The Palestinian Footballer Who May Never Play Again: The Human Impact of Gaza's Land Day Protests

Mohammad Khalil was filming with his phone during protests in Gaza on March 30 and captured the moment that gunfire hit him in the legs, knocking him to the ground.Khalil is an avid soccer player and says that he’s worried his injuries will mean he may never play again.His video showed the damage to his left knee as he lay on the ground. Khalil told Storyful that the bullet struck both of his legs, causing damage to both knees, a report corroborated by a local journalist.At least 17 people were killed as Israeli security forces responded to the protests that day. Some 1,400 people were injured.Khalil was one of the tens of thousands of protesters who took part in a series of mass demonstrations along the border fence between Gaza and Israel as part of the Palestinian Land Day commemorations. The day marks the anniversary of the 1976 shooting dead of six Palestinian citizens of Israel during a demonstration.Many protesters threw stones across the fence and set fire to tires, throwing black smoke into the air. The Israel Defense Forces reported that gunmen fired at security forces from inside Gaza during the protests. Credit: Storyful News via Storyful