Israeli tanks and bulldozers have destroyed factory buildings and storage facilities in an industrial zone in the Gaza Strip, a report says.

The industrial zone — near the Karni crossing in eastern Gaza — which was attacked on Thursday, has not been operational since 2007, a Press TV correspondent reported.

Palestinians said that the buildings were warehouses holding goods that had been transferred to Gaza via the nearby Karni crossing which had been shut down by the Israelis earlier this year.

The Karni crossing which was one of the two commercial crossings, between Israel and the Gaza Strip, was closed permanently in March leaving Kerem Shalom crossing as the only commercial crossing operating in Gaza.

The destroyed buildings contained a variety of useful equipment, and many types of goods which have now been damaged.

The Karni Industrial Zone came to a standstill when Israel heavily restricted the passageways to and from Gaza as part of its blockade of the territory.

Many here say that by destroying factories and storage facilities on the border with Gaza, Israel aims to expand the so-called buffer zone to further tighten the siege on Gaza.

(Press TV)