Palestinian relatives of 11-year-old Yasser Abu al-Naja, son of a Hamas military commander, grieve at his funeral in the Gaza Strip on June 30, 2018 a day after he was killed by Israeli fire during border clashes. PHOTO: AFP
GAZA CITY: Thousands of Palestinians on Saturday attended the funeral of the 11-year-old son of a Hamas military commander killed by Israeli fire in the southern Gaza Strip, with mourners demanding "revenge".
Yasser Abu al-Naja, whose father is a member of Hamas's military wing, was shot in the head on Friday in border clashes near the southern city of Khan Yunis.
Senior members of Hamas, which rules the blockaded Gaza Strip, and commanders of its Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades attended the funeral.
"Yasser's martyrdom is clear proof of the crimes committed by the (Israeli) occupation against the Palestinian people," said senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya during the ceremony.
Israeli army kills 21-year-old Palestinian nurse in Gaza border protest
"The occupiers killed the child in cold blood," said Hayya, a member of the Islamist Palestinian group's political bureau.
The boy was one of two Palestinians killed on Friday by Israeli troops during border clashes in southern Gaza, according to the Palestinian health ministry in the coastal enclave.
His exact age was initially unclear but his family said on Saturday that Yasser was born on September 19, 2006.
The second fatality was identified as Mohammed al-Hamayda, 24, who was shot in the stomach in a separate incident east of Rafah in Gaza's south. A separate funeral was held for him there.
The army said thousands of Palestinians took part in "extremely violent riots" on Friday and "committed various acts of terror in several locations" along Gaza's border with Israel.
A statement said troops responded with "riot dispersal means" and "resorted to live fire" when those failed. It said the death of the boy would be examined.
Since protests broke out along the Gaza border on March 30, at least 137 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire.
The majority were involved in protests but others were seeking to breach or damage the border fence.
No Israelis have been killed.
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