Hundreds of Palestinian protesters injured by Israeli live bullets

Dozens of Palestinians were injured on Friday by Israeli forces during weekly "return" protests on the border between Israel and Gaza.

The Gaza-based health ministry said in a statement that 97 people were injured, 48 of them by live bullets. Four of the injured were journalists and first responders, according to the statement.

Israel also used gas-filled drones to disperse protesters.

Friday's protest was the 67th since the "Great March of Return" demonstrations began on 30 March 2018.

Palestinians in Gaza have demanded the right to return to their lands inside what is now Israel on these protests, as well as a lifting of the siege of the Gaza Strip.

Israel has killed hundreds of Palestinian protesters and injured thousands more during the weekly demonstrations.

The protest on Friday was called the "Friday of the Burning of the Israeli Flag".

Protest organisers said they chose the name in response to continued efforts to normalise relations between Israel and Arab governments, despite Israel’s ongoing occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as the siege of Gaza.

The protests addressed the raising of the Israeli flag in Arab capitals during events such as the Bahrain economic peace conference which took place in June and was boycotted by Palestinians, activists said.

Meanwhile, in the village of Kafr Qaddoum near the town of Qalqiliya the in the West Bank, 50 Palestinian protesters were also injured by live bullets or tear gas during a protest in response to the shooting last week of a Palestinian child, Abdul Rahman Ishtewi.

Abdul Rahman was shot in the head and is now in critical condition in hospital.

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