5 Palestinians injured in night clashes with Israeli soldiers in eastern Gaza: medics

Gaza, March 6 (Xinhua) -- At least five Palestinians were injured on Wednesday night during clashes with Israeli soldiers in eastern Gaza city close to the border with Israel, medics said.

Ashraf al-Qedra, spokesman of the Health Ministry in Gaza, told reporters that five Palestinian young men were shot and wounded by Israeli soldiers' gunfire in eastern Gaza, adding that one of the five was critically injured.

Every night, dozens of Palestinian young men gather close to the border between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel carrying out night protests, also known as night disturbance activity.

Israeli media outlets reported that the Palestinian young men burned tires and threw dozens of homemade bombs at the Israeli army forces stationed behind the fence of the border.

No injuries were reported among the soldiers.

Israeli Radio reported that the Palestinians released arson balloons carrying explosives from the Gaza Strip into Israel. The balloons landed into southern Israel, causing no harms or injuries.

Meanwhile, Islamic Hamas movement's spokesman in Gaza said in a press statement that as long as Israel is evading a calm understanding brokered by Egypt, the settlements in the suburbs of Gaza will pay the price.

Hamas and other Palestinian factions "are determined to oblige the Israeli occupation to be the merits of the calm understandings," he added.

On Tuesday, a senior Egyptian security intelligence delegation held talks with leaders of Hamas and other factions to boost the calm understanding and also to end the internal Palestinian division and achieve reconciliation.

Egypt, the United Nations and Qatar have been mediating talks over the past few months between the Palestinian factions and Israel to reinforce the calm understanding between the two sides.

The calm understanding was reached to calm down tension between the two sides as a result of the Marches of Return, which started almost one year ago against Israel, where 260 Palestinians killed and more than 26,000 injured.

The Marches of Return are demanding Israel to end around 12 years of blockade that had been imposed on the Gaza Strip right after Hamas had violently seized control of the coastal enclave and routed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas security forces. Enditem