A Palestinian youth walks in the closed international airport of Rafah in southern Gaza Strip, Jul 2007

An Israeli helicopter has fired several missiles at an abandoned airport control tower in the southern Gaza Strip.

Witnesses say the Israeli missile strike at the former Rafah airport took place after nightfall Thursday.

There were no immediate reports of casualties. Israel says it was firing at three armed men seen in the vicinity of the disused airport.

The airfield at Rafah, at the border between Gaza and Egypt, has been closed for almost seven years, since the start of the Palestinian uprising against Israel.

Earlier Thursday, Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian near Kissufim a border crossing between Gaza and Israel.

The Israeli military says soldiers suspected the man was planting a bomb. Palestinian medics say they did not find any weapons near the body.

In another development, a military court has indicted an Israeli officer in connection with the shooting of an unarmed Palestinian man in the West Bank last month.

Army investigators say the Israeli officer ordered his squad to hijack a Palestinian taxi and use it to enter the town of Dahariya in search of wanted militants.

One of the soldiers shot a Palestinian, and the officer drove on without providing medical care. The wounded man was later treated at an Israeli hospital.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.