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News > World

Health Official: 60 Killed, Over 2,700 Injured by Israeli Army

  • A wounded Palestinian is evacuated during a protest against U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba, at the Israel-Gaza border.

    A wounded Palestinian is evacuated during a protest against U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba, at the Israel-Gaza border. | Photo: Reuters

Published 14 May 2018
Opinion

Israel police have deployed thousands of police officers in Jerusalem for the U.S. embassy relocation ceremony.

According to health officials, at least 60 Palestinians have been killed along the Gaza Strip during demonstrations against the beginning of the relocation of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

RELATED: 
Palestinians Protest, US Moves Embassy Ahead of Nakba

The death toll is the highest in a single day since a series of protests dubbed the "Great March of Return" began at the border with Israel on March 30, and since the 2014 Gaza war.

The health officials said 2,771 Palestinians were injured – 4 severely – by live ammunition and gas suffocation. Among the figure are eight minors and 78 females. Head of the council of national relations and former minister of health, Dr. Basem Naim, reported the death of one medical personnel as well as damage to 5 ambulances and injury sustained by 8 paramedics and a dozen journalists.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said, reacting to the brutal crackdown on Gaza protesters, that Israeli live fire must stop immediately and the international community must bring those responsible to justice.

“Shocking killing of dozens, injury of hundreds by Israeli live fire in #Gaza must stop now," Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein wrote in a message carried on the UN human rights Twitter account. "The right to life must be respected. Those responsible for outrageous human rights violations must be held to account. The int'l community needs to ensure justice for victims - #Zeid.”

Meanwhile, protesters in the West Bank were met with tear gas and rubber bullets as thousands of police officers were deployed throughout the city of Jerusalem for the U.S. embassy relocation ceremony.

Late Monday, Israeli troops fire off live ammunition at protesting Palestinians while U.S. envoy Ivanka Trump, along with a high-level Washington delegation, inaugurated the new embassy in Jerusalem amid celebrations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials.

Reuters reports that the protests heightened on the 70th anniversary of Israel’s founding – the day which prompted Palestine's Nakba, when some 700,000 people force fled their homes in 1948.

“Today is the big day when we will cross the fence and tell Israel and the world we will not accept being occupied forever,” a teacher based in Gaza told the agency. “Many may get martyred today, so many, but the world will hear our message. Occupation must end,” he said.

RELATED:
US Opens Jerusalem Embassy as Israel Slaughters Palestinians in Gaza

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah reiterated that U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and the relocation of the embassy was “blatant violations of international law.”

“What a moving day for the people of Israel and the State of Israel,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, regarding the embassy's relocation.

Palestinians have long viewed East Jerusalem as the true capital of a future Palestinian State.

The protests are scheduled to culminate on Tuesday when Palestinians mark Nakba Day.

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