A young nurse has been shot dead by Israeli forces in Gaza, the latest killing of medical staff following weeks of violence against Palestinian protesters.
Razan al-Najjar was a 21-year-old volunteer paramedic with the ministry of health who had helped treat protesters injured by Israeli live fire.
Najjar was shot by Israeli forces on the eastern border of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
She was wearing a white medical jacket when she was shot in the chest and dying.
Israeli snipers have been deployed to the Gaza border and shot hudreds of unarmed Palestinian protesters over the past seven weeks.
Friday’s death marks weeks of demonstrations on the Gaza border, beginning 30 March, which has seen at least 123 Palestinian protesters killed by Israeli gunfire.
The protests – dubbed “the Great Return March” – called for the right of return of refugees, and peaked on 14 May when the US moved its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the contested city of Jerusalem.
Over 61 Palestinians were killed and 2,400 injured on that day, while tens of thousands protested along the besieged strip’s border.
Israeli snipers fired live rounds and tear gas at the protesters, with condemnation from the UN and human rights groups.
Al Araby
