Monday evening, one Palestinian child was killed, two were injured, after the Israeli army shelled with heavy artillery an area in Beit Lahia, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
A Palestinian medical source identified the child as Mamdouh Obeid, 16. Obeid died after sustaining shell fragmentations in his stomach. Two other children were injured, the two were identified as Ammar Al Kas, 15, and Mohammad Abu Tabaq, 14 years old.
Local source reported that the soldiers fired one shell at a group of youth playing soccer on a hill, north of Beit Lahia.
An Israeli military source claimed that the children were playing in an area used as a launching pad for homemade shells fired by Palestinian resistance fighters.
Elsewhere in Gaza, the Israeli Navy fired several shells towards Gaza shore causing panic among the residents; the shells landed and detonated in an open area close to the shore, no injuries were reported.
Dozens of residents expressed fear of further Israeli military escalation.
