Israel kills Palestinian teenager at Gaza border

A Palestinian teenager was killed by Israeli fire along the Gaza border overnight Thursday, the health ministry in the strip said, with Israel bombarding Gaza saying it had targeted a Hamas position.

Health ministry spokesman Ashraf al Qudra said Saif al Deen Abu Zeid, 15, died "due to the wounds sustained east of Gaza a few hours ago," confirming he was shot along the border late on Wednesday.

Israel said its warplanes had struck 25 Hamas positions in Gaza early Wednesday after it accused Palestinians of firing dozens of rockets and mortars at southern Israeli communities.

No Palestinians were reported injured during the bombardment, but severe damage was reported on some buildings.

Gaza-based Palestinian media said that in retaliation to the earlier Israeli bombardment, Hamas fired 45 rockets into Israeli settlements near the Gaza border. 

Tensions have been high along the border since weekly protests have been held in Gaza since March last year, with Palestinians demanding the right to return to their ancestral homes.

Last week, the UN Human Rights Council released a report saying there's evidence that Israel committed crimes against humanity in responding to 2018 protests in Gaza, as snipers targeted people clearly identifiable as children, health workers and journalists.