Palestinians chant slogans during a protest to mark Nakba Day near Erez crossing.
An Israeli soldier has deliberately shot Palestinian photographer Mohammad Othman as he was covering protests in the Gaza Strip, says Reporters Without Borders. The group said on Tuesday that Othman was clearly identifiable as a journalist at the time of the shooting and was deliberately targeted on Sunday. The photographer was covering demonstrations near the Erez crossing in northern Gaza Strip. On Sunday, thousands of Palestinians staged protests to mark the anniversary of the Nakba Day or “day of the catastrophe,” May 15, 1948, when Palestine was occupied by Israel. Israeli Apache helicopters and F-16 fighter planes flew over the demonstrators, whereas troops fired tank shells near marching protesters on the border crossing. Medical sources and Othman’s family told AFP on Tuesday that he was still in hospital in a “critical but stable” condition. “He underwent an operation early this morning to remove a piece of shrapnel from his spine,” said Adham Abu Selmiya, a spokesman for the medical services in Gaza. A doctor said the 26-year-old Othman was shot in the arm and was hit in the chest by shrapnel, which entered his lungs and spine.
