266 Palestinians killed, 30,000 wounded during one year of Marches of Return in Gaza: medics

Gaza, March 29 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza reported on Friday that 266 Palestinian demonstrators were killed during the past one year of the "Great Marches of Return" protests in the Gaza Strip close to the border with Israel.

A total of 50 Palestinian children, six women and an old man, including three paramedics and two journalists, were also killed, the ministry said in a statement received by Xinhua.

The number of injuries was 30,398, of which 16,027 were transferred to hospitals and 536 of them were seriously injured.

During the same period, two Israeli soldiers were killed. A total of 1,963 incendiary balloons were released from the Gaza Strip into Israeli settlements, causing the burning of more than 8 thousand acres as well as 1,233 rockets and 600 explosive devices were launched, said Israel.

The Great March of Return and Breaking the Siege calls for lifting the Israeli siege imposed on the Gaza Strip since mid-2007.