Israeli soldiers shot and killed a 12-year-old Palestinian boy and wounded two other youths on Thursday near a fence dividing the Gaza Strip and Israel, Palestinian officials said.
The Israeli army said troops fired at the legs of seven people inside the Gaza Strip carrying a ladder towards the fence, wounding two of them. Palestinian officials said the group was bird-hunting, a popular pastime among Gaza youths.
"We have reason to believe terrorist groups occasionally send minors to the Gaza boundary fence to test our response, ahead of carrying out attacks," an army spokesman said.
The two wounded youngsters were taken to a hospital in Israel. Palestinian officials said the body of Mohsen Ad-Daour, 12, was found later at the scene.
Israel says the electronic fence it has built on the Gaza frontier prevents suicide bombers from reaching its territory, and it enforces "no-go" areas for Palestinians near the barrier.
Palestinians say farmers and others who have innocently strayed into the zones have been shot without warning.
Israel is now building a barrier in the West Bank, a project which Palestinians say is aimed at grabbing land they want for a future state.
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