More than 360 wounded by bullets and tear gas, in the third week of demonstrations

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Israeli forces stationed on the Gaza frontier have killed one person and wounded hundreds of Palestinians, who were demonstrating for the third week in a row.

Health officials in Gaza said 363 people were injured by live ammunition and tear gas inhalation, although they did not provide a breakdown. They said a Gazan journalist was in a serious condition after being shot in the abdomen.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society, a humanitarian organisation, has said one of its medics was shot in the knee.

Rights groups accuse Israel of wanton use of live fire. Israel says the protests are a cynical ploy by Gaza’s rulers Hamas to stage attacks, including using explosives, or to breach the border.

Close to 30 Palestinians – including Hamas militants, civilians and a video reporter – have been killed during the rallies, which started on 30 March.

At five spots along the frontier, tent complexes have been erected hundreds of metres from the border where families have gathered. Crowds of mostly young men have moved closer, slinging stones, torching tyres and setting Israeli flags alight.

East of Gaza City in the northern part of the coastal enclave, ambulances brought the injured to a field hospital where paramedics rushed to attend floods of patients.

Several men, bandages wrapped around their calves and ankles, had been shot. One lay unconscious after a bullet had passed through his lower torso.

Outside, at the entrance to the area, a large Israeli flag had been placed on the ground for people to walk over. And closer, across the beige and green fields towards the perimeter, thick black smoke from burning tyres rose high, the seaside winds pushing it into the skies above Israel.

The protests began as a plan to peacefully gather near the border, an idea that has since been supported by Hamas and other political parties. Thousands have called for the “right of return” for refugees and their descendants to ancestral homes in Israel.

Across the fence on the Israeli side, sniper teams lay low on sandbanks overlooking the area.

An Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) official, speaking on condition of anonymity, refused to detail specific rules for engagement that admitted live sniper fire or say how many people had been shot.

Sitting under the shade of trees near the kibbutz of Nahal Oz, he said: “Using live fire is a last resort. Obviously, I’m not talking about a terrorist shooting but a person trying to approach the fence, cut the fence, throw a hand grenade.”

All targets were chosen by commanders and shot by “well-trained” teams, he added, and every bullet fired had been recorded.

No Israeli civilian or soldier has been harmed as a result of the rallies.

The IDF sent footage to journalists on Friday of protesters attempting to pull down barbed wire using a rope. It said an “explosive device” had been detonated near the border and forwarded a photo of what it said was a “firebomb” attached to a kite.

Human rights groups have decried the use of lethal force, saying live bullets should only be used when facing imminent mortal threats. Five former IDF members from sniper teams said in an open letter that they were “filled with shame and sorrow”.

“Instructing snipers to shoot to kill unarmed demonstrators who pose no danger to human life is another product of the occupation and military rule over millions of Palestinian people, as well as of our country’s callous leadership, and derailed moral path,” they wrote.