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Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian man near the border fence in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday, the Gaza health ministry said.

"Ibrahim Suleiman Mansur, 26, died after he was shot by Israeli occupation forces while he was collecting gravel... east of Gaza City," ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP.

The Israeli army said the man had been seen behaving suspiciously in a restricted area close to the border fence, where explosive devices had been detonated close to troops since the beginning of this year.

"Several Palestinians approached the security fence in the northern Gaza Strip and began tampering with the fence," a military spokesman told AFP, adding that troops shouted warnings and fired in the air before shooting one of the suspects.

"After exhausting all other means... they fired toward the main instigator," the spokesman said.

According to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Israel allows "civilian access on foot to areas up to 100 metres (yards) from the perimeter fence for agricultural purposes only, and vehicular access to a distance of 300 metres."

Israeli soldiers often fire at Palestinians who enter the prohibited zone, which borders southern Israel.

An Israeli army officer was killed on February 4 in a friendly-fire incident along the tense frontier.