At least six people have been killed by an explosion in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian health ministry in the Hamas-administered territory.

At least three others were wounded by Saturday's blast, the cause of which remains unclear, the ministry said.

The explosion took place in Deir el-Balah, in central Gaza Strip, the Palestinian WAFA news agency reported.

Hamas' military wing has said Israel is responsible for the explosion, which it said took place during a "complex security and intelligence operation", AFP news agency reported.

Israeli officials have denied the allegation.

"The Israel Defence Force (IDF) is not involved in this incident in any way," a spokesperson for the Israeli military said.

Saturday's blast follows weeks of protests along the Israeli-Gaza border as part of the Great March of Return movement.

The rallies are set to culminate on May 15 to mark what Palestinians refer to as the Nakba, or catastrophe, a reference to Israel's establishment in 1948, when 750,000 Arabs were forcibly removed from Palestine.

Since the protests began on March 30, at least 41 Palestinians in the coastal enclave have been killed by Israeli forces and more than 7,000 wounded.

Al-Jazeera