Israeli air strikes killed at least six Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, Palestinian medical staff and militant groups said.

Hamas said five of its militants were killed in an air strike that targeted a van travelling near the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said she was checking the report.

The Islamic Jihad militant group said one of its gunmen was killed in an early morning air strike east of the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army said it was not familiar with the attack.

Israel carries out raids and air strikes in the Gaza Strip to try and stop rocket attacks on the Jewish state by Palestinian militants.

Last June the Islamist Hamas movement seized control of the coastal territory, home to 1.5 million Palestinians, by routing forces loyal to more secular Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.