GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces on Thursday shot at a Gaza teenager collecting rubble near the Strip's border with Israel, medics said.
Yahia Mahmud Az-Za'aneen, from Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, was transferred to the Kamal Odwan Hospital with moderate injuries to his right leg. Medics said he was collecting aggregates near the Erez crossing.
An Israeli military spokesman was not familiar with the incident.
The spokesman confirmed that a 17-year-old Palestinian was injured by Israeli fire in the area Wednesday. Gaza medical services spokesman Abu Salmiya said that the teenager was the 17th worker injured by Israeli fire since the summer.
Palestinian workers comb the area along the border fence collecting rubble and gravel to make cement. The Israeli army has declared the area a "security buffer zone." In effect, this zone extends up to a kilometer into Gaza.
Construction materials are mostly banned from the coastal enclave under Israel's siege policy, hampering the Strip's reconstruction following Israeli offensives. The UN estimates at least 6,000 homes were either destroyed or severely damaged during Israel's last war on Gaza, Operation Cast Lead.
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Israeli Troups Shoot a Palestinian Youth in Gaza Strip
Thursday October 14, 2010 16:09 by Sandy Khair - IMEMC & Agency
A Palestinian youth was wounded, on Thursday afternoon, by Israeli soldiers near Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip.
Medical sources reported that the youth, Yahia al-Za'anin, 17 years old, was wounded in his leg by a rubber-coated bullet, while he was collecting ballasts near Beit Hanoun. The youth was moved to Kamal Adwan Hospital where his injuries were described as mild.
