Palestinian dies after being shot in head at protest

A 21-year-old Palestinian man succumbed to his wounds in Gaza on Thursday, nearly a week after having been shot in the head by Israeli forces during a Great March of Return protest.

The Gaza health ministry identified the Palestinian as Ahmad Ziyad al-Assi, adding in a statement that he had been shot in the head and critically injured east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on 8 June.

According to ministry data, Assi’s death raises the toll of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces during the Great March of Return protests, which began on 30 March, to 132.

There have been no Israeli casualties.

Another 14,600 Palestinians have been wounded since the beginning of the large-scale protests in Gaza.

Demonstrators have been calling for the return for refugees - who make up 1.3 million of Gaza’s two million inhabitants - to the homes their families were displaced from during the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.

The United Nations General Assembly condemned Israel in a resolution on Wednesday for its excessive use of force against Palestinian civilians and asked UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to recommend an "international protection mechanism" in occupied Palestinian territory.

"We cannot remain silent in the face of the most violent crimes and human rights violations being systematically perpetrated against our people," Palestinian envoy to the UN Riyad Mansour told the General Assembly before the vote, adding that the resolution was "intended to contribute to a de-escalation of the volatile situation".

Meanwhile, protesters in the occupied West Bank demonstrating in solidarity with Gaza and denouncing Palestinian Authority (PA) sanctions on the besieged coastal enclave were violently repressed by PA forces on Wednesday night.