Palestinian boy martyred in northern Gaza Strip

By Hedaya al-Saedi

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – A Palestinian teenager was martyred on Wednesday by Israeli gunfire during a protest in northern Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

Ahmed Samir Abu-Hubl, 15, was shot in the head by Israeli occupation forces, the ministry said in a brief statement.

Dozens of Palestinians staged a protest late Wednesday at Erez border crossing in the northern part of the enclave.

In an earlier statement, the ministry said that 15 people were injured by the Israeli army gunfire and affected by teargas shells.

Protesters -- who have been staging demonstrations since March 30 -- demand the “right of return” to their homes 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 two million inhabitants of basic commodities.

According to the Health Ministry, more than 180 Palestinians have been martyred and thousands more injured.