BICOM

A Palestinian man was shot dead by the IDF yesterday as he broke through the Gaza fence amid continued tensions along the Israeli-Gaza border.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry named the man as 25-year-old Ahmed Arafa. The military wing of the terrorist group the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine identified him as a member.

Shortly after news of Arafa’s death, the IDF released surveillance camera footage which showed one person smashing the fence with a metal pipe, who is then joined by four others, two of whom cross the fence before running back into Gaza.

The Health Ministry said Arafa was shot in the chest during clashes east of Bureij in central Gaza, bringing the total number of dead since Friday’s “Grand March of Return” to 18. Twelve have been named and identified as members of Hamas and other terrorist organisations by the IDF or by the organisations themselves.

In a letter to the UN Security Council (UNSC) yesterday, Palestinian Authority (PA) Ambassador Riyad Mansour said that Israel’s “shoot-to-kill policy” during what he called peaceful demonstrations “intentionally, grossly and systematically” violates its legal obligation to protect civilians and international law. He expressed support for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s call to launch a transparent and independent inquiry into the incidents on the Gaza border.

During a tour of Israeli communities on the periphery of Gaza, Israel Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman rejected these claims: “I think the [IDF] operated exceptionally well, as expected, and I have no doubt that we will continue to act in the same way in the days to come.”

He added: “We have set clear rules of the game and we do not intend to change them. Anyone who approaches the fence endangers his life, and I would recommend that Gaza residents put their efforts not into protesting against Israel, but into regime change within the Strip.”

Following Friday’s events in Gaza, leader of the left wing Meretz Party Tamar Zandberg called for “an independent Israeli investigation, including examining the rules of engagement and military and diplomatic preparedness for the events.”

In related news, the Egyptian Minister of Intelligence Abbas Mustafa conducted a secret visit to Israel yesterday. He met with Shin Bet Chief Nadav Argaman, who relayed a message to the Hamas leadership in Gaza saying that Israel would not display tolerance toward Hamas in the coming days and weeks. On Friday, Hamas is reportedly planning to set fire to thousands of tyres all along the border and to blind IDF soldiers with mirrors.