Israeli army kills schoolboy
2004-03-04 15:47
Gaza City - A Palestinian schoolboy was killed and five others shot and wounded on Thursday by the Israeli army during an incursion in the Rafah region of the southern Gaza Strip, medical sources said.
Mohammed Othman, 14, was fatally wounded in the stomach and four of his classmates also suffered gunshot injuries while they were in the school courtyard during the incursion in the flashpoint town.
Another teenager was also struck on the hand earlier outside the school during the operation which the Israeli army said was aimed at demolishing tunnels used to smuggle weapons from under the nearby border with Egypt.
The latest death brings the overall toll since the start of the Palestinian intifada, or uprising, in September 2000 to 3 798, including 2 844 Palestinians and 886 Israelis.
- AFP