Two Palestinian militants have been shot dead by Israeli troops near the border of the Gaza Strip.

Israeli soldiers entered the coastal enclave and killed the gunmen when they were seen approaching the border, an Israeli army spokeswoman told AP.

Palestinian emergency service workers said they had recovered two bodies from the scene and taken them to hospital.

One of the militants was reportedly a member of Islamic Jihad while the other belonged to a renegade militant group.

Both Israel and the main Palestinian militant group in Gaza, Hamas, declared unilateral truces following Israel's three-week Gaza offensive on 17 January that killed 13 Israelis and more than 1,100 Palestinians.

That invasion was meant to stop rocket attacks from the coastal enclave on nearby Israeli communities.

But dozens of rocket strikes and other attacks from Gaza have been reported since then, apparently involving smaller militant groups.

Israel has responded with air strikes.