The Gazan was killed Tuesday afternoon (April 3) in clashes with IDF soldiers on the border with Israel has been identified as a prominent operative in the military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) terrorist organization.
Throughout the day, dozens of Palestinians participated in violent riots in 4 main locations along the Gaza border. IDF troops used riot dispersal means, and fired towards suspects who were involved in damaging the security fence pic.twitter.com/RgtkZiBwuG
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson)
Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry said Tuesday that 25-year-old Ahmed Arafa who was shot in the chest during clashes east of Bureij on the border in central Gaza and died of his wounds a short while later.
The IDF declined to comment on the report, saying the incident was under investigation.
But Arab affairs news blogger ‘Abu Ali’ reported Tuesday evening that the DFLP issued a statement saying that Arafa was one of the group’s most prominent fighters in its ranks.
Tuesday’s death brings to 18 since Friday the number of Gazans killed while engaged in actively threatening or attacking the security fence or IDF soldiers along the border.
To date, 16 of the 18 dead have been positively identified as military fighters with clear connections to terrorist organizations. Ten were convicted terrorists, including eight members of Hamas, one member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization and one member of the Fatah-linked Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades.
Hamas has said it intends to maintain the tent city along the border and encourage the ongoing disturbances until May 15, the date marked by the Arabs as “Nakba” — the “catastrophe” — the day following the rebirth of the Jewish State of Israel.
