The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip denied Thursday any role in multiple attacks in southern Israel that left at least five dead.

"The Palestinian government denies the accusations made by (Israeli Defense Minister Ehud) Barak about the operation in Eilat and affirms that there is no relation between the Gaza Strip and what happened near Eilat," Hamas spokesman Taher Al-Nunu told AFP.

"These accusations are an attempt to distract from the Israeli domestic crisis," Nunu said, referring to protests over the cost of living that have shaken Israel in recent weeks.

Nunu's comments came after Israeli officials explicitly accused the attackers of having come from Gaza, though no accusations were immediately levelled against the Hamas movement itself.

"The source of the terror incidents is Gaza and we will act against them with all our strength and determination," Barak said in a statement.

Shortly after his comments, security sources in Gaza told AFP that Hamas had ordered the evacuation of many of its facilities, including police headquarters, in the territory.

Barak said the incident reflected the weakness of Cairo's hold on the Sinai peninsula where Egyptian troops began a massive operation to clamp down on militants at the weekend.

"This is a very serious terror incident at a number of locations. The incident reflects the weakness of the Egyptian hold on Sinai and the expansion of activity there by terror elements," he said.