JENIN, West Bank, Jan 20 (AFP) - Two Palestinian boys were shot dead by Israeli troops Thursday in separate incidents in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical sources told AFP.
In the northern West Bank, 14-year-old Salah Ikhab was shot as he played with a toy gun he had been given as a present for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, witnesses and medical sources said.
Ikhab died in an ambulance on his way to hospital after being shot in the chest in Tubas, some 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Jenin, medics said.
Witnesses said the youngster had been playing in the streets outside his home with a group of friends and neighbours when troops opened fire during an incursion.
An Israeli military source confirmed that troops had opened fire at "an armed Palestinian" but said exact details of the incident were still being investigated.
"An initial investigation shows that the troops identified a gathering which seemed to be the beginning of a riot," the source told AFP. "They identified an armed Palestinian among the crowd, opened fire and identified a hit."
Several hours later, a 13-year-old Palestinian boy was shot dead in the southern Gaza town of Rafah on the border with Egypt, while out walking with his family during the Eid festival, medics said.
Salah Abu al-Aish was hit in the neck as they walked near the entrance to Rafah's sprawling refugee camp.
The sources said it was not clear why the soldiers opened fire.
An Israeli military source said the only shooting incident that had occurred in the area was when troops identified two Palestinians crawling very close to the Tarmit army outpost, an area which is off-limits to Palestinians.
"An IDF (army) force opened fire, but we are still looking into whether it was only warning shots in the air," he said.
The two shootings raised the overall toll since the September 2000 start of the Palestinian uprising to 4,713, including 3,659 Palestinians and 980 Israelis, according to an AFP count.
And in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, an Anglican-run hospital was badly damaged during an overnight Israeli arrest operation, the Anglican bishop of Jerusalem charged Thursday.
According to a report sent from St Luke's hospital to Bishop Riah Abu el-Assal, at least 50 windows were smashed and five doors destroyed, while the roof and electrical systems sustained heavy damage.
In a women's ward, bullets destroyed windows and damaged walls, the hospital said.
The damage was caused late Tuesday when Israeli troops entered the city in search of wanted militants.
Although they did not enter the hospital, troops blew up a nearby building and opened fire on several other houses where they believed militants were hiding, an Israeli military source told AFP.
The army was unaware of any damage caused to the hospital, the source said.
"This is the second time in the last two years that one of our hospitals has been badly damaged by the army," the bishop said.
01/20/2005 17:05 GMT - AFP