Two Palestinians killed by IDF fire in weekly Gaza protests

Thirty more Palestinians were injured from IDF fire as 3,500 gathered along the Gaza border fence to take part in the protests.

Palestinians riots along the Gaza border fence near Khan Younis on June 8th, 2018 (photo credit: ANNA AHRONHEIM)
Palestinians riots along the Gaza border fence near Khan Younis on June 8th, 2018
(photo credit: ANNA AHRONHEIM)
Israeli forces killed two Palestinians on Friday and wounded 55 others taking part in weekly protests along the fortified Israel-Gaza border, the Palestinian health ministry said.
Medical officials said two men aged 29 and 18 were killed by Israeli fire at two sites in central Gaza.
The Israeli military said its forces faced around 9,500 demonstrators, some hurling rocks and rolling burning tires. A military spokeswoman said troops had responded with "riot dispersal means" and fired according to standard operating procedures.
Gaza medical officials say that around 200 people have been killed since Palestinians launched the weekly border protests on March 30 last year.
They are demanding the right to return to land from which their ancestors fled or were forced to flee during Israel’s founding in 1948.
About 60 other Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in other incidents over the same period, including exchanges of fire across the border. One Israeli soldier was shot dead by a Palestinian sniper along the frontier, and another was killed during a botched undercover raid into Gaza.