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Israeli navy opens fire at Palestinian fishermen

April 19, 2019 at 6:21 pm

Fishermen sit together on a fishing boat at a shore in Gaza City, Gaza [Mohammed Talatene/Anadolu Agency]

Israeli naval forces opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of the southern besieged Gaza Strip, on Friday morning, Ma’an reports.

Witnesses told Ma’an that Israeli naval boats opened fire at Palestinian fishermen off the coast of Khan Younis and Rafah cities in the southern Gaza Strip several times before started to chase fishing boats.

Fishermen were forced to head back to shore.

No injuries were reported.

The Israeli army also regularly detains and opens fire on unarmed Palestinian fishermen, shepherds, and farmers along the border areas if they approach the buffer zone, as the authorities have not made clear the precise area of the designated zone.

The practice has in effect destroyed much of the agricultural and fishing sector of the blockaded coastal enclave, which has been under an Israeli air, land, and sea blockade for 10 years.

READ: The easing of Gaza fishing restrictions meets Israel’s security needs, not fishermen’s interests