4 Palestinians İn Gaza Hurt By Israeli Gunfire

Four Palestinians were shot and injured on Friday by Israeli gunfire near the Gaza Strip's border with the self-proclaimed Jewish state, eyewitnesses have said.



An Israeli army patrol opened fire on four Palestinian youths who approached the border fence that separates the northern Gaza town of Jabaya from Israel, witnesses added.



Palestinian Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qodra told The Anadolu Agency that the four youths, whose ages range between 18 and 20 years, had sustained moderate injuries after being shot in the legs by Israeli troops.



The injured youths were rushed to the Kamal Adwan Hospital in the city of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, he said.



The Israeli army has yet to comment on the incident.



Israel occasionally announces the arrest of Palestinians who attempt to cross from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel in search of work.



Unemployment and poverty rates in the blockaded coastal strip have both surpassed the 50-percent mark, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.



Gaza's labor union estimates that nearly 30,000 workers in the Gaza Strip are jobless due to Israel's devastating military onslaught this summer, along with another 170,000 who have lost their jobs as a direct result of Israel's years-long blockade of the Palestinian territory.



At least 2,160 Gazans were killed and nearly 11,000 injured in Israel's 51-day offensive in July and August.



The offensive finally ended on August 26 with an Egypt-brokered cease-fire deal between Israel and Palestinian resistance factions.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Gazze