Two Hamas members offed themselves in northern Gaza. Hamas blames Israel, but it is not quite sure how to blame Israel:

Two Hamas gunmen were killed in what appears to be a malfunction of an explosive device they were attempting to place near an area of Gaza's border fence regularly patrolled by soldiers, Palestinian sources reported Tuesday.

The 2009 PalArab self-death count rises to 178.

Two fighters from Palestinian militant organisation Hamas have been killed in the Gaza Strip, the group says.

Hamas, which governs Gaza, initially said an Israeli airstrike killed the men near Jabalya, then blamed Israeli army shelling across the border.

However, an Israeli spokeswoman said: "There was no attack by the Israel Defence Forces in the Gaza Strip."

Israel and Hamas have been observing a ceasefire since January, when three weeks of fighting ended.

Attacks against Israel by Gaza-based Palestinian militants have dropped in recent months.

The Israeli military says about 700 rockets and mortars have been fired into Israel since the start of the year - which includes most of Israel's 22-day military offensive in December and January.

Israel says the operation and its intensive blockade of Gaza are aimed at ending rocket fire and weakening the Hamas movement, which controls the enclave.