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A Palestinian protester hurls stones at Israeli troops as others gather during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, east of Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Friday, April 27, 2018. Palestinians converged on the Gaza border with Israel for a fifth round of weekly protests Friday, some throwing stones and burning tires, as a top U.N. official urged Israel to refrain from using excessive force against them. AP/PTI)[/caption]
Jerusalem, April 28 (IANS): The Israeli military fighter jets have targeted six military targets belonging to Hamas's naval force in the northern Gaza Strip, said the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
The IDF said the strike on Friday night came in response to "terror activity and mass attempt to infiltrate into Israeli territory earlier in the day", Xinhua news agency reported.
The Israeli army said in a statement issued on Friday overnight that Hamas led hundreds of rioters in a violent mass infiltration attempt towards Israeli territory, during which they "hurled explosive devices, hand grenades and firebombs at IDF troops and attempted to set the security fence on fire."
Israeli media cited Palestinian media as reporting that four people were injured in strikes on a position belonging to Hamas at a port in Gaza City in the northern Strip.
For several weeks, "Hamas has orchestrated riots as a disguise for acts of terror carried out against security infrastructure, security forces and civilians," noted the Israeli army.
The IDF viewed with "great severity" the Hamas continued attempts to turn the area adjacent to the security fence into a combat and terror zone under civilian cover, said the Israeli army.
"The IDF will not allow the cynical use of civilians, including women, children and people with disabilities as a cover for ongoing terrorist activity against Israeli civilians and IDF troops, and will continue to respond to any such attempts," said the IDF.
Earlier Friday, three Palestinians were killed and at least 833 Palestinians were wounded in the "Great March of Return" along the Israel-Gaza border for the fifth week in a row, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.