2 Gazan boys caught after entering Israel with knife

Israeli forces captured two Palestinian boys who crossed the border fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip on Thursday.

The army said the Palestinians, ages 11 and 15, were found carrying a knife.

The two were taken in for questioning.

The incident comes after a Palestinian gunman crossed into Israel from Gaza early Thursday and opened fire at troops near the border, wounding an officer and two soldiers.

The gunman was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers, the army said, adding that it also hit a Hamas post in the area with tank fire.

The attacker was armed with a rifle and grenades and wearing a Hamas uniform, according to the Israel Defense Forces. However, an army spokesperson said, the military believes the attacker was acting alone and not on orders from Hamas, the terror group that rules Gaza.

The gunman was named by Gaza media as Hani Abu Salah, a member of the military wing of Hamas whose brother was killed in a clash with the Israel Defense Forces last May.

The army said the incident began after troops were deployed to investigate the suspected gunman as he neared the Gaza border fence.

Palestinians had earlier reported heavy fighting near Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

The flareup of violence broke several weeks of relative calm along the restive border.

The beginning of 2019 saw a dramatic increase in the level of violence along the Gaza border, with near nightly riots and airborne arson attacks, but the violence has waned in recent weeks due to a de facto ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Gaza-ruling Hamas terror group.

On Wednesday, Israel wrapped up a four-day drill meant to prepare for the possibility of war with fighters based in the Palestinian enclave.

Wednesday also saw the first fire in two weeks sparked in Israel by an incendiary balloon launched from Gaza, according to authorities.