More than 20 Palestinians have been wounded in two separate Israeli air strikes and a tank-led ground operation in the Gaza Strip since Wednesday.
The two militants killed Thursday near Beit Hanun in northeast Gaza belonged to the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Islamist group Hamas. Hamas has controlled the Gaza Strip since a violent coup in June.
Another air strike on Wednesday in Zeitoun, Gaza City, killed five members of the Army of Islam, responsible for kidnapping BBC journalist Alan Johnston in March, and Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in June last year.
The four other Palestinians were killed on Wednesday near Beit Hanun in an Israeli ground operation. The Israeli army said they shot at militants carrying anti-tank missiles who were preparing to launch an attack on Israel, but local residents said forces targeted a house.
The Israeli air strikes came in response to five rockets launched at southern Israel on Tuesday from Gaza. Three of the rockets exploded near populated areas, but no casualties have been reported. Al-Quds Brigades, a military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
September has seen a sharp rise in Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel, including a Qassam rocket attack on the Zikim military training base on September 11 that injured around 70 conscripts.
Last week, Israel declared the Gaza Strip, with a population of 1.5 million, an "enemy entity," and said it would reduce fuel and power supplies. Defense Minister Ehud Barak has warned that Israel may launch a large-scale military operation in the enclave, complicating plans for a U.S.-proposed Middle East conference scheduled for November.
