Six Palestinians were injured by Israeli gunfire near border of the Gaza Strip on Saturday, according to the Health Ministry.

In a statement, ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said two children and a medic were among those injured by Israeli gunfire.

One of the injured Palestinians was in a serious condition, the spokesman said.

The Israeli army, for its part, said in a statement its forces spotted a number of Palestinians while crossing a security fence on Gaza border to do an act of “sabotage”.

The military said Israeli forces opened fire on them and forced them to retreat.

For the last five weeks, Gazans have staged mass rallies along the strip’s eastern border to demand the “right of return” to their homes in historical Palestine from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.

The rallies will culminate on May 15, which will mark the 70th anniversary of Israel's establishment -- an event Palestinians refer to as the "Nakba" or "The Catastrophe".

Since the rallies began on March 30, at least 47 Palestinian demonstrators have been killed and hundreds injured, according to ministry figures.

PHOTO CAPTION

Israeli forces intervene to Palestinian demonstrators using tear gas bombs during a protest within the "Great March of Return" near Israeli border in eastern part of Shuja'iyya neighborhood of Gaza City, Gaza on May 04, 2018.

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