Two more Palestinians have been shot dead by Israeli forces in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said Ghazi Abu Mustafa, 43, was shot in the head near the fence that separates the occupied territories from Gaza east of Khan Yunis on Friday. An unnamed 14-year-old boy was also killed during clashes east of Rafah in southern Gaza.
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 the 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 at least 155 Palestinians since March 30.
More than 14,800 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. The resolution, which had been put forward on behalf of Arab and Muslim countries, garnered a strong majority of 120 votes in the 193-member assembly, with 8 votes against and 45 abstentions. The resolution called on UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to make proposals within 60 days “on ways and means for ensuring the safety, protection, and well-being of the Palestinian civilian population under Israeli occupation,” including “recommendations regarding an international protection mechanism.”
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.
Israeli police storm al-Aqsa mosque, arrest 24 worshipers
Also on Friday, Israeli forces stormed al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site for Muslims, in the Israeli-occupied Old City of East Jerusalem al-Quds, arresting 24 Palestinians.
Israeli police claimed that they raided the mosque to arrest youths who had thrown rocks and fireworks during clashes with its forces in the al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Witnesses later saw about 20 young men arrested by Israeli police.
Israeli forces fired tear gas and stun grenades at Muslim worshipers gathered for Friday prayers in the mosque compound, leaving scores of people injured.
“The continued Israeli attacks against occupied Jerusalem al-Quds will increase tensions and will drag the region into a religious war that we have long warned against,” Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's office said in a statement.
The occupied Palestinian territories have witnessed new tensions ever since US President Donald Trump announced his decision on December 6 last year to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s capital and relocate the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the occupied city.