3 Arabs Reportedly Slain by Troops
Israeli troops killed three Palestinians, one a 14-year-old boy, and wounded more than 50 people Wednesday during a six-hour gun battle near the Gaza Strip-Egyptian border, Palestinian hospital officials said.
The officials and witnesses said Hani Youssef Sufi, 14, was killed during a heavy exchange in the town of Rafah. Salman Zorob, 18, died of a bullet wound in the chest suffered during the Rafah battle, the officials said.
In another incident, civil emergency worker Rifaat Faisal abu Marzouk, 28, was shot in the head by Israeli soldiers guarding the Jewish settlement of Netzarim, the hospital officials said. The Israeli army said it knew of no such incident.
The army said Palestinian gunmen fired grenades and an antitank missile at an armored vehicle belonging to the engineer corps that was involved in work reinforcing Israeli positions in the Rafah area.
An army spokesman said the soldiers returned fire. Two soldiers were injured.
An army spokesman said that a crowd of about 300 Palestinian civilians came to watch the fighting and that the 14-year-old may have been hit by a stray bullet.
A Palestinian military official said preliminary reports indicated that the violence began when Israeli bulldozers sought to erect a stronghold near Palestinian homes.
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