JERUSALEM: A rocket fired by militants in the Gaza Strip lightly wounded four Israeli soldiers on Saturday, the army said, with military sources adding they were "inside a building" at the time.

"Three soldiers were wounded by a rocket which hit the Eshkol regional council," a military spokeswoman said, referring to an area along the southern flank of Israel's border with Gaza.

The official later updated the figure to four, saying all of them "were lightly injured". A military source said: "They were inside a building at the time".

The announcement coincided with a claim by Hamas militants who said they had fired mortar shells at a "position" in Reim, an Israeli community in the Eshkol regional council which lies eight kilometres (five miles) from the central Gaza Strip.

"At 10:00 am (0800 GMT), the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades hit the Reim position with five mortar shells," it said, without elaborating.

Another three soldiers were injured by rocket fire on Thursday as well as 16 civilians, and three people were killed when a rocket hit a house in Netivot on the same day.