sraeli forces carried out three low- scale incursions into the Gaza Strip, sparking armed clashes with Palestinian militants, witnesses and security sources said Wednesday.

Two of the raids targeted the eastern parts of Khan Younis city in the southern Gaza Strip and one in Beit Lahiya town in northwest Gaza, the sources said.

Residents said sounds of gunfire and blasts were heard in the areas during the incursions which started after dawn. There has been no word on casualties.

In Khan Younis, Israeli bulldozers reportedly leveled a poultry farm and a citrus grove in the course of the operation.

Israel often sends troops to areas along its electric fence border with the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip where militants sometimes try to plant explosives or infiltrate through the fence.

In January 2009, Israel ended a three-week military campaign in Gaza, killing as many as 1,400 Palestinians. Since then, a shaky, undeclared ceasefire between Hamas and Israel has become a tactic.