16-year-old Palestinian shot by Israeli troops, witnesses say

JERUSALEM -- A 16-year-old Palestinian was shot and killed and another boy was wounded Saturday as they neared a border fence on the way home from school in the Gaza Strip, witnesses and hospital officials said.

Later Saturday, about 30 Israeli tanks and armored vehicles backed by two Apache helicopters moved into a Gaza town, firing machine guns and tank shells that knocked out the town's power transformer, witnesses and Palestinian security officials said.

There were no reports of injuries from the shooting in Beit Lahiya, about three miles north of Gaza City, which began as residents were emerging from evening prayers, security officials said.

The soldiers surrounded a mosque as well as the local headquarters of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement and blocked the main road leading north, witnesses said.

Israeli security sources confirmed an operation was under way but gave no details.