Agencies-Gaza post
Israeli navy shoots at fishermen off Khan Yunis, Gaza
The Israel occupation’s navy on Sunday shot at unarmed Palestinian fishermen while sailing off the shores of Khan Yunis and Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, forcing them to back to the shore, local sources reported.
Local sources said that the Israeli navy fired live bullets toward fishermen who were sailing around six nautical miles away from the shore, pushing them to cease fishing and return to the shore.
It added that Israeli naval forces and their gunboats have long been harassing Gazan fishermen, shooting at them, destroying their boats, and launching arrests. Sometimes fishermen were wounded or killed during gunfire episodes.
In addition to assaulting fishermen, Israel regularly prohibits boats from accessing the water and decreases the fishing zone that Palestinians from Gaza can access.
Israeli naval authorities have been implementing a naval siege on Gaza’s 40-kilometer-length coast since 2007.
The blockade has banned fishing for the 3,700 reported fishermen in Gaza – the plurality of whom live below the poverty line by reducing the fishing zone from 25 nautical miles, down to only six to nine nautical miles, according to the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem.
