UPDATE - 9 Palestinians injured in clashes on Gaza-Israel border

UPDATES WITH NUMBER OF INJURED; CHANGES HEADLINE, LEDE

By Mohamed Majed and Ali Semerci

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - At least nine Palestinians were injured by Israeli army gunfire on Friday amid clashes that erupted on the Gaza Strip’s eastern border with Israel, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The injured Palestinians sustained gunshot wounds to the feet and legs during clashes that broke out near the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, the ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qadra said in statement.

None of them suffered life-threatening injuries, he added.

Earlier on Friday, dozens of Palestinian youths marched toward Gaza’s fraught border with Israel, where they hurled stones at Israeli troops stationed on the other side.

According to an Anadolu Agency correspondent at the scene, Israeli troops responded to the protesters with teargas, rubber bullets and live ammunition.

The Palestinian territories have remained tense since Dec. 6, when U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, drawing condemnation from across the Arab and Muslim world.

Since then, at least 19 Palestinians have been martyred -- and thousands more injured -- in fierce clashes with Israeli forces in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip.