3 Gazans martyred as ‘Return’ marches gather momentum

By Nour Abu Aisha

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - At least three Palestinians were martyred by Israeli army gunfire on Friday -- and dozens more were injured -- near the Gaza Strip’s eastern border with Israel, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

“Since the morning, Gaza's hospitals have received three martyrs,” ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra told Anadolu Agency.

“Two of them were taken to Gaza’s European Hospital, and a third was taken to Gaza’s Shifa medical center,” he said.

The ministry has not provided the names of the three slain Palestinians.

“The two hospitals have also received dozens of injured demonstrators,” al-Qidra added.

Since Friday morning, tens of thousands of Gazans have converged on the strip’s roughly 45-kilometer eastern border with Israel to reaffirm their right to return to their ancestral homes in historical Palestine.

Dubbed the “Great Return March”, Friday’s mass demonstrations are also intended to pressure Israel to lift its decade-long blockade of Gaza.

The rallies have been endorsed by virtually all Palestinian political factions, which have repeatedly stressed the event’s peaceful nature.

Since 2007, the Gaza Strip has suffered from a crippling Israeli/Egyptian blockade that has gutted its economy and deprived its more than 2 million inhabitants of many vital commodities.