Some 12 Palestinian Protesters Injured Amid Clashes With IDF in Gaza - Ministry

"Twelve Palestinians were injured by Israeli soldiers in clashes on the eastern borders of the enclave," the Gaza Health Ministry's spokesman Ashraf Qidra said.

According to the spokesman, among those wounded was a child, who was hit in the chest with a bullet. He was now at a hospital, with his condition considered serious.

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Tensions between Israel and Palestine near the Gaza border have been mounting since late March, since the beginning of the Great March of Return.

Egypt’s intervention halted the most intense round of armed confrontation between the conflicting parties in the past four years — the Palestinians had fired almost 500 missiles and mortar shells at southern Israel, while the Israelis conducted strikes on over 150 buildings and facilities in the Gaza Strip. This truce, the ninth since the beginning of the year, provoked a coalition crisis in Israel, with Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman resigned in protest over the cessation of strikes.

Last week, at least 40 Palestinian protesters were injured in clashes with Israeli troops near the Gaza Strip border. The number of victims noticeably decreased, however, in comparison with previous days, when hundreds of people were killed. Local residents attribute the weakened protests to both bad weather and the efforts of Egyptian mediators in working on a long-term settlement project.