The Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip have executed two Palestinians convicted of spying for Israel.

Hamas officials say the men were hanged early Tuesday. Angry relatives of the condemned men burned tires and blocked a road in central Gaza in protest against the executions.

The two men had appealed their convictions but lost the appeal.

Hamas has now executed three Gazans this year for spying for Israel.

Hamas seized control of the coastal strip on the Mediterranean in 2007. The Islamist militant movement and the rival Fatah Palestinian faction that controls the West Bank signed a reconciliation agreement in May to end their bitter four-year rift.