Gaza City, January 18 (RHC)-- Three Palestinian youths have been injured by Israeli soldiers who fired live rounds and tear gas at protesters near the border fence in the Gaza Strip.

According to media reports, the incident occurred on Friday when Israeli troops opened fire on hundreds of protesters near the so-called buffer zone, east of Gaza City.

The young Palestinians were reportedly shot in the leg and rushed to the hospital for treatment. At least two dozen protesters also suffered from tear gas inhalation. A Press TV correspondent present in the scene said dozens of tear gas canisters were shot by Israeli soldiers, noting that the apparently poisonous gas caused fainting, fits, and vomiting even in the case of people quite far from the fumes.

The Friday gathering was held in protest against Israel’s destruction of Palestinian farmlands for a no-go zone that runs along the border with the coastal enclave. Israel has uprooted many Palestinians trees to make way for the zone which it established in 2008 for alleged security reasons. Israeli troops also target Palestinian civilians, including children wandering close to the border fence, farmers and scrap metal collectors trying to make ends meet.

The "buffer zone" is an area of 300 meters. Reports, however, indicate that the Israeli regime is in effect forcing a much larger no-go zone along the border with the Gaza Strip, which remains literally cut off from the outside world by a crippling Israeli blockade.

The siege -- imposed by the Tel Aviv regime since 2007 -- has cut off some 1.7 million Gazans from the rest of the world, turning the densely populated strip into the largest open-air prison in the world.