Witnesses say Israelis moving into central Gaza

Mohammed Frainah, the owner of a metalwork shop, stands in the ruins of his shop in Khan Younis refugee camp after it was destroyed Friday by Israelis.

GAZA CITY, Gaza (CNN) -- Palestinian security sources and witnesses said Friday that the Israeli army has initiated a large-scale incursion into the town of Deir El-Balah in central Gaza.

A number of Israeli troops and about 60 Israeli tanks and armored-personnel carriers were poised at three locations in Jewish settlements around the city, the sources said.

The settlements are Netzarim, to the north, Kfar Darom, to the southeast, and Gush Qatif, to the southwest.

About 20 tanks or APCs from the latter two towns have moved nearly a mile inside the city limits of the Palestinian town of about 20,000 residents, the witnesses said.

There was no shooting and no casualties were reported, the Palestinian sources said.

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Israeli security forces said a "pinpoint" operation was being carried out in the city, but no occupation was planned.

Earlier Friday, Israeli attack helicopters launched a strike on a Palestinian workshop in the central Gaza city of Khan Younis, the Israel Defense Forces said.

The workshop struck by the Israeli missiles was near a police station. The IDF called the target a weapons production workshop.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Palestinian sources said the helicopters fired five missiles at two targets -- the workshop and a Palestinian national guard barracks. The IDF said only one facility was targeted.

Elsewhere, two Palestinians were shot and killed early Friday in clashes with Israeli forces in Jenin, West Bank, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society.

Israeli forces shot toward two armed men moving in a suspicious manner, according to Israeli military sources. The Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported that one of the men, Samir Omar Qandil, 28, was an officer in the Palestinian Authority preventive security forces. The second, a leading member of Fatah's military wing, was named by Palestinian sources as Kamel Haled Silawi, 30, according to Ha'aretz.

Fatah acts as the political organization of Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat. The military wing of Fatah, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, has claimed responsibility for numerous terror attacks against Israelis.

The violence came just before Rosh Hashanah or the Jewish New Year, which began at sundown Friday.