Israel reinforces troops around Gaza ‘against incursions’ as border protests enter 7th month

Israel said it was reinforcing troops around the Gaza Strip on Thursday as a precaution against incursions by Palestinians during violent protests along the border. The Israeli military statement seemed to suggest stronger action at the frontier to foil any further Palestinian attempts to breach Israel’s security fence during the demonstrations, which began in March, Reuters said. Israel accuses Gaza’s dominant Hamas Islamist group of inciting violence at the border, an allegation it denies. Hamas has controlled Gaza since 2007, during which time it has fought three wars with Israel. Since the protests began in March at least 193 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, according to medics in Gaza. One Israeli soldier has been killed by a Palestinian sniper.