Israeli army kills Gaza teen, militants respond with rocket
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian teen Friday near the Gaza-Israel frontier and Palestinian militants fired a rocket into southern Israel in the evening, apparently in response to the fatal shooting.
The Israeli military said a projectile had been fired from Gaza but there were no reports of casualties or damage. In response, Israeli aircraft struck a vacant training site for Hamas, the militant Islamic group ruling Gaza.
Earlier on Friday, Gaza’s health ministry said 16-year-old Fahed al-Astal was shot in the stomach. It said four others were wounded.
Witnesses say dozens of people gathered near the perimeter fence east of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, though there was no official demonstration planned. Avichay Adraee, Israeli army Arabic spokesman, said some Palestinians tried to approach the fence and sabotage it and that the forces used riot dispersal means to keep them back.
For the third straight week, Hamas canceled regular Friday protests for fear of instability. This followed two days of fighting between Israel and the smaller Islamic Jihad militant group earlier this month. A tentative cease-fire brokered by Egypt and the United Nations ended the round of violence, but the situation remains volatile.
Early on Friday an Islamic Jihad militant died of wounds he sustained during the fighting, becoming the 20th gunman to have been killed in the round of violence. Fifteen non-combatants also died in the fighting.
