GAZA STRIP Israeli army mistakes youths for militants

Some children hunt birds for money, selling them for meat or as songbirds.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) -- The uncle of an 11-year-old Palestinian boy killed near Gaza's border fence said his nephew and several other boys were just hunting birds, but the Israeli army said troops opened fire because they believed militants were trying to sneak into Israel.
The boy killed Thursday, Mohsan Daur, was from the Jebaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza.
Deadly outing
Troops shot toward the boys, who turned out to be unarmed, in an area where Palestinian militants have repeatedly planted explosives or tried to sneak into Israel, the army said. The area, along the fence between Gaza and Israel, has been off limits to Palestinians during more than three years of fighting.
Mohsan's uncle, Hassan, said his nephew and several other boys from the neighborhood set out to hunt goldfinches that morning east of Gaza City, near the border fence, in one of the few green areas in overpopulated Gaza.
Some Palestinian children hunt birds for pocket money, selling them for meat or as songbirds. A goldfinch can bring up to $20 in Gaza City's markets.
"Children their age have no place to go, they have no playground," the uncle said, explaining why the family didn't stop the boys from going to a dangerous area.
Military's response
The military said soldiers spotted seven figures with a ladder near the border fence Thursday morning. Troops opened fire, believing those approaching might be militants trying to sneak into Israel or plant anti-tank mines. The shootings took place in daylight, but the military said it was not clear whether troops realized those near the fence were children.
After the incident, Israeli paramedics treated two wounded boys, who were then taken to an Israeli hospital for surgery.
Four other boys ran back toward Gaza City. With Mohsan missing, Palestinian medics got Israeli permission to enter the border zone to look for the boy. They found his body.