Palestinian ambulance workers in the Gaza Strip picked up the body of a Palestinian who was shot dead by Israeli troops as he approached Israel's borders Sunday night, a spokesperson said Monday.

Ashraf al-Qedra, Hamas-run ministry of health spokesman, said the 21-year-old Palestinian was left bleeding for hours before the Israeli army allowed the ambulances to enter the no-go area. He was dead when the ambulances arrived.

Al-Qedra noted that the youth was mentally ill. Residents in the area, to the east of central the Gaza Strip, said the Israeli troops fired warning shots at the youth, who continued approaching the security fence separating Gaza and Israel.

Israel Radio reported that the Palestinian youth neglected the Israeli soldiers' orders to go back and that they had to shoot him.

After Israel withdrew its forces and settlers from Gaza in 2005, it created a 300-meter-wide buffer zone along its borders with the coastal enclave.