Israeli occupation troops killed three Palestinians and wounded at least 30 others taking part on Friday in weekly protests at the fortified Gaza Strip border, Palestinian medical officials said. Friday's dead, one of them a boy whom medics said appeared to be around 14 years old, brought to 177 the number of Palestinians killed since the sometimes violent protests were launched on March 30 to press several demands against Israel. The period has also seen occasional shelling exchanges between Palestinians in Gaza and Israel. An Israeli soldier was killed by a Gaza sniper. Israel's tactics against the protests have drawn foreign condemnation, though Washington has backed its ally. Early on Friday, several Palestinians crawled to the fence to throw a pipebomb at troops, who fired back, the Israeli occupation army said. The protesters want rights to lands Palestinians lost during the 1948 war of Israel's foundation, as well as the easing of a crippling blockade that Israel has placed on Gaza to isolate Hamas and deny it weaponry. U.N. and Egyptian mediators have been trying to reach a deal to calm Gaza, where Israel and Hamas have fought three wars 2008, 2012 and 2014, in the last decade. *This story was edited by Ahram Online.
