Report: 15-year-old Palestinian killed by IDF fire
Palestinian sources report gunshots fired at group of teenagers from Karni crossing. Army officials say boys approached border fence, soldiers fired warning shots at ground
A Palestinian boy was killed Saturday afternoon by IDF fire near the Karni crossing in the northern Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinians' reports, shells were fired at a group of teenagers, killing 15-year-old Ramez Helles.
Military officials reported that a group of Palestinian youths had approached the border fence near the Karni crossing, and that the force tried to distance them from the area.
At first, the army said, the troops fired in the air, but as the teens ignored the warning shots and continued toward the fence, the soldiers fired at the ground, prompting the Palestinians to flee the area.
Two weeks ago, the IDF killed two Palestinian children along the Gaza-Israel border on Tuesday, Palestinian medical officials said.
The two dead were 10 and 12 years old, according to Dr. Muawiya Hassanin of the Palestinian Health Ministry. A third child, 10, was seriously wounded and six other people were lightly hurt, he said.
The army said troops targeted two figures spotted near a rocket launcher in an area where a rocket had been fired into Israel earlier.
A third child, 10, was seriously wounded and six other people were lightly hurt, all of them civilians, Hassanin said.
The army said Palestinian rocket teams have been known to send young children to retrieve rocket launchers after the projectiles are fired. "In light of the reports, it seems likely that this was the case here," the army said in a statement.
"Anyone who is next to a launching cell is in danger," the IDF said.
Efrat Weiss and AP contributed to this report
