Another altercation occurred along the northern section of the Gaza security fence on Thursday, ending as IDF soldiers fatally shot a suspected terrorist.
Gaza health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP the 26-year-old man was Ibrahim Suleiman Mansur, and claimed he was shot by "Israeli occupation forces while he was collecting gravel...east of Gaza City."
Despite the claims of industrious labor, an IDF spokesman refuted the accusation, reporting that "several Palestinian approached the security fence...and began tampering with (the) fence."
Fearing either an attempted infiltration or a possible attempt to place explosives along the fence, IDF forces opened fire.
"The soldiers operated in order to distance the suspects and after exhausting all possible means to do so fired at the main instigator," added the IDF source.
According to the Judea and Samaria-based Arab source Ma'an News Agency, a second 21-year-old terrorist was moderately injured after soldiers shot him in the foot.
The Gaza security fence has been a hot spot for clashes between terrorists and the IDF in the recent weeks.
In one incident last Friday, five terrorists were injured by gunfire after they threw stones at soldiers and tried to break through the fence, with a similar incident occurring the preceding Friday. Explosives have also been frequently placed on the fence by terrorists, such as in an attack in late January.
The massive upsurge in rocket fire from Gaza has also been a major cause of concern, leading defense officials in January to assess the Egyptian-brokered post-Operation Pillar of Defense ceasefire as moot and dead. According to IDF Radio (Galei Tzahal), as of January 17, 17 rockets had been fired from Gaza in 2014, making the rate one per day.
The situation has reached a point where United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert Serry, agreed this Wednesday that the ceasefire is eroding. He remarked “I am worried we are seeing more and more signs that the understanding on a ceasefire reached in November 2012 is eroding in both of its main requirements – the end of all hostilities and the opening of the crossings for people and goods."