Palestinian journalist dies after being shot by Israeli forces

Yaser Murtaja was shot in the stomach during Friday's mass protests, bringing the total death toll to 31 since March 30.

A Palestinian journalist shot by Israeli forces during a mass demonstration along the Gaza border has died of his wounds.

Yaser Murtaja, a photographer with the Gaza-based Ain Media agency, was shot in the stomach in Khuza'a in the south of the Gaza Strip on Friday, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Murtaja, 30, was hit despite wearing a blue flak jacket marked with the word "press", discerning him as a journalist.

Hosam Salem, a photographer at the scene of the incident told Al Jazeera on Friday that he witnessed Murtaja drop to the ground after he was shot by Israeli forces.

"Yaser was filming with his camera next to me when we heard the sound of gunfire," Salem said. "He just fell on the ground and said, 'I've been shot, I've been shot'."

The Palestinian journalist syndicate said seven other reporters were injured in Friday's protest, in what they described as "deliberate crimes committed by the Israeli army".

The syndicate posted photos of journalist Khalil Abu Athira, who was shot during his coverage of Gaza's protest on Friday.

The journalism union called for a mass participation in the funeral of Murtaja, and for a protest to be held at 12pm (09:00GMT) at the Manara Square in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.

They also called for the United Nations to protect journalists and to implement UN Resolution 2222 into concrete steps.

March of Return rallies

In addition to Murtaza's death, the health ministry announced on Saturday the killing of another man, 20-year-old Hamza Abdel Aal, bringing the number of those killed during Friday's protests to nine.

A total of 31 Palestinians have now been shot dead since the start of the protests on March 30, when tens of thousands took to the border area with Israel, demanding the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

Live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullet and tear gas fired at the rallies by Israeli soldiers wounded at least 1,400 thus far.

The Palestinian health ministry reported that on Friday 491 people were injured by live ammunition after Israeli forces fired on protesters who had gathered near the Israeli border in the besieged Gaza Strip.

At least 33 of the injured have been described by the ministry as "critical cases".

Friday's demonstration was the second in as many weeks of a planned, weeks-long sit-in dubbed the Great March of Return.

Its main message is to call for the right of return for Palestinian refugees who were driven from their homes in the territories taken over by Israel during the 1948 war, known to Arabs as  the Nakba

Around 70 percent of Gaza's two million population were forced from their homes and now live in a territory of about 360sq km, which has been described as "the world's largest open-air prison".

Israel has drawn sharp criticism for its open-fire orders along the border, including its warnings that those approaching or trying to damage the fence would be targeted.