Saturday, October 10, 2015

Gaza demo death toll rises as 7th dies from injuries

Oct. 10, 2015 9:38 A.M. (Updated: Oct. 10, 2015 5:33 P.M.)


Palestinian men carry a man wounded during clashes with Israeli security forces, outside a hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, on Oct. 9, 2015. (AFP)
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) – Twenty-two year old Jihad Salim al-Ubeid died Saturday morning from wounds sustained after being shot by Israeli snipers during a demonstration Friday, Gaza's ministry of health said.

The young man's death brings the total killed by Israeli forces during demonstrations in Gaza on Friday to seven. The demonstrations were held near the border fence with Israel east of Gaza City and near Khan Younis.

A spokesman for Gaza's ministry of health, Ashraf al-Qidra, confirmed to Ma'an that al-Ubeid, from the Gaza city of Deir al-Balah, succumbed to his wounds after being shot and critically injured when Israeli forces opened fire at Palestinians gathered around 100 meters from the border fence.

On Friday, Shadi Hussam Dawla, 20, Ahmad al-Harbawi, 20, and Abed al-Wahidi, 20, were shot and killed east of the al-Shujaiyeh neighborhood.Muhammad al-Raqeb, 15, and Ziad Nabil Sharaf, 20, were killed after being shot by Israeli forces near Khan Younis while Adnan Moussa Abu Elayyan, 22, was shot in the head and killed in the same area.

One hundred and forty-five other Palestinians were injured by live fire or rubber-coated steel bullets during the Gaza demonstrations, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma'an at the time that 200 Palestinians approached the security fence and hurled rocks and rolled burning tires at Israeli forces.

Israeli forces responded with live fire towards the "main instigators," she said, confirming five direct hits.Al-Ubeid's death comes as tensions continue to rise across Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories following a series of stabbing attacks by both Israelis and Palestinians, violent attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians, and increased restrictions on Palestinians around the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Old City.

Fifteen Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and around 1,000 injured with live and rubber-coated steel bullets in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip since Oct. 1.Nine of those killed have been shot dead during demonstrations and clashes.Four Israelis have been killed during the same time period, two of whom were Israeli settlers.