At least one Palestinian militant was killed and three were wounded on Saturday after an Israeli drone unleashed one missile on a vehicle that drove in one of Gaza City's neighborhoods, local paramedics and eyewitnesses reported.

Witnesses said that a Palestinian car, driving in Zeitoon neighborhood in southern Gaza City, was suddenly targeted by one Israeli missile and was totally destroyed.

Two militants were in the car, witnesses said, adding one of them was killed and the other was very critically wounded.

An early report said that two militants were killed and one was injured in the fresh air raid.

Meanwhile, two bystanders were also injured in the raid and had been taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, according to Palestinian paramedics.

Palestinian security sources said that the two militants were members from a group called "A-Mujahideen Brigades" which was affiliated to the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a military splinter to President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement.

Earlier in the day, Israeli aircraft fired three rockets at a group of Palestinian militants in an operation east of the northern Gaza Strip town of Jabalia, killing six and wounding nine, witnesses and medics said.

Israel escalated military actions on the Gaza Strip over the past three days, leaving more than 20 Palestinians killed.

The Jewish state vowed to escalate military offensive on the Gaza Strip following an increase of Palestinian homemade rockets attacks on southern Israeli communities.

On June 28, Israel launched a comprehensive offensive against the strip after Palestinian militants kidnapped an Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and killed two others during a cross-border attack.

Source: Xinhua