Israeli forces kill 3 Palestinians near Gaza fence

By Saeed Amouri

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Three Palestinians were martyred by Israeli army fire near Gaza Strip's security fence, the Palestinian Health Ministry said on Sunday.

A ministry statement, however, did not give further details about the deaths, which came hours after the Israeli army said its forces had fired toward armed suspects near the fence.

Last week, Israeli forces shot dead four Palestinians near the security fence for allegedly attempting to sneak into Israel.

Tension has risen along Gaza-Israel buffer zone in recent days with Israel accusing Gaza-based resistance factions of firing rockets from the Palestinian territory into Israel.

On Saturday, the Israeli army said three rockets had been fired from Gaza, two of them were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system.

Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, reached an informal cease-fire in May after the worst bout of violence since 2014.

Palestinians have been staging weekly protests near Gaza border to demand an end to a 12-year Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip, which has shattered the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its two million inhabitants of many basic amenities.

Since the Gaza rallies began last year, nearly 270 protesters have been martyred -- and thousands more wounded -- by Israeli troops deployed near the buffer zone.