Gaza protests along border called off after Israel airstrikes

Weekly protests along the Gaza-Israel border were called off on Friday after a military escalation between the Jewish state and Palestinian militants, organizers have said. They added that protests will resume in the coming weeks, with particular preparation for the one-year anniversary of their beginning on March 30, AFP reports. The cancelation, the first of its kind in a year, came after Israel said its aircraft struck dozens of Hamas targets in Gaza overnight in response to rockets fired from the enclave, including at Tel Aviv. Palestinian sources say that in exchange for the ceasefire said to have gone into effect at 8am local time, Israel demanded that no Gazans turn up at the border on Friday. The decision to cancel the protests is also seen as part of a ceasefire agreement brokered by Egypt.