Israeli bullets take two more Palestinian lives in Gaza

The Gaza Health Ministry said Abdullah al-Qotati, a young medic, was killed by Israeli fire east of the city of Khan Yunis in the southern part of the Gaza Strip on Friday.

The spokesmen for the ministry, Ashraf al-Qidra, added that Israeli forces also killed 55-year-old Ali Saeid al-Aloul east of the city of Rafah in southern Gaza.

According to the ministry, at least 307 Palestinians, including medics and journalists, were also injured during the protest.

Tensions have been running high near the fence since March 30, which marked the start of a series of protests dubbed “The Great March of Return.” Palestinian protesters demand the right to return for those driven out of their homeland.

The clashes in Gaza reached their peak on May 14, the eve of the 70th anniversary of Nakba Day, or the Day of Catastrophe, which coincided this year with Washington's relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem al-Quds.

Israeli fire has taken the lives of nearly 160 Palestinians since March 30. Nearly 15,000 Palestinians have also sustained injuries, of whom at least 360 are reportedly in critical condition.

On June 13, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution, sponsored by Turkey and Algeria, condemning Israel for Palestinian civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip.

Gaza has been under Israeli siege since June 2007, causing a decline in living standards as well as unprecedented unemployment and poverty.

Israel has also launched several wars on the Palestinian sliver, the last of which began in early July 2014 and ended in late August the same year. The Israeli military aggression killed nearly 2,200 Palestinians and injured over 11,100 others.

On Thursday, Israeli aircraft bombed a multi-story building in Gaza City amid threats of another full-scale military offensive against the besieged coastal enclave.