Palestinians on Saturday buried eight of their dead — a woman killed when a stone hit her in the head while riding in a car in the West Bank, an attack blamed on Jewish settlers, and seven who were shot by Israeli troops during protests in Gaza the previous day.

It was the latest aftermath of another day of violence in the coastal strip. The Israeli military said 14,000 Palestinians had thronged the border fence areas, burning tires and throwing rocks, firebombs and grenades at soldiers stationed atop earth mounds on the other side of the barrier.

The 48-year-old Palestinian woman and mother of eight, Aisha Rabi, was traveling with her husband and two daughters on Route 60 near the Tapuach junction when she was struck in the head by a stone.

Her husband, Yacoub, said that a big stone was thrown by settlers on Friday evening as they drove near the village of Za’tara, south of Nablus. He said his daughter, who was also in the car, was unharmed.

Her husband said that he went to fetch his wife from a wedding of a relative in Hebron, and on the way back to their village their car was attacked.

“I continued driving while calling out to her ‘Aysha, Aysha,’” he recounted. “Our nine-year-old daughter, who was sitting in the back seat, was crying and screaming as she watched her mother injured.”

Her cousin, Isam Rabi, said the family’s car was pelted with stones. Aisha was rushed to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Israel said it was investigating the incident and imposed a gag order on the process.

The area is near several ultranationalist Jewish settlements. Last Sunday, a Palestinian terrorist killed two Israelis, 28-year-old Kim Levengrond-Yehezkel and 35-year-old Ziv Hajbi H”YD in the Barkan Industrial Park. And on Thursday, a Palestinian man stabbed and wounded an Israeli soldier there, raising the possibility of a revenge attack.

Thousands of relatives and neighbors attended Aisha’s funeral later Saturday. Her body was wrapped in a Palestinian flag as grievers carried the coffin to the cemetery.

“With our blood and our spirit we will redeem the martyr,” shouted the angry mourners. Aisha’s brother, Ibrahim Bolad, said there was no doubt, “settlers threw stones at the car.”

The Hamas terror group, which rules the Gaza Strip, condemned her death.

In Gaza, funerals were held for seven Palestinians shot dead by Israeli troops during Friday’s weekly protest. Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’ political leader, attended one of the funerals, pledging to keep up the protests until a decade-long Israeli-Egyptian blockade is lifted.

Breaking: Terrorists detonated a bomb on the Israel-Gaza border fence and attacked an IDF position INSIDE Israel. All of the terrorists were killed by IDF troops. More to follow. pic.twitter.com/qM0bBZrvAu

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDFSpokesperson) October 12, 2018

Since March, Hamas has orchestrated near-weekly protests along the security fence dividing Gaza and Israel, pressing for an end to a stifling Israel-Egyptian blockade imposed since the militant group wrested control of Gaza in 2007.

Of the seven killed on Friday, four died in one location, where the Israeli military said it opened fire on a crowd of Palestinians who had breached the fence and approached an army post. One Palestinian was initially wounded and died later in hospital. No Israeli troops were harmed, the army added.

The army said several Gazans tried to infiltrate into Israel again on Saturday through the fence but returned after being warned by the military. One Palestinian was arrested and taken in for questioning.

The blockade has restricted Hamas’ ability to govern and plagued most of Gaza’s 2 million residents. Electricity is supplied for roughly four hours a day, unemployment stands at more than 50 percent and tap water is unpotable.

Repeated attempts to reconcile Hamas and the administration of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have all but faltered, increasing the desperation that has in large part fueled the demonstrations.

Hamas seeks a cease-fire with Israel securing an easing of the blockade but accuses its rivals in the West Bank of thwarting the effort. In recent weeks, it has stepped up its campaign, holding nighttime protests and adding new locations, such as along the beach. Hamas says the escalation of protests is a response to the unresolved cease-fire talks.

(AP / YWN)