UPDATE: Three Journalists among Civilians Injured by Israeli Forces in Gaza

04 May

9:52 PM

At least 430 Palestinian civilians, including three journalists, were injured by live shots or suffocated from teargas inhalation on Friday, as Israeli forces attacked the protests of the ongoing Great March of Return, at many encampments on the Gaza-Israel border.

69 protesters were reportedly shot and injured by live bullets, while the remainder suffocated from teargas inhalation, according to WAFA.

Journalist Abdul-Rahman al-Khatib intensely suffocated from teargas inhalation, and journalist Sulaiman Abu Zarifa was hit and injured by a teargas canister in his foot, while journalist Hamza Shami was hit by a canister in his shoulder, according to press sources.

According to the Health Ministry, since the protests began on March 30, Israeli forces have killed 45 protestors, including two journalists )Yasser Murtaja and Ahmed Abu Hussein) who were both shot despite wearing protective jackets marked with the word “PRESS”.

The 46-day Great March of Return protests started on March 30 and are set to reach a crescendo on May 15, which marks the 70th anniversary of the Nakba (catastrophe), in which over 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced from their homes to make way for the creation of Israel in 1948.

Dubbed the “Friday of Palestinian Workers”, today’s protest comes three days after the International Workers’ Day and seeks to highlight the plight of Palestinian workers in the besieged coastal enclave, where over 40 percent of the population is unemployed.

More Palestinians are expected to arrive to encampments set up in five locations along Gaza border, including Khan Younis, Rafah and al-Bureij refugee camp, to demand their right of return to their villages and towns they were forcibly displaced from in 1948.