GAZA CITY: A Palestinian wounded during clashes with Israeli troops along the Gaza-Israel border died on Saturday, the Health Ministry in the blockaded coastal enclave said.
Badreddin Abu Musa, 25, was “hit by a bullet to the head (in Friday’s clashes) and died this morning,” ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qudra said in a statement.
Abu Musa was taking part alongside hundreds of Palestinians in demonstrations near the border with Israel, he said.
At least 75 Palestinians were wounded, including 42 other Palestinians hit by live fire, he said in a statement.
The Israeli military said a soldier was lightly injured and an army vehicle was damaged as the demonstrators threw grenades at the fence. He was among 6,000 Palestinians who participated in the weekly protests along Gaza-Israel perimeter fence.
There was no immediate word from the Israeli army.
Mass protests began along the Gaza-Israel border in March last year demanding the easing of Israel’s more than decade-old blockade of the territory and the right for Palestinian refugees to return to their ancestral homes in what is now Israel.
At least 306 Palestinians have been killed since then by Israeli fire, the majority of them during demonstrations. Seven Israelis have also been killed over the same period in Gaza-related violence.
Gaza is ruled by the Palestinian movement Hamas which has fought three wars against Israel since 2008.
Hamas rulers launched the marches last year, which aim to break a 12-year-old Israeli-Egyptian blockade on the territory.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says a Palestinian man has died of his wounds sustained from Israeli gunfire the previous day at protests along the perimeter fence.
