GAZA, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Clashes broke out on Friday between hundreds of Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli soldiers stationed on the border between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel, Gaza-based media and eyewitnesses said.

They said that hundreds of demonstrators approached the fence of the border with Israel, waving Palestinian flags, chanting anti-Israel slogans and throwing several percussion bombs at the soldiers.

The Israeli soldiers fired tear gas and gunshots and rubber-coated metal bullets at the demonstrators to disperse them. Paramedics said that several demonstrators were shot and injured, while others suffered suffocation.

No injuries have been reported, according to local media.

Eyewitnesses said that the soldiers opened fire at a group of Palestinian young men who approached the fence of the border, trying to vandalize the barbed wire of the fence.

Security sources in Gaza said that an Israeli army tank stationed at the border opened fire on Friday afternoon at a military lookout post in Gaza, with no injuries reported, according to local media reports.

Tension between Israel and Hamas is growing up after Hamas refused to receive the third installment of the Qatari grant, saying that it refuses to bargain calm for money and insists on carrying on the weekly anti-Israel marches.