Palestinian militants have launched a raid into Israel from the Gaza Strip.

The militants used an armored jeep to burst through the Kissufim border crossing, and attacked a nearby Israeli army post, leading to a gun battle.

One of the attackers is reported to have been killed. The Israelis said they suffered no casualties.

The cross-border attack was the first since gunmen abducted an Israeli soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit, almost a year ago.

The attack on the army post was launched by two Palestinian militant groups, Islamic Jihad and the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade.

Four militants were involved, according to an Islamic Jihad spokesman.

After they broke through the border and began firing mortar rounds, heavy fighting broke out and lasted for three hours.

The jeep used in the attack was marked with UN insignia, according to a spokesman for the al-Aqsa unit, but the Israeli army said it was bore the letters "TV", indicating a press vehicle.

Initially, the militants claimed they had abducted an Israeli soldier, but that was denied by the Israeli military.

Earlier, Israeli forces clashed with Palestinian gunmen in southern Gaza during an operation which, the army said, was to look for hidden weapons.

There were exchanges of gun fire with militants near the town of Rafah, as houses were searched by Israeli soldiers.

Recent truce deals between the two have been fragile.

More than 50 people were killed in the latest wave of fighting before a ceasefire deal came into effect.

Earlier this week, the Fatah leader and president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, warned that the factional violence could spill into civil war.

PHOTO CAPTION

Israeli soldiers take positions near Kissufim after Palestinian attacks