30 Palestinians injured near Gaza-Israel buffer zone

At least 30 Palestinian protesters were injured on Friday by Israeli army gunfire near the Gaza-Israel buffer zone, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

In a statement, the ministry said the protesters -- whose names were not given -- had been injured by live ammunition.

According to the ministry, two journalists and three paramedics were also injured when they were struck by teargas shells.

Since Palestinians began holding almost-daily rallies along the buffer zone in March of last year, more than 250 have been killed -- and thousands more injured -- by Israeli army gunfire.

Demonstrators demand the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes 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 12-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.