The ax. Photo: IDF.

Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian who tried to cross the border from Gaza armed with an ax on Monday, the military said in a statement.

The army circulated a picture of what it said was the ax lying on the ground near the border. A second Palestinian who was with the man fled after they damaged Israel‘s security fence, a military spokesman said.

There was no immediate comment from Palestinian officials on the incident, which comes at a time of renewed violence along the Israel-Gaza frontier.

Last week terrorists from Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, fired dozens of rockets and mortar bombs at Israel, drawing Israeli air and tank strikes in the heaviest round of fighting since 2014..

Since March 30 Israeli troops have killed at least 120 Palestinians during riots along the Gaza border.

Israel says many of those killed were Hamas members and other terrorists trying to breach the border and launch attacks. The United States has expressed support for Israel‘s actions.