A Palestinian man was reportedly shot dead in the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday in what Palestinian emergency workers described as a brief Israeli raid near the border fence.

An Israeli army spokesman said he was checking the report.

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A top Palestinian Health Ministry official, Muawiyah Hassanein, identified the man who was killed as a 34-year-old civilian.

Hassanein said he was shot by Israeli soldiers while he and his brother were collecting scrap metal near the former Israeli settlement of Elei Sinai, close to the border fence.

Hassanein said the man's brother was seized by the Israeli forces. Tensions have been running high in the Gaza Strip, particularly since Hamas's armed wing resumed rocket fire at Israel late last month.