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One Killed, '700 Palestinians Wounded' in Seventh Week of Gaza Protests

By Jack Khoury, Haaretz

11 May 18

Three critically wounded, 112 of those wounded were hit by live gunfire. Israeli doctors NGO demands entry to Israel for wounded to prevent amputations

alestinian was killed and 700 were wounded in protests on Friday along the Gaza border from live gunfire, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, as thousands of Gazans protest along the border in the seventh consecutive week of the "March of Return."

Three of the wounded are said to be in critical condition, while eight casualties are in serious condition. A sixteen-year-old Palestinian suffered a serious headshot wound from live gunfire, while one of the reported wounded includes a journalist who sustained light injuries to his leg, near the fence in the southern town of Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip. 186 of the casualties are said to be moderately wounded.

According to the reports, 143 Palestinians sustained wounds from live ammunition. Others were wounded by rubber-tipped bullets and gas inhalation with a total of 305 evacuated to hospitals.

The committee organizing the demonstration dubbed this week's protest "preparation and warning of what's to come," marking this as the last Friday before the so-called "March of Return" peaks on 14-15 of May, focusing on the U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem and commemorating Nakba day.

The Doctor's Association for Human Rights requested Defense Minister AVigdor Lierberman and Israeli Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot change the overuling policy preventing from transferring wounded from the Gaza protest to Israel to receive medical care.

In its address, the association demands immediate passage of wounded in order to prevent amputations, which occured several times in recent weeks, in cases untreatable in Gazan hospitals.

"The ruling that participation in the protest constitutes a consideration to prevent access to medical care is a morally and ethically unacceptable act," read the address. "In many cases, detaining or preventing the neccesary treatment leads to severe results, as far as amputation or even death."

Earlier Friday, three right-wing activists were arrested after attempting to send an incendiary kite into the Gaza Strip. The kite was believed to have fallen inside Israeli territory, where it started a small brush fire.