Israel martyrs Palestinian amid protests in Gaza

The Israeli army martyred a Palestinian man on Sunday in the northern coastal area of the Gaza Strip amid ongoing demonstrations against Israel's air, land, and sea blockade.

Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesman for Palestine’s Health Ministry, said in a written statement that Mohammad abu-Ibadah, 27, was shot dead by the Israeli army during today’s demonstration.

Gaza’s National Committee for Breaking the Siege launched the event from the Gaza Strip’s northern coast, not far from the heavily fortified Gaza-Israel buffer zone.

It was the 13th time this year Gaza activists held the event, in which boats slowly approach the maritime border before hastily retreating in the face of intense machine-gun fire.

Israel first imposed its Gaza blockade in 2006 after Palestinian movement Hamas, which supports armed resistance against Israel’s decades-long occupation, swept Palestinian legislative polls.

The following year, Israel ratcheted up the blockade after Hamas seized the entire Gaza Strip -- which it still holds today -- from rival Palestinian faction Fatah.

Still in effect, the blockade has crippled Gaza’s economy, depriving the enclave’s more than 2 million inhabitants of many basic commodities.