Three Palestinian militants were killed on Sunday afternoon in two separate accidental rocket explosions in the Gaza Strip, medics and witnesses said.

Two members of al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, the armed wing of the ruling Fatah movement, were killed as explosives hidden in their car suddenly blew up in the eastern Gaza City, witnesses said.

Ambulances rushed to the scene and medics found the remains of the two militants.

In a separate incident, a Hamas militant was killed near the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis when a homemade rocket he was aiming at an Israeli army vehicle blew off prematurely.

Tahseen Kalakh, 23, a member of al Qassam Brigades, was killed on the spot when the rocket he shouldered suddenly exploded before being fired, said witnesses.

The al Qassam Brigades is the armed wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas.

Major Palestinian militant groups agreed in mid March to abide by a de facto truce with Israel till the end of the year. Calmness has largely befallen the Gaza Strip and West Bank since then.

But violence erupted on May 18 as two Hamas members were killed by Israel and Hamas retaliated with volleys of rocket attacks.

Hamas, however, declared that it remained committed to the truce deal.

Source: Xinhua