Israel's military says troops Thursday killed an unarmed Palestinian who crossed from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip into Israel.
An Israeli army spokesman said soldiers in the area saw the man approaching and fired at him after he did not follow their orders to stop. This is the first fatality along the Israeli-Gaza border since an Egypt-brokered truce between Israel and Hamas came into effect three weeks ago.
The Israeli military also announced troops killed a Hamas militant Wednesday during an operation in the occupied West Bank.
The military said Israeli soldiers fired at the Palestinian militant as he was trying to escape arrest near the West Bank city of Jenin. Another suspected militant was detained.
Earlier Wednesday, Israeli troops raided more buildings in the West Bank city of Nablus suspected of links to Hamas. The soldiers entered the Nablus city hall and six mosques, confiscating equipment.
Earlier this week, Israeli troops ordered the closure of a shopping mall, schools and charities in the West Bank. Israeli spokesman Mark Regev says the crackdown is aimed at stopping Hamas from expanding its operations beyond the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad criticized the Israeli raids Wednesday, saying they undermine efforts by his government to establish law and order in the West Bank.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
