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The Ministry of Health appointed the boys: Khalid Abu Sa'ed, 14, Abdel Hameed Abu Zahir, 13, and Mohammed al-Satari, 13. They were from the city of Deir Al Balah, in the center of the Gaza Strip.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said one of its planes opened fire on three people who appeared to be trying to plant explosives.
"Three Palestinians approached the security fence in the southern Gaza Strip, attempted to damage it, and apparently participated in the laying of an improvised explosive device nearby. shot at them, "the Israeli army said in a statement.
Sami Abu Zohri, leader of Hamas, the militant group at the head of Gaza, rejected the IDF narrative, saying in a statement that the three boys had "peacefully demonstrated near the eastern border of the besieged enclave".
Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said in a statement that the deaths were a "clear war crime, in violation of international law and international humanitarian law."
Nickolay Mladenov, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, tweeted: "Such tragedies must be avoided at all costs, children must be protected, not exposed to violence or endangered. "
Tensions between Israel and Gaza have been high for months.
Hundreds of dead in clashes
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 200 people have died since March in weekly clashes along the border fence.
In addition, there has been a series of violent escalations involving rocket fire by Gaza militants and Israeli air force airstrikes.
The latest outbreak occurred Friday night when Islamic Jihad militants fired more than 30 rockets on Israel, according to the IDF, shortly after the death of four Palestinians in clashes with Israeli soldiers along of the barrier.
A spokesman for the Israeli army on Saturday accused Iran of orchestrating the Syrian attack, saying the launches had taken place "under the guidance, instructions and incentives" given by the Islamic Republic.
The IDF said the army had launched airstrikes on 80 targets in Gaza, including some belonging to Hamas. Israel says it holds Hamas accountable for everything that goes on in Gaza.
But IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus suggested that the strikes would not be Israel's only response to the rocket barrage.
In a rare gesture, he threatened the Israeli army with conducting air raids in Syria against Syrian and Iranian targets, considering Iran as responsible for Islamic Jihad's decision to launch rockets into Israel.
Israel rarely admits to conducting strikes in Syria and it is almost unheard of to be incredibly rare to prevent such strikes in advance.
Oren Liebermann from CNN contributed to this report.
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