Two Palestinians, including a teenager, were killed on Friday by Israeli gunfire during protests along the Israel-Gaza perimeter fence, the Gaza Strip’s health authorities said. The deaths came as thousands of Palestinians held protests at several sections of the border fence. Gazas health ministry said 38 others were wounded by live fire. Sami al-Ashqar, 17, was shot in the neck in northern Gaza Strip and another unidentified man was hit in the chest in east Gaza City, doctors said. An Israeli military spokesman said that troops guarding the border were faced with more than 6,000 demonstrators at several points along the fence, some hurling explosive devices and firebombs. He said that some briefly managed to cross the fence, before returning to Gaza, and that Israeli forces responded with riot dispersal measures. The spokesman did not comment on the deaths. Gazas Hamas rulers launched the regular weekend protests in March 2018 to demand the easing of an Israeli blockade that has crippled the territory. The so-called "Great March of Return" also calls for Palestinians to have the right to return to land from which their families fled or were forced to flee during Israel’s founding in 1948. More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed during the marches, which have subdued in recent months after mediators brokered an unofficial ceasefire.