Child dies of wounds from Israeli gunfire in Gaza

By Mohamed Majid

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - A Palestinian child on Tuesday succumbed to wounds he sustained from Israeli gunfire during anti-occupation protests in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry on Tuesday.

Ahmed Yassir Abu Abed, 4, from the eastern city of Khan Younis was injured during a protest near Gaza Strip’s eastern border four days ago, ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said in a statement.

“He was martyred today,” he said.

Since March, more than 210 Palestinians have been martyred -- and thousands more injured -- by Israeli army gunfire during protests in the Gaza Strip.

Protesters demand the “right of return” to their homes and villages in historical Palestine, from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.

They also demand an end to Israel’s 11-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its roughly 2 million inhabitants of many basic commodities.