In Pictures

Gaza border clashes wound 41 Palestinians

Violence erupts after hundreds of Palestinians protested against Israel’s stifling blockade of the Gaza Strip.

An elderly Palestinian woman holds a Palestinian flag during the protests near the boundary between Israel and the Gaza Strip. [Mohammed Saber/EPA]

By News Agencies

Israeli gunfire wounded 41 Palestinians, including a 13-year-old boy who was shot in the head. An Israeli policeman was critically wounded by Palestinian gunfire during the clashes along Gaza’s border with Israel.

The violence erupted after hundreds of Palestinians took part in a demonstration on Saturday organised to draw attention to a stifling Israeli blockade of the territory. The protest grew violent after dozens of people approached the fortified fence and threw rocks and explosives towards Israeli soldiers from behind a black smoke screen spewing from burning tyres.

The Israeli military said hundreds of demonstrators approached one area of the fence in northern Gaza and attempted to climb over. It said troops fired tear gas and live rounds at the protesters.

A member of the paramilitary border police was hospitalised in serious condition after being shot, it said.

Demonstrators march towards the Gaza Strip's fence with Israel. [Adel Hana/AP Photo]

Palestinian protesters take cover from Israeli tear gas during the clashes near the fence. [Mohammed Saber/EPA]

The violence erupted after hundreds of Palestinians took part in a demonstration organised to draw attention to a stifling Israeli blockade of the territory. [Adel Hana/AP Photo]

Palestinian medics evacuate a wounded person from the Gaza Strip fence with Israel.

Medics and protesters rescue a wounded cameraman from the Gaza Strip fence. [Adel Hana/AP Photo]

Palestinian protesters carry a wounded young man. Forty-one Palestinians and one Israeli soldier were injured during the fighting near the boundary east of Gaza City. [Mohammed Saber/EPA

A wounded Palestinian child is taken to hospital after taking part in the protest at the Israel-Gaza fence. A 13-year-old Palestinian boy was shot in the head, health officials said. [Mohammed Salem/Reuters]

Israeli troops fired live rounds at Palestinian protesters who hurled petrol bombs and burned tyres from behind the Gaza Strip's fence. [Said Khatib/AFP]