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‘Jerusalem Day’ protests: Three Palestinians die as violence on Gaza-Israel border resumes

A wounded Palestinian demonstrator, Haitham Abu Sabla, 23, is hit in the face with a tear gas canister fired by Israeli troops: Reuters
A wounded Palestinian demonstrator, Haitham Abu Sabla, 23, is hit in the face with a tear gas canister fired by Israeli troops: Reuters

At least three people have been shot dead and 386 more have been injured on the Gaza-Israel border as thousands of Palestinians demonstrated on Jerusalem Day.

The last Friday of Ramadan, known as al Quds or Jerusalem Day, is usually marked with marches throughout the Muslim world in support of the Palestinian claim to the contested holy city and the Palestinian right to return.

Approximately 10,000 people gathered to fly flags and kites, burn tires, throw rocks and return tear gas canisters at Israel Defence Force (IDF) troops on the other side of the security barrier.

Among those wounded on Friday was an Agence France Press (AFP) photographer and a 23-year-old man who was on life support after a tear gas canister hit him in the face, the Gaza health ministry said.

Pictures of the man grasping his throat as he struggled to breathe amid the tear gas, with blood flecked over his face and shirt, were shared widely on Palestinian social media.

This year’s Jerusalem Day protests in the Gaza Strip follow more than two months of unrest on the border with Israel, where protesters have been met with live fire by Israel Defence Force troops. At least 125 people have been killed and up to 13,000 more injured, mainly from tear gas inhalation.

The violence is the deadliest in Gaza since the end of the 2014 war with Israel.

Israeli officials say the use of live fire on demonstrators is justified as they are being used as "human shields" by militant Hamas, which controls the coastal enclave of two million people, and has encouraged Palestinians to try and break through the border zone.

Palestinians, however, say the protests are the result of more than a decade of suffering in Gaza thanks to an Israeli-Egypt blockade designed to weaken Hamas, and growing frustration over stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

The violence reached an apex on 23 May, when the US officially opened its new embassy to Israel in Jerusalem.

Israel's use of deadly force over the last two months has been widely condemned by the international community, although the US President, Donald Trump, along with his Israeli allies, has placed the blame squarely on Hamas.

Speaking on Friday, a Hamas spokesperson vowed the weekly protests would continue.

Agencies contributed to this report