Palestinian boy shot dead by Israeli troops in Gaza

BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip -- Israeli troops shot and killed a 9-year-old Palestinian boy yesterday in the fifth day of an army operation meant to prevent militants from firing rockets at Israeli towns bordering the Gaza Strip.

Ehab Shatat was killed by machine gun fire, apparently from a tank-mounted gun, while standing near his home in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, Palestinian hospital and security officials said.

The army said it had fired warning shots at a Palestinian mob that approached soldiers in a threatening manner, but was not aware that anyone was hit.

Israeli forces raided Beit Hanoun -- isolating it from the rest of the Gaza Strip -- on Monday after Palestinian militants fired rockets at the Israeli town of Sderot, killing two people, including a 3-year-old boy. Five Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its raid.

It was the first time anyone was killed in an attack by the highly inaccurate, homemade rockets, which militants have been firing for more than two years. The army and Palestinian militant groups said the rockets had been upgraded to make them deadlier.

The new rockets could make it more difficult for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to implement a plan to evacuate all settlements on the Gaza Strip and four on the West Bank by the end of September 2005.

Hard-liners who oppose Sharon's plan say removing Israeli settlements and a military presence from Gaza would put towns along the border at greater risk. Egypt has pledged to help train Palestinian security forces to ensure a smooth handover.

Since raiding Beit Hanoun the army has been razing agricultural land in the eastern part of the town that borders Israel, in an attempt to prevent militants from taking cover in orchards when firing rockets. One rocket was fired and landed in an open field just inside Israel late yesterday.

Although the army has not restricted the movement of residents in the town center, it has stopped farmers accessing their land and has barred entrance to the Beit Hanoun industrial zone. Troops took over three factories, which they turned into makeshift headquarters.

Since the raid started Palestinian militants have managed to fire barrages, wounding several people. Three rockets were fired while Sharon was visiting the family of the boy who was killed Monday in Sderot. Late Friday, two rockets landed in that town but no one was seriously injured.

Meanwhile, the army yesterday reopened a Gaza Strip highway that was closed for a week. Hundreds of people lined up for hours in the early morning to await the opening of the main north-south highway. Taxis and trucks were allowed through the junction, but private cars were not.

The army closed the road after Palestinian militants launched an exceptional attack on an army post in the heart of Gaza. The militants dug a 1,000-foot-long tunnel under the outpost where they planted hundreds of pounds of explosives. The explosion destroyed the outpost, killing one soldier.