- An 11-year-old Palestinian girl was shot in the stomach
and critically wounded by Israeli gunfire as she sat inside a United Nations
school in a Gaza refugee camp yesterday, UN officials said.
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- The incident threatened to escalate tensions between
Israel and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which runs the school.
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- Last month, a 10-year-old girl was killed by Israeli
gunfire while sitting at her desk at the same school.
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- Israeli troops frequently clash with Palestinian gunmen
throughout the Gaza Strip.
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- UNRWA, the main UN agency for Palestinian refugees, has
accused Israeli troops of firing indiscriminately in crowded areas. Israel
accuses the militants of using populated areas for cover and endangering
the lives of civilians.
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- In Tuesday's incident, UNRWA said troops had fired two
shots from the nearby Gush Katif bloc of Jewish settlements. It said one
of the shots hit Ghadeer Imkhmar, a fifth-grade student at a UN primary
school in Khan Younis camp. Palestinian hospital officials said the girl
was in a critical but stable condition after emergency surgery.
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- Israeli military sources said Palestinian militants had
fired mortar shells at an army outpost in the area and soldiers returned
fire. The army was investigating the reported shooting of the girl. UNRWA
said it was the fourth student shooting at one of its schools in Gaza in
the past two years.
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- Israeli-UN relations have been strained for years, with
Israel repeatedly accusing the organisation of bias. A UN team is in Israel
to investigate Israeli charges that a UN Palestinian driver loaded a rocket
into a UN ambulance during recent fighting in northern Gaza. Israel has
backed away from its claim.
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- Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited
2004 http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1326015,00.html
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