Islamic Jihad and al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades blamed Israel for any escalation between the Gaza Strip and Israel following the clashes on Friday.Hamas also released a public statement placing all the responsibility to any escalation on Israel's door, citing a "national, religious and moral duty" to strike against Israel "to defend the blood and interest of our people." "We place the responsibility for aggression and dangerous escalation on the criminal occupation," said Islamic Jihad, "our people have the right to defend themselves."
The statement followed the death 19-year-old Palestinian protester, as reported by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, and the four injured Hamas members after IAF jets struck the Gaza Strip.The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades said that the 'Zionist enemy' is to blame for the death of 'martyrs' and that "crimes and escalation must be retaliated for."Two IDF soldiers were injured after Palestinian snipers fired on them during clashes between IDF forces and thousands of Palestinian protesters across the Gaza Strip border on Friday.In response, IAF struck a Hamas outpost at the center of the strip and the IDF shelled Bureij refugee camp. Forty Palestinians were injured in the protests they refer to as "March of Return."