Israel Defense Forces troop fired at suspected militants that had approached Gaza's northern border with Israel, Israel Radio reported on Wednesday, with two suspected militants reportedly killed in the incident.

Open gallery view IDF tank near Gaza border. Credit: Emil Salman

According to Palestinian sources, one militant was killed on the spot, while the second fatality succumbed to his wounds several hours after the incident.

Six militants remained hospitalized, the sources reported.

According to initial reports, Israeli tanks targeted a suspected militant squad after receiving reports that a squad near the northern Strip town of Beit Hanoun had intended to fire an anti-tank missile toward another IDF unit.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said soldiers opened fire on suspects approaching a border fence but had no further comment. Palestinian medical workers claimed 7 people were wounded, including a 10-year-old girl. No other details were immediately released.

The militant killed in the incident was reportedly a central Islamic Jihad militant.

Since Israel's Gaza offensive 18 months ago, cross-border violence has largely abated.

But there are occasional rocket and mortar salvoes by Palestinians, usually claimed by militant groups unaligned with the dominant Islamist Hamas movement.

Last week, hospital officials said that an IDF shelling killed a Palestinian woman and wounded two of her relatives in the central Gaza Strip.

Asked about the incident in the village of Johar a-Deek, which is near Gaza's border with Israel, the IDF Spokesperson's Office confirmed that soldiers had opened fire on two suspicious figures who were seen approaching the border fence.