198 martyred by Israel since Gaza protests began

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said that a total of 198 Palestinians, including 37 minors, had been martyred by Israeli forces, and 22,000 others injured since the start of mass demonstrations in March against Israeli occupation.

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 Israel's 11-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.