Among those killed yesterday was Yasser Murtaja, 30, a photographer with the Gaza-based Ain Media agency, who died from his wounds after being shot
Representational picture
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Clashes with Israel left nine Palestinians, including a journalist dead. The Palestinian side mourned and buried their dead. A second day of protests were carried out on Friday, with protesters burning tyres hurling stones at Israeli forces near the borer fence at Gaza.
In addition to the nine dead, at least 491 were wounded by Israeli gunfire, the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave said. Israel said there were around 20,000 protesters and that they were seeking to breach the border. Numbers were down from the previous Friday, when tens of thousands approached the border in demonstrations that saw Israeli forces kill 19 Palestinians, making it the bloodiest day in Gaza since a 2014 war.
The demonstrations largely abated by Saturday, but three Palestinians were wounded by Israeli forces in a small clash east of Gaza City in the afternoon, one of them seriously, according to the Palestinian health ministry. No Israelis were injured on either day and the latest deaths have sparked fresh calls for an investigation.
Among those killed yesterday was Yasser Murtaja, 30, a photographer with the Gaza-based Ain Media agency, who died from his wounds after being shot, the health ministry said. Witnesses said he was close to the front of the protests in southern Gaza when he was hit. An AFP picture taken after he was wounded showed Murtaja wearing a press vest as he received treatment.
His brother Motazem, also a journalist, said he was next to him when he was shot. "The target was very clearly journalists," he said. Israel's army said it "does not intentionally target journalists." "The circumstances in which journalists were allegedly hit by Israeli Defence Force (IDF) fire are not familiar to the IDF, and are being looked into," it said in a statement.
With Inputs from Agencies
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