Israel Defense Forces troops on Saturday shot and killed three Palestinian militants who were attempting to place an explosive device near the Gaza Strip security fence.

Palestinian medical officials said one other militant was seriously injured and they were looking for the others. No soldiers were hurt in the incident.

In a separate incident, a 23-year-old Palestinian belonging to the Popular Resistance Committees died when an explosive device went off in the Gaza Strip.

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Hamas said the militants killed by the IDF were members of its military wing, and Palestinian sources named them as Abdel Khalim Fiumi, 27, Said Khiles, 21, and Mohammed Suki, 24.

Soldiers from the Rotem Battalion of the Givati Brigade spotted four men approaching the fence north of the Kisufim crossing.

The soldiers then crossed the fence, attacked the militants and killed them.

A Kalashnikov rifle and explosive devices were found among the men's possession.

In a separate incident, a Palestinian belonging to the Popular Resistance Committees died when an explosive device went off in the Gaza Strip.

Saturday's incident near the fence marked the second time in four days that Hamas according to its claim of responsibility, breached the cease-fire reached in November.

Earlier this week, Hamas fired a barrage of rockets toward Israel, causing no injuries, after Israeli forces killed nine Palestinians in fighting.

Abu Obeida, a spokesman of the Hamas military wing threatened that "Israel will be punished for its crimes."

"The truce cannot be for free. There is a possibility to consider a temporary truce, on the condition that is mutual. Otherwise there will be no free truce," Abu Obeida told a local Palestinian radio station.

Palestinian militants have attempted to plant more than 50 bombs near the border since a November cease-fire between Gaza militants and Israel took effect, the military said.

The attempted attack came just a day after Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas held their first day of talks in Cairo with Hamas' supreme leader in exile, Khaled Mashaal, to find ways of rescuing the cease-fire. The talks, which started Friday, were the first since Hamas and Fatah formed a coalition government in March.

During their second day of meetings in Cairo on Saturday, Meshal described rockets attacks on Israel this week as self defense and claimed they were justified, while Abbas urged the preservation of the five months' truce.

The attempted attack was seen as a snub of both Abbas and Egyptian mediators. According to an Israeli media report, Egypt has threatened to cut ties with Hamas if the group does not respect the cease-fire.

It was not clear whether Hamas' military wing acted with the backing of the political leadership. There has been growing dissatisfaction among Hamas' hardliners with the coalition government formed in March between Hamas and Abbas' pragmatic Fatah movement.

In the West Bank, IDF troops arrested four wanted Palestinians overnight Saturday.

IDF troops sustained fire in Nablus Saturday. There were no injuries among the soldiers.

Palestinian officer killed in Rafah clash
A Palestinian security officer was killed Friday in an exchange of fire between Palestinian Presidential Guard officers and Gaza residents at the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, security and medical officials said.

Three other people, including a civilian, were wounded in the incident.

The officer who was killed was named as 29-year-old Ahmed Abu Teir of the National Security Service.

The incident began when a man tried to pass through the crossing by force and started firing at the Presidential Guard officers stationed at the crossing.

The Presidential Guard is subordinate to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

A Presidential Guard spokesman said armed civilians began throwing stones and firing at the crossing.

It was unclear who was responsible for the deadly gunfire because of the chaotic circumstances at the Rafah terminal at the time, but all the shooting was done by Fatah militants, security officials said.

Among the Fatah gunmen was a group who had arrived at the border to collect the body of a colleague who died in Syria.

The shootout lasted for 20 minutes. Throughout the shooting and afterward, the passage remained open, European border monitors said.