Israeli soldiers have shot and killed a 20-year old Palestinian during a protest in the besieged Gaza Strip, along the heavily-guarded border with Israel.

Ahmed Salim was shot on Wednesday morning as dozens of Palestinians held a peaceful demonstration against a decision by Israel to build a buffer zone in the area.

Israeli soldiers opened fire on protesters to disperse the crowd which was estimated at a few hundreds.

"Ahmed was shot in the abdomen and moved to the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. He, however, died in the afternoon due to bullet injuries he had suffered,” the head of Gaza’s emergency services Mo’aweya Hassanein told reporters.

Gazans have held numerous demonstrations in recent weeks against a newly-declared 300-meter no-go zone. Tel Aviv claims that the buffer zone is being constructed to prevent Palestinian resistance fighters from launching homemade rockets at Israel.

Palestinians maintain that the aim of the peaceful protests is to halt the establishment of the zone since it prevents them from reaching their farmland.

(Press TV)