Israeli soldiers have launched an invasion into the beleaguered Gaza Strip, killing a Palestinian mother and her child while injuring a man elsewhere.

According to local witnesses on Thursday, Israeli tanks and soldiers entered the Gaza Strip, opening unprovoked fire on civilians and nearby buildings.

A Palestinian man was shot and rushed to a hospital for treatment.

Israeli forces also shot dead a mother and her child as they were returning from the Gaza Strip on the eastern borderline.

Palestinian groups said that they clashed with the invading forces, but no injuries were reported from either side.

Israel had earlier attacked the Gaza Strip and caused destruction in the eastern agricultural lands of the coastal sliver.

FTP/SME/MMN