Palestinian reporter fatally shot by Israeli troops despite 'PRESS' vest

Palestinian journalists carry a portrait of journalist Yasser Murtaja, during his funeral in Gaza City on April 7, 2018.

(Image credit: Mahmud Hams/Getty Images)

published 7 April 2018

A Palestinian journalist named Yasser Murtaja died Saturday after being fatally shot by Israeli troops while covering a protest in Gaza on Friday. Murtaja, 31, was wearing a protective vest marked "PRESS" when he was shot. Five other Palestinian journalists, who also reportedly wore garments identifying them as members of the media, were shot Friday as well.

Murtaja was reporting on mass border protests in Gaza, where 31 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds more injured. Some demonstrators have thrown rocks and burning tires, and Israeli soldiers have responded with tear gas, rubber bullets, and live fire.

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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.

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