Palestinians in Gaza were expected to protest in large numbers on Friday following deadly Israeli air attacks and artillery shelling on the besieged strip. On Wednesday, Israel killed three people in Gaza, including a 23-year-old woman who was almost nine months pregnant and her 18-month-old daughter.
Israel launched more than 140 attacks after about 150 rockets were fired from the coastal enclave. A statement by Hamas’ military force said it was responsible for the rockets. It said the Palestinian resistance had fired a large number of projectiles at “enemy positions in the Gaza envelope.”
Nickolay Mladenov, the UN’s special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said on Wednesday he was “deeply alarmed by the recent escalation of violence between Gaza and Israel.”
Israeli forces have launched three military assaults on the Gaza Strip since 2008.
Protests take place every Friday on Gaza border, with Palestinians calling for their right to return to the homes and land their families were expelled from 70 years ago.
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