An Israeli soldier in an armoured car is reported to have fired a heavy machinegun towards three Reuters journalists today at a road junction in the Gaza Strip.
No one was hurt and the army said only warning shots were fired and that civilians were not allowed to approach Israeli military posts in the Gaza Strip because of a present threat of terror activity.
Reuters reporter Christine Hauser, cameraman Ahmed Bahadou and Suhaib Salem, a freelance photographer working for Reuters, had left their car to take pictures of the armoured car, a tank and a road where an Israeli convoy had just passed.
They were standing about 50 metres from the armoured carrier and thought they had established eye contact with the gunner. Ms Hauser was holding her notepad so that it was clearly visible and the two others had just raised their cameras when shots were fired from the gun mounted on the vehicle.
They said the shots were fired towards them, and the three of them threw themselves to the ground. From a loudspeaker at an adjacent army post, they were told in Arabic to leave. Ms Hauser replied that they were journalists.
A soldier arrived in an army jeep and told them they were not allowed to be there. They finished their work and left.
Asked about the incident, Israeli army spokesman Olivier Rafowicz told Reuters: "Due to the tense security situation in Gaza, civilians are not allowed to approach Israel Defence Forces (IDF) outposts because of a present threat of terror activity".