Two Palestinians reportedly shot dead by Israeli troops

January 10, 2010 Palestinian medical officials have said that two Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip were killed by gunfire from Israel on Saturday, according to security sources and Palestinian officials.

According to witness reports, the men were collecting scrap metal when they were killed near the border; Israeli officials, however, said that the men were trying to shoot rockets into Israel. An Israeli military spokeswoman said that the army had nothing to do with the shooting.

The head of Gaza's emergency and ambulance services, Mo'aweya Hassanein, said to media that ambulances were dispatched to the area, but were still waiting for permission from Israeli authorities to reach the scene.

On Sunday, the IDF said in a statement that an Israeli Air Force craft attacked a terror cell preparing to fire projectiles from the southern Gaza Strip into Israel on Sunday evening.

Palestinian medics and the IDF say Sunday's air strike killed three members of the Islamic Jihad group in central Gaza.