Abbas announces ‘day of mourning’ as Gaza death toll reaches 16

from al Araby

President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas declared Saturday as a day of national mourning for the 16 Gazans killed by Israeli forces while commemorating the 42nd anniversary of Land Day.

Friday became the conflict’s worst single day of violence since the 2014 Gaza war with some 1,600 injured, over 700 of them by live bullets and the remainder by rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas inhalation.

At least 20 are in critical condition in Gaza’s hospitals, which have been overwhelmed by the skyrocketing number of casualties occurring over just several hours on Friday.

Abbas called on the United Nations to provide international protection for the defenseless Palestinian people, pointing out that the especially high number of Palestinian casualties seen on Friday confirms the need for intervention by the international community…

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