Israel Soldier, 19 Palestinians Wounded In Riot Along Gaza Strip Border

An Israeli soldier was moderately injured by a fire bomb thrown by a Palestinian during a riot Sunday night along the Gaza Strip border. During the same clashes, 19 Gazans were injured by Israeli gunfire, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. The rare mid-week protest suggests that Gaza’s terrorist rulers—which have been spearheading so-called “March of Return” demonstrations every Friday for almost a year—may be seeking to increase tensions with a view to thrusting the enclave’s humanitarian predicament back into the international spotlight. Israel and Hamas were on the verge of a full-blown war in November, which was averted by a last-minute cease-fire agreement that essentially reset the status quo established following the 50-day conflict in 2014. While relative quiet has since persisted, the fundamental issues that make the theater so combustible have not been resolved despite intensive mediation efforts by Egyptian, Qatari and United Nations officials. A recent Israeli army intelligence assessment warned that Hamas is liable to spark a war in the near future to coax countries into sending it financial aid.