IDF deploys along Gaza border in anticipation of mass protests

Israel is gearing up for another showdown with Hamas-backed demonstrators on the Gaza border, with the IDF deploying snipers and tanks for the third consecutive week ahead of an expected mass Palestinian protest.

Friday’s protest is the third of what Gaza’s ruling Hamas terror group said would be several weeks of “March of Return” demonstrations, which Hamas leaders say ultimately aim to see the removal of the border and the liberation of Palestine.

Last Friday, about 20,000 Palestinians demonstrated along the Gaza border in what Israel has described as a riot orchestrated by Hamas, and what Palestinians say was supposed to be a peaceful protest. The previous week there were an estimated 30,000 protesters.