Israeli army confirmed on Sunday that an army drone had crashed in the Gaza strip earlier in the day.

The Israel Defense Force (IDF) denied earlier reports by Palestinian media, according to which Hamas militants took control of the drone as it flew over the Jabalieh refugee camp in northern Gaza.

"The Skylark UAV system crashed earlier today in the Gaza strip due to technical malfunction," an Israeli army spokesperson told Xinhua, adding that the army "is looking into the matter."

The Skylark is equipped with electro-optical camera and can transmit high resolution pictures of the ground during both day and night time. The Israeli army used the Skylark also in the 2006 Lebanon War and the Gaza War in 2008.

The Israeli army spokesperson would not specify which activity the drone has performed on Sunday.

The incident occurred during a time of increased tension at the Israel-Gaza border. On Thursday night, the Israeli army killed four Palestinian militants and wounded several others during an operation against a recently exposed smuggling tunnel from Gaza to Israel. On Friday night, militants fired a rocket at the Eshkol regional council in southern Israel, with no injuries or damage reported.