4 Palestinians die in Gaza, Hamas accuses Israel of violating truce
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E-mail Xinhua, November 24, 2012
Four Palestinians died in the Gaza Strip on Friday, one of whom shot dead by Israeli army during a demonstration near the border with Israel and another three died of wounds sustained from previous Israeli strikes, medics said.
After the shooting incident, an official of Islamic Hamas movement which rules the Gaza Strip accused Israel of breaching the Egyptian-brokered cease-fire agreement, reached earlier this week.
Medics and witnesses said that Israeli soldiers stationed at the border area opened fire Friday morning at a group of Palestinian farmers who went to check their farms after eight days of intensive Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.
"Early Friday, a group of farmers tried to approach their farms adjacent to the borderline between eastern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis and Israel... Six farmers were wounded when Israeli soldiers directly fired at them," an eyewitness said.
He said that after the shooting incident, dozens of residents marched towards the fence of borders. One of the demonstrators running towards the fence with a Palestinian flag was shot dead, while 19 others were wounded by Israeli soldiers' gunfire.
Ashraf al-Qedra, spokesman of the Hamas-run ministry of health, told reporters that a 20-year-old young man named Anwat Qudeih was killed and 25 others were moderately to seriously injured by Israeli soldiers' gunfire east of Khan Younis.
Ambulances have taken the dead young man and other wounded people for medical treatment at the European hospital east of Khan Younis, said al-Qedra.
Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas spokesman, said in a press statement emailed to reporters that Israel has breached the cease-fire agreement.
"We believe this is the first breaching of the agreement and we have contacted Egypt, the sponsor who brokered the cease-fire agreement. Hamas hasn't decided how to respond to the Israeli breaching of the agreement, but we hope that such violations won't be committed again," said Abu Zuhri.
On the Israeli side, a military spokesman told Xinhua that Israeli soldiers initially fired warning shots in the air, then towards the Palestinians' legs when some of them attempted to breach the barrier and enter Israeli territory.
"Earlier today, 300 Palestinians approached the southern border fence along the Gaza Strip at a number of different locations, began rioting and damaging the fence," the Israeli spokesman said. "IDF forces (Israel Defence Forces) in the area acted to distance the rioters from the fence."
Israeli army also said it currently has no knowledge of casualties in the incident.
Israel launched a large-scale aerial operation on the Gaza Strip on Nov. 14, and ended it on Nov. 21, leaving 168 Palestinians and six Israelis killed and more than 1,200 Palestinians wounded, most of whom were civilians.
Three of the 1,200 wounded Palestinians in the Gaza Strip died Friday, according to Al-Qedra.
Meanwhile, Hamas said in a press statement emailed to reporters that the Israeli army carried out a campaign of arrests against its activists and members of parliament in various West Bank towns. According to Hamas, Israel arrested on Friday 28 Palestinians, including five parliament lawmakers and top leaders of the movement in the West Bank cities of Ramallah, Qalqilia and Hebron.
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