#NEWS:Israeli army steps up operations along Gaza border as violence escalates

JERUSALEM, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is deploying more troops along the Gaza border in response to recent cross-border clashes, and a spike in missile and mortar attacks against Israeli civilians over the last week.

On Saturday evening, two Palestinian militants were killed and an IDF paratrooper was moderately wounded in an exchange of fire along the Gaza border after the former were spotted attempting to infiltrate into Israel. The army said the Israeli trooper was wounded by a Palestinian sniper.

Several rockets were fired from Gaza at Israeli communities near the border during the weekend and landed in open fields, causing no casualties.

On Thursday, the Israeli Air Force bombed three Hamas targets in Gaza in retaliation to a mortar attack which wounded an Israeli. In a separate incident earlier in the week, an IDF tank sustained damage after being hit by an anti-tank missile fired by militants.

The IDF Spokesman's Office reported on Saturday that about 200 projectiles landed in Israel since the beginning of the year, eight of them in the past six days.

"The current state of the Gaza Strip border is delicate. We are seeing acute deterioration in security. Violent activity has increased on the northern border as well," IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi said on Wednesday.

Meeting with soldiers from an IDF paratroop unit, Ashkenazi said the army plans to step up its operations in the Gaza area near future.

"There will be more problems. It's inevitable. Conflict around the fence will continue and we must be prepared, because that's what will ultimately decide the outcome of the battle, the next round of fighting will be bigger," said Ashkenazi.

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