A number of Israeli tanks and military bulldozers penetrated into the southern area of Gaza and bulldozed a number of farms, local sources reported.

While the tanks were stationed behind sand barriers, the military bulldozers moved 150-metres deep inside the farms in Qarara town in northeastern Khan Yunis.

Reporters in Gaza confirm that this is the latest in a series of Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement which ended last summer's 51-day attack on the coastal enclave.

The offensive caused the death of about 2,260 Palestinians and wounded more than 11,000 others.

Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation forces carried out large-scale arrest campaigns in the West Bank. At least 17 Palestinians were arrested from Bethlehem, Nablus and Hebron.

Also, the Israeli occupants pushed deep into several districts in Hebron and set up military barriers in the old city and checked Palestinians' identification cards and vehicles