Palestinian journalist killed in Israel-Gaza protests

A Palestinian journalist died on Saturdayafter being wounded by Israeli fire on Friday while covering deadly protests along the Israel-Gaza border, health officials said.

Yaser Murtaja, 30, a cameraman for Palestinian Ain Media, was the 29th Palestinian killed in the week-long protests.

Video showed Murtaja lying wounded on a stretcher wearing a navy-blue protective vest marked "press"in large black capital letters.

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Health officials said a live bullet had penetrated the side of his abdomen and he succumbed to his wounds in hospital.

An Israeli military spokeswoman had no immediate comment.

The protests began on March 30 along the Israel-Gaza frontier with daily demonstrations dubbed "The Great March of Return."

Gazans, including Palestinian refugees and their descendants seeking to regain ancestral homes in what is now Israel, have set up tent encampments a few hundred metresinside the 65-kilometrebarrierthat separates Israel from the Gaza Strip.

Israel has stationed sharpshooters to stop attempts by Palestinians to breach the border or sabotage the security fence.