Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian teenager today after stones were thrown at them in the Gaza Strip near the border with Egypt, Palestinian witnesses said.
The Israeli army had no immediate comment on the death of the 15-year-old. It said two hand grenades were thrown at its soldiers at the flashpoint frontier at Rafah and they fired towards their Palestinian attackers.
The witnesses said the youth who was killed was not among a crowd of stone-throwers but was just passing by when he was shot in the back.
At least 491 Palestinians, 128 Israelis and 13 Israeli Arabs have been killed since Palestinians erupted in revolt last September in the wake of stalled peace negotiations.