Palestinian photojournalist injured by Israeli fire has surgery in Türkiye

By Fatih Ulas

ISTANBUL (AA) - A Palestinian photojournalist who suffered a severe hand injury while covering a protest in Gaza had a surgery in Türkiye on Tuesday.

Ashraf Amra, a freelancer for Anadolu, Türkiye's premier news agency, arrived in Istanbul on a Turkish Airlines flight from Cairo on Monday.

He was covering a protest demonstration of Palestinians near the border in Khan Yunus region in Gaza on Friday when Israeli soldiers opened fire to disperse the crowd.

As many as 12 Palestinians were injured by Israeli army's use of live ammunition, rubber-coated bullets, and tear gas shells.

Amra underwent a two-hour-long surgery at Istanbul’s Basaksehir Cam and Sakura Hospital.

Hand surgery specialist Dr. Okyar Altas, who performed the operation, said the procedure was successful.

For his part, Amra thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Anadolu for welcoming him in Istanbul. “I hope that my fingers will heal and will not need to be amputated,” he said.

He added that Israeli soldiers who saw the camera in his hand deliberately fired at him.

Anadolu’s Deputy Director General and Editor-in-Chief Yusuf Ozhan also visited Amra at the hospital, where doctors briefed him about his health.