News / Palestine

Palestinian youth shot by Israeli forces during Gaza protests dies from wounds

Thursday, 14 June 2018 12:53 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 14 June 2018 1:10 PM ]

Relatives mourn over the body of 15-year-old Haitham al-Jamal, who was fatally shot by Israeli troops the day before on the border in southern Gaza Strip, during his funeral in Rafah on June 9, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

A Palestinian man has succumbed to his injuries nearly a week after he was critically wounded by Israeli army gunfire during an anti-occupation protest along the border between the besieged Gaza Strip and the Israeli-occupied territories.

The spokesman for the Gaza Ministry of Health, Ashraf al-Qidra, said in a statement that 21-year-old Ahmed Ziad Tawfiq al-Assi succumbed to his wounds at the European Hospital in Gaza City on Thursday morning.

He had been shot and wounded in the head east of Khan Yunis, located 7 kilometers northeast of the border town of Rafah, on June 8.

At least 130 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the “Great March of Return” began in the Gaza Strip on March 30. Fourteen children are among the fallen Palestinians.

About 13,300 Palestinians also sustained injuries, of whom 300 are in a critical condition.

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

The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday adopted a resolution forward by Algeria and Turkey on behalf of Arab and Muslim countries, condemning Israel for Palestinian civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip.

The resolution garnered a strong majority of 120 votes in the 193-member assembly, with 8 votes against and 45 abstentions.

A Palestinian protestor waves his national flag during a demonstration along the border with occupied territories east of Jabalia in the central Gaza Strip on June 8, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

The resolution calls 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 calls for “immediate steps towards ending the closure and the restrictions imposed by Israel on movement and access into and out of the Gaza Strip.”

Last month, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in a final communiqué issued following an emergency meeting in Istanbul, condemned the May 14 massacre of dozens of Gazans as "savage crimes committed by the Israeli forces with the backing of the US administration."

It also urged the UN to "form an international investigation committee into the recent atrocities in the Gaza Strip, and enable the committee to initiate field investigation."

The OIC further demanded "the international protection of the Palestinian population, including through dispatching of international protection force" in the face of "unchecked crimes" committed by the Tel Aviv regime.

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