Blast kills 5 people in central Gaza Strip

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Five people were killed in an explosion on Saturday in the central Gaza Strip, according to Palestine’s official news agency.

The witnesses and medical sources, cited in WAFA, said the blast took place in the city of Deir el-Balah; three people were also injured.

The cause of the blast remains unknown, WAFA said.

For the last five weeks, Gazans have staged mass rallies along the Strip’s eastern border to demand the “right of return” to their homes in historical Palestine from which they were driven out in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.

The rallies will culminate on May 15, which will mark the 70th anniversary of Israel's establishment -- an event Palestinians refer to as the "Nakba" or "The Catastrophe".

Since the rallies began on March 30, at least 47 Palestinian demonstrators have been killed and hundreds injured, according to ministry figures.

Reporting by Safiye Karabacak; Writing by Burcu Arik