An Egyptian naval patrol shot dead a Palestinian fisherman and wounded another Thursday off the coast near the border between Hamas-ruled Gaza and Egypt, a Gaza health ministry spokesman said.

The victim was identified as Faris Meqdad, 18, ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said.

The Gaza interior ministry condemned the shooting and demanded an inquiry.

"We condemn the shooting by the Egyptian military which left a Palestinian fisherman dead and another injured," it said in a statement.

"We are asking the Egyptian military to immediately open an investigation to find who committed this crime."

Egyptian forces have previously opened fire on Gazans they accused of crossing the maritime border between Egypt and the Palestinian enclave.

Jihadist fighters have been battling Egyptian forces in the restive Sinai peninsula, which borders Gaza. Egypt rarely opens its border with Gaza, and the strip also faces an Israeli blockade.

Since the ouster of its Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, Egypt says it has destroyed hundreds of tunnels used to transport militants, merchandise and arms between Gaza and the Sinai.

Hamas, the Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip, lost a major ally in Morsi and has had strained relations with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who overthrew him while army chief.

In September, Hamas accused Egypt of further besieging the Gaza Strip by flooding the border area to the south.

Source: AFP