A relative of an eight-month-old baby said to have died during violence on the Gaza border last month has reportedly told Israeli investigators the family was paid to say the baby was killed .

Mahmoud Omar, 20, told investigators that his cousin Layla al-Ghandour actually died of a blood disease, an illness that claimed the baby's brother's life a year earlier, JTA reported citing Israeli news site Hadashot.

The information was included in Mr Omar's testimony filed as part of an indictment in Beersheba District Court on Thursday.

He has been charged with security offences – including membership of Hamas – after he was caught attempting to infiltrate Israel through the Gaza border fence.

He testified that Hamas paid his aunt Mariam and her husband Anwar 8,000 shekels (£1,660) to say their daughter died from exposure to tear gas during the border protests.

The story of the baby's death made headlines around the world during last month's cross-border violence, which saw 60 Palestinians killed in one day.

Baby Layla al-Ghandour's name was subsequently removed from a Gaza Health Ministry list of those killed during the violence.