Palestinian shot by Israeli forces in Gaza rally succumbs to wounds

A Palestinian teenage boy has died less than a day after being shot by Israeli military forces during clashes between Israeli troopers and a group of Palestinian protesters participating in an anti-occupation rally along the border between the besieged Gaza Strip and the Israeli-occupied territories.

News ID: 442583

Date: 23 December 2018 - 18:17

RNA - The spokesman for the Gaza Ministry of Health, Ashraf al-Qidra, said in a statement that 18-year-old Ayman Monir Mohammad Shbair died on Saturday morning.

The statement added that Shbair had been shot in the stomach during an anti-occupation protest in the central Gaza Strip city of Dayr al-Balah, located over 14 kilometers south of Gaza City.

He received urgently needed treatment by field medics, before being rushed to a local hospital in a very serious condition.

Shbair underwent surgery and remained in the intensive care unit until he succumbed to his wounds.

At least three Palestinians were killed and more than 40 injured on Friday during clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli soldiers stationed on the border between the eastern Gaza Strip and the occupied territories.

Palestinian medics carry a wounded man during clashes with Israeli troops on the border between eastern Gaza Strip and the occupied territories, east of Gaza City, on December 21, 2018. (Photo by Xinhua)

Qidra told reporters that 16-year-old Mohamed Jahjouh, Atteya Yassin, 40, and 28-year-old Abdil Aziz Abu Sharee'a were all shot dead by Israeli troops' gunfire. He said 40 more were also shot and wounded.

“Among the injuries, there were four paramedics and two local photo journalists,” he said, accusing Israeli soldiers of using live gunshots in a bid to kill and seriously wound Palestinian demonstrators.

Later on Saturday, Palestinians held funeral processions for the quartet and 36-year-old Sherif Mohammed Hamad Radwan, who died of wounds he sustained after a tear gas canister hit him on May 14.

Relatives of 16-year-old Palestinian Mohamed al-Jahjouh mourn by his body during his funeral in Gaza City on December 22, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

Tensions have been running high near the fence separating Gaza from the occupied territories ever since anti-occupation protest rallies began in the Gaza Strip on March 30. More than 240 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces. Over 23,000 Palestinians have also sustained injuries.

The Gaza clashes reached their peak on May 14, on the eve of the 70th anniversary of Nakba Day (Day of Catastrophe), which coincided this year with the US embassy relocation from Tel Aviv to occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds.

On June 13, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution, sponsored by Turkey and Algeria, condemning Israel for Palestinian civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip.

A Palestinian protester uses a slingshot to hurl stones at Israeli troops on the border between eastern Gaza Strip and the occupied territories, east of Gaza City, on December 21, 2018. (Photo by Xinhua)

The resolution, which had been put forward on behalf of Arab and Muslim countries, garnered a strong majority of 120 votes in the 193-member assembly, with eight votes against and 45 abstentions.

The resolution called on UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to make proposals within 60 days “on ways and means for ensuring the safety, protection, and well-being of the Palestinian civilian population under Israeli occupation,” including “recommendations regarding an international protection mechanism.”

It also called for “immediate steps towards ending the closure and the restrictions imposed by Israel on movement and access into and out of the Gaza Strip.”

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