Israeli forces have killed a Palestinian man and a teenage boy and wounded 33 protesters, according to Palestinian medical officials.
The protests mark the first anniversary of the often violent weekly border demonstrations in which over 250 Palestinians have been killed.
BREAKING: Two Palestinians killed, over 30 injured in 'March of Return' rallies on Gaza border – reports https://t.co/04egGBnGVP pic.twitter.com/82mqdyWhzf
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) March 30, 2019
They also come just 10 days before a keenly contested general election in Israel.
The demonstrators are calling for Palestinians to be allowed to return to land their families fled in the 1948 war that accompanied the creation of Israel.
Demonstrations are expected to peak on Saturday afternoon.
Two #Palestinians killed by Israeli fire amid large #Gaza border protests https://t.co/LUbuoQXPqK — #FOLLOW our live blog here: https://t.co/nuz8PRhxDB pic.twitter.com/RykaS47lUQ
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) March 30, 2019
Several thousand troops, including dozens of snipers, are positioned at various locations along the border.
Palestinians and human rights organizations accuse Israel of excessive use of force.
(Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, PC, Social Media)
I am from Vancouver,Canada and I wanted to say that the Great March of Return is supported by the majority of people in the world.The People of Gaza is leading the way in the fight against Israeli occupation of Palestine.Israel can’t break the Revolutionary Conscious of the people of Gaza.The people of Gaza will win this battle against Israeli Occupation.From the River to the Sea Palestine will be Free.