Mourners on Saturday attended the funeral procession for 12-year-old Shadi Abdul Aziz Mahmoud Abdulal, who was fatally shot in the head by Israeli troopers during protest rallies east of the city of Jabalia in northern Gaza on Friday.
He has now become one of the youngest Palestinians to be martyred in months of unrest along the frontier. Hundreds of family members and friends attended the funeral, with some calling for revenge.
“God burn those that burned my heart and martyred my son," said Abdulal’s mother Umm Shadi, who has eight other children. “What is my son guilty of? He is 12 years old,” she added through tears.
According to the Gazan Health Ministry, Hani Ramzi Afaneh and Mohammad Khalil Shaqoura, both 21, were also mortally wounded on Friday. Another 248 were also sustained injuries by Israeli live bullets, rubber-coated steel rounds or tear gas, six of whom are thought to be in critical condition.
Tensions have been running high near the fence since March 30, which marked the start of a series of protests dubbed ‘The Great March of Return.’ Palestinian protesters demand the right to return for those driven out of their homeland.
The clashes in Gaza reached their peak on May 14, the eve of the 70th anniversary of ‘Nakba Day’, or the Day of Catastrophe, which coincided this year with Washington's relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to occupied al-Quds.
Israeli fire has taken the lives of nearly 175 Palestinians since March 30. More than 19,000 Palestinians have also been wounded.