Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian who tried to attack them with a hand grenade close to the Gaza border fence with Israel on Thursday, an Israeli army spokesman said.

The troops crossed the border into Gaza to check for a possible infiltrator and shot the man when they saw him trying to throw a hand grenade at them, the spokesman said. They later returned to the Israeli side of the border.

Israel and the Gaza Strip's Islamist Hamas rulers put a ceasefire into effect on Jan. 18 after an Israeli offensive that medical officials in the enclave said killed 1,300 Palestinians, including 700 civilians.

Eleven Israeli soldiers and three civilians have been killed since the start of the campaign, which Israel said was intended to end cross-border rocket fire.

Earlier on Thursday Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian militant at his home in the village of Qabatiya, near Jenin in the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian security official said.

An Israeli military spokesman said the militant belonged to the Islamic Jihad group and was suspected of involvement in attacks on Israelis.

The Palestinian official identified the militant as Al'a Abu al-Rob, 23. Israel often raids militant hideouts in the West Bank, which it captured in the 1967 Middle East war.