Gaza: A Palestinian man shot by Israeli occupation regime recently in Gaza border died on Friday, the health ministry announced. Yasser Habib, 24, was wounded several days ago east of Gaza City, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, dozens of Palestinians demonstrating at the Gaza border were injured by Israeli occupation regime gunfire and tear gas on Friday, as the latest round of protests drew several thousand participants to the frontier.
Dubbed the March of Return, the protests were launched on March 30 to demand the right of return for Palestinian refugees and their descendants to family lands or homes lost to Israel during the 1948 war.
Protests along the border reached a peak on May 14 when at least 61 Palestinians were killed by Israeli regime gunfire. The Israeli killings have tapered off since but there are still sporadic flare-ups.
Since the border protests began, 115 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, Gaza medical officials said.
Most of the participants on Friday kept their distance and remained about 800 metres from the fence. Dozens of youths, however, advanced to around 300 metres distance and burnt tyres at one protest spot.
Israeli occupation troops fired tear gas and live rounds. They also fired at kites with flaming tails to try to bring them down before they landed in Israeli farmland and set crops alight.
Gaza health ministry officials said at least 109 protesters were hurt. Medics said at least 10 were wounded by live rounds.
Hamas chief Esmail Haniyeh and the group’s Gaza leader, Yahya Al Sinwar, joined separate protest encampments raising cheers from the assembled crowds.
“The marches of return are not over. They may be smaller but we are continuing,” said Ali, a participant who masked his face with his T-shirt at a protest east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
Protesters dispersed as dusk fell to prepare to break their fast.
Gaza has been controlled since 2007 by the Islamist group Hamas. Israel and Egypt, citing security concerns, maintain a de facto blockade on Gaza, which has reduced its economy to a state of collapse.
