Armed Palestinian killed in Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza

The IDF targeted an armed Palestinian near the security fence in northern Gaza, as violence continues at the border with Israel. Palestinian health officials confirmed his death.

By: World Israel News Staff

Mojahid al-Khodari, 23, was killed in Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza early on Thursday, while a second man died from wounds sustained in last week’s mass protest along the Gaza-Israel border, health officials in the Gaza Strip said.

The armed protesters were shot after refusing to heed warnings not to approach the border or refusing to stop throwing rocks and firebombs at Israeli soldiers, the IDF said.

The fatalities bring to 21 the number of Palestinian casualties in confrontations at the Israel-Gaza border since last Friday, when over 30,000 Gazans marched to the security fence bordering Israel in a violent “March of Return.”

Palestinians were burning tires and throwing Molotov cocktails and stones at the border fence and at IDF forces. At least 10 of the 16 Palestinian men killed in the clashes were members of terror groups, the IDF stated.

“The Israel Defense Forces will not allow Israelis’ security to be compromised and will act against terrorists,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said in a statement Thursday.

Hamas vows to continue the border protests every Friday until May 15, the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel, which Palestinians and anti-Israel activists observe as “Nakba” (“Catastrophe”) Day.