Gazans Prepare for ‘Friday of Martyrs’ after Zionist Massacre

Palestinians are gathering for fresh protests in the Gaza Strip after Zionist massacre of more than 60 people in the besieged enclave on Monday, Iran Daily reported.

The committee which organized weekly “March of Return” rallies has called on the Gazans to come out en masse on the first day of the fasting month of Ramadan, under the slogan “Friday for the martyrs and the wounded.”

Israeli snipers, tanks and armored vehicles remain deployed near the Gaza fence after they killed at least 62 Gazans on the same day the US opened its embassy in occupied al-Quds.

 Tens of thousands of people have been protesting along the fortified fence since March 30, calling for Palestinian refugees and their descendants to be allowed to return to their homes now inside Israel.

On Thursday, Israel carried out airstrikes on what it described as militant sites in Gaza, apparently targeting Hamas which it accuses of organizing protest rallies. The Palestinian Health Ministry said one man was injured during the attacks.

UN voting to probe Gaza attacks

Israel was also scrambling to thwart a special session by the United Nations Human Rights Council on Friday to decide whether to dispatch “an independent commission of inquiry” to investigate allegations of Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

The team would be mandated to look into “alleged violations and abuses, including those that may amount to war crimes and to identify those responsible,” read the text of a resolution submitted on Thursday night.

The commission should look at “ending impunity and ensuring legal accountability, including individual criminal and command responsibility, for such violations,” it added.

The Israeli mission at the United Nations has been ordered to prevent the investigation, said a Thursday report by Israel’s Channel 10. 

International condemnation of the Israeli killing, which shocked the world by the ferocity of the regime’s response to protests, is continuing. On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the “heinous acts” committed by Israel.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki, who was addressing a meeting of the Arab League, also called the carnage “a bloody racist massacre committed by the Israeli occupation forces in cold blood against our defenseless people.”

More than 2,700 Palestinians were wounded as the Israeli forces used snipers, tank fire and tear gas to target the demonstrators. A Canadian physician was shot by an Israeli sniper in both legs while treating the injured.

“Canada deplores and is gravely concerned by the violence in the Gaza strip that has led to a tragic loss of life and injured countless people,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday.

“We are appalled that Dr Tarek Loubani, a Canadian citizen, is among the wounded – along with so many unarmed people, including civilians, members of the media, first responders, and children.”

Protesters have hoped to draw attention to a dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where the economy has collapsed under an Egyptian-Israeli blockade since 2007.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Thursday he had made a rare decision to open the Rafah crossing with Gaza for a month, allowing Palestinians to cross during the holy period of Ramadan.

The Rafah crossing is Gaza’s only gateway to the outside world not controlled by Israel, but Egypt has largely sealed it in recent years under a security cooperation agreement with the regime.

R.S