Three Palestinians have been injured by Israeli army tank fire that came after an Israeli civilian was lightly wounded by gunfire from Gaza along the border fence with Israel, officials said, in the first exchange of fire in months on the Gaza frontier.

Gaza City, December 30 (RHC)-- Three Palestinians have been injured by Israeli army tank fire that came after an Israeli civilian was lightly wounded by gunfire from Gaza along the border fence with Israel, officials said, in the first exchange of fire in months on the Gaza frontier.

The Israeli military said it responded to the gunfire which wounded the Israeli civilian on Wednesday with tank fire aimed at military positions manned by Hamas, which has ruled the besieged territory since 2007.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza said three Palestinians were wounded.  Local media shared photos of the three men as they were transferred to a hospital in northern Gaza, saying they were all farmers.

Earlier on Wednesday, Israel announced measures aimed at improving life in the occupied West Bank after a rare meeting of top Israeli and Palestinian officials.  Israel has taken steps in recent months it says are aimed at easing tensions, even as attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians have been on the rise.

Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz on Wednesday approved a series of measures aimed at improving relations with the Palestinians after hosting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at his home in Israel late on Tuesday.  It was the first time Abbas met an Israeli official in Israel since 2010. The two discussed security coordination between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), which administers pockets of the occupied West Bank.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Israeli defence ministry said “the two men discussed security and civil matters” during the meeting, which, the Israeli media reported, took place at Gantz’s home in Rosh Ha’ayin in central Israel.