The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reuters, Gaza

Israeli troops shot dead an unarmed Palestinian infiltrating Israel from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on Thursday, the army said, the first fatality along the frontier since a June 19 ceasefire.

A Hamas spokesman said the killing was "a serious challenge" to the Egyptian-brokered truce.

An Israeli army spokesman said the man crossed the fence dividing Israel from the Gaza Strip rather than a crossing point.

They fired at him after he refused their calls to stop and only later saw that he had not been carrying a weapon.

The Palestinian medical liason office said they had been informed by the Israeli army that a Palestinian had been shot dead in the early morning near the Kissufim border crossing.

His body was later transferred to a Gaza hospital.

The ceasefire deal calls on Hamas to prevent cross-border rocket fire and attacks from the Gaza Strip and for Israel to halt its raids and ease an economic blockade of the impoverished territory.

"Hamas and other factions are continuously evaluating the situation and will make the decisions that will secure the protection of our people," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said after the Palestinian was killed.