Israeli troops have shot and killed five Palestinians including a television cameraman and a 15-year-old boy in violent clashes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Dozens of Israeli tanks, covered by attack helicopters, surrounded the centre of the crowded Rafah refugee camp early today.
The Israeli incursion is one of the largest armoured intrusions into Palestinian lands to date.
In the refugee camp on the Egypt-Gaza border, at least 35 Palestinians were shot by Israeli troops, witnesses say. A 15-year-old boy, three men in their 20s and a policeman were killed, Palestinian doctors add.
Israeli military officials will only say the army is operating in the Rafah area, but have not given details.
Israeli forces penetrated the camp from three directions, using more than 35 tanks and armoured personnel carriers, bulldozers and jeeps. Five attack helicopters circled above, flashing spotlights above the crowded camp, where approximately 60,000 people live.
The incursion appeared to have targeted the Yibna neighbourhood, one of two known militant strongholds in the Rafah refugee camp. The Israelis destroyed three houses, Palestinians say.
Rafah has been a flashpoint of tensions between Israeli troops and Palestinians. Recently, foreign peace activists have set up protest camps to try to block military incursions.
The operation in the camp came hours after clashes in the West Bank city of Nablus. Cameraman Nazeh Darwazeh, 43, was killed and 17 other people were wounded.