Israeli forces have unleashed a new wave of terror on protestors in Gaza, killing two and injuring scores more. 32 of the injured are said to be children, with three medics and two journalists also amongst the wounded.
Opening fire with live ammunition and gas at the weekly Great Return March, Israeli forces are said to have fired indiscriminately on protestors who were nowhere near the partition fence. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights has accused Israeli forces of using excessive force against unarmed protesters.
One the deceased was Ra’ed Khalil Abu Teir, 19, who died from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Abu Teir is said to have been located near tents far from the partition fence when he was killed and was already suffering an injury after being shot last week. The second death was Ramzi Rawhi ‘Abdo, 31, who died from a gunshot wound to the head, east of al-Boreij in central Gaza.
Injuring 82 in all, amongst the injured were 32 children and five women. Four of those injured, including one girl, have suffered life-threatening injuries.
In a particularly vile act, Israeli troops also carried out an attack on a Palestinian ambulance using a high-velocity gas bomb east of Rafah. The attack was just one of several during the march where Israel ignored international law, injuring two journalists and three medics who were attempting to provide assistance to the many injured.
Data from the Palestinian Center for Human Rights shows that Israel has so far killed 204 Palestinians since the beginning of the Great March of Return just over a year ago, 44 of them children. The numbers killed also include two women, three medics, two journalists and eight people with disabilities.
Amongst the wounded, 548 remain in serious condition and 137 have had their lower or upper limbs amputated. 25 of those undergoing amputations are children. Thousands of others have suffered the effects of tear gas inhalation and sustained severe bruising.
In wider statistics, approximately 10,000 Palestinians have been killed since 2000 by Israeli actions, 2,200 of them children, five times as many people as lost their lives during the September 11 attacks in the United States. During that same period, an astonishing 100,000 Palestinians have been wounded.
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