JERUSALEM (AFP) - Two rockets fired by Gaza militants Wednesday hit near the southern town of Dimona where Israel has a nuclear reactor, the military said on Twitter.

"A few minutes ago, Palestinian terrorists in Gaza fired three rockets at Dimona. Two fell in open areas; Iron Dome intercepted the other," it said referring to the Israeli missile defence system.

The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Gaza-based Hamas, said in a statement it "launched three M75 rockets at Dimona," referring to the Gaza-produced rockets with a range of about 80km.

Israel has two nuclear reactors, one at Dimona in the Negev desert, and the other at its nuclear research facility at Nahal Sorek, west of Jerusalem.

The Jewish state is widely believed to have around 200 nuclear warheads, but has a policy of neither confirming nor denying that, a stance which it calls "nuclear ambiguity".

Israeli scientists and politicians have called for the closure of the 50-year-old Dimona plant, saying its age had increased the risk of accidents.