Gaza militants who crossed into Israel through a tunnel on Monday killed five Israeli soldiers near the border, the Israeli military announced on Tuesday morning.

The soldiers were killed in ensuing gun battle, a spokesperson with the Israeli military said in a statement.

"(The) terrorists attempted to execute an attack against Israeli civilians using a tunnel shaft leading to the Nahal Oz community," the statement said, adding that "Israel Defense Forces soldiers thwarted the attempt by identifying the squad, opening fire and killing one of the terrorists."

So far, 53 soldiers from Israel Defense Forces and three Israeli civilians were killed during the 22-day military campaign.

Israel has embarked on a massive offensive on Hamas-ruled Gaza on July 8, saying it was aimed at stopping the rocket fire from the southern Palestinian enclave. It later said that the purpose of the offensive is to destruct the underground network of cross- border tunnels, which enable militants to slip into Israel.

The devastating campaign claimed the lives of at least 1,100 people in Gaza, most of them were civilians.