An Arab teenager was killed during clashes with Israeli soldiers near the Gaza border on Wednesday, the Hamas-run health ministry in the enclave said. Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP that Ahmed Abu Habel, 15, succumbed to a head wound after being hit with a tear gas canister fired by soldiers near a checkpoint between Israel and the Gaza Strip. Israel's military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. There have been months of protests and clashes along the Gaza border. Wednesday's incident took place in the Beit Hanoun area of the northern Gaza Strip, near the Erez crossing into Israel. At least 195 demonstrators and rioters in Gaza have been killed by Israeli fire since the protests began on March 30. One Israeli soldier has been killed in the border area over the same period. Israel says its actions are necessary to defend the border and stop infiltrations and attacks, which it accuses Hamas, the Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip, of orchestrating.
