Two Palestinians wounded in Monday protests die: Gaza ministry

GAZA CITY, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: Two Palestinians have died from their wounds after being shot Monday by Israeli troops during protests in the Gaza Strip, the territory´s health ministry said Saturday.

The two men killed were 20-year-old Mohammed Mazen Alyan and 58-year-old Moein Abdel-Hamid Al-Saai, the Hamas-run ministry said in a statement. The ministry said Alyan was wounded east of the Al-Bureij refugee camp, while other medical sources reported Al-Saai was wounded to the east of Gaza City.

The deaths bring to 61 the total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli gunfire on Monday, when thousands of Palestinians protested as the US officially moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Since March 30, Palestinian marchers have been demanding the right to return to their homes seized by Israel in the 1948 war surrounding the creation of the Jewish state. A total of 118 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire on the border between the Gaza Strip and the Jewish State since then, according to authorities in Gaza, which is run by the Islamist movement Hamas.

Israel says it has done everything it can to limit civilian casualties and has used lived ammunition only as a last resort. The Israeli army accuses Hamas of using the cover of the demonstrations to approach and damage the border fence, including laying explosive devices and attacking soldiers, and insists its actions are necessary to defend the border and prevent mass infiltrations.