Gaza City, June 22 (RHC)-- At least 70 Palestinians have been wounded by Israeli troops during protests near the border fence separating the besieged Gaza Strip from the Tel Aviv-occupied territories.

The Gazan Health Ministry said that Israeli forces inflicted injuries on 70 people taking part in the rallies called the "Great March of Return" -- in eastern Gaza Strip on Friday. Ashraf al-Qedra, the spokesman for the ministry, said that paramedics were also among the wounded.

The rallies have been held every week since March 30 last year. The Palestinians demand the right to return for those driven out of their homeland by Israeli aggression. Israeli troops have killed at least 305 Palestinians since the beginning of the rallies and wounded more than 17,000 others, according to the Gazan Health Ministry.

In March, a United Nations (UN) fact-finding mission found that Israeli forces committed rights violations during their crackdown against the Palestinian protesters in Gaza that may amount to war crimes.