Clashes between Israeli forces and militants left behind six dead in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, Palestinian sources informed.

Spokesmen for the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades and the Islamic Jihad said militants from both movements launched an attack on an army post on the Gaza-Israel border located east of Gaza City.

Israeli military officials said soldiers clashed with suspected militants in the central region of Gaza and there haven’t been reported any infiltrations into Israel, as local sources claimed.

No official reports regarding the number of casualties has been released. Members of the al-Aqsa Brigades, the military wing of President Mahmoud Abbas’ party Fatah, said several militants managed to infiltrate in the area during the early hours inside two vehicles, one of them being packed with explosives.

Also on Thursday, a militant allegedly belonging to Hamas died in southern Gaza near the city of Khan Younis when an missile launched by Israeli forces exploded. Israeli army officials only confirmed that troopers from Israel’s Defence Force (IDF) are operating in the region.

Palestinian sources said explosions and fire exchange were reported from central Gaza, near the Maghazi refugee camp. Israeli helicopters were seen opening fire on presumed militants’ positions in the area.

Two militants belonging to the Islamic Jihad and one from Hamas lost their lives during clashes with Israeli ground troops in the southeastern region of the salient. IDF forces were deployed in regions adjacent to the border with the mission of finding and destroying rocket launchers or tunnels crossing into Israel.

Jerusalem officials have accused Hamas of allowing militants to launch rockets into Israel after they seized control over Gaza in mid-June. Hundreds of Qassam missiles have been fired at settlements adjacent to the Strip in the past months, Israeli security forces responding with operations aimed at routing out insurgents responsible for the constant rocket fire.