Six Palestinians have been killed in the past 24 hours due to Israeli army attacks on the Gaza strip, and in the West Bank, nonviolent resistance continues. These stories and more coming up stay tuned.

The Gaza strip

Palestinian sources stated on Thursday that four Palestinians were killed in several parts of the Gaza strip due to Israeli attacks on the costal region.

Medical sources in southern Gaza reported that two members of the al-Qassam brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, were killed on Thursday morning by gunfire from Israeli Special Forces in the Abasan area of eastern Khan Younis. Israeli Special Forces invaded the area of Abasan on Thursday at dawn and clashed with Palestinian resistance fighters, killing two. Both were members of the al- Qassam brigades of Hamas.

Later in the day, the Al-Quds brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, stated that two of its resistance fighters were killed on Thursday. The statement said that the two men were killed while fighting with Israeli Special Forces near the site of an evacuated Israeli settlement in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip. On Wednesday night, two Palestinian children were killed when Israeli tanks shelled the northern part of the costal region.

The West Bank

On Thursday morning a group of 50 Palestinian, Israeli and international peace activists closed the settler road, number 44, for more than two hours. Road 44 cuts through several villages near the central West Bank city of Ramallah and was used by Palestinians living there to reach Jerusalem. Five years ago the Israeli army closed the road to Palestinians and is now only open to Israelis living in illegal settlements.

The protesters closed the road with their bodies and iron pipes. Israeli troops used batons and physical force to remove the protesters. Eyewitnesses told IMEMC that the protest ended after two hours. Four international and one Israeli activist were kidnapped by the army and taken to a nearby Israeli police station.

Two Palestinians were kidnapped by the Israeli army from the Jenin refugee camp in the northern part of the West Bank. The kidnappings took place in the early hours of Thursday morning. Both men were taken to an unidentified detention center.

Conclusion

Thank you for joining us from occupied Bethlehem. You have been listening to Palestine Today from the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, brought to you by Louisa White and Ghassan Bannoura.