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Israeli Soldiers Kill
12-Year-Old Boy
With Shot To Head

By Nir Hasson
Haaretz Correspondent
Haaretz Service and News Agencies
7-30-4
 
Palestinian witnesses and medics said that Israel Defense Forces soldiers opened fire on the funeral of two Palestinian militants in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday, killing a 12-year-old boy and wounding seven other people.
 
An IDF source said troops guarding a nearby settlement fired toward dozens of Palestinians who entered a restricted area away from the funeral procession, after ignoring warning shots to stop.
 
Palestinian witnesses said soldiers opened fire near the cemetery in the town of Khan Yunis when children went to throw stones during the burial of a Gaza-based militant leader and his assistant killed Thursday in an IDF strike.
 
Witnesses said 20,000 people, including gunmen firing in the air, marched in the funeral procession. They said IDF gunfire erupted sporadically as the men were being buried after children went to throw stones toward a nearby army post.
 
Doctors said a boy believed to be about 12 years old died of a gunshot to the head and three other children were among the wounded, including a 13-year-old boy in critical condition.
 
The IDF source said troops fired only at a phalanx of adults walking in front of children marching toward a security fence and refusing orders to turn back.
 
The source said soldiers were aware of having hit only one person. He said Palestinians had often entered the restricted area before to plant bombs or infiltrate IDF positions.
 
In a separate incident, witnesses said IDF forces shot and critically wounded a 14-year-old girl in Rafah. The army had no immediate comment. IDF: Four Palestinians killed in Gaza Earlier Friday, IDF troops killed four armed Palestinians who were planting an explosive device near the el-Bureij refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, Army Radio reported.
 
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz will convene a meeting of Security officials to discuss continued Qassam-rocket attacks on Israel, after earlier in the day Palestinians fired five rockets at the Sderot region in the Negev. Six people were treated for shock, and some municipal infrastructure sustained damage.
 
Security officials said that IDF operations in northern Gaza have not proven to be effective in ending the rocket fire, and a reassessment of the situation is needed.
 
The rockets were fired in two attacks about an hour apart. In the first volley, two rockets hit open areas. A short time later, three rockets landed inside the town.
 
Hamas has threatened to continue firing rockets from the northern Gaza Strip, Israel Radio reported Friday.
 
In an apparent bid to put an end to the rocket-firing, IDF troops moved to the outskirts of the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya early Friday, residents said. IDF troops have operated in neighboring Beit Hanun for a month, trying to prevent militants from launching the rockets. The operation began about a month ago, after two Sderot residents were killed in a rocket attack.
 
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