Gaza Poet Who Inspired Nonviolent Protests Is Injured in Israeli Airstrike; 5 Relatives Killed

Palestinian poet Ahmed Abu Artema was seriously injured in an Israeli airstrike on October 24 that also killed five members of his family, including his 12-year-old son. Artema helped inspire the Great March of Return, a series of nonviolent protests in Gaza starting in 2018 when thousands of Palestinians marched to the militarized fence separating them from their ancestral homes inside Israel, braving deadly Israeli sniper fire that killed hundreds and injured thousands more. Artema spoke with Democracy Now! about the mass protests in 2019. The Palestinians in Gaza are actually in a real prison," he said. When tens of thousands of Palestinians share in the March of Return, they want to say that we never gave up our right to return."