Gaza – Ma'an – Israeli forces detained two Palestinians in a cross-border raid into northeastern Gaza on Monday, according to local residents and two armed groups.

Witnesses said they saw four army vehicles and two military bulldozers crossing through Gaza's side of the Karni terminal on Monday afternoon.

Soldiers confiscated phones from the two detainees, who were identified only as truck drivers, according to the local sources.

They added that the bulldozers then spent a short while digging in the area before all six vehicles withdrew not long after they arrived.

A spokesman for Israel's military could not substantiate the reported incursion, although several hours later, two armed wings later claimed responsibility for attacking the forces.

The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and the Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, said they fired mortar shells at Israeli forces there.

The two organizations added in a joint statement, "this operation comes as a response to the continual crimes of the occupation, as a defense of our land and our people, and as a response to what the enemy is doing against our people in Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa."

Ma'an could not confirm either side's version of events.

Karni, usually used for shipments of wheat and animal feed, is one of two commercial crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip. Kerem Shalom is typically used for other commercial merchandise.