Israeli troops wound 75 Palestinians in Gaza protests

By Yaser Albanna and Ayse Sumeyra Aydogdu

GAZA (AA) - At least 75 Palestinians were injured Friday during protests in eastern Gaza.

Palestinians converged near a fence that divides the Gaza Strip and Israel after Gaza’s National Authority for Return and Breaking the Siege (NARBS), which organizes weekly rallies, called on Palestinians to attend the demonstration.

Forty-two of the wounded were hit by live fire from Israeli troops stationed along the fence and 18 of the injured were women and children, according to a statement from the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The statement did not provide details on their conditions.

Israeli troops also targeted two ambulances that arrived to treat the injured, according to the ministry.

An Anadolu Agency photojournalist was wounded earlier while covering peaceful rallies in the Gaza Strip.

Ali Jadallah was shot in the forehead with a rubber bullet but is in stable condition.

Since the Gaza rallies began in March last year, nearly 270 protesters have been martyred and thousands more wounded by Israeli troops deployed near the buffer zone.

Demonstrators demand an end to Israel’s 12-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has shattered the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its two million inhabitants of many basic amenities.