Israel says there have been 250 rocket attacks since the Gaza war ended in January [File: AFP]

The men, all members of the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, were targeted by Israeli aircraft in the Tufah neighbourhood, east of Gaza City, on Friday.

The Israeli military said the men had been identified as "terrorists" and were "on their way to launch rockets into southern Israel".

The dead were named as Kamel al-Banna, Mohammed Marshoud and Kamal al-Dahtur, the son of an Islamic Jihad commander killed in an Israeli attack two years ago.

Abu Ahmed, a spokesman for Islamic Jihad's military wing, told the AFP news agency that the group would "very soon exact revenge for this criminal raid".

Rocket attacks

The Israeli military said that the men had been responsible for the firing of rockets across the border last Sunday.

"All three belong to a cell responsible for several rocket attacks on Israel, including two recent launches aimed at the town of Sderot" a military spokesman told AFP.

"Over the past three months, 50 rockets have been fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip," he said. "More than 250 have been fired since the end of our offensive against Gaza".

There has been a significant reduction in the number of Palestinian rocket attacks and Israeli air raids since both sides declared unilateral ceasefires following the December-January offensive in the territory.

Last Sunday, tank and mortar shells fired by Israeli forces killed two Palestinian fighters it said were trying to plant bombs near the border fence.

Recommend this article...

Did you enjoy this article? Please bookmark it onto: