Israel reportedly holds Hamas responsible for any fire originating from Gaza (Representational)
An explosion killed two Palestinians along the Gaza border with Egypt on Thursday in what appeared to be a strike on cross-border smuggling tunnels.
Palestinian officials said the blast was caused by an Israeli airstrike, but the Israeli military denied any involvement. Residents said the explosion was on the Egyptian side of the border, raising the possibility of an Egyptian strike.
Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Kidra said the pre-dawn explosion killed two men and wounded five others. Palestinian civil defense workers recovered the bodies and the wounded and transferred them to hospitals in the southern Gaza Strip.
Mohammed Zorob, who lives in the border town of Rafah, said the blast took place on the Egyptian side.
Hamas has been working to improve relations with Cairo in recent months, and recently announced the deployment of additional forces along the border. The Islamic militant group ruling Gaza says the border is more secure and that underground smuggling has ceased.
The Israeli military, which has not struck the Gaza tunnels since the 2014 war, denied it was involved in the blast.
On Wednesday, the military said its missile defense system intercepted several rockets fired by militants in Egypt toward the southern Israeli city of Eilat - a relatively rare occurrence. Islamic State militants in the Sinai Peninsula claimed responsibility for the rocket attack.
Earlier this week, Israel carried out several strikes on Hamas targets after a rocket landed in Israel. Israel holds Hamas responsible for any fire originating from Gaza.
There have been periodic attacks into Israel.
In 2011, assailants who came from the Sinai killed eight Israelis in a triple ambush north of Eilat. Pursuing Israeli forces killed seven attackers and five Egyptian police.
In 2013, four terrorists were killed by an Egyptian air strike as they were about to fire a rocket at Israel, according to the Egyptian military.
And in 2014, two patrolling Israeli soldiers were wounded by unidentified men who fired an anti-tank weapon from the Sinai during an attempted drug-smuggling operation, according to the Israeli military.
In 2015, rockets fired from Sinai hit southern Israel without causing casualties. ISIS claimed responsibility.
(With inputs from AP and AFP)