Palestinian demonstrators gather at the Israel-Gaza border fence during a protest in the southern Gaza Strip August 25, 2021. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

i24 News – The Israeli military is reinforcing its troops along the Gaza border in anticipation of a planned Hamas-led demonstration there on Wednesday.

Two special forces units, a tank company and a number of snipers were deployed to the Gaza border area Tuesday ahead of protests that Palestinian groups said they intended to conduct on Wednesday.

Pressure is being exerted against the military and the Israeli government following a protest on Saturday, which was more violent than IDF planners anticipated.

Dozens of Palestinians, including a 13-year-old boy with a head injury, were reported wounded by Israeli fire, and an Israeli Border Police marksman was shot in the head and critically wounded.

A series of tactical errors by Israeli forces on Saturday allowed Palestinian demonstrators, some of whom were armed, to approach a border separation wall. In the ensuing skirmish a Palestinian fired a handgun through a hole in the wall through which Bar-el Hadaria Shmueli had placed his rifle.

Militant groups in the Gaza Strip launched several waves of incendiary balloons into southern Israel, and the Israeli military hit targets in the enclave with airstrikes.

Hamas is reportedly escalating tensions with Israel due to dissatisfaction with arrangements for subsidies of Qatari money.

Yesterday, reports in Palestinian media suggested that Hamas would curtail its use of incendiary balloons at the behest of the Egyptian government — which often acts as a mediator between Gaza and Jerusalem.

Israel and Gazan armed groups fought an 11-day conflict in May which resulted in the deaths of around 250 Palestinians and 13 Israeli residents.