An Israeli tank patrols just outside the border with the northern
Gaza Strip Oct. 24, 2012. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
Gaza Strip Oct. 24, 2012. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- A 13-year-old Palestinian boy died Thursday in southern Gaza, in a shooting medical officials blamed on the Israeli military.
Hamid Younis Abu Daqqa died after Israeli forces targeted houses and farms east of Khan Younis, according to Ashraf al-Qidra, a medical spokesman in Gaza.
Medics said the boy was hit by machine gun fire, either from Israeli helicopters or tanks that took part in the incident.
Israeli military vehicles briefly penetrated the southern Gaza Strip earlier Thursday morning, leading to clashes with Palestinian militants.
The Popular Resistance Committees said its gunmen had confronted an Israeli force of four tanks and a bulldozer involved in a short-range incursion beyond Israel's border fence with the Gaza Strip.
"Terrorists opened fire at IDF (Israeli army) soldiers while they were performing routine activity adjacent to the security fence," an Israeli military spokeswoman said in Jerusalem. She said reports of Palestinians injuries were being checked.
A military official said the soldiers responded by firing at "suspicious locations" and said an Israeli soldier was lightly injured by mortar fire.
Palestinian fighters said they detonated an explosive device by an Israeli military vehicle near Khuzaa, east of Khan Younis.
Witnesses said Israeli forces fired a shell at Palestinian farmers. A Ma'an reporter said intensive gunfire could be heard in the area.
Earlier a military spokeswoman said Israeli troops came under fire during "routine activity" in the area, and returned fire in the direction of the suspects.
No injuries were reported in that incident.
Also Thursday, a Palestinian man was wounded when a home-made bomb exploded in central Gaza, a medical official said.
Al-Qidra, the Gaza ministry of health spokesman, said that a 23-year-old was moderately wounded in al-Maghazi refugee camp. He was transferred to al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah.
Reuters contributed to this report.
