Palestinians bury four killed in Gaza protests

A Palestinian youth succumbed to wounds he sustained from Israeli army gunfire in the blockaded Gaza, the Gaza health ministry said on Saturday.  

Ayman Munir Shbeir, 18, was shot in the abdomen during anti-occupation protests in the Palestinian enclave on Friday.  

"He died of his wounds on Saturday," the ministry said in a statement.  

Saturday's death takes to four the number of Palestinian killed by Israeli army near Gaza's buffer zone since Friday. Dozens of others were wounded.

Meanwhile, thousands of Palestinians attended the burials of four Palestinains killed by Israeli troops.

Funerals were held across Gaza, a day after the four were shot, including 16-year-old Mohammed Jahjouh.

Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh told mourners that his movement complained to mediators over the deaths, and vowed to keep up the protests.

"We have spoken to the brotherly mediators who deal with this issue to carry out their responsibility in restraining the enemy," he said.

"Secondly, we want, and we are assessing the enemy's new behaviour in dealing with the 'march of return'. Certainly, the national and Islamic factions will take the proper decision to deal with the enemy's resumption of targeting the unarmed civilians."

Right to return protests

Palestinians have been staging mass protests in Gaza to demand the right to return to their homes and villages in historical Palestine, from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.  

They also demand an end to Israel's 12-year blockade of the Gaza, which has destroyed the coastal enclave's economy and deprived its roughly two million inhabitants of many basic commodities.  

Since the rallies began on March 30, more than 240 Palestinians have been killed –– and more than 25,000 wounded –– by Israeli troops deployed near Gaza-Israel fence.