(Adds new incident)

GAZA, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Israeli forces killed two Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip on Saturday after rockets fired from the Hamas-controlled territory hit a town in southern Israel, militant groups said.

Hamas's Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades said a member of the group, "on a mission near the Israeli frontier", was killed and another three of its fighters were wounded in an air strike in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun.

An Israeli spokesman said there had been no attack from the air but "two armed terrorists" were shot by Israeli forces.

Later, an Israeli air strike in the eastern Gaza Strip killed a member of the Popular Resistance Committees and wounded three other men from the group, the PRC said. The Israeli spokesman confirmed an air strike had taken place.

The PRC had claimed responsibility for a rocket attack that damaged houses and cars in Sderot, in southern Israel. No one was hurt in Sderot, a frequent target of crude rockets fired by militants in the Gaza Strip.

Israel often carries out air strikes and raids in the Gaza Strip to try and stop militants from firing rockets at southern parts of the Jewish state. (Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Writing by Jeffrey Heller; Editing by Charles Dick)

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