The Israeli military claimed it was a retaliatory attack on a Hamas worker after its troops had reportedly come under fire.

Medical officials did not immediately identify the people killed.

They said several people were also wounded in the air strike, which struck a house in Gaza City.

There was no immediate comment from Hamas.

The Israeli military alleged that Hamas workers had shot at soldiers earlier on Wednesday and that the air strike targeted a senior Hamas figure who had directed attacks on its troops.

The military did not say whether it had suffered any casualties.

Separately on Wednesday, in the southern Gaza area of Rafah, an Israeli-backed militia said that it had killed two Hamas men, marking a renewed challenge to the Palestinian group.

Nearly all of Gaza’s 2 million people live in Hamas-held areas. But Israel still holds well over half of Gaza – areas where Hamas’ foes operate beyond its reach.

With US President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza moving slowly, there is no immediate prospect of further Israeli withdrawals.

Fighting has greatly abated since Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in October after two years of war, but it has not stopped entirely.

Both sides have accused each other of violations of the truce.

More than 400 Palestinians, most of them civilians according to Gaza health officials, have been killed since the truce began, as well as three Israeli soldiers.