Israeli troops kill Palestinian shepherd at Gaza border

The Israeli military said soldiers opened fire at several people who entered a no-go zone along the border after ignoring warning shots.

GAZA CITY // Israeli troops on the border with the northern Gaza Strip killed a Palestinian youth and wounded three others, including a 14-year-old boy shot in the head, Palestinian medical sources said.

The Israeli military confirmed that soldiers opened fire at several people who entered a no-go zone along the border after ignoring warning shots.

However, a spokesman said he knew of only two Palestinians being hit, both in their lower bodies.

Staff at a local Palestinian hospital named the dead man as Salama Abu Hashish, 22, a shepherd, and said he had been shot in the back.

Adham Abu Selmiya, spokesman for the Hamas-run medical services in Gaza, told AFP the wounded teenager was in serious condition while two others, aged 17 and 18, were lightly hurt.

He said they were all shot while searching for gravel for construction use.

Soldiers regularly open fire on Palestinians collecting building material from the rubble of destroyed buildings close to the border between the coastal enclave and Israel.

The area has been deemed a no-go zone by Israeli soldiers who fear infiltration and kidnapping attempts.

Between March 26 and December 10, Israeli troops shot at least 19 Palestinian children as they collected gravel in northern Gaza, charity group Defence for Children International says.