Report: IDF kills Palestinian who approached fence
Gaza sources say soldiers shot dead unarmed, mentally disabled Palestinian who approached border fence near Kissufim. IDF: Suspect failed to heed calls to stop
Gaza sources reported Monday that the IDF shot dead a Palestinian man who approached the border fence near Kissufim.
An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed the shooting took place after darkness fell on Sunday, saying troops opened warning shots when a man walking west of the border in a riverbed failed to heed orders to leave the buffer area Israel maintains to try and prevent cross-border attacks.
Related stories:
- Wounded IDF officer: I won't give up
- Gaza: IDF officer hit by roadside bomb
- Iron Dome battery upgraded
Palestinian medics said the victim, 23, was an unarmed, mentally unfit man and that they had to wait a couple of hours for permission to pick him up, early on Monday.
They suspected he died of injuries for which he might have been treated.
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit mentioned earlier that troops had detected a suspect who had approached the border fence.
The soldiers fired warning shots but the suspect continued moving forward which forced them to fire at him. "Terrorist groups use the area near the border fence to carry out terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF forces," a statement said.
A similar incident occurred a month ago when a Palestinian who approached the fence was shot. Palestinian sources said the following day that the man had died of his wounds.
Earlier this month, Captain Ziv Shilon was injured by a bomb placed near the fence. An initial inquiry suggested that Shilon was hit upon opening a gate. IDF forces canvassed the area but failed to trace the terrorists who laid the explosives.
Reuters and AP contributed to this report
- Receive Ynetnews updates
directly to your desktop
