Israel troops have wounded 8,000 peaceful protesters since 30 March

Israeli occupation soldiers have wounded around 8,000 unarmed Palestinians taking part in the Great March of Return activities along the eastern border of the Gaza Strip, local medical sources have revealed.

According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, the Israeli troops had wounded 6,793 protesters by Thursday, including 24 who have each had one of their limbs amputated as a direct result of their injuries. On Friday evening, ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qidra announced that a further 1,143 protesters had been wounded, bringing the total since 30 March to 7,936. With no fatalities recorded on Friday, the total of those killed by the Israelis since the end of March stands at 45.

Read: Scores of Gazans injured by Israel in sixth week of protests

That figure does not include three Palestinians killed on 30 March prior to the official start of the Great March of Return. One of those killed was a farmer, who was shot dead while on his farm in Khan Younis; the others were two youths shot and killed near the border.

Palestinians have been gathering since 30 March in encampments along the eastern border of the Gaza Strip in protests intended to highlight their legitimate right of return to their land from which they were driven out by Zionist militias and terrorist gangs in 1948. The protests will culminate on the 70th anniversary of the Nakba (Catastrophe) on 14 May.

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