JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's military says troops have shot and killed two Palestinians who infiltrated the country from Gaza, and in a separate incident killed another Palestinian who tried to breach the border.

The military said in a statement: "Two terrorists who infiltrated into Israel hurled explosive devices" at soldiers Sunday night. The soldiers returned fire, killing them.

Separately, the statement says, about half an hour earlier two Palestinians damaged the security fence and tried to cross into Israel. Troops opened fire, killing one, it said.

The Gaza border has been tense in recent weeks. Gaza's Islamic militant Hamas rulers have urged mass Palestinian protests there every Friday as part of a weeks-long campaign against a decade-old blockade of the territory.

Thirty-nine Palestinians have been killed in the border protests that began March 30.

Israel says it's defending its sovereign border.