Palestinian youth killed after breaching Gaza security fence

JTA

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli soldiers shot and killed at least one Palestinian youth and seriously wounded another after a group of four Palestinians breached the Gaza security fence and set an unmanned Israeli military post on fire.

The Palestinians broke through the fence in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday afternoon. On the Israeli side they set fire to an empty sniper’s nest.

The soldiers were fired on during the incident, according to the Israel Defense Forces, but none were injured.

The injured youth, 16, was being treated at a hospital in the Gaza city of Rafah, according to the Palestinian Maan news agency. Israeli security forces were questioning another one of the youths, the IDF said.

“The troops operated swiftly to prevent the threat to Israeli sovereignty and the attempt to damage security infrastructure,” the IDF said in a statement.

“Hamas is  responsible for everything that happens in the Strip and that emanates from it, and it is behind the attempted border breaches and the damage to security infrastructure. The IDF takes these incidents seriously and will continue to respond to them harshly and aggressively.”