Palestinian women in Gaza protest occupation, blockade

Hundreds of Palestinian women on Tuesday converged along the Gaza-Israel security fence to take part in ongoing demonstrations against Israel's decades-long occupation.

In a statement, the women's committee of Gaza's National Authority for Breaking the Siege called on Palestinian women to take part in the rallies, which first began on Mar. 30.

"We are demonstrating today for a just cause: to end the years-long blockade of Gaza and return to our land that has been stolen by Israel," committee member Iktimal Hamad told Anadolu Agency.

"Palestinian women have paid dearly for Palestine," she added. "We will not give up our land or our legitimate rights."

Since the rallies in Gaza first began more than three months ago, more than 135 Palestinian demonstrators have been martyred -- and thousands more injured -- by Israeli army gunfire.

Protesters demand the "right of 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.

They also demand an end to the 11-year Israeli/Egyptian blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclave's economy and deprived its two million inhabitants of many basic commodities.