Thousands of Palestinians on Saturday marched along the eastern border of the Gaza Strip to mark the first anniversary of the Great March of Return.

The Ministry of Health announced that four protesters were killed by Israeli gunfire, and 316 were injured, including 86 children, 29 women, 3 medics, and 6 journalists.

The martyrs were identified as Mohammed Saad, 20, Adham Amara, Tamer Abu al-Kheir, and Belal al-Najjar. The three are aged 17.

The head of Hamas’s political bureau Ismail Haneyya and the Egyptian delegation to Gaza attended the protest camp held east of Gaza city, the PIC reporter said.

A general strike was announced by the Higher National Committee for the Great March of Return and Breaking the Siege earlier in the day in all Gaza institutions in commemoration of the Palestinian Land Day and the first anniversary of the border demonstration.

The spokesman for the Gaza Ministry of Interior and National Security Iyad al-Bozom said in a statement that the ministry deployed 8,000 of its security forces along the border to help and protect the demonstrators.

The Palestinians launched the Great March of Return on 30 March 2018 on the border between the Gaza Strip and the 1948 occupied territories to demand the refugees right to return and call for lifting the 13-year-long blockade on Gaza.

The Israeli occupation army has met the peaceful protesters with excessive force, killing 278 and injuring over 31,000, about 500 of whom are in critical condition.

Source: The Palestinian Information Center