TEL AVIV – Footage of Palestinian protesters faking injuries and using children as human shields in border riots was released by the IDF Saturday night.
One clip shows a group of Gazans carrying a supposedly wounded demonstrator on a stretcher (see above), but towards the end of the clip, the demonstrator falls off the stretcher and gets up completely unharmed and walks.
“Throughout Hamas’s activity, fake injuries and the exploitation of women and children are rampant,” the IDF said in a tweet.
“This was all intended to disguise terror activity, including hurling explosives & grenades, attempted infiltrations, & burning Israeli land.”
In another clip, children as young as five and six are seen rolling tires and hurling rocks. They are also shown being taken by the hand by older rioters to be used as cover, or human shields.
During riots on Friday evening, Palestinians broke into the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom border crossing, which is mostly used for bringing humanitarian aid into the Strip, and set fire to a gas pipeline, the army said.
According to IDF officials, Gazans vandalized their own supply infrastructure even though Gaza is already suffering a major energy crisis.
“This is a cynical act that harms the welfare of Gaza residents and the humanitarian efforts carried out by Israel and many other countries,” the army said.
Also over the weekend, Palestinians were caught breaching the border and planting Molotov cocktails near the border fence.
In another video, Gazans are seen affixing kites with petrol bombs and sending them over the border to set Israeli territory alight. Several fires have been started in Israel by the kites.
This is the sixth week of protests at the border with Gaza. Hamas, the terror group that rules the Strip and supports the protests, has said the goal is to eliminate the border and “liberate Palestine.”
According to Hamas health ministry figures that are not independently confirmed, 48 Palestinians have been killed since protests began on March 30 and hundreds of others have been wounded.
Hamas co-founder Mahmoud Zahar has in the past threatened that the terror group would attack “settlements deep inside Israel” if the IDF attacks Gaza.
Zahar vowed that the unrest would continue until the Palestinians return to “all of Palestine.”
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar also vowed to “breach the borders and pray at Al-Aqsa,” in reference to the Muslim holy site on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
The protest will be ongoing until May 15’s Nakba Day – the day of “catastrophe” that marks the establishment of the State of Israel, which this year celebrates its 70th anniversary.