One death has been reported so far as thousands of Palestinians rallied at the Gaza-Israel border Saturday to mark the one-year anniversary of a surge of protests, facing off against Israeli forces massed across the frontier.
Israeli troops fired tear gas across the border and the Israeli military said some of the estimated 20,000 demonstrators threw rocks, grenades and burning tires towards them.
Clad in bright orange vests, Palestinian activists tried to keep people back, though some made it to the fence. Gaza medics said one Palestinian man was killed by Israeli fire before dawn on Saturday near the border barrier. Protesters are demanding the return of Palestinian refugees to their rightful land after being displaced by Israel.
The day also marks the Palestinian Land Day when on March 30, 1976, thousands of Palestinians demonstrated against Israeli government’s confiscation of 21,000 dunams i.e., 5,189 acres of Palestinian lands. Six young Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces that day as they cracked down on protesters.