Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Saturday that Hamas leaders are "solely responsible" for the continued bloodshed on the Israel-Gaza Strip border, as the European Union and a top United Nations official demanded an investigation into the shootings of unarmed Palestinians by Israeli soldiers.
Four Palestinians, including 15-year-old Mohammed Ayoub, were killed on Friday in the fourth week of mass Palestinian demonstrations on the border.
The Israeli military had dropped leaflets in the Gaza Strip ahead of the protest, warning residents to stay away from the security fence. While the number of protesters arriving at the border has diminished weekly, thousands of Palestinians still clashed with IDF troops each week.
Rioters near the border hurled firebombs at the Israeli troops and set tires on fire with the aim of using the thick smoke as cover to conceal attempts to breach the security fence and plant explosives, the IDF said.
"Hamas leaders are solely responsible for the death of the 15-year-old boy in Gaza," Lieberman tweeted.
"Hamas' cowardly leaders hide behind women and children and send them forward as human shields, so that they can continue to dig tunnels and carry out terrorist attacks."
The Palestinians said Ayoub was about 150 meters (490 feet) from the fence when he was shot by Israeli troops. The IDF said it was investigating the incident.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, the latest deaths brought the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in protests since late March to 34. More than 1,600 have been wounded by live rounds over the past three weeks.
U.N. Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov criticized Israel, tweeting, "It is outrageous to shoot at children! How does the killing of a child in Gaza today help peace? It doesn't! It fuels anger and breeds more killing. Children must be protected from violence, not exposed to it."
The European Union urged the Israeli military to "refrain from using lethal force against unarmed protesters."
In response, former English-language IDF Spokesman Lt. Col. (res.) Peter Lerner tweeted to Mladenov: "Please go to Gaza, engage Hamas and get them to stop sending people to the fence."
The Palestinian protests are expected to culminate on May 15, coinciding with the planned relocation of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said Saturday that on May 15, the scenes on the Gaza border will be "replicated" on other Israel's borders.
"I say to our people everywhere, be prepared for a human deluge on all of the borders of Palestine, inside the occupied land and outside the occupied land. I say to them [Israel], your time is up," Haniyeh said.
On Saturday, the IDF released photos and videos depicting Hamas' use of young boys to set tires on fire near the border. Under the cover of smoke, the boys are seen charging the security fence and uprooting part of it to enable infiltration into Israel.
Human rights groups have alleged that Israel's orders to troops on the border are unlawful because they effectively allow soldiers to open fire on unarmed demonstrators.
Ayoub's father, Ibrahim, said Saturday that his son was murdered in cold blood.
"Mohammed did not deserve to be executed," he said.
"He was not holding a stone or a gun. Mohammed was not running toward the fence."
Some Palestinian protesters attached firebombs to kites and sent them over the border with the aim of starting fires in Israel.
Several fires did erupt in nearby communities from kite bombs crashing there.
Yaakov Gabbai, commander of the Israel Fire and Rescue Services' Southern District, said that recent kite attacks have damaged hundreds of acres of farmlands near the border.
