A Palestinian man apparently suffering psychiatric problems was killed by Israeli troops after he approached Gaza's border fence, Palestinian medical sources said on Monday.

The 20-year-old man, named as Ahmed al-Nabaheen, was injured on Sunday evening, but the Israeli army refused to allow Palestinian ambulances to the scene to transport him, the medics said.

His body was recovered on Monday morning.

An Israeli army spokeswoman confirmed that a "suspect" had approached the border area.

"The soldiers spotted him and fired warning shots in the air, but he continued to approach Israeli territory," she said. "The soldiers then fired in his direction and achieved a hit."

Israel's military maintains a buffer zone that runs several hundred metres (yards) inside the Gaza Strip, along the border with Israel, with troops opening fire on anyone who enters the area.