Three Palestinians were killed Wednesday in Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, raising the number of people killed to 27 since the self-proclaimed Jewish state launched a military operation against the Palestinian enclave earlier this week.

Abdel-Nasser Abu Kuik, 60, and his son Khaled Abu Kuik were killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a farmland in Nusseriat in central Gaza Strip, Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qodra told Anadolu Agency.

Nayfa Fargallah, 80, was also killed in another Israeli raid on a farmland in al-Maghraqa in central Gaza, he added.

The Wednesday fatalities brought up to 27 the number of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes on the coastal enclave since Israel announced the launch of its military offensive-dubbed "Operation Protective Edge"-on Monday night with the stated aim of staunching rocket fire from Gaza.