GAZA (Reuters) - A top leader of the Islamic Jihad militant group said on Saturday a de facto truce with Israel was still in force despite the killing of three Palestinian youths in circumstances disputed by Israeli forces and Palestinians.
"So far, the Palestinian factions have not declared an end to the calm ... but they are studying the issue anew because of continued Zionist aggression," Islamic Jihad chief Mohammed al-Hindi told a news conference.
Earlier, a leader of a branch of Islamic Jihad, the Jerusalem Brigades, said militants were no longer bound by the truce.
The Palestinian youths had been playing soccer in Rafah refugee camp in southern Gaza when Israeli soldiers across the border, meters away, shot and killed them, Palestinian medics said.
Israeli military sources said troops spotted five Palestinians inching toward the Israel-Gaza border a number of times and fired at them after they failed to heed calls and warning shots in the air to stop.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the incident a deliberate violation of a ceasefire he and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared at a summit in Egypt in February.
"The Palestinian youths who were killed were unarmed children and did not pose a threat to Israel," Abbas was quoted as saying in a statement.
Palestinian militant groups agreed in talks with Abbas to extend a de facto truce until the end of the year.
Israeli-Palestinian violence has dropped sharply. Palestinian militants fired a rocket at a town in southern Israel on Thursday, causing no casualties.
On Saturday, militants fired mortar bombs at Jewish settlements in Gaza. No casualties were reported.
'''April 9, 2005'''

The two month old truce between Israel and the Palestinians is still intact after three teenagers were shot down earlier today while trying to smuggle firearms through the Egyptian border. Palestinians claim they saw the children attempting to fetch a football that had landed in a no-go zone near a refugee camp, in southern Gaza. Israeli army sources say the youths entered a forbidden area heavily guarded by Israeli forces near the border with Egypt. The teenagers were fired upon by soldiers after they ignored warning shots.

Militants responded by firing mortar shells at Jewish settlements in Gaza, although no one was injured.

The level of violence in the Gaza region had dropped significantly since the cease fire was agreed upon by both sides of the conflict. Islamic Jihad chief Mohammed al-Hindi said today: "So far, the Palestinian factions have not declared an end to the calm... but they are studying the issue anew because of continued Zionist aggression." Saeed Siyam, a Hamas leader in Gaza, told the ''Associated Press'': "The Palestinian people cannot stay silent in the face of this crime and it cannot pass without punishment."

"These kids were not playing soccer," said an anonymous Israeli army commander today. "You don't get there by accident."