Two Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army in Gaza, Palestinian ambulance workers have said.
 
The Israeli army said that its soldiers opened fire in the early hours of Monday morning after they saw two armed men approaching the fence that divides Israel from Palestinian-ruled Gaza.
 
"A unit operating near the border, in an area adjacent to the northern Gaza Strip, spotted two suspects who were crawling toward the security barrier with an explosive device," an Israeli spokesman said.
 
 "The soldiers opened fire in their direction causing the device to explode. The two men are probably dead."
 
Ambulance workers recover bodies

Palestinian ambulance workers said they recovered two bodies from the scene.
 
The Popular Resistance Committee has identified the two men as members of its group and said in a statement they had embarked on a "mission" against Israel.
 
Israel and several armed Palestinian groups declared a Gaza ceasefire in November.
 
The truce that ended a substained Israeli military offensive against Palestinian fighters in the territory.
 
Some militant factions have kept up sporadic cross-border rocket attacks on Israeli cities despite the truce.

Photo caption

An Israeli soldier on a patrol