Israeli forces have shot and injured two Palestinians in separate incidents on the Gaza perimeter fence, according to the Israeli military.

The shootings are the first cracks in a local ceasefire that has been in place since last week.

In the first incident, Israeli soldiers shot a man who appeared to be laying a mine near the border.

The second shooting occurred when a Palestinian man ignored soldiers' warnings near the Erez crossing.

An Israeli military spokesman said the first incident took place after two men approached the continually patrolled perimeter fence between Israel and Gaza.

Explosive charge

The men appeared to be attempting to lay an explosive charge and were driven off with warning shots.

However, they returned with a crowd of several dozen people and made a second attempt to place the explosives, a military spokesman said.

One of the men was then shot in the leg as he lay on the ground, apparently placing a mine.

Palestinian health officials said two civilians were treated for leg wounds after being shot by Israeli forces, the Associated Press news agency reported.

These are the first casualties in Gaza since a ceasefire was declared around a week and a half ago, despite a number of rockets being fired from Gaza into Israel.

The BBC's Alan Johnston in Gaza says there is little optimism either in Gaza or Israel that the truce will hold for long.

Photo Caption

Gaza-Israel perimeter fence