Palestinian girl killed in Gaza violence

Israeli soldiers shot and killed a 10-year-old Palestinian girl and a teenage boy in two separate incidents today during Israel’s massive offensive into the northern Gaza Strip, witnesses and hospital officials said.

The deaths brought the number of Palestinians killed to 86 since Israel began its offensive on September 29 to stop Palestinian militants from launching home-made rockets into Israel. Almost half of those killed in the raid were civilians, 18 were aged 16 and under.