A Palestinian died Monday in a Gaza house blast that witnesses initially said was caused by Israeli rockets but which Palestinian security sources later conveyed to Reuters was not a result of a raid. The Israeli army said it had carried out no military operations in the area. Palestinian medics said a 17-year-old Palestinian was killed in the explosion and his mother and a brother were wounded. Other security sources said it seemed the Palestinian had set off explosives accidentally. Earlier, a Palestinian man died and 10 others were treated for breathing difficulties Monday morning after thousands of laborers "pushed to get through a narrow turnstile to reach the main Erez border crossing" with Israel, according to Israeli media reports, citing hospital officials. The dead man was identified as 60-year-old Mohammed Sheikh. The construction worker was among over 6,000 Palestinians who had been waiting for several hours on the Palestinian side of the crossing, waiting to undergo tightened Israeli security checks. Sheikh, from the Gaza city neighborhood of Aldaraj, died after suffocating at the crossing point due to strict Israeli military measures. Ten other workers were treated for breathing difficulties. Witnesses said that the Israeli soldiers also fired tear gas canisters at the crowds, and as a result, more people suffocated. They had been transferred to the Gaza local Al-Shefa hospital for treatment. The Israeli army, for its part, said it helped evacuate Sheikh from the area, but added the incident took place on the Palestinian side of the border, and had "nothing to do with Israel". They added that Sheikh probably died of "heart failure". Meanwhile, Jamal Mohammad Al-Afify of the Tal Alsultan neighborhood in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, was shot dead by Israeli troops, the Palestinian local radio of Sawt Alhurriya (Voice of Freedom) reported. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Palestinian workers pray as a food vendor looks on during a protest strike near the Erez Crossing, northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2004. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)