Egypt repatriates body of Palestinian killed on border

The Egyptian authorities opened Rafah crossing on Thursday to hand over the body of Isaac Hassan who was shot dead by the Egyptian army while crossing the maritime borders of Rafah and Egypt.

"Hassan’s body will be handed over to al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City for forensic examination before being handed to his family," said the Ministry of Interior in Gaza in a brief press statement.

The young Palestinian man with alleged psychological issues was shot dead by Egyptian border guards last week while swimming naked to Egypt.

The Palestinian interior ministry accused the Egyptian military of "executing" the young man, as he tried to cross the border on the Egypt-Gaza coast in Rafah on Thursday.

"The appalling scenes which were televised of a mentally disordered young man being killed by the Egyptian army a few metres away from the Rafah border have reflected the aggressive nature of the action," the ministry said in a press release.

A Palestinian border guard waved and pleaded with the Egyptian soldiers that the victim was mentally ill and unaware with his actions. The incident was caught on camera and broadcast by al-Jazeera.

Following the incident, both Egyptians and Palestinians expressed their outrage on social media.  Some reports suggested the Egyptian army were attempting pressure Hassan's family to end the social media campaign in exchange for repatriation of their son’s body.