Israeli aircraft "targeted a terror cell plotting to detonate an explosive device against (military) forces stationed along the border of the northern Gaza Strip," the Israeli army said.
A Gaza health ministry spokesman said one person was killed and three wounded on a beach in the area of Beit Lahiya, located near the Palestinian enclave's northern border with Israel.
The spokesman identified the person killed as Musa Abu Zuaiter, 31.
The air raid would mark a departure from recent Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip, which have usually followed rocket fire from Palestinian militants and have rarely led to casualties.
"Forces guarding the border with Gaza face a growing threat from hostile terror groups attempting to destabilise the situation on the ground," Israeli military spokesman Peter Lerner said in a statement following today's raid.
Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza have fought three wars since 2008, including a devastating 50-day conflict in 2014.