Four Palestinians killed on fifth Friday of protest

Palestinians protest east of Bureij in central Gaza on 27 April.

 Mahmoud KhattabAPA images

Maureen Clare Murphy- 27 April 2018

Four Palestinians were fatally wounded during the fifth consecutive Friday of mass protests as part of the Great March of Return demonstrations along Gaza’s eastern boundary with Israel.

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شهداء #مسيرة_العودة_الكبرى في الجمعة الخامسة بقطاع غزة.#جمعة_الشباب_الثائر

1:46 AM - Apr 28, 2018

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Nearly 1,000 were injured during Friday’s protest, nearly 200 of them by live fire, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

Eleven were reported to be seriously injured.

The health ministry announced on Saturday that Azzam Oweida, 15, died from his injuries sustained during protests east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza a day earlier. He is the fifth child to be killed during the Great March of Return protests since their launch on 30 March.

Abd al-Salam Eid Zuhdi Baker, 33, was shot in the stomach, also east of Khan Younis.

Two Palestinians were killed east of Gaza City, where Palestinians defied Israel’s shoot-to-kill-and-maim policy and placed their national flag on the boundary fence:

#شاهد| من نقطة صفر.. مواجهات بين الشبان وجنود الاحتلال على السياج الفاصل شرقي مدينة #غزة pic.twitter.com/9bpuJKsDKq

— وكالة صفا (@SafaPs) 27 April 2018

وكالة صفا

✔@SafaPs

#شاهد| من نقطة صفر.. مواجهات بين الشبان وجنود الاحتلال على السياج الفاصل شرقي مدينة #غزة

11:13 AM - Apr 27, 2018

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The two slain men were identified as Khalil Naim Mustafa Atallah, 22, from Gaza City and Muhammad Amin Ahmad al-Muqid, 21, from Beach refugee camp. Al-Muqid was wounded by a live bullet to his head and Atallah was injured by shrapnel.

Israel claimed that its forces “operated in accordance with the rules of engagement and thwarted the attempted infiltration” by “rioters” who “approached the security fence, hurled rocks and firebombs, and tried to light the fence on fire.”

The New York Times, citing four unnamed witnesses, said that two Palestinians with handguns opened fire during the incident. Two other witnesses denied to the paper that anyone fired a gun toward the Israelis.

The Israeli military published its own video of the incident, showing protesters approaching the boundary fence as a military jeep fires on them from the other side:

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