





A Palestinian journalist wearing a vest marking him as “PRESS” was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers at the Gaza border on Saturday, marking the sixth Palestinian journalist to be shot and one of 31 Palestinians killed at the border so far.

Yasser Murtaja, 31, was shot in the abdomen while covering mass protests along the Israeli border.

Murtaja, who worked for the Gaza-based Ain Media, was carried through the streets during his funeral draped in his press vest.

The Israeli army claims it did not intentionally target Murtaja and that it is investigating the shooting, according to The Times of Israel.

“For weeks we have been warning against coming close to the fence and calling on Gaza’s residents not to obey the orders of the terror group Hamas and refrain from terror activities and other violent acts against Israel,” the IDF said in a statement. “Despite this, since last Friday the IDF has been dealing with tens of thousands of people approaching the fence, all instigated by Hamas.”

“In response IDF forces are acting under clear orders designed for these circumstances. The IDF does not deliberately target journalists.”







The Times of Israel reports:

Israeli troops opened fire from across the border, killing at least nine Palestinians and wounding 491 others in the second mass border protest in eight days, according to Palestinian figures. The deaths brought to at least 31 the number of Palestinians reported killed by Israeli fire since last week. Israel does not provide figures.

Murtaja was over 100 meters from the border, wearing a flak jacket marked “press” and holding his camera when he was shot in an exposed area just below the armpit, news agency reports said.

The Hill adds:

Israel has denied that protests are peaceful and claims that soldiers are forced to fire into the crowd because the terrorist group Hamas is using the crowds to make gains on the border.







