Palestinians: Youth shot dead by IDF soldiers in Gaza

IDF confirms that soldiers opened fire on suspicious figure approaching border fence who failed to respond to warnings.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
IDF soldiers near Gaza border 311 (R) (photo credit: REUTERS/Amir Cohen)
IDF soldiers near Gaza border 311 (R)
(photo credit: REUTERS/Amir Cohen)
A Palestinian youth was shot and killed by IDF soldiers in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Palestinian news agency WAFA quoted witnesses as saying.
The IDF confirmed that soldiers opened fire on a suspicious figure approaching the border fence with Gaza who failed to respond to warnings to halt his progress.
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Palestinian medical sources said the man was shot in the neck and transported to Al-Aqsa Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The incident came after the Israel Air Force struck targets inside the Gaza Strip early Tuesday morning, killing one armed Hamas operative and wounding five others, Palestinian medical sources said.
They added that three Hamas operatives involved in firing rockets at Israel were hit in the first air strike, east of Gaza City, in a pre-dawn attack. One later died of his injuries, the Palestinians said.
Three Palestinian civilians, among them a boy, were injured, the sources said, in a separate air strike that targeted a tunnel beneath Gaza's border with Egypt of a type Israel says is used to smuggle in weapons.
The IDF Spokesman's Office confirmed that  IAF struck five targets in the Strip. The statement added that the precision strikes were identified as hitting their targets.
Prior to the strikes, several terrorists were seen attempting to fire a rocket at Israel but were thwarted by the air force, the statement added.
The military action came in response to an attack several hours earlier, when a Palestinian rocket fired from Gaza fell outside of Beersheba on Monday night, activating air raid sirens and sending residents fleeing for cover.
Reuters and Yaakov Lappin contributed to this report.