Six Palestinians killed in new border clashes

Two boys, ages 12 and 14, shot dead by Israeli troops while 210 people were injured

Six Palestinians, including two boys ages 12 and 14, were killed in clashes with Israeli occupation forces along the Gaza border yesterday, the health ministry in the Hamas-controlled strip said.

Nasser Mosabih, 12, was shot in the head in clashes along the frontier east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, ministry spokesman Ashraf Al Qudra told AFP, on what was one of the bloodiest days since protests began on March 30.

Fourteen-year-old Mohammad Al Houm was shot dead “by live ammunition from the [Israeli] occupation forces” east of Al Bureij in central Gaza, Al Qudra said.

Four men were also killed in widespread clashes along the border, with a further 210 people hospitalised, the spokesman added.

Israeli occupation forces said some 20,000 “rioters” had gathered at multiple sites along the border, adding that the protesters hurled “grenades and explosive devices in several different locations”.

Palestinians have been protesting at least weekly along the Gaza border since March. At least 193 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in that time, the majority during border protests.

Smaller numbers have been hit by air strikes or tank fire. One Israeli soldier was killed by a Palestinian sniper.

The protests are demanding the right of Palestinian refugees to be allowed to homes their families fled from in the 1948 war surrounding the creation of Israel and which are now in Israel.

Israel accuses Hamas of orchestrating the protests.