Gaza medic succumbs to wounds inflicted by Israeli fire

GAZA, Palestinian Territory – Gaza’s Health Ministry says that a Palestinian paramedic has succumbed to wounds inflicted by Israeli fire at a border protest a month before.

The ministry said Mohammed al-Judeili, 36, died in a West Bank hospital Monday of a wound from a rubber bullet to his head. His death brings the toll of medics killed while tending to the wounded at Gaza’s weekly border protests up to four.

Hamas, the militant group ruling Gaza, launched the protests last year to draw attention to the crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade imposed after it took control of the territory in 2007. Over 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed since the demonstrations began.

The protests often escalate into cycles of cross-border conflicts defused with short-lived truces mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the U.N.