(AKI) - Palestinian medical sources said a farmer was shot dead by Israeli forces on Tuesday, two days after the ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant factions took effect in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian farmer was killed east of the Jabalya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, said director of emergency and ambulance services at the Palestinian Health Ministry, Muawiya Hassanain, quoted by Palestinian news agency Maan. The farmer's death is the second Palestinian death since the ceasefire was declared on Sunday. On Monday, a 20-year-old Palestinian was killed in the south of Gaza, near the town of Khan Younis, while Israeli naval gunships were reported to have opened fire against the coastal territory.
Two children aged 10 and 11 were also killed on Tuesday when they were playing with an unexploded bomb left behind by Israeli forces east of Gaza City.
Meanwhile, Israeli troops reportedly came under fire near the Kissufim border crossing and in the centre of the Gaza Strip on the same day as United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon visited the region.
Ban met Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert and later visited war-torn Gaza and the southern Israeli town of Sderot, where he called Hamas' rocket fire against Israel "appalling and unacceptable." He also voiced his shock and anger at the devastation caused by Israel's military offensive in the Hamas-controlled territory. "I have seen only a fraction of the destruction. This is shocking and alarming," Ban said.
Ban condemned Israel's "excessive use" of force in Gaza,and pledged aid for Palestinians after Israeli attacks killed 1,300 and left thousands homeless. |