Israeli missile strikes kill two Gaza militants

GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli missile strikes killed at least two Palestinian militants and critically wounded two others in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, local medical workers and Hamas officials said.

Hamas Islamists, who control the coastal territory, said the targets of the Israeli strikes were militants who were involved in firing makeshift rockets into southern Israel.

The Israeli army confirmed it carried out the two missile strikes.

Israel has killed dozens of Palestinians in Gaza -- many of them militants -- during the past week as part of what officials describe as a stepped-up campaign to curb rocket fire into the Jewish state.

Gaza militants have fired more than 200 mortars and rockets at Israel in the past five days, the army said.

(Writing by Avida Landau; Editing by Ibon Villelabeitia)