Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian Arab rioter and wounded another in the Gaza Strip near the border with the Jewish state on Friday, a medical source in the Islamist-ruled enclave said.    

20-year-old Bilal Samir Oweida died after being “shot in the chest by Israeli soldiers” east of Jabaliya, in northern Gaza, said Ashraf al-Qudra, a spokesman for the Hamas-run health ministry.    

Another man was wounded in the same incident, he said.    

The Israeli army said a group of Palestinian Arabs had entered “a prohibited area” in northern Gaza where they “damaged the security fence, hurled rocks and rolled burning tires at IDF (Israel Defence Forces).”    

“The soldiers tried to distance the crowd using riot dispersal means and firing warning shots in the air. After all efforts were exhausted, the soldiers fired towards two main instigators,” a military spokeswoman told AFP.  

In early January, Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian youth, who had been attempting to break through the security fence in the same area.    

According to the UN 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.”  

Tensions by the Gaza security fence have been heightened since terrorists shot dead a civilian worker as he attempted to repair damage to the fence late last month.