Iran Press/ Middle East: Large numbers of Palestinians in Gaza responded to the calls for holding the 85th event of the Great March of Return protests on the Strip’s border with the Zionist settlements.
The Commission of the Great March of Return and Breaking the Siege of Gaza was formed by Palestinian groups.
"The world must support the Palestinian people's just struggle to end the unjust blockade and end the people's suffering resulting from the blockade," it said in a statement ahead of the weekly Friday marches in Gaza, near the Israeli security fence.
Every Friday for the past year, Palestinians in Gaza have protested along the fence separating the besieged strip from Israel.
They are demanding the right to return to their ancestors' homes, which they were expelled from in 1948 when Zionist militias forcefully removed 750,000 Palestinians from their villages to clear the way for Israel's creation, Aljazeera reported.
The protesters are also demanding an end to the 12-year-long Israeli blockade, which the United Nations says amounts to collective punishment.
The demonstrations started on March 30, 2018, and have continued since, despite the Israeli army's deadly response.
Israeli snipers opened fire at protesters during the demonstrations, killing 266 people and injuring almost 30,000 others in one year, according to Gaza's health ministry.
214/216
Read more:
Zionist forces injure five Palestinians on Gaza border
Israel strikes Hamas site in Gaza
Israeli air strikes on Gaza meets with Palestinian resistance
