GAZA CITY: An Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip killed two people and seriously injured another on Friday, hours after Palestinians fired mortar rounds into southern Israel, Palestinian medical officials told AFP.

The men were in a car travelling west of Gaza City, and their identities were not immediately known, the sources added.

An army spokeswoman confirmed air force “activity” in the strip but did not immediately have further details.

Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired two projectiles into Israel earlier Friday without causing any casualties or damage, the military said.

A spokeswoman initially said they were rockets, but army radio later referred to them as mortar shells.

Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, has maintained a tacit truce with Israel, but other armed Palestinian groups regularly fire rockets and mortars across the border, which can spark air strikes in response.

Before the air strike Israeli army radio quoted what it called “senior military sources” as saying the army “does not intend to allow the firing to continue.”