JERUSALEM, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- A firefight erupted after Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired on an Israeli army patrol midday Thursday.

"An Israel Defense Forces unit was on a regular patrol along the security fence alongside central Gaza" when militants opened fire and fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the force, an army source told Xinhua, adding that Israeli troops returned fire at " suspicious figures."

The source could not confirm if the army vehicles were hit in the incident, or if more forces were reinforced to the scene. But local media reports quoted the military as saying that a tank was damaged during the attack.

Three Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers were wounded Tuesday in a bombing by Palestinian militants along the southern Gaza border.

The IDF said in a statement that one of the soldiers sustained moderate wounds and the other two were hurt lightly in the blast, which took place near Kibbutz Nirim.

Palestinian sources in nearby Khan Younis reported hearing the blast, and said there were heavy exchanges of fire between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants, according to the Ynet news website.

The Israeli troops fired smoke grenades in return during the fight, the army source said, adding that it holds Hamas, which rules the coastal enclave, as "solely" responsible for any attack emanating from the Gaza Strip.