Explosion in Gaza Strip kills 2 Palestinians

By Safiye Karabacak

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Two Palestinian civilians were killed and eight others injured in an explosion at an eastern neighbourhood of the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Health Ministry said on Saturday.

The incident took place in Shejaiya neighbourhood after fireworks exploded, said Ashraf al-Qidra, the ministry spokesman, in a statement.

The situation has been tense across the Gaza fence amid rallies by Palestinians against Israeli occupation of their lands.

Since the rallies began on March 30, at least 132 Palestinians have been martyred -- and thousands more injured -- by Israeli army gunfire, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

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 draconian blockade of the Gaza Strip, which for the last 11 years has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its 2 million inhabitants of many basic commodities.