At least 89 Palestinians were injured near the Gaza border fence on Friday in yet another day where Israeli forces open fire at hundreds of peaceful protesters, WAFA news agency reported.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 48 of the injured were treated on site and 41 were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment, three of whom sustained serious injuries; among the casualties are two women and eight children.

Numerous protestors also suffered temporary asphyxia due to tear gas fired by Israeli forces.

Palestinians began staging mass rallies near the Gaza-Israeli fence on March 30, protesting against the ongoing siege on Gaza, which has led many to dub the enclave the “largest open air prison,” with former British Prime Minister David Cameron describing it as a “prison camp”.

During the 13th Friday edition of the Great Return March, thousands of Gazans expressed their solidarity with the wounded, who have now reached approximately 13,000.

The commission organising the rallies called on Gazans throughout the Strip to flock toward the eastern side of the strip in order to participate in the demonstrations, but maintained that the protests must remain peaceful.

The protests, which started immediately after the noon prayer and lasted until 7:30 p.m., asserted Palestinians’ right of return, demanded an end to the siege over Gaza, and rejected an American-brokered peace agreement and the so-called “alternative homeland”.