Israel's air force carried out three strikes early on Sunday in the Gaza Strip, targeting radical Palestinian group Islamic Jihad but causing no casualties, witnesses said.

Two airstrikes hit the southern town of Khan Yunis, targeting positions of the Al-Quds Brigade, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad. The third was near the southern town of Rafah, near the Egyptian border, said the Palestinian witnesses.

An Israeli army spokeswoman confirmed the air force had carried out strikes in the Gaza Strip but told AFP she could not give further details.

The Israeli authorities also closed on Sunday until further notice the Kerem Shalom goods crossing following a rocket attack, said the defence ministry.

Israel had not carried out Gaza airstrikes since early April, when it launched the first strikes since an Egyptian-brokered truce in November ended a deadly eight-day conflict between the Jewish state and militants of Islamist movement Hamas, which rules the territory.

On April 19, two rockets fired from the Gaza Strip hit southern Israel without causing any casualties or damage.