The Palestinian Center for Human Rights reported that 39 Palestinians, including 11 children and a woman, were injured when israeli forces attacked participants on Friday´s 86th Grand Return Marches and broke the siege in the eastern Gaza Strip.
This was stated in a press release issued by the Human Rights Center this evening, and the following is the following:
Wounded (39) Palestinian civilians, including (11) children and a woman
With the attacks of the occupation on the participants on the 86th Friday of the march of return and the breaking of the siege
Ref: 144/2019
Date: 27 December 2019
Time: 17:00 GMT
Thirty-nine Palestinian civilians, including 11 children and a woman, were injured on Friday evening, 27 December 2019, when Israeli occupying forces used excessive force against participants in the 86th Friday of the return marches and breaking the siege in the eastern Gaza Strip.
Despite the general calm that characterized the demonstrations in most areas, and the low numbers of participants with rain and cold weather, the occupying forces continued to use excessive force against the demonstrators; 5 of them were shot, one of whom was described as serious, all east of Rafah, as well as the targeting of the upper body, including the head with metal bullets coated with rubber and gas bombs, causing many injuries, including a young man who was injured in the right eye with a rubber bullet.
The Supreme National Commission called for return marches and breaking the siege for today´s demonstrations, under the name "Blood of martyrs chart the path of freedom", on the anniversary of the 23-day Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip, which resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries.
At around 2:00 p.m., residents flocked to the five return camps in the east of the Gaza Strip to participate in the demonstrations, which lasted until around 5:00 p.m., the last Friday of 2019. The National Commission announced the suspension of the demonstrations until the anniversary of Earth Day march 30 March 2020, which marks the second anniversary of the return marches and the breaking of the siege, with marches to be held monthly and at national events.
According to the center´s documentation, the death toll at the march since its inception on March 30, 2018 has risen to 215, including 47 children, two women, 9 people with disabilities, 4 paramedics and two journalists. The injuries rose to 14,854, including 3,746 children, 392 women, 255 paramedics and 219 journalists, some of whom were injured several times.
The details of the events of the day were as follows:
North Province: The demonstrations began east of Jabaliya, and were punctuated by attempts to throw stones at the gatherings of the occupying forces inside the border strip. The israeli occupation attacks resulted in the injury of three citizens, one of them a child, with rubber bullets.
Gaza Governorate: Hundreds of people flocked to the demonstrations in The Queen´s area in eastern Gaza, and no injuries were reported.
Central Governorate: Dozens of young men and boys flocked east of Al-Bureij camp and advanced towards the border with Israel, at varying distances from 0 to 300 meters. Demonstrators threw stones and sound bombs at the occupying forces.
They fired bullets, rubber bullets and tear gas canisters and pumped wastewater into the demonstrators. As a result, two civilians were injured by rubber bullets, including Sa´id Ahmed Tawfiq Mahani, 29, a resident of Gaza, who was hit by a rubber bullet in his right eye and transferred to The Eye Hospital in Gaza. Others suffered asphyxiation as a result of tear gas inhalation.
Khanyounis province: Hundreds took part in demonstrations in al-Awda camp, and its surroundings east of Khuza´a town, east of the province. Dozens of participants approached the border with Israel in front of the camp and tried to throw stones and Molotov cocktails at the israeli occupation forces stationed inside the strip. They fired rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas canisters at the demonstrators. As a result, 14 citizens were injured, including 7 children, with rubber bullets and gas bombs directly. Dozens were also suffocated by tear gas inhalation.
Rafah governorate: Hundreds of citizens flocked to participate in the demonstrations east of Al-Shawka neighborhood, and some of them remained inside the square of al-Awda camp, to listen to the platform´s activities, while dozens of demonstrators tried to reach a distance close to the border, lit tires, and threw stones at the positions of the occupying forces. They fired rubber bullets and gas canisters at the demonstrators. As a result, 20 citizens were injured, including 3 children and one woman. (5) People were shot, one of whom was described as serious, (12) with rubber bullets and (3) direct gas bombs. The injured woman was Huda Nayef Adwan, 42, who was shot in the head with a rubber bullet. Ahmed Ahmed Misbah al-Hams, 19, was seriously injured and was shot in the lower limbs.
