News / Palestine

Israeli forces attack Palestinian protesters in Gaza, injure 240

Friday, 31 August 2018 7:08 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 31 August 2018 7:16 PM ]

Palestinian protesters demonstrate near the fence east of Gaza City on August 31, 2018, as smoke rises from burning tires and Israeli tear gas canisters. (Photo by AFP)

At least 240 Palestinians have been injured in attacks by Israeli forces on a protest held in the Gaza Strip near the fence between the besieged enclave and the occupied Palestinian territories.

Ashraf al-Qedra, the spokesman of Gaza Health Ministry, reported that Israeli forces attacked Palestinians on Friday. The wounded include three medics and a journalist.

The spokesman added that 82 of the injured were transferred to hospital.

A 10-year-old boy and a female medic, Shorouk Abu Mesameh, were in critical condition.

Tensions have been running high near the fence since March 30, which marked the start of a series of protests dubbed “The Great March of Return.” Palestinian protesters demand the right to return for those driven out of their homeland.

The clashes in Gaza reached their peak on May 14, the eve of the 70th anniversary of Nakba Day, or the Day of Catastrophe, which coincided this year with Washington's relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem al-Quds.

Israeli fire has taken the lives of more than 170 Palestinians since March 30.

On June 13, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution, sponsored by Turkey and Algeria, condemning Israel for Palestinian civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip.

Gaza has been under Israeli siege since June 2007, causing a decline in living standards as well as unprecedented unemployment and poverty.

Israel has also launched several wars on the Palestinian sliver, the last of which began in early July 2014 and ended in late August the same year. The Israeli military aggression killed nearly 2,200 Palestinians and injured over 11,100 others.

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