Israeli army shoots dead Gazan in unrest close to border

Israeli troops shot dead a young Palestinian during clashes along the Gaza border on Friday, the health ministry in the Palestinian enclave said.

"Mohammed Abu Saada, 26, died after being shot in the chest by Israeli soldiers in clashes east of the Al-Bureij camp," Palestinian health ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra said in a statement.

The Israeli army said that "during a violent riot adjacent to the security fence in the central Gaza Strip, dozens of rioters breached the buffer zone, approached and damaged the security fence and attempted to infiltrate Israel".

"Forces fired shots in order to distance and disperse rioters," a military spokeswoman told AFP.

Three other protesters were also injured in the clashes, according to Palestinian news site Maan.

The site's correspondent on the ground said that the dead man, Abu Saada, had also been struck in the head by a tear gas canister. 

Since October last year, violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories has claimed the lives of 239 Palestinians, 36 Israelis, two Americans, a Jordanian, an Eritrean and a Sudanese national, according to an AFP count.

Most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out attacks, according to Israeli authorities. Others were shot dead during protests and clashes, while some died in Israeli air strikes in Gaza.