Israeli forces wound two men in Gaza

Two Palestinians were shot and wounded by Israeli forces in separate incidents in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, local medics said.

Two Palestinians were shot and wounded by Israeli forces in separate incidents in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip today, local medics said. Muawiya Hassanein, the head of Gaza emergency services, said a day labourer was in "very critical" condition after being shot in the back near the Sufa border crossing with Israel in the southern part of the territory. In a separate incident, Mr Hassanein said a fisherman was wounded by fire from Israeli gunboats off Gaza's northern coast.

The Israeli navy frequently fires warning shots to keep fishermen within a narrow zone extending five kilometres from the shore. The military said it was not aware of the incident near the crossing and said the fisherman fell and hit his head when the navy fired warning shots. Gaza has been mostly quiet since a massive 22-day Israeli offensive launched on the territory at the turn of last year, but there are still occasional exchanges of fire along its heavily guarded border.

* AFP