UPDATE 2 – Gazans converge along Israel buffer zone; 3 killed

UPDATES DEATH TOLL; REVISES HEADLINE</p> <p>By Mohamed Majed and Hidaya al-Saidi </p> <p>GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – At least three Palestinians was killed Friday — and nearly 40 people were injured — while taking part in ongoing demonstrations along the Gaza-Israel buffer zone, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.</p> <p>Mohamed Mouin al-Jahjouh, a 16-year-old demonstrator, was killed after being struck in the neck by Israeli army gunfire, the ministry said in a statement.</p> <p>Another 40 Palestinian protesters — including four medics and two journalists — sustained injuries, the ministry added.</p> <p>Later in the day, two of the injured, — Abdulaziz Abu Sharia, 28, and disabled Maher Yasin, 40, — succumbed to their wounds, the ministry said.</p> <p>For the 39th week in a row, Palestinians converged along the Gaza-Israel buffer zone Friday to take part in ongoing demonstrations against Israel’s decades-long occupation. </p> <p>This Friday’s Gaza rally was held under the slogan, “Honoring heroes of the resistance”.</p> <p>In a statement, Gaza’s National Authority for Breaking the Siege urged members of the public to take part in Friday’s demonstration.</p> <p>“These demonstrations draw their strength from the heroes of the resistance and from their sacrifices,” the statement read.</p> <p>It went on to urge the Palestinian people to “escalate all forms of resistance against Israel’s occupation”.</p> <p>Protesters demand the right to return to their homes and villages in historical Palestine, from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel. </p> <p>They also demand an end to Israel’s 12-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its roughly two million inhabitants of many basic commodities. </p> <p>Since the rallies first began on March 30, more than 240 Palestinians have been killed — and thousands more injured — by Israeli troops deployed near the buffer zone, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.