Friday, March 29, 2024

Gazans bury dead after bloodiest day of Israel border protests

Gazans bury dead after bloodiest day of Israel border protests
May 15, 2018
GAZA-ISRAEL BORDER (Reuters) - Thousands of Gaza residents turned out on Tuesday for the funerals of Palestinians killed by Israeli troops a day earlier, while on the Gaza-Israel border, Israeli forces prepared to face the expected final day of a Palestinian protest campaign. Monday’s violence on the border, which took place as the United States opened its new embassy in Jerusalem, was the bloodiest for Palestinians since the 2014 Gaza conflict. The death toll rose to 60 overnight after an eight-month-old baby died from tear gas that her family said she inhaled at a protest camp on Monday. More than 2,200 Palestinians were also injured by gunfire or tear gas, Palestinian medics said. Palestinian leaders have called Monday’s events a massacre, and the Israeli tactic of using live fire against the protesters has drawn worldwide concern and condemnation. The United Nations Security Council was due to meet to discuss the situation. Israel has said it is acting in self-defense to defend its borders and communities. Its main ally the United States has backed that stance, with both saying that Hamas, the Islamist group that rules the coastal enclave, instigated the violence. On Tuesday morning, mourners marched through Gaza, waving Palestinian flags and calling for revenge. “With souls and blood we redeem you martyrs,” they shouted.