Israeli troops fire on Gaza protesters, wounding 52

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Israeli soldiers fired live rounds at Palestinian protesters, injuring 52 on the 23rd Friday of anti-occupation rallies that began in March.

In a statement, Gaza’s Health Ministry said the Palestinians were injured at the eastern Gaza border.

A volunteer medical worker and a 10-year-old child were in serious condition, the statement said, adding 188 Palestinians had also been affected by .

The protesters are demanding 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 are also demanding an end to Israel’s 11-year blockade of the Gaza Strip which has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its 2 million inhabitants of basic commodities.

Since the Gaza rallies began on March 30, more than 170 Palestinian protesters have been martyred and thousands more injured by Israeli troops deployed along the other side of the buffer zone.

Reporting by Safiye Karabacak; Writing by Sena Guler