Photos: 25 Fridays of Protest in Gaza

For nearly six months now, Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip have been staging weekly demonstrations at points along the border between Gaza and Israel—protests they call the “Great March of Return,” which demands that Palestinian refugees be allowed to return to their lands in present-day Israel. Every Friday since March 30, large and small groups of protesters approach the border fence under the watch of Israeli soldiers on the other side. Every Friday, Palestinians set tires ablaze, fly Palestinian flags, and chant slogans. Sometimes they throw rocks, fly incendiary kites to set fields ablaze, or lob tear-gas canisters over the fence—and sometimes they attack the fence itself with bolt cutters and hatchets. Every Friday, Israeli soldiers respond with tear gas and rubber bullets—sometimes live ammunition—to disperse, warn, injure, or kill those who get too close to the fence. United Press International quotes the Gaza Health Ministry as saying that “more than 178 Palestinians have been killed since the protests began March 30.”

Read more
Hints: View this page full screen. Skip to the next and previous photo by typing j/k or ←/→.

Most Recent

  • Vincent Yu / AP
    • In Focus
    • 1:18 PM ET
    • 24 Photos

    Photos: Hong Kong Protesters Return to the Streets

    Hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong citizens filled the city’s streets for a second weekend of protest against a controversial extradition bill.

  • Romeo Gacad / AFP / Getty
    • In Focus
    • Jun 14, 2019
    • 35 Photos

    Photos of the Week: Mammoth Swing, Stanley Cup, Frog Wedding

    Art Basel displays in Switzerland, a volcanic eruption in North Sumatra, massive protests in Hong Kong, the L.A. Pride Festival in California, jackaroo and jillaroo school in Australia, and much more

  • Marmittes / Shutterstock
    • In Focus
    • Jun 13, 2019
    • 21 Photos

    The Cold War Bunkers of Albania

    The paranoid worldview of Enver Hoxha, the leader of Albania during the Cold War, led to a massive “bunkerization” project that resulted in the building of nearly 175,000 concrete bunkers across the country.

  • Christian Hartmann / Reuters
    • In Focus
    • Jun 12, 2019
    • 20 Photos

    Photos: Fans of the 2019 Women’s World Cup

    Less than a week into the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, 14 of the scheduled 52 games have already been played by some of the 24 national teams at stadiums in nine cities across France.

Most Popular on The Atlantic

  1. What Really Happened to Malaysia’s Missing Airplane
  2. Dogs’ Eyes Have Changed Since Humans Befriended Them
  3. The Queasy Double Message of Taylor Swift’s ‘You Need to Calm Down’
  4. Why Trump Offers Every Possible Answer
  5. Harvard’s Drastic Decision
  6. A Resolution Condemning White Supremacy Causes Chaos at the Southern Baptist Convention
  7. Tyranny of the 70-Somethings
  8. Tip Your Hotel Maid
  9. From Public Shame to the Courtroom
  10. Dear Therapist:  The Child My Daughter Put Up for Adoption Is Now Rejecting Her
Back to Top