Palestinians bury 11-year-old boy

The boy's relatives vowed revenge

By Kylie Morris in Gaza City

As many as 3,000 people have attended a funeral in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah for an 11-year-old boy who was shot overnight by Israeli soldiers at the border of the Palestinian territories with Egypt.

The continuing violence defies the ceasefire agreement mediated by CIA head George Tenet

Khalil Mughrabi was with a group of as many as 20 other children when he was shot by Israeli soldiers from a nearby Israeli observation tower.

The Israeli defence forces say that there had been grenades fired from the area, and they were returning fire.

However, local residents say there was no trouble in that part of town, which runs along the border.

Flashpoint for violence

An Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) spokeswoman says that Israeli posts in Rafah had been under heavy fire throughout the 24 hours preceding the boy's death, with a barrage of 26 grenades as well as Molotov cocktails and hours of stone-throwing.

Relatives of the boy mourned in the presence of his body

Two other children, aged 10 and 12, were also shot. The younger of the two was seriously injured, but doctors now say that he is out of danger.

He is presently in a hospital in the refugee town of Khan Yunis.

The incident has raised passions in the Southern town of Rafah, which is a flashpoint for violence between Palestinians and Israeli posts.

The continuing violence defies the ceasefire agreement mediated by CIA head George Tenet, which has been in place for more than three weeks.

Both sides have accused the other of breaches of the agreement, which now appears in disarray.