Israeli forces shot and injured a man in north Gaza on Tuesday, medics said.

Medical sources told Ma'an that Israeli soldiers stationed near the border opened fire at a laborer collecting scrap metal near Beit Hanoun.

The man was transferred to hospital for treatment.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said that "Palestinians gathered near the security fence and damaged it in the northern Gaza Strip. Security forces first fired warning shots in the air, and the suspects distanced themselves."

She added: "However, some of them returned to the scene several times. Forces exhausted all possible means but when the suspects failed to disengaged they fired toward the suspects' legs."

On Jan. 14, Mustafa Abu Jarad, 21, was shot in the head by Israeli soldiers in north Gaza and died the following day.

Three Palestinians have been shot dead by Israeli soldiers along the border since the end of an eight-day offensive in November. Over 40 people have been wounded in the incidents, Gaza officials say.

A report published Monday by Israeli rights group B'Tselem said that Israel's army "extensively and systematically violated" rules barring deadly retaliation for non-lethal assault.

"In practice, members of the security forces make almost routine use of these weapons in unlawful, dangerous ways, and the relevant Israeli authorities do too little to prevent the recurrence of this conduct," the report said.