ecause of continued Zionist aggression," Islamic Jihad chief Mohammed al-Hini told a news conference.

Earlier, a leader of a branch of Islamic Jihad, the Jerusalem Brigades, said militants were no longer bound by the truce.

The Palestinian youths had been playing soccer in Rafah refugee camp in southern Gaza when Israeli soldiers across the border, meters away, shot and killed them, Palestinian medics said.

Israeli military sources said troops spotted five Palestinians inching toward the Israel-Gaza border a number of times and fired at them after they failed to heed calls and warning shots in the air to stop.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the incident a deliberate violation of a ceasefire he and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared at a summit in Egypt in February.

"The Palestinian youths who were killed were unarmed children and did not pose a threat to Israel," Abbas was quoted as saying in a statement.

Palestinian militant groups agreed in talks with Abbas to extend a de facto truce until the end of the year.

Israeli-Palestinian violence has dropped sharply. Palestinian militants fired a rocket at a town in southern Israel on Thursday, causing no casualties.

On Saturday, militants fired mortar bombs at Jewish settlements in Gaza. No casualties were reported.

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Israeli Troops Kill Two Palestinians Despite Truce

Reuters

Saturday 09 April 2005

Gaza - Israeli soldiers shot dead two Palestinians in Gaza near the border, medics said on Saturday, in the first deadly incident since Israeli and Palestinian leaders declared a truce in February.

Three Palestinian youths had been playing near the Israeli border and an army base in Rafah refugee camp in southern Gaza when soldiers shot and killed two of them, Palestinian witnesses said, adding that they were unarmed.

A military source said troops spotted the Palestinians trying to approach the border and fired at them after they failed to heed calls and warning shots to stop.

"I saw a group of youths playing soccer in a playground about 50 meters from the fence," said Wael Barhoum, 26. "Suddenly there was gunfire toward the youths from the Israeli side. I ran toward the playground and we saw two of the youths were dead and a third was wounded."

The army said it had launched an investigation into the incident, the first deadly attack since Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared on Feb. 8 a ceasefire to halt more than four years of violence.

Palestinian militants agreed on March 17 to abide by the truce until the end of 2005. Gunmen disrupted the lull in violence on Thursday when they fired a rocket into Israel on Thursday, causing no casualties.

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