At least 18 Palestinians were shot and injured Tuesday evening by Israeli forces' gunfire as they suppressed the weekly naval march in the Northern besieged Gaza Strip. RNA - Medical sources announced that Israeli forces opened live fire, rubber-coated steel bullets and tear-gas bombs to suppress demonstrators and boats attempting to break the siege, Palinfo reported.
Eight protesters suffered gunshot injuries while the others were hit with teargas bombs, the sources added.
Hundreds of Palestinian protesters gathered on Tuesday afternoon at the Northern borders of the Gaza Strip to take part in rallies in an attempt to break the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip for more than 12 years.
For more than nine months, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have demonstrated along the fence demanding their right to return to the homes and land their families were expelled from 70 years ago. The Great March of Return rallies culminated on May 15 to mark what Palestinians refer to as the Nakba, or Catastrophe - a reference to the forced removal of 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and villages to clear the way for Israel's establishment in 1948.
More than 250 Palestinian protesters have been killed and more than 25,000 Palestinians injured by Israeli forces since the outbreak of the Great March of Return rallies at Gaza border in late March.
Most of the casualties occurred on May 14 when Israeli forces attacked Palestinians marking the 70th anniversary of Israel’s occupation of historical Palestine and the ensuing ethnic cleansing of half a million Palestinian refugees.
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