GAZA, Palestine

An Anadolu Agency photographer was injured by Israeli gunfire Friday while covering clashes between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip.

Metin Yuksel Kaya was injured when a bullet hit his hand in al-Shujaiyeh neighborhood, east of Gaza City.

Kaya was transferred to the hospital for further treatment. His camera was broken.

Five Palestinians shot dead

Five Palestinians were killed and 25 others were injured Friday after Israeli forces opened fire at a demonstration in eastern Gaza, a medical official said.

“Five Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire during clashes with Israeli forces in al-Shujaiyeh neighborhood east of Gaza City,” Ashraf Al-Qedra, spokesman of the Gazan Ministry of Health, said.

At least 25 others were injured after Israeli forces opened fire, he added.

The Israeli army, for its part, said that 200 Palestinians had approached the border fence from the Gaza side.

 3rd Intifada?

Hamas Deputy Chief Ismail Haniyeh said Friday that the West Bank and Jerusalem are rising up against the Israeli occupation, noting that Gaza will not give up its strategic role and stands ready to confront Israel.

“The intifada is taking place in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem,” he said. “It is the only way for liberation after 20 years of failed negotiations.”

Haniyeh called on the Palestinian Authority to halt security coordination with Israel and embrace the resistance.

Ongoing tension in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem was exacerbated last week by the killing of two Jewish settlers near the Jewish-only Itamar settlement near the West Bank city of Nablus.

Over the past seven days, several violent clashes have erupted between Palestinian youths and Israeli troops in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.