At least five people have been killed in a series of attacks on vehicles in southern Israel, Israeli medics say.
The attacks began when gunmen fired at an Israeli bus that was travelling near the Egyptian border.
Several gunmen ambushed the civilian bus, with security forces later going in pursuit of the attackers.
This is the first major attack on Israel's border with Egypt for several years, reports the BBC's Paul Danahar in Jerusalem.
So far, the Israeli military has only confirmed that four soldiers have been "moderately injured and one soldier lightly injured".
Israeli army spokeswoman Col Avital Leibowitz told the BBC it had been a combined attack by Gaza militants who had infiltrated Israel, adding that the exchange of fire was continuing.
Col Leibowitz said all of the wounded - 10 of them - had been evacuated to hospital.
