Israeli fire wounds 11 Palestinians at Gaza protest

GAZA, Palestinian Territory – Gaza’s Health Ministry says 11 Palestinians have been wounded by Israeli gunfire in a protest along the territory’s land and sea boundary with Israel.

Monday’s beach demonstration was part of a half-year-long protest campaign by Gaza’s Hamas rulers.

Protesters on fishing boats fixed Palestinian flags on a fence that extends into the Mediterranean. On land, other protesters briefly breached the frontier under the cover of smoke from flaming tires.

Israeli soldiers responded with tear gas and live fire.

Hamas is seeking an end to a crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade imposed after the militant group seized control of Gaza in 2007. It has intensified the protests recently after cease-fire talks broke down.

Israeli fire has killed 148 Palestinians since the marches began. A Gaza militant fatally shot an Israeli soldier in August.