Israeli warships attack Palestinian fishermen

Israeli warships have attacked Palestinian fishermen off the northern coast of the Gaza Strip. The attack took place on Tuesday morning. Earlier Israeli fighter-bombers carried out several airstrikes across the beleaguered territory, with one of the strikes targeting a metalsmith’s workshop. No casualties were reported.

The attack on the fishermen follows Monday’s incident when the Israeli navy fired heavy ammunition at Palestinian-owned fishing boats off the southern shores of Gaza. According to the head of the Palestinian Fishermen’s Syndicate, Nizar Abu-Ayish, three boats were damaged in the attack.

Meanwhile, the Gaza-Israel border in the south of the territory witnessed a lot of activity by heavy Israeli armour during the night. It was claimed that this was a response to some rockets fired towards Israel. Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that the rockets landed in an open area and the Israeli occupation army deployed in large numbers.

This was the fourth consecutive night that the Israelis have targeted the Gaza Strip. Six Palestinians have been killed during the Israeli attacks, including a 3-year old child. The Israeli escalation against the Gaza Strip has coincided with wider escalation in the occupied West Bank focused on the city of Hebron, where three Israeli settlers went missing last Thursday.

Israeli government believe that the settlers have been abducted by Hamas operatives. It has ordered a mass arrest campaign and detained dozens of Hamas members and officials, including elected parliamentarians. The Netanyahu government is looking at plans to expel the detainees to the Gaza Strip.