Gaza City: Israeli troops shot dead three Palestinians and wounded at least 618 others on Friday with live fire or tear gas used against protesters at the Gaza Strip border, medics said.
Israeli forces have killed at least 122 Palestinians in protests along the border since a campaign was launched on March 30 to demand the right to return to ancestral lands lost to Israel in the 1948 war of its creation, hospital officials say.
The army said it took action to disperse around 10,000 Palestinians, some of whom threw rocks at the troops and burned
tyres, and prevented any breach of the fortified frontier fence, nearly a month after dozens of Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire in a similar protest.
During the demonstrations, which have occurred regularly since March 30, thousands of Palestinians gather near the Israeli border fence, while smaller groups of mostly young men throw rocks, burn tyres and attempt to tear down parts of the fence.
About 4,000 Palestinians were burning tyres at five separate locations along the fence, the Israeli army said on Friday, adding that troops were reacting appropriately.
The protesters have in the past used the thick smoke to obscure the vision of Israeli army snipers.
A spokesman declined to comment on whether the soldiers were employing live ammunition on Friday. The army has said in the past that its policy is to shoot Palestinians approaching the border who do not respond to commands to stop.
— Agencies
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