7 Palestinians killed, 112 injured by Israeli fire

The Gaza Health Ministry said Israeli forces killed six Palestinians on Friday, four of them east of al-Bureij refugee camp.

Ashraf al-Qidra, a spokesman for the ministry, identified the victims who lost their lives east of al-Bureij as Ahmed al-Tawil, Muhammad Ismail, Abdullah al-Dagham, all in their twenties, as well as 17-year-old Ahmed Abu Naim.

Afifi Atta, 18, was also among the protesters killed on Friday, the spokesman added.  

According to the report, 112 Palestinians, including children and females, were wounded during the clashes, most of them with live fire.

Among those wounded, a girl was critically injured while five other people were in serious condition.

Tensions have been running high near the fence since March 30, which marked the start of a series of protests dubbed “The Great March of Return.” Palestinian protesters demand the right to return for those driven out of their homeland.

The clashes in Gaza reached their peak on May 14, the eve of the 70th anniversary of Nakba Day, or the Day of Catastrophe, which coincided this year with Washington's relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem al-Quds.

More than 190 Palestinians have so far been killed and over 20,000 others wounded in the renewed Gaza clashes, according to the latest figures released by the Gaza Health Ministry.

Gaza has been under Israeli siege since June 2007, causing a decline in living standards as well as unprecedented unemployment and poverty.

Israel has also launched several wars on the Palestinian sliver, the last of which began in early July 2014 and ended in late August the same year. The Israeli military aggression killed nearly 2,200 Palestinians and injured over 11,100 others.