Israeli troops kill Palestinian near Gaza crossing

GAZA, Nov 25 (Reuters) Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian man near the Karni border crossing in the northern Gaza Strip overnight, Palestinian medical officials said today.

It was not immediately clear if the man was armed.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said soldiers fired at three people on Friday night as they approached the border area and hit one of them.

In a separate incident overnight, the army said soldiers shot one militant near Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

Israel began an offensive in the Gaza Strip in June soon after Palestinian militants from Gaza captured an Israeli soldier in a cross-border raid.

Nearly 400 Palestinians, about half of them militants, have been killed since the offensive began, according to Palestinian hospital officials.

REUTERS BDP RK1405