Israeli military kills 3 Palestinians near Gaza fence after firing toward 'armed suspects,' officials say

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Israeli soldiers killed three Palestinians near Gaza Strip’s heavily guarded perimeter fence after armed "terrorists" were spotted trying to "infiltrate into" the country, officials announced on Sunday.

Israeli troops also severely wounded a fourth person near the perimeter fence, the Gaza Health Ministry said Sunday.

In a tweet on Sunday, which included a 30-second video, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrote, “Last night, our soldiers monitoring Israel's security fence with #Gaza identified this terrorist squad armed with rifles attempting to infiltrate into #Israel.”

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The tweet continued, “In the time it takes to watch this video, our troops had already arrived at the scene in order to stop the terrorists.”

The IDF said the video showed three “terrorists” near the security fence with at least one carrying a rifle.

In a tweet on Sunday, Israel Defense Forces said Israeli soldiers monitoring Israel's security fence with Gaza identified a "terrorist squad armed with rifles attempting to infiltrate into Israel" on Saturday night. (Israel Defense Forces)

A helicopter and a tank fired at the “armed suspects” overnight, according to the Israeli military.

Following weeks of calm, Palestinian militants have attempted a number of raids over the weekend.

On Saturday, the IDF tweeted, “3 rockets were fired from #Gaza at #Israel, 2 of them were intercepted by the Iron Dome Aerial Defense System. This is the 2nd consecutive night rockets have been fired from Gaza at Israeli civilians.”

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The day before, the IDF tweeted, “A rocket was launched from Gaza at Israeli civilians earlier tonight. The rocket was intercepted by the Iron Dome before it could reach its target: Israeli civilians.”

The tweet continued, “We just responded with strikes on Hamas’ underground infrastructure in Gaza. Israel's target: Terror.”

No injuries were reported from the rockets Palestinian militants had fired. In response, Israel struck Hamas targets; nobody was reported hurt.

Relatives mourning the death of Palestinian Hamas militant Mohammad Abu Namous during his Gaza funeral Sunday. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Israel has held Hamas responsible for attacks coming from Gaza, which the Islamic militant group has ruled for the past 12 years.

Hamas has said recent attacks were carried out by people frustrated by the Israeli-Egyptian blockade imposed on the territory in 2007.

Mourners carrying the body of Palestinian Hamas militant Mohammad Abu Namous out of the family home during his funeral Sunday. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

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“The killing of young people on the borders of the Gaza Strip is a continuation of the (Israeli) occupation’s crimes everywhere, in the West Bank and Jerusalem,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasem said.

“This is linked to the state of anger and pressure that Palestinian people are suffering from.”