Israeli jets 'bomb Hamas positions' in Gaza as Palestinian protester succumbs to wounds
A Palestinian man has succumbed to his injuries after Israeli forces shot him during protests in the besieged Gaza Strip on Saturday evening, according to local health officials.
Gaza's health ministry issued an alert in the early hours of Sunday to confirm that Habib al-Masri had died from his wounds.
Health officials said that the 24-year-old Palestinian sustained his injuries during protests in northern Gaza.
The announcement came as Israeli warplanes targeted two Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip.
Israel said it had scrambled its jets on Sunday after burning kites and balloons set off by Palestinian activists in the Gaza Strip landed in settlements across southern Israel.
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The planes hit targets in the al-Awda refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip, according to the Anadolu agency.
Use of live ammunition 'unlawful'
Masri is the third Palestinian killed in recent days by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip during protests against Israel's ongoing blockade of Gaza.
Gaza's health ministry announced two separate deaths on Friday, both of whom had died after Israeli forces shot them in the east of the Gaza Strip.
The UN Human Rights Council on Friday condemned Israel's conduct towards Palestinian protesters in the Gaza Strip and described its use of live ammunition against unarmed demonstrators in Gaza as "unlawful."
Members of the UN Human Rights Council also backed a motion, brought forward by Pakistan on behalf of the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation, for accountability.
It called for cooperating with a preliminary examination opened by the International Criminal Court in 2015 into alleged Israeli human rights violations.
The resolution was based on a UN investigation which found that Israel may have committed crimes against humanity by killing 189 Palestinians at weekly protests in Gaza last year.
The vote was 23 states in favour, eight against, with 15 abstentions and one delegation absent.
The United States did not participate, having quit the body last year over what it said was anti-Israel bias.
"The targeting of civilians is a serious matter that should not be condoned,” Palestine’s ambassador Ibrahim Khraisi said, citing the report’s findings.
The toll included 35 Palestinian children, two journalists, and medical workers, he noted.
“There have not been any injuries inflicted on any Israelis, be they military or civilians,” he said.
The UK abstained from the vote because the inquiry was not "even-handed and balanced", Alistair Burt, the UK's Middle East minister, told MPs in parliament on Friday.
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