Palestinians march in East Jerusalem in Gaza solidarity

JERUSALEM 

Thousands of Palestinians marched from Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem following the Eid al-Fitr prayers in protest at an ongoing Israeli onslaught on the blockaded Gaza Strip.

Worshippers flocked to the mosque for the special prayers, which started 6:25am local time (3:25 am GMT), marking the start of the Islamic feast.

The Palestinians - men, women and children - chanted slogans in favor of resistance movements in the Gaza Strip.

"Let our soul and blood be sacrificed for Gaza," the crowd chanted as they marched in Jerusalem's Old City.

Many Palestinians wore black T-shirts to express their condolences for Palestinian victims in the Gaza Strip, which has been reeling under unabated Israeli attacks for almost three weeks now.

The T-shirts read: "Gaza's victory will be our Eid day."

Israeli forces did not disturb the protest, keeping their distance from the angry crowd.

The Israeli army reportedly shelled eastern Gaza City during the Eid prayers, but no casualties were reported.

Israel has been pounding the Gaza Strip – which has been reeling under a crippling Israeli blockade since 2006 - from air, ground and sea since July 7, leaving 1035 dead and 6233 injured and destroying hundreds of homes.

Israel claims that the military offensive aims at undermining the ability of Gaza's resistance movements to launch rocket attacks.

The Israeli offensive – codenamed "Protective Edge" - is the self-proclaimed Jewish state's third major offensive against the densely populated Gaza Strip - home to 1.8 million Palestinians - within the last six years.

By Turgut Alp Boyraz

englishnews@aa.com.tr

www.aa.com.tr/en