Palestinians say 31 wounded as Gazans riot along border

Some 8,000 Palestinians were protesting along the Gaza Strip border on Friday, with some rioting and throwing rocks and fire bombs at Israel Defense Forces soldiers who responded with tear gas and occasional live fire.

According to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry 31 people were wounded. The IDF had no immediate comment.

The protests were held at various locations along the border under the banner of Hamas’s ongoing “March of Return” demonstrations that have been held almost every Friday for more than a year.

The exchange also came amid ongoing efforts to implement a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

Egypt, the United Nations and Qatar recently brokered ceasefire understandings between Israel and Hamas, which Hebrew media reports have said include an end to violence emanating from the Gaza in exchange for the Jewish state easing some of its restrictions on the movement of people and goods into and out of the coastal enclave.

Since last March, Palestinians have been holding weekly “March of Return” protests on the border, which Israel has accused Gaza’s Hamas rulers of using to carry out attacks on troops and attempt to breach the security fence. Hamas, an Islamist terror group, seeks to destroy Israel.