Israeli forces shoot dead Gaza protester: ministry

A Palestinian man was killed and 20 were injured overnight by Israeli forces in east Gaza. 

A ministry statement said Sunday that the 21-year-old Emad Ishtiwi was shot dead during protests against Israeli forces. 

Israel's army said a drone fired at Palestinians who flew armed kites toward Israel.

The kites, which are released with incendiary rags are a protest tactic used by Gazans, and have been inflicting some economic losses on Israel due to crops catching fire.

Sami Abu Zuhri, an official in Gaza's Hamas government, said Sunday that Hamas is stepping up protests along the fence between Gaza and Israel because Egyptian-mediated talks on a deal between the militant group and Israel foundered. Hamas hopes a deal would end a decade-long blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt when the group took over Gaza.

Palestinians have staged regular protests along the separation fence since 30 March, demanding an end to the blockade and the right to return to homes their families fled or were expelled from during the creation of Israel in 1948. 

The UN says Gaza will be "unlivable" by 2020 if the blockade continues. 

More than 180 Palestinians, including at least 29 children, have been killed by Israeli fire and over 17,000 injured since the Great March of Return protests were launched in March.

One Israeli was killed by a Palestinian sniper since then.

Amnesty said it has not documented any instances where demonstrators posed an imminent threat to life to Israeli forces.