An 11-year-old Palestinian boy was killed and two youths wounded near Gaza's border fence - the violent end to what one youth's family said was an innocent bird hunt, but appeared to Israeli soldiers like an infiltration attempt.
The boy killed yesterday, Mohsan Daur, was from the Jebaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza.
Troops shot toward the boys, who turned out to be unarmed, in an area where Palestinian militants have repeatedly planted explosives or tried to sneak into Israel, the army said.
The area, along the fence between Gaza and Israel, has been off limits to Palestinians during more than three years of fighting.
Mohsan's uncle, Hassan, said that yesterday morning, his nephew and several other boys from the neighbourhood set out to hunt goldfinches east of Gaza City, near the border fence, in one of the few green areas in overpopulated Gaza.
Some Palestinian children hunt birds for pocket money, selling them for meat or as songbirds.
Asked why Mohsan's family didn't stop him from going into the dangerous border zone, where trespassers are often shot by Israeli soldiers on sight, the uncle said: "Children their age have no place to go, they have no playground."
The military said soldiers spotted seven figures with a ladder near the border fence yesterday morning. Troops opened fire, believing those approaching might be militants trying to sneak into Israel or plant anti-tank mines. The shootings took place in daylight, but the military said it was not clear whether troops realised those near the fence were youngsters.
After the incident, Israeli paramedics treated two wounded youngsters, who were then taken to an Israeli hospital for surgery.
AP