Three Palestinians were killed by gunfire late Sunday from Israel Defense Forces troops next to the Gaza Strip settlement of Netzarim, Palestinian and IDF sources said.
Earlier in the evening, a number of mortars were fired at the settlement after the Palestinians tried to harm Israelis attending a wedding ceremony being held at Netzarim.
The motars missed, and IDF troops opened fire at one of the groups of terrorists. Later, Palestinians said that three bodies were in the area. On Monday morning IDF troops will search the area for the bodies.
"Many armed Palestinian activists were spotted late afternoon Sunday near the Netzarim settlement [in the northern Gaza Strip] from where mortar shells were fired, injuring no one," the military source said.
"The Israeli troops responded, opening fire in the direction of the source of the bombardment and the Palestinians announced that they had incurred three fatalities in their ranks," the source added.
Troops retrieved the bodies at first light.
There was an unusually high number of shooting incidents Sunday, with shots fired in the West Bank areas of Jenin, Nablus, and Tul Karm, as well as in Gush Katif and Rafah in the Gaza Strip. There were no injuries in any of the incidents, and the army had no explanation for the increase in incidents.
