According to officials sources, three Palestinian militants have been killed in an Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip. A military spokesman said the men were members of the militant group Islamic Jihad and were behind recent rocket attacks in the border town of Sderot. The spokesman said they were killed as they prepared to launch further rockets into Israel from their vehicle. Islamic Jihad say the men belonged to their group but were not on a rocket launching mission. <br/><br/>Israel carried out an offensive in December and January in the Gaza Strip which aimed to stop daily rocket attacks by militants on southern towns. Palestinians and human rights groups say more than one thousand four hundred Gazans were killed but Israel puts the figure at one thousand one hundred sixty six. Three Israeli civilians and 10 Israeli soldiers were also killed. <br/>