A Palestinian boy holds a tear gas canister fired by Israeli troops during a protest calling for lifting the Israeli blockade on Gaza and demanding the right to return to their homeland, at the Israel-Gaza border fence in the southern Gaza Strip October 5, 2018. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
Reposted from IMEMC:
Three Palestinians were killed and 376 others injured by live bullets, rubber-coated steel bullets, concussion grenades and tear gas canisters fired by Israeli forces at the latest ‘Great March of Return’ protests at the Gaza-Israel border on Friday.
126 of the wounded were hit by live bullets fired by Israeli forces.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the Israeli troops fired live bullets and rubber-coated steel rounds at the protesters who gathered at many encampments along the border, killing three protesters and injuring 376 others, including 126 by live gunfire. Seven of the cases were described as critical.
A number of the wounded protesters had to be rushed to the hospital, while the rest were treated in field clinics.
An ambulance en route to the hospital was directly targeted by an Israeli teargas canister, which caused damage to the ambulance.
Since the weekly protests began on March 30th, 2018, Israeli forces have killed 198 Palestinians, and wounded more than 22,000 – more than 4,000 of them wounded with live ammunition fired by Israeli soldiers toward the demonstrators.
The protests call for ending the 12-year-long Israeli blockade of Gaza and for the right of return of the refugees.
Many of the casualties – more than 60 – occurred on May 14 when Israeli forces attacked Palestinian protesters marking the 70th anniversary of Israel’s occupation of historical Palestine and the ensuing ethnic cleansing of half a million Palestinian refugees.
