Two Gazans shot dead in Israel border clashes: ministry

Israeli troops shot dead two Palestinians, one in his early teens, in border clashes today in the southern Gaza Strip, the Hamas-ruled territory's health ministry said.

Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP a Palestinian youth aged about 13 was shot in the head near the town of Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip, without giving his name or exact age.

He added that 24-year-old Mohammed al-Hamayda had died after being hit in the stomach by Israeli fire in a separate incident east of Rafah.

The Israeli army gave no immediate comment. Since protests broke out along the Gaza border on March 30, at least 137