Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
The border was already in a state of heightened tension ahead of planned Palestinian protests
A Palestinian farmer has been killed and a second person wounded by Israeli artillery fire, Palestinian health officials and residents say.
The strike happened early on Friday near the town of Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza, according to a spokesman.
Israel’s military has not yet commented on the report.
The area is in a state of heightened tension ahead of a six-week protest by Palestinians along the Israeli border.
Witnesses say the dead and injured men were hit by tank shells while collecting parsley in a field, BBC Gaza producer Rushdi Abualouf reports.
Hamas, the militant group which dominates the Gaza Strip, has accused Israel of trying to intimidate Palestinians by killing the farmer and urging them not to participate in the protests.
By Sebastian Usher, Middle East editor, BBC World Service
Tents have been pitched by Palestinians in five locations on the edge of the buffer zone near the border. It is a sign that the protest, which has been dubbed the Great March of Return, is in it for the long haul.
Palestinian organisers – Hamas foremost among them – have urged tens of thousands of people to take part in the first protest, which falls on what Palestinians call Land Day – commemorating the killing of six unarmed protesters in 1976.
Israel is wary, as tensions have once again been rising along the border with Gaza. The military has deployed more than 100 sharp-shooters, while the foreign ministry has made clear it does not believe that Hamas intends the protest to remain peaceful.
All of this is happening in the shadow of the upcoming inauguration of the new US embassy in Jerusalem, which is set to happen in May – a development that may well help fuel the protest.
BBC