GAZA CITY: Three Palestinians were shot dead Friday as thousands demonstrated along the border between Gaza and Israel for a fifth consecutive week of rallies dubbed the 'Great March of Return'.
More than 300 other people were hospitalised for gunshot wounds and tear gas inhalation, Gaza's health authority said.
Forty-four Palestinians have now been killed by Israeli fire since major protests began on March 30, with hundreds more wounded.
No Israelis have been hurt.
Palestinians again gathered at five sites near the border fence, though numbers were down on previous weeks.
Dozens of young men burned tires and threw stones a few hundreds meters from the border, with Israeli soldiers occasionally firing at them.
More than 300 Palestinians were injured by gunfire or teargas inhalation, Gaza’s health ministry said.
A 22-year-old freelance photographer was among those shot, the ministry said.
Forty-one Palestinians have been killed since the demonstrations began on March 30, with hundreds more injured.
Marchers are demanding the right to return to their homes seized by Israel in 1948.
Israel says that allowing the refugees in would mean the end of the Jewish state, and accuses Gaza’s rulers Hamas of using the protests as a pretext for violence.
Demonstrations are expected to spike again in the lead up to May 14, when the United States is expected to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The decision has infuriated Palestinians, who see the annexed eastern half of the holy city as the capital of their future state.
Israel has rejected calls for an independent inquiry into the deaths along Gaza’s border, with the army saying its troops only use live ammunition as a last resort.
Israeli army kills 3 Palestinians, injures 300 in Gaza border protests
Israeli army kills 3 Palestinians, injures 300 in Gaza border protests
- Fifty people were injured by gunfire or teargas inhalation, Gaza’s health ministry said.
- Marchers are demanding the right to return to their homes seized by Israel in 1948.
Syrian authorities bust smuggling ring, tighten border controls
- Smugglers' boat collides with rocks as it attempted to flee pursuing as Coast Guard vessels
- The boat was about to illegally transport passengers from the Syrian coast of Tartus coast to Cyprus
DAMASCUS: Syrian Coast Guard forces have arrested members of a human smuggling network operating in the western town of Tartus, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported Saturday.
Authorities pounced on the smugglers as they were about to transport passengers from the Tartus coast to Cyprus by illegal means, the state media said, citing a statement from the General Authority of Ports and Customs.
"The operation resulted in the arrest of all those involved, including the organizers of the trip," said the report, adding that the smugglers' boat attempted to escape as Coast Guard vessels surrounded it, but collided with rocks.
No details were made available on how many suspects were arrested and how many passengers were rescued. Criminal charges are being prepared against the arrested suspects, SANA said.
New restrictions on commercial transit
In a separate move to regulate trade and border security, the ports and customs authority has issued a new policy restricting truck access at land crossings and seaports.
Commercial trucks will now only be permitted entry for loading or unloading upon presentation of an original receipt from the Ministry of Transport’s freight office.
The transfer of cargo between Syrian and non-Syrian vehicles must now take place strictly within designated customs yards at border crossings.
Trucks passing through Syria in transit remain permitted, provided they are under a mandatory customs escort between entry and exit points.
