According to local sources, The Israeli gunboats opened fire against unarmed Palestinian fishermen on Sunday as they were sailing on Rafah and Khan Yunis shore, south of the Gaza Strip, forcing them to return to the shore.
Local sources said that the Israeli gunboats fired live bullets against fishermen who were sailing approximately six nautical miles, forcing them to stop fishing and return to the shore.
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Israeli navy forces and their gunboats have been harassing Gaza fishermen, damaging their boats and shooting at them. Sometimes fishermen were injured or killed due to the gunboat attacks.
In addition to attacking, Israeli authorities regularly ban Palestinian boats from accessing the water and constrict the fishing zone that fishers from Gaza can access.
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Israeli naval authorities have been imposing a naval blockade on the Gaza coast since 2007.
According to the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, The siege has restricted fishing for the 3,700 registered fishermen in Gaza, the majority of whom live below the poverty line by shrinking the fishing zone from 25 miles, down to only nine miles.
