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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) – Israeli forces shot dead Palestinians Friday, Gaza in West Bank protests and one in West Bank, and Palestinian militants later fired several rockets into southern Israel.
In Gaza, the deadly escalation followed by two protests along the perimeter fence with Israel that saw no fatalities.
The bloodshed is likely to complicate the mission of Egyptian mediators, who intensified their shuttle diplomacy to achieve calm and prevent a full-blown conflict between Gaza's Hamas rulers and Israel.
Late Friday, Israeli army said 10 to 12 rockets were fired from Gaza into southern Israel communities. Israel's Iron Dome defense system intercepted several missiles, it added.
Earlier, thousands of Palestinians gathered at five locations along the boundary, burning tires and throwing rocks, grenades and firebombs at Israeli troops who respond to tear gas and occasional live fire.
The Israeli army said some suspects briefly crossed the fence. In a separate incident, Hamas military posts in the northern strip.
Three of the dead were reported in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, according to the ministry. Witnesses said that dozens of protesters approached the fence there.
In northern Gaza, a 27-year-old man died after being shot in the head, the ministry said. It added that 170 other protesters sustained various injuries.
The militant Hamas group has scaled down the deadly protests over the past two weeks to Egypt stepped up its efforts to secure calm.
On Wednesday, Egyptian intelligence officials put representatives of Palestinian factions in Gaza. Loan Qarouti of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command said the mediators asked them to "protect the lives of protesters and minimize losses."
Hamas, which seized Gaza in 2007, and the West Bank-based Administration of President Mahmoud Abbas.
Aim Hamas maintains a strong face of crippling blockade Israel and Egypt
The blockade has made it difficult for Hamas to govern. Widespread desperation among Gaza's 2 million residents – who get a few hours of electricity and water, and their participation in the Hamas-orchestrated protests.
Since the marches started six months ago, at least 160 Palestinians present or took part in the protests have been killed. A militant Gaza fatally shot an Israeli soldier in July.
Israel accuses Hamas of the infiltrations and attacks. It says it is defending its borders and accuses Hamas of exploiting young protesters and encouraging them to risk their lives in the world.
Israel has come under heavy international criticism for what we have seen.
In the West Bank, a 33-year-old Palestinian man was killed and nine others wounded by live rounds, one in critical conditions, as the Israeli forces confronted stone throwers in a village near Ramallah city, doctors said.
