Israeli soldiers shot and injured, on Saturday, four Palestinian young men with live ammunition, and injured dozens of others, during demonstrations along the separation fence, in the eastern regions of the besieged Gaza Strip.
Hundreds of Palestinian young men flocked, on Saturday afternoon, to sites near the separation fence east of Gaza City, in the northern part of Gaza, east of Khan Younis and Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
Israeli soldiers positioned in military barracks and armored military vehicles fired many live rounds and tear gas canisters at demonstrators who burned rubber tires, waved Palestinian flags, and chanted nationalistic slogans.
The Ministry of Health, in a statement, said that Israeli forces shot four young men with live rounds, and local sources reported that dozens more suffered the toxic effects of tear gas inhalation.
Sources added that the army targeted medics and journalists with tear gas canisters.
Hebrew sources reported that the army fired showered demonstrators with live rounds, tear gas canisters, and concussion grenades, claiming that protestors hurled explosive devices at them.
They added that dozens of “incendiary balloons” were launched from the Gaza Strip, which drifted east to Israeli settlements inside Israel, and that a military jeep was struck by a bullet.
Large numbers of Palestinian youths gathered, for the ninth consecutive day, to express their opposition to the 17-year-long Israeli blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip, the ongoing violations against Palestinians and prisoners, and to show their support for the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
On Friday, Israeli forces shot 31 Palestinians, 30 of whom were shot with live ammunition, including a child who was shot with a tear gas canister, while dozens of others sustained inhalation injuries from tear gas exposure.
