At least six Palestinian protesters were injured on Friday by Israeli troops near the Gaza-Israel security fence, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
“Six demonstrators were injured to varying degrees in the eastern the Gaza Strip, with many suffering temporary asphyxia from teargas,” ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said in a statement.
Earlier Friday, demonstrators began congregating at makeshift camps established along the security fence to take part in ongoing rallies against Israel’s decades-long occupation.
Since Mar. 30, when Palestinians began staging mass rallies near the security fence, more than 125 demonstrators have been martyred -- and hundreds more injured -- by Israeli army gunfire.
Protesters demand the “right of return” to their homes in historical Palestine from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.
They also demand an end to Israel’s decade-long blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its two million inhabitants of many basic commodities.
