Palestinian medic dies of wounds after Israeli fire in Gaza

His death brings the toll of medics killed while tending to the wounded at weekly border protests up to four

Co-workers of paramedic Mohammed al-Jdaili, who succumbed to his wounds a month after being shot during clashes along the Gaza border, mourn during his funeral in the Bureij refugee camp, in the centrShow more

On Monday, Palestinian medic Sobhi Al Jdeily died in a hospital in Hebron in the occupied West Bank — a world away from Gaza, where an Israeli rubber bullet hit him in the head last month while he was working with the International Red Cross during the Gaza border protests, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Al Jdeily, 36, was brought to Hebron for treatment while in serious condition. His body was returned to Gaza for burial on Tuesday. His young son participated in the mourner's procession, chanting from the shoulders of an older man as Al Jdeily's body, face exposed and wrapped in a Palestinian flag, was carried through the crowd, according to images posted to social media.

Al Jdeily was at least the 294th Palestinian killed by Israeli fire in Gaza since March 2018, according to AFP. The majority were struck during the border protests and clashes. The Palestinian Ministry of Health has placed the death toll at 306.

Six Israelis have also been killed from the ongoing violence.

A United Nations probe from February found that least three paramedics had been fatally shot by Israel while working as clearly-marked humanitarian workers during the protests. Among them was 21-year-old Razan Najjar, who was killed in June by Israeli fire while attending to injured people by the border fence. Israel has opened a criminal probe into Najjar's death, among several others.

Al Jdeily had four children and lived in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. He was struck while working by the buffer zone near Jabalia in northern Gaza, the Palestinian official news agency Wafa reported.

Organisers say the weekly protests in Gaza are intended to put pressure on Israel to end its crippling blockade of the coastal enclave. Israel has accused Hamas, the extremist group that controls Gaza, of using the protests as a front for staging attacks.