GAZA — Israeli tank shelling killed two Palestinians and wounded a third in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, medical officials said, after weeks of border protests that have drawn lethal army fire.

Israel's military confirmed that it targeted an observation post.

The health ministry identified those killed as Hussein Al-Amour, 25, and Abdul Haleem Al-Naqa, 28. The incident happened east of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, a ministry spokesman said.

Separately on Saturday night, Israeli aircraft struck two targets belonging to Hamas.

Hostilities over the Gaza frontier have soared since Palestinians began mass-demonstrations on March 30, which Israel deems cover for attempts to breach the border fence.

At least 113 Palestinians have been killed and thousands hurt by army gunfire in the protests, drawing foreign censure.

There have been no Israeli casualties along the Gaza frontier, but Israel has reported extensive damage to farmland on its side of the border from firebomb-bearing kites flown over from Gaza.

In Israel, the military announced the death on Saturday of a soldier who was injured during a raid in the occupied West Bank on Thursday when Palestinians dropped a stone slab on his head from a building. Hundreds attended his funeral in Jerusalem on Sunday. — Agencies