Gazan wounded in border protests said to die

Ahmed al-Ayeda, 17, was injured on March 30, the first day of clashes, and had been in critical condition ever since, according to officials

A Palestinian shot by Israeli forces on the Gaza border four months ago has died, the Hamas-run health ministry in the coastal enclave has said.

Ahmed al-Ayeda, 17, was shot on March 30 — the first day of months of protests and clashes along the border — east of of Bureij in the central Gaza Strip and had been in critical condition since then, the ministry said in a statement late Sunday.

For the past four months, there have been near-weekly, violent protests along the Israel-Gaza border organized by Gaza’s Hamas rulers, leading to the most serious escalation of tensions between the two sides since the 2014 war.

The deadly clashes have seen Israeli security forces facing gunfire, grenades, Molotov cocktails, and efforts — sometimes successful — to damage or cross the border fence.

At least 160 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the “March of Return” protests began, the Hamas ministry says. Hamas, a terror group that has vowed to destroy Israel, has acknowledged that dozens of those killed were its members.

One Israeli soldier was shot dead by a Palestinian sniper.

In addition to the border clashes, southern Israel has experienced hundreds of fires as a result of incendiary kites and balloons flown over the border from Gaza. Over 7,000 acres of land have been burned, causing millions of shekels in damages, according to Israeli officials.

Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas have fought three wars with Israel since 2008.

The United Nations and Egypt are currently trying to secure a deal between Israel and Hamas for a lasting truce.