An Israeli air strike has killed one Palestinian militant¹ and injured three others in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, Palestinian and Israeli officials say.

以色列在哈马斯控制的加沙地带发动一次空袭，至少一名巴基斯坦武装人员死亡，三人受伤。

One of those injured is reported to be in a critical condition

They said the attack was carried out near the southern town of Khan Younis.

Israel's military and Palestinian medics say the targeted men were from the Popular Resistance Committee group.

The death was the first of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict this year. Israeli raids突袭 killed six suspected militants² in Gaza and the West Bank last month.

There has been a sharp drop in the number of rockets being fired out of Gaza into Israel since Israel launched a large-scale offensive in Gaza in 2008.

But in recent weeks the number of rocket attacks has increased, as has the frequency of Israeli air strikes, the BBC's Jon Donnison in Ramallah reports.

The Popular Resistance Committee group apparently³ targeted in Tuesday's strike has close ties to Hamas, the Palestinian faction派别 which runs the Gaza Strip, our correspondent adds.