Hundreds of Palestinians converged near the security fence that separates the Gaza Strip from Israel on Friday to participate in the weekly anti-occupation protests known as the Great March of Return.
Holding Palestinian flags, the protesters flocked to five different areas in the eastern Gaza Strip.
32 INJURED FROM BULLETS
The Higher National Commission of the Great March of Return and Breaking of the Gaza Siege, formed by Palestinian factions, named this Friday’s rallies the “Al-Aqsa Intifada” in reference to the second Palestinian Intifada which erupted on Sept. 28, 2000.
The ministry added that 32 of them were injured by live bullets, without explaining the nature of the other injuries. Since the Gaza rallies began in March last year, nearly 270 protesters have been martyred and thousands more wounded by Israeli forces at the security fence with Gaza.
Demonstrators demand an end to Israel’s 12-year-old blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has shattered the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its 2 million inhabitants of free movement in and out from Gaza and many basic amenities.