BFF-43 Palestinian teen dies of wounds from border clash: ministry

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ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-CONFLICT-GAZA

Palestinian teen dies of wounds from border clash: ministry

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories, Aug 4, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – A Palestinian
teen died of his wounds Saturday a day after he was shot by Israeli troops
during clashes on the Gaza border, the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry
said.

Muadh al-Suri, 15, was shot in the stomach on Friday in central Gaza,
ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qudra said, raising the number of Palestinians
killed by Israeli fire during those clashes to two, with over 200 wounded.

According to the Israeli army, some 8,000 Gazans had gathered at different
spots along the frontier Friday, attempting to sabotage the Israeli border
fence.

A number of Palestinians “infiltrated” Israel and threw firebombs and “an
explosive device” before returning to Gaza, it said.

At least 159 Palestinians have been killed in border demonstrations that
began at the end of March, while one Israeli soldier has been shot dead.

Palestinians have also flown balloons and kites carrying incendiary
devices across the border, starting hundreds of fires inside Israel.

With borders to both Egypt and Israel largely sealed in recent years, Gaza
suffers from desperately high rates of poverty and unemployment.

Israel insists its blockade is necessary to isolate Gaza’s Islamist Hamas
rulers, with which it has fought three wars since 2008.

Critics say it amounts to collective punishment of the coastal territory’s
two million residents.

BSS/AFP/MSY/1441 hrs