A Palestinian girl was killed and a relative was badly wounded Thursday afternoon in an Israeli shelling near the border between the Jewish states and central Gaza Strip, local sources said.

A Palestinian woman inspects her damaged house after an Israeli attack in central Gaza strip July 2, 2009. Israel shelled the Hamas-controlled Gaza on Thursday, killing a Palestinian teenage girl, hospital workers said. An Israeli military spokeswoman said there had been clashes between soldiers and Palestinian militants near a border crossing in the area. [Xinhua]

Medical sources said that Hyam Abu Aiesh, 17, was killed and a younger boy was seriously injured when Israeli artillery shells landed near their makeshift house in Jur el-Diek area to the east of central Gaza Strip. Other two relatives of Hyam were moderately wounded, according to the sources.

Prior to the shelling, Palestinian militants opened fire at Israeli forces that rolled for a few hundred meters in the area. The Israeli artillery apparently responded to the Palestinian fire but the civilian house was in the range of the less-precise shells.

Hamas, which controls Gaza, is not observing a ceasefire with Israel but keeps a level of calmness. Palestinian operatives from other factions engage the Israeli troops along Gaza borders regularly.

(Xinhua News Agency July 3, 2009)