Death toll mounts as Gaza protests continue

TWO MORE Palestinians, including a 15-year-old boy, have been killed by Israeli army fire on the Gaza border, Palestinian health officials have said.

The deaths bring the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces yesterday to four, in the fourth weekly protest in the border area.

Some 445 Palestinians were injured in the day’s protests, including 96 who were wounded by Israeli army fire.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said those killed, in addition to the teenager, included three men in their 20s.

In addition, 729 protesters were hurt, including 156 hit by live fire, with five in a serious condition. Some of the others were hurt by rubber-coated steel pellets or overcome by tear gas.

Gaza’s Islamic militant Hamas rulers have called for a mass rally at the border as part of a weeks-long campaign of protests against a decade-old blockade of the territory.

Israel is closely guarding the fence and warns it will not tolerate attempts to damage the fence or breach it and enter its territory.

Israel has accused Hamas of cynically exploiting Gaza civilians for its political aims. Hamas critics say the group’s refusal to disarm has been a key obstacle to ending the blockade.

The military has said Palestinians have tried to damage the border fence with explosives, firebombs and other means. It has said snipers only target the “main instigators.”

The latest deaths brought to 32 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli troops in protests since late March.

More than 1,600 have been wounded by live rounds in the past three weeks, the Gaza Health Ministry added.

The rising Palestinian casualty toll signalled that Israel’s military is sticking to its open-fire rules despite international criticism of lethal force against unarmed protesters.