The Israeli army shoots a Palestinian civilian in Gaza and kidnaps nine others from the West Bank, these stories, and more, coming up, stay tuned.

The News Cast

The Israeli army shot and wounded on Wednesday morning a Palestinian elderly man in southern Gaza Strip, less than 24 hours after homemade shells hit the nearby Israeli town of Sderot, as a truce deal between Palestinians and Israel has been agreed upon since last Thursday.

Palestinian medical sources confirmed that Salem Abu Raida, 80, was wounded with several live bullets in the shoulder and that he was transferred to hospital for medical attention.

Witnesses said that Abu Raida was near his house, which is located close to the Israel-Gaza border lines in the Khuza'a village in southeastern Gaza Strip, when the Israeli soldiers, manning the borders, shot him.

This new Israeli shooting came less than 24 hours after two Palestinian homemade shells landed in the nearby Israeli town of Sderot.

Also on Wednesday morning, Israel sealed off Gaza's crossing points after it had partially reopened them; in honor of last Thursday's truce deal with the ruling Hamas party in Gaza.

A Hamas statement yesterday reiterated their call for all Palestinian resistance factions involving the Islamic Jihad, to keep restraint and refrain from reactions, so that the truce can hold.

Both Israel and Palestinians agreed to a truce in the Gaza Strip, after long Egyptian mediation efforts. The ceasefire initially includes the Gaza Strip, on which Israel has been enforcing a crippling closure since June of last year.

In the West Bank four civilians were injured and two kidnapped from the city of Hebron and nearby villages during Israeli attacks on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Earlier the Israeli army attacked the city of Tulkarem and a nearby village and kidnapped seven civilians.


Conclusion

Thank you for joining us from occupied Bethlehem. You have been listening to Palestine Today from the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org. This report has been brought to you by Taylor Bray and Ghassan Bannoura.