Israeli occupation forces have shot dead a Palestinian and injured about 70 others in mass protests along the fence separating the besieged Gaza Strip and the occupied territories for the 54th consecutive Friday.

The spokesman for the Gaza Ministry of Health, Ashraf al-Qidra, said in a statement that 15-year-old Misra Mousa Ali Abu Shallouf was fatally shot in the abdomen during a Great March of Return protest east of Jabalia, located 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) north of Gaza City.

Qidra added that 30 demonstrators were struck with live rounds and rubber bullets, and were transferred to nearby hospitals.

Among the wounded Palestinians was a paramedic, who sustained injuries in the eastern part of the Gaza Strip.

Palestinians have held weekly rallies on the Gaza border to protest the siege on the enclave and demand the right for refugees to return to their homes they fled during the 1948 creation of Israel.

More than 270 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces ever since anti-occupation protest rallies began in the Gaza Strip on March 30, 2018. Over 16,000 Palestinians have also sustained injuries.

The Gaza clashes reached their peak on May 14 last year, on the eve of the 70th anniversary of Nakba Day (Day of Catastrophe), which coincided this year with the US embassy relocation from Tel Aviv to occupied East Jerusalem.

Source: Palestine News Network