Palestinian journalist killed by Israeli forces

Yaser Murtaja was covering the protests along the Israel-Gaza border when Israeli soldiers opened fire.
Yaser Murtaja was covering the protests along the Israel-Gaza border when Israeli soldiers opened fire. Photo credit: Facebook

Hundreds of people have gathered to mourn a Palestinian journalist killed by Israeli forces on Friday.

Yaser Murtaja was covering the protests along the Israel-Gaza border when Israeli soldiers opened fire, shooting him in the abdomen. He later died in hospital.

The 30-year-old was clearly marked as a journalist, wearing a helmet and a navy protective vest marked 'PRESS' in large letters.

The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) has stationed sharpshooters to deter Palestinians from trying to cross or tamper with border fencing.

However, the Israel military claimed it was "not familiar" with "the circumstances in which journalists were allegedly hit by IDF fire".

"The IDF does not intentionally target journalists," it said.

Freelance photographer Ashraf Abu Amra told Reuters he was next to Mr Murtaja when the shooting began.

"I screamed to him, 'Yaser are you alright?' He didn't respond and there was blood on the ground underneath him. I knew it was a bad injury and people carried him away."

Video footage showed Mr Murtaja being carried to an ambulance.

The Great March of Return protests began on March 30, demanding the right of return for Palestinian refugees to towns and villages from which their families fled or were forced out when the state of Israel was created.

Mr Murtaja was the 29th Palestinian killed in the week-long protests.

His wife and two year old son attended his funeral on Saturday (local time) along with hundreds of others, including many journalists.

His body was covered with a Palestinian flag and his press jacket was laid beside him during the ceremony.

Newshub.