UPDATE - Two Palestinians martyred along Gaza-Israel buffer zone

UPDATES WITH NUMBER OF INJURED PALESTINIANS

By Mohamed Majid

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - At least two Palestinians were killed Friday by Israeli army gunfire -- and another 126 injured -- amid ongoing demonstrations along the Gaza-Israel buffer zone.

In a statement, Ashraf al-Qidra, a spokesman for Gaza’s Health Ministry, said that one of the two martyrs -- neither of whom has yet been identified -- was a minor.

According to al-Qidra, “dozens” of Palestinian protesters were affected by teargas while 126 others, including 10 women and 30 children, sustained gunshot injuries.

Seven of the injured persons were in serious condition, he added.

Demonstrators demand the “right of return” to their homes and villages 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 11-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its two million inhabitants of many basic commodities.

According to the Health Ministry, more than 190 Palestinians have been martyred -- and 20,000 others injured -- since the rallies first began on March 30.