The Israel Defense Forces said on Tuesday that initial findings from an investigation into the killing of a Palestinian nurse during protests on the Gaza border showed that she was not shot deliberately.
Gaza health officials and witnesses said soldiers shot and killed 21-year-old Razan al-Najar, a volunteer medic, as she ran toward the border fence, east of Khan Younis, in a bid to reach casualties in a border riot last Friday.
The IDF said Palestinian terrorists had attacked troops along the border with gunfire and a grenade.
"An initial investigation regarding the incident found that a small number of bullets were fired and that no shots were deliberately or directly aimed toward her," an IDF statement said.
The inquest is ongoing and findings will be examined by senior commanders and then passed to military prosecutors for review, the statement said.
Meanwhile, as Hamas and Fatah locked horns over Najar's commemoration, thousands attended her funeral in Gaza on Saturday, including some people she had treated when they were wounded at previous border protests.
Hamas gunmen, however, prevented Najar's family from holding a memorial service. According to reports from Ramallah, armed members of Hamas' military wing arrived at the mourners' tent outside the family home, tore down flags and posters with the Fatah logo, dismantled the stage where the ceremony was to take place and even fought with her relatives.
"Fatah will not appropriate the shahids ['martyrs'] who were killed in the clashes with the Zionist enemy at the fence," Hamas said in a statement.
Najar's father said the Hamas men who prevented his daughter's memorial service should be brought to justice.
"We condemn the actions of the Izzedin Al-Qassam Brigades. They prohibited us from commemorating my daughter and in response we said we would boycott the memorial service for her that Hamas is planning," he said.
