Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak blamed Hamas on Friday for the detonation of an explosives tunnel along the Gaza border which wounded a soldier, and said he was mulling how and when to respond.

The blast, which was claimed by the armed wing of the ruling Islamist Hamas movement, took place several hours after a Palestinian teenager was shot dead by troops in the same area, just east of the southern city of Khan Yunis, Palestinian medical officials and witnesses said.

"Israel views with great seriousness the detonation of an explosive tunnel along the border with the Gaza Strip, south of Kissufim," he said in a statement issued by his office early on Friday, just hours after the blast struck.

"Defence Minister Barak said that Israel sees Hamas as responsible for the incident and will examine how and when to respond."

The Israeli military said the blast had thrown an army vehicle 20 metres (66 feet) into the air, although no one was inside it at the time.

"During routine activity just inside the security fence, there was a large explosion that caused a vehicle to be thrown into the air. Luckily no one was in the vehicle at the time," a spokesman said.

A nearby soldier suffered minor injuries, probably from shrapnel, the spokesman said.

Military spokeswoman Avital Leibovich said the blast had left a crater five metres (17 feet) deep.

"This tunnel is one of the most important discoveries in recent years. It contained a huge quantity of explosives and the blast, which injured a soldier, left a crater which was five metres deep and four metres wide," she told reporters late on Thursday.