Muawiya Hassanein, the head of Gaza emergency services, said two wounded people were brought to hospital after the strike, which witnesses said came during an exchange of fire after militants launced a mortar round.

Hours after the reported incident, the Israeli military had no comment.

Israeli news Web site Nana, however, said a military aircraft had opened fire at a group of men seeking to breach the Gaza border fence, under cover of a heavy sandstorm, and to launch a raid into Israel.

Gaza has been mostly quiet since the end of a devastating 22-day Israeli offensive in January 2009 but the past week has seen several incidents along the heavily-guarded border.

Last Friday two armed Palestinians were shot dead in a shootout with troops after they staged a rare breach of the fence and headed toward nearby Israeli villages.

Two days ago Palestinian militants detonated a booby-trapped donkey cart near the border fence and fired mortar rounds into southern Israel, according to the Israeli military.

Israel responded to the mortar fire with two air strikes, seriously wounding a 15-year-old and another person, Palestinian medical sources said.

On Wednesday, troops shot a Palestinian who continued to approach the flashpoint frontier after being ordered to turn back, the military said. Gaza emergency services, however, said three men had been wounded by army fire.

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