Israeli forces kill 7 Palestinians on Land Day

At least seven Palestinians have been killed and hundreds of others wounded during clashes with Israeli forces as thousands marched near Gaza's border with Israel in a major demonstration marking the 42nd anniversary of Land Day. 

Mohammed Najjar, 25, was shot in the stomach in a clash east of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, while Mahmoud Muammar, 38, and Mohammed Abu Omar, 22, were both shot dead in Rafah, the Palestinian health ministry said in a statement on Friday. 

The other three victims were identified as Ahmed Oudeh, 19, Jihad Freneh, 33, and Mahmoud Saadi Rahmi, 33.

Earlier on Friday, Omar Waheed Abu Samour, a farmer from Gaza, was also killed by Israeli artillery fire while standing on his land near Khan Younis, just hours ahead of the demonstrations. 

There has been no immediate confirmation from the Israeli army of the strike that killed Samour. 

More than 550 Palestinians were also wounded after Israeli forces fired live ammunition at the protesters and used tear gas to push them back from a heavily fortified fence, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.  

Adalah, a legal centre for Palestinian rights in Israel, condemned the Israeli forces' use of force, calling it a violation of international law. 

"Live gunfire on unarmed civilians constitutes a brutal violation of the international legal obligation to distinguish between civilians and combatants," the group said in a statement.

It also said that it would launch an investigation to "demand those those found responsible for the killings be brought to justice". 

Source: Aljazeera