GAZA, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Israeli tanks and troops raided the central Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing at least two Palestinian gunmen, militant sources and hospital officials said.

They said Israeli forces operating east of Maghazi refugee camp, a few hundred metres (yards) in from Gaza's boundary fence, fired on a group of gunmen, killing two and wounding several others.

The Islamic Jihad militant group claimed the two dead men as its own.

An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed that a raid was under way, describing it as "a routine operation against terrorist threats". Israeli ground forces shot two armed Palestinians spotted approaching them, the spokeswoman said.

Israel this week stepped up ground and air operations against Islamic Jihad, which has spearheaded cross-border rocket attacks from Gaza. (Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi, Writing by Dan Williams in Jerusalem, Editing by Janet Lawrence)

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