Israel-Gaza crisis
Israeli soldiers are seen after entering the Gaza Strip in this still image taken from video provided by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) Reuters

The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) has released dramatic video footage of its troops engaging in a gunfight with Hamas militants while the extremists attempt to penetrate Israeli defences.

As the Israeli forces pressed ahead against the Gaza-based fighters, five Hamas gunmen were spotted by the IDF emerging out of a tunnel near a Jewish village.

They tried to launch an assault against Israeli soldiers by hiding in the grass, but the information about their planned attack was passed on to the IDF by the intelligence agency Shin Bet.

There was another group of Hamas fighters who came out of another tunnel presumably as part of a coordinated attack. While ten of the initial fighters were killed in Israeli air strikes, the second team was confronted by ground forces.

Watch the video released by the IDF.

Gunfight between IDF and Hamas fighters IDF