driven Gaza deeper into poverty, with unemployment approaching 50 percent and electricity available for less than five hours a day. The marchers were protesting against the blockade, but also asserting what they say is a 'right of return' of Palestinian refugees and their descendants to what is now Israel.
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