“Men were targeted in an air strike after they were spotted preparing to fire a rocket or a mortar shell at Israel and we identified a hit,” an Israeli military spokeswoman said.

Israel often carries out strikes against targets in the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by Hamas. The strikes generally target tunnels that militants use to smuggle in weapons from neighboring Egypt.

It was the first killing in an Israeli attack on militants in the Gaza Strip since Sept. 27. The Israeli military says militants have fired more than 165 rockets so far this year.