The IDF Spokesman's Office said Thursday that the shooting of a Hamas member at the Gaza border was a mistake.

"During the morning hours, IDF forces identified a number of Palestinians in the fence area in the northern Gaza Strip," the statement said.

"From an initial investigation it appears that an activist under the Hamas control force arrived at the fence area following two Palestinians who were moving nearby," the IDF explained.

"In retrospect, it transpires that an IDF force that arrived at the incident identified the law enforcement activist as an armed terrorist and opened fire out of that misunderstanding. The incident will be investigated," the army said.