A Palestinian militant was killed yesterday when the Israeli military fired a shell at what it described as a group of suspects approaching the border between Gaza and Israel.

Seven more people were injured, several seriously. According to Palestinian medical workers, the injured included a 10-year-old girl. There were unconfirmed reports last night that a second Palestinian had died from injuries.

The dead man was reported to be an Islamic Jihad militant, named Mohammad Al-Kafarneh, 22. The group claimed he was one of their fighters, as hundreds of mourners with Islamic Jihad flags were photographed at his funeral by several international news agencies.

According to Palestinian sources, an Israeli soldier was shot by a militant sniper in the incident. The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) did not comment on the claim.

In a statement, the Israeli military said: "Following identification of the terror operatives, the IDF force fired at, and identified hitting, the operatives. One operative was killed and others were injured."

The incident took place near Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza.

The shelling comes just over a week after a Palestinian mother of five was killed outside her home 400 metres from the border when she was fetching her two-year-old son indoors. Three other people were killed in that incident.

Following the three-week war in Gaza in 2008-9, the Israelis established a 300m-wide "buffer zone" on Palestinian land abutting the hi-tech security fence that marks the border. The aim was to prevent militants from firing rockets into Israel or launching attacks on military posts.

Palestinians were warned that anyone entering the buffer zone would be shot dead.

The zone has swallowed 30% of Gaza's arable agricultural land, and many farmers have been forced to abandon their crops.

According to the United Nations, 27 Palestinians have been killed and 99 injured in incidents close to the border since the beginning of this year.

Rocket fire from Gaza into Israel has dramatically fallen since the 2008-9 war, although there are still sporadic attacks by militant groups other than Hamas. A Thai farmworker in Israel was killed by a rocket in March.