Gazans mass to mourn Islamic Jihad members, breaking virus lockdown

In violation of a coronavirus lockdown, thousands of mourners are packing the streets of the al-Shuja’iyyeh neighborhood in Gaza City for the funeral of four members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad killed yesterday in an explosion, according to reports in Palestinian media.

جنازة شهداء الشجاعية قبل قليل pic.twitter.com/NSyXYwlUI2

— حسن اصليح | Hassan (@hassaneslayeh) August 25, 2020

Hamas health authorities ordered a 48-hour total lockdown yesterday after several coronavirus cases were discovered in al-Magahazi camp. To comply with lockdown regulations, a senior official in Islamic Jihad announced the funeral would be for “the families of the martyrs only.”

The four Islamic Jihad members were killed yesterday in an apparent accident, while preparing explosives, although Islamic Jihad says that it “holds Israel responsible for every drop of blood spilled” in the coastal enclave.

— Aaron Boxerman