RNA - The spokesman for the Gaza Ministry of Health, Ashraf al-Qidra, said in a statement that 14 civilians were struck with live bullets during “The Great March of Return” protests east of Gaza City.
Qidra went on to say that Israeli military forces directly targeted three ambulances, two of which belong to the Palestine Red Crescent Society.
He noted that three Palestinian paramedics and two journalists were injured as well.
Lebanon-based Arabic-language al-Mayadeen television news network reported that its correspondent in Gaza, Ahmed Ghanem, had been injured in his foot while covering the protest rallies. He was taken to hospital to receive medical treatment.
Palestinians have held weekly protests on the Gaza border, over the siege on the enclave and the right for refugees to return to their homes they fled during the 1948 creation of Israel.
Nearly 250 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces ever since anti-occupation protest rallies began in the Gaza Strip on March 30. Over 26,000 Palestinians have also sustained injuries.
The Gaza clashes reached their peak on May 14 last year, on the eve of the 70th anniversary of Nakba Day (Day of Catastrophe), which coincided this year with the US embassy relocation from Tel Aviv to occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds.
On June 13, 2018, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution, sponsored by Turkey and Algeria, condemning Israel for Palestinian civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip.
According to Press TV, the resolution, which had been put forward on behalf of Arab and Muslim countries, garnered a strong majority of 120 votes in the 193-member assembly, with 8 votes against and 45 abstentions.
The resolution called on UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to make proposals within 60 days “on ways and means for ensuring the safety, protection, and well-being of the Palestinian civilian population under Israeli occupation,” including “recommendations regarding an international protection mechanism.”
It also called for “immediate steps towards ending the closure and the restrictions imposed by Israel on movement and access into and out of the Gaza Strip.”
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