A Palestinian journalist shot while covering a protest on the Gaza-Israeli border nearly two weeks ago died of his wounds on Wednesday, Palestinian health officials said.
Ahmed Abu Hussein, 24, worked for Gaza's Al-Shaab radio station and was covering protests at the fence in Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip. He sustained a bullet wound to the abdomen. He was evacuated to a Palestinian hospital in the West Bank, and later to an Israeli hospital.
Photos and amateur video from the scene show him far from the border and wearing a blue jacket and helmet marked "TV" when he was shot. The video shows him in a group of bystanders located some 50 meters (164 feet) behind a wall of burning tires that had been set on fire by demonstrators.
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit had no immediate comment on Abu Hussein's death, which raised to 38 the number of Palestinians killed in the protests near the border. At least 10 of the dead were known terrorists.
He was the second journalist killed by Israeli gunfire since the weekly Friday protests began on March 30.
Yaser Murtaja, 30, a cameraman for Palestinian Ain Media, was shot on April 6 and died the next day. The IDF reported that Murtaja was a Hamas member but said he had not been targeted.
The Palestinian Journalists Union accused Israel of "deliberately" targeting Abu Hussein and Murtaja, vowing to seek to bring "leaders of the occupation" to justice.
Abu Hussein will be buried in Gaza on Thursday.
Israel has been warning Gazans not to approach the border fence and that it is doing what is necessary to stop the barrier from being damaged or breached. Israel says that Hamas is using the protests as cover for damaging the fence and preparing to infiltrate and carry out attacks.
Israel is worried about the possibility of a mass breach in which Gazans stream across the border, wreaking havoc or carrying out attacks in Israeli communities adjacent to the Gaza Strip.
