Two Palestinian militants were killed today by Israeli commandos during a predawn raid in the central Gaza Strip.
An Israeli spokeswoman said troops shot the two Hamas members as the army conducted a ground assault in the Hamas-controlled territory.
Hamas said the two men were the first from the Islamist group to be killed by Israel in nearly a month.
The killings could challenge Egyptian-mediated efforts to broker a truce between Israel and militant groups. Hamas has not claimed any cross-border rocket fire into Israeli towns since the beginning of March.
Yesterday, an Israeli shot dead a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank whom the army said tried to stab Jewish settlers at a bus stop. A Palestinian source said the man was not a militant and denied he attempted to attack Israelis.
The incident took place hours after Israel removed a West Bank checkpoint under a pledge to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to ease restrictions on Palestinian travel in the occupied territory.