IDF kill Palestinian along Gaza border
First Palestinian causality since Gaza war: Palestinian Health Ministry claims 32-year-old Palestinian shot, killed by IDF after attempting to reach border fence; IDF say they fired at two Gazans.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said IDF forces shot dead a Palestinian in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday, the first such fatality since a 50-day Gaza war ended in August.
Official Gazan sources said a 32-year-old Palestinian was killed by IDF fire east of Jabalia close to the security barrier with Israel. He was evacuated to a hospital in the northern Strip where he succumbed to his wounds. The circumstances behind the shooting were unclear.
The IDF said two Palestinian suspects approached the security barrier, and soldiers asked them to maintain distance. After the IDF force fired in the air and the Palestinians continued approaching, they shot towards the legs of one of the suspects – a hit was identified. The second Palestinian then fled.
The ministry identified the man as Fadel Mohammed Halawa, 32, and said he was shot by soldiers east of Jabalya refugee camp. One of Halawa's relatives said he had been searching for song birds, which nest in trees near the Israeli border and command high prices in Gaza markets.
Sunday morning, an IDF border patrol stopped two Palestinians who had crossed the security fence and entered Israel carrying a grenade, the IDF Spokesperson’s Office said.
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Last week, a young Palestinian boy was shot by an IDF force on after approaching the security barrier between Gaza and Israel. He was hit and was evacuated to Sorokoa Medical Center in Be'er Sheva in grave condition.
The IDF stressed that the soldiers had performed the procedure for the arrest of a suspect nearing the fence but the 10-year-old boy did not respond to calls to halt his advance.
Nahal Brigade soldiers deployed to the scene and called on the Palestinian to stop and turn away from the fence, but he did not answer and the soldiers were forced to fire when he reached the barrier.
The youth, who was unarmed, was gravely wounded by gunfire. The IDF said it suspects the boy was sent as a scout by one of Gaza's terror factions to test the troops' level of alert and response times.
A day before, shots were fired towards the Erez border crossing. No injuries were reported. An IDF force that was securing defense contractors working on the border fence in the northern Gaza strip reported hearing gun shots fired. IDF officials said that it was most likely an internal event, but smoke-screens have been put into effect just in case. No damage or injuries was reported.
In a seperate border incident on Wednday, security and medical sources said ten Egyptian civilians were killed overnight during fighting between the army and Islamist militants near Egypt's border with Gaza, where the military has launched a crackdown in recent weeks.
At least three of the casualties were children and three were women, the medical sources said. The victims were killed in their home by two mortar shells fired by militants during a night-time curfew, security sources said.
Elior Levy and Reuters contributed to this report
