GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli forces killed two Palestinian fighters in a fire fight along the border with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Sunday, officials said. The Islamic Jihad group said two of its gunmen were killed by Israeli fire after they detonated an explosive device against a passing Israeli patrol. An Israeli military spokeswoman said the troops, later backed up by helicopters, confirmed hitting the fighters who had tried to attack them. There has been a surge of violence along the Israel-Gaza border this month, although Israel and the Hamas in control of the Gaza Strip both have said they do not want an escalation.