Israeli Forces Kill Two Palestinians and Wound 310 along Gaza Border

Two Palestinians were killed and at least 310 others were injured, three of them seriously, on Friday, June 29, after they were shot with live ammunition by Israeli soldiers who continued to attack the ongoing Great March of Return protests along Gaza’s eastern border.

Mohammad Fawzi Hamaydeh, 24, who was shot dead by Israeli soldiers on Friday, June 29

Mohammad Fawzi Hamaydeh, 24, who was shot dead by Israeli soldiers on Friday, June 29 (Photo: Al Ittihad)

Mohammad Fawzi Hamaydeh, 24, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers who attacked the protesters east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Prior to this, a 13-year-old boy was killed when the Israeli forces opened fire on protesters east of Khan Younes also in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. The boy, identified as Yasser Abu Anja, succumbed to his wounds shortly after being taken to the European Hospital in southern Gaza.

A correspondent for the Palestine News Agency WAFA reported that Israeli soldiers opened fire on protesters who gathered at a number of locations along the Gaza-Israel border and wounded 310 of them. The soldiers also fired teargas canisters at the protesters, causing many injuries due to teargas inhalation. Israeli soldiers also fired a teargas canister into an ambulance near the protests east of Gaza City, badly injuring the medics who were inside.

Since the start of the weekly Great March of Return protests in Gaza on March 30, Israeli forces have killed more than 134 Palestinians. Over 14,000 others have been wounded, many from live ammunition and several are still in critical condition.

Palestinian Arab-language daily newspapers published on Saturday, June 30, indicated that the Israel army also cracked down on the weekly Friday protests in the occupied West Bank, launched mainly against Israeli settlement and wall construction on Palestinian land. Meanwhile, Israeli settlers set fire to or cut down hundreds of olive trees on Friday in several West Bank villages, these papers reported.