Israeli tank fire killed two Palestinian militants as violence flared on the Israel-Gaza border on Wednesday, four days after a de facto truce that had been largely holding.
Hamas, the armed Islamist group that controls Gaza, confirmed that the two Palestinians killed were its members.
The Israeli military said that militants had fired at its soldiers in the area of the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday night, and that in response its forces were "targeting Hamas military posts". Gaza residents said they heard many explosions.
Israeli media reported that an Israeli soldier had been wounded in the incident but the military did not initially comment on this.
The de facto truce between Israel and Hamas followed violence in which an Israeli soldier and four Hamas fighters were killed on Friday.