Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian boy and a teenager during a tank raid into a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip today.
Armed clashes broke out when Israeli tanks and troops burst into Rafah refugee camp, close to the border with Egypt, in an incursion that the Israeli army said targeted militants waging a two-year-old uprising against Israeli occupation.
Palestinian witnesses said 12-year-old Saher al-Hout was hit by Israeli fire as he stood in a street near the fighting between Palestinian gunmen and Israeli soldiers.
Hospital sources said 18-year-old Ihab al-Mghaiar was shot in the chest by Israeli gunfire. Palestinian witnesses said he was not armed.
They said bulldozers demolished nine houses and a helicopter fired at least one missile during the raid by about 15 tanks and armoured vehicles.
The armed wing of the Islamic militant group Hamas said it attacked a tank by detonating an explosive device. Witnesses said the tank had been disabled, but it was not clear if any soldiers were injured in the blast.