Israeli Occupation Forces Open Fire on Great March of Return, seven Palestinians Killed, over 550 Injured
GAZA– Israeli occupation forces opened fire at thousands of Palestinians who participated in the Great March of Return along Gaza borders marking Land Day 42nd anniversary. At least seven Palestinians have been killed and more than 550 others have been injured since Friday morning, said medical sources, according to the Palestinian WAFA News Agency.
Earlier the Agency reported that a Palestinian farmer was killed and another injured several hours before the Great March of Return as an Israeli tank shell struck east of Qarara village in the southern Gaza district of Khan Younes.
The slain Palestinian, identified as Omar Samour, 27, had been reportedly gathering crops to sell later.
On Friday afternoon, two more Palestinians were killed by Israeli snipers along Gaza border.
One of the fatalities was identified as Amin Mahmoud Mu’ammar, 38, from Rafah in the southern Gaza and the other slain Palestinian was identified as Muhammad Kamal Najjar, 25, from eastern Jabalia refugee camp in the northern strip.
Later on, medical sources confirmed that two others were killed by Israeli snipers. The fatalities were identified as Muhammad Abu Omar, 19, and Ahmad Ibrahim Odeh, 16, from the northern Gaza Strip.
Israeli troops intensively fired tear gas canisters and live ammunition at the peaceful march, injuring 356 protestors, including 10 who sustained critical injuries after being hit with live rounds in their upper extremities.
Press TV reported that thousands of Palestinians march near the Gaza fence where Israel has positioned tanks and snipers for fear of mass attempts to break through the barrier.
Nevertheless, a number of protesters entered within a few hundred meters (yards) of the heavily fortified fence Friday to mark the annual Palestinian Land Day.
On the “buffer zone”, men, women, and children gathered in “The Great March of Return” to demand the right of return for those Palestinians who have been driven out of their homeland due to the Israeli occupation.
The March 30 date for the start of the protest marks “Land Day” commemorating the six Arab citizens who were killed by Israeli troops during demonstrations in 1976 over land confiscations in northern Israel.
Camping and protests in Gaza are expected to continue until May 15, the day Palestinians call the “Nakba” or “catastrophe”, marking the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the conflict surrounding the creation of Israel in 1948.
H.M