GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hundreds of Palestinians on Thursday took part in the funeral of a Gaza journalist who died after being shot by Israeli troops while covering a border protest.
Ahmed Abu Hussein, 24, died on Wednesday at an Israeli hospital, nearly two weeks after he was shot on April 13.
Abu Hussein was covering the weekly massive protests organized by Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza.
Amateur video taken at the time shows him wearing a blue vest and helmet with the word “TV” on it. He appeared to be standing far from the Israeli border in a group of bystanders when he was shot.
In a statement Thursday, the Israeli military said “the circumstances regarding the injury of Ahmed Abu Hussein will be examined.”
Meanwhile, Hamas leaders and family members were waiting Thursday at the Egyptian border for the body of a Hamas-affiliated scientist gunned down last week in Malaysia.
The body of Fadi al-Batsh, an engineering lecturer in a Kuala Lumpur university, was expected to arrive later in the day.
Hamas, which accuses Israel of assassinating al-Batsh, is to bury him on Friday at a ceremony led by Ismail Haniyeh, the group’s top leader.
The ceremony is expected to take place near the border, where Hamas has been staging weekly protests. Thirty-five protesters, including two journalists, have been killed by Israeli live fire during a month of demonstrations.
Rights groups, the U.N. and the European Union have all criticized Israel’s use of live fire against unarmed protesters. Israel says it is defending its border and accuses Hamas of using the demonstrations as cover to plan and carry out attacks.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.