30-year-old Yasser Murtaja was killed by Israeli firing while he was covering the protest at the Gaza-Israel border. Along with him, eight other Palestinians were shot dead. The Israeli military claims that they opened fire when the protesters tried to breach the border. Thousands of Palestinians have been protesting at the border for the right of the Palestinian refugees to return. On the first day of the protest, 16 Palestinians were killed when Israeli soldiers opened live fire. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called on the United Nations to provide international protection.