Israeli Troops Kill Gaza Nurse Trying To Help Wounded Protesters

Image by Getty Images
The Israeli military said on Saturday it was investigating the apparent killing by its troops of a Palestinian nurse during protests along the Gaza border.
Health officials and witnesses said Israeli forces shot dead 21-year-old Razan al-Najar, a volunteer medic, as she ran towards the border fence, east of the south Gaza city of Khan Younis, in a bid to reach a casualty.
The Israeli military said Palestinian militants had attacked its troops along the border with gunfire and a grenade.
In a written statement on Saturday, the military said it would investigate al-Najar’s death.
Thousands of people attended al-Najar’s funeral in Gaza on Saturday, including some she had treated when they were wounded at previous border protests. Her body was wrapped in a Palestinian flag and carried through the streets on a stretcher by mourners.
“With our souls and blood we redeem you martyr Razan,” cried mourners as the body was brought to her home for a last farewell before burial.
Residents said al-Najar was a popular figure at the protest sites and pictures depicting her as an angel circulated on Palestinian social media.
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
, editor-in-chief