Gazan dies of wounds months after May 14 border melee

A Palestinian man wounded in May by Israeli fire during deadly clashes on the Gaza border has died of his injuries, the Hamas-run health ministry in the Palestinian enclave said on Tuesday.

Majid Aqeel, 26, succumbed to his wounds more than two months after being shot in northern Gaza during mass protests along the border on May 14.

The protests, which coincided with the controversial opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem on the same day, were the peak of months of border demonstrations.

At least 63 Palestinians were killed on May 14, making it the most bloody day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the 2014 war. At least 50 of them were Hamas members, the terror group acknowledged.

Since the organized protests and clashes began along the Gaza border on March 30, more than 150 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire. Dozens of the fatalities were members of terror groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad have said.

Israel said its troops were defending the border and accused Hamas of trying to carry out terror attacks under the cover of the protests.

The protests at Israel’s border peaked on the day Aqeel was injured, when some 40,000 Gazans protested and rioted along the fence and violent clashes took place between troops and Palestinians.

In addition to the border protests, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have launched countless kites, balloons, and inflated latex condoms bearing flammable materials, and occasionally explosives, into Israeli territory, sparking near-daily fires that have burned thousands of acres of farmland, parks, and forests.

The Israeli military says it has insisted its soldiers adhere to the rules of engagement to defend Israeli civilians and security infrastructure from attacks cloaked by the protests.

One Israeli soldier was shot dead near the border on Friday, sparking fierce retaliatory strikes.

The area has remained mostly calm since a tacit ceasefire was reached late Friday.