Israeli forces enter southern Gaza, detain two fishermen

Israeli ground forces, backed by bulldozers and armoured vehicles, rolled Wednesday into an area in southeast Gaza Strip territories, the Gaza interior ministry said.

The interior ministry said in a press statement that the Israeli army ground force rolled in about 100 metres into southeastern Gaza Strip, bulldozed the ground and left the area, Xinhua reported. No injuries were reported.

Witnesses in Rafah town in southern Gaza Strip said that the Israeli ground force operated in the area and then left, adding that it was the first Israeli incursion into the coastal enclave since the end of the Israeli offensive on Gaza.

Meanwhile, Nizar Ayyash, chairman of the Gaza-based fishermen's association, told Xinhua that an Israeli naval force arrested early Wednesday two Palestinian fishermen near the northern coast of the Gaza Strip.

"An Israeli army gunboat surrounded one of the fishermen boats in the middle of the sea, opened intensive fire on it and arrested two fishermen," said Ayyash, adding that "this is a violation of the ceasefire agreement".

After reaching an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire agreement last month following 50 days of fighting between Israel and Gaza's Hamas-led militant groups, Israel allowed fishermen to go for fishing in a six-mile area in the sea.

The fighting between Israel and the Palestinians, which began July 8 and ended Aug 26, left 2,140 Palestinians and 70 Israelis dead and more than 11,000 Palestinians wounded.