GAZA, June 7 (Xinhua) -- The death of female Palestinian paramedic Razan al-Najjar by Israeli gunfire last week has left her family, friends and the Palestinians at shock.
Al-Najjar, 21 and a volunteer, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers on Friday during the "Great March of Return" rallies that have been ongoing since March 30.
The rallies demand the return of Palestinian refugees who were forced to leave their cities during the Arab-Israeli war in 1948, as well as lifting the blockade Israel has imposed since 2007.
In addition to al-Najjar, more than 120 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers since the eruption of the protests.
Thousands of outraged Palestinian mourners Saturday participated in the funeral of al-Najjar who was wrapped with a Palestinian flag.
Images of al-Najjar wearing a white coat and smiling shyly were placed on the walls of her family's home.
After her loss, grief overwhelmed al-Najjar's family in a small neighborhood on the outskirts of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.
In al-Najjar's bedroom, a small cabinet filled with gauze, medical cotton and other simple tools was beside her bed.
"My daughter was the first volunteer paramedic to join the protests," Um Ahmed, al-Najjar's mother, told Xinhua.
The woman said her daughter did not work for a specific organization, adding that her goal was to treat peaceful protesters injured by Israeli soldiers.
"She was doing a peaceful work, even the protest was peaceful, that is why she decided to join the rallies since they are not harming anyone," Um Ahmed said.
She explained that al-Najjar joined the medical field two years ago after receiving intensive courses, adding she volunteered in a local hospital in Khan Younis before she decided to provide help in the rallies.
"Sometimes she bought medical supplies at her own expense," al-Najjar's mother said.
Al-Najjar's death made her a symbol of the anti-Israel return rallies, with her images flooding social media networks in Palestine over the past days.
"Killing my daughter is a crime against humanity," al-Najjar's mother said with a sad voice. "She was intentionally killed by live ammunition."
However, an Israeli probe into her death found out that Israeli soldiers did not fire directly at the Palestinian paramedic.
The investigation found that al-Najjar was seen close to the border fence, treating protesters wounded by Israeli military fire, adding that the probe will continue.
But al-Najjar's colleagues rejected the army's investigation results. One of them, 30-year-old volunteer paramedic Fares al-Qudwa, told Xinhua that al-Najjar was killed during her running towards the border fence in an attempt to reach a wounded man.
"Her white coat was distinctive for her role and work," he said.
Mustafa Barghouthi, head of the medical relief society, also rejected the results. He said in a statement that al-Najjar was shot in the chest by a bullet which pierced her back. He doubted Israeli probe, which said it was not a direct shot.
After her death, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called her father, saying that she is "a martyr of Palestine and martyr of the humanitarian duty."
Jawad Awwad, Palestinian Authority minister of health, described the Israeli killing of al-Najjar as a "war crime," which "reflects the Israeli army's determination to violate all international conventions on protecting paramedics."
In retaliation, Islamic Hamas movement, which rules the Gaza Strip, and the Islamic Jihad group, fired barrages of mortars and rockets from the coastal enclave into Israel.
Israeli war jets then launched intensive airstrikes on the military facilities of the two groups across Gaza.
Al-Najjar is not only missed by her family, but also by her colleagues at the field.
At their tent clinic near the border fence with Israel, al-Najjar's volunteer coworkers recalled their moments shared with her.
They said she was one of the bravest paramedics and her life was endangered many times while saving the lives of others.
The coworkers vowed that they will not be frightened by her death to abandon volunteer work helping people shot by Israeli snipers during the protests.
"The camp is very sad and gloomy for losing our colleague Razan," al-Qudwa said sadly. "She always brought smiles to her colleagues."
