Three people convicted of murder have been executed in the Gaza Strip, in a move condemned by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, BBC News reports.

The men were shot or hanged on Tuesday, May 31 after appeals were exhausted, officials from Gaza's de facto rulers, the Islamist Hamas movement, said.

Hamas did not seek the approval of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, as required under Palestinian law.

It underscores the continuing divisions between the main Palestinian factions.

Hamas and President Abbas' Fatah party signed a unity deal in 2014 designed to end a seven-year split which saw the West Bank and the Gaza Strip governed by rival administrations.

However, the agreement has never been properly implemented, leaving Hamas still effectively in charge of the coastal territory.