GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hundreds are attending the funeral of a well-known Palestinian journalist in Gaza who died after covering mass protests along the Israel border.

Yasser Murtaja died Saturday from a gunshot wound sustained while filming Friday in an area engulfed in thick black smoke from protesters setting tires on fire.

Israeli troops opened fire from across the border, killing at least nine Palestinians and wounding 491 others in the second mass border protest in eight days.

Murtaja was over 100 meters (yards) from the border, wearing a flak jacket marked "press" and holding his camera when he was shot in an exposed area just below the armpit.

The Israeli military has said it fired only at "instigators" involved in attacks on soldiers. It says it's investigating the circumstances of Murtaja's death.