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BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces reportedly detained two Palestinians who crossed the border line between the besieged Gaza Strip and southern Israel on Saturday.

Israeli news outlets reported that the two Palestinians had reached a kibbutz in the Eshkol regional council in southern Israel when they were detained and transferred for interrogation.

An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an that they were looking into the reports.

Israel has maintained a near-decade long military blockade of the Gaza Strip, upheld by Egypt, making movement in and out of the besieged enclave nearly impossible for its more than 1.8 million Palestinian residents.

Several Palestinians have attempted to escape the dire conditions of the Gaza Strip by crossing illegally into Israel -- often to find work -- a number of whom have been shot dead by Israeli forces while crossing the border.

Israel upholds strict security measures along the Gaza-Israel border that the international community has repeatedly argued have made the small Palestinian territory near unlivable.

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