Palestinian journalist shot at Gaza protest dies of wounds
Ahmed Abu Hussein, 24, who worked for Gaza's Al-Shaab radio station, was injured while covering the clashes on the border on April 13, succumbing to his wounds nearly two weeks later.
GAZA - A Palestinian journalist, shot by IDF snipers while covering a violent protest along the Gaza-Israel 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 ("Voice of People"), a radio station linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, considered a terrorist group by Israel, the US and the EU. He also worked as a photographer for another local news agency.
Photos and video from the scene show that he was in a group of bystanders far from the border and wearing a blue protective vest marked "Press" and a helmet marked "TV" when he was shot on April 13.
He was the second journalist killed by Israeli gunfire since the weekly Friday protests, for a right of return of Palestinians refugees and their descendants to homes in what is now Israel, began on March 30.
He was shot in the stomach while covering protests near Jabalia in northern Gaza, the health ministry in Gaza said.
He was moved from Gaza to a hospital in the West Bank and then transferred to the Sheba Medical Center in Israel, where he died.
His death raised to 38 the number of Palestinians killed in the protests near the border.
An IDF spokeswoman had no immediate comment on Abu Hussein's death.
Yaser Murtaja, 30, a cameraman for Palestinian Ain Media, was shot on April 6 and died the next day. After his death, the IDF said it does not intentionally target journalists and that it would look into the circumstances of the shooting.
The Palestinian journalists' union accused Israel of "deliberately" targeting Abu Hussein and Murtaja, vowing to seek to bring "leaders of the occupation" to justice.
His brother Diaa told AFP they were preparing to transfer the body to Gaza for burial. His funeral will be held on Thursday.
Israel's live-fire response to the protests has drawn international criticism.
Israel has been warning Gazans not to approach the border fence and has been doing what is necessary to stop the barrier from being damaged or breached.
The Palestinians said Israel, which has deployed army sharpshooters along the frontier, used "excessive force against unarmed protesters." Some protesters have hurled stones and rolled burning tires towards the fence.
Gaza is run by the Hamas Islamist movement, designated by Israel and the West as a terrorist group.
AFP and AP contributed to this report.
