Palestinians bury youth killed by Israel on Gaza border

By Anees Barghouti

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Hundreds of Palestinians on Saturday buried a youth killed by Israeli gunfire during a protest on border between the blockaded Gaza Strip and Israel.

Mohamed Abu Saedeh, 26, was killed on Friday after being struck in the chest by a bullet fired by an Israeli sniper during a protest on Gaza-Israel border, according to health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra.

He said three other Palestinians were moderately injured during the rally near the Al-Breig refugee camp in Gaza.

The Israeli army, for its part, said dozens of Palestinians breached the buffer zone, damaged the border fence and attempted to infiltrate Israel.

"Forces had fired shots to disperse Palestinians trying to breach the Gaza border fence which led to the death of a Palestinian," it said in a statement.

More than 245 Palestinians have been killed since an uptick in Israeli-Palestinian violence began in October 2015, according to Palestinian figures.