Gazan Health Ministry says 36 Palestinians have been injured by Israeli forces during anti-occupation protests near the fence separating the Gaza Strip and the occupied territories.

Ashraf al-Qedra, the spokesman for ministry, said that 24 of those wounded on Friday were shot with live bullets.

The rallies have been held every week since March 30 last year. The Palestinians demand the right to return of 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 nearly 18,000 others, according to the Gazan Health Ministry.