3 Palestinians martyred along Gaza-Israel buffer zone

By Mohamed Majid and Said Ibicioglu

GAZA CITY, Palestine

At least three Palestinians were killed Friday by Israeli army gunfire -- and another 126 injured -- amid ongoing demonstrations along the Gaza-Israel buffer zone.

In a statement, Ashraf al-Qidra, a spokesman for Gaza’s Health Ministry, said that one of the three martyrs was a minor.

According to al-Qidra, “dozens” of Palestinian protesters were affected by teargas while 126 others, including 10 women and 30 children, sustained gunshot injuries.

Seven of the injured persons were in serious condition, he added.

Demonstrators demand the “right of return” to their homes and villages in historical Palestine from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.

They also demand an end to Israel’s 11-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its two million inhabitants of many basic commodities.

According to the Health Ministry, more than 190 Palestinians have been martyred -- and 20,000 others injured -- since the rallies first began on March 30.