Israeli naval forces have once again opened fire on Palestinian fishermen off the northwest coast of the Gaza Strip in their latest act of aggression against the residents of the besieged sliver.
According to eyewitnesses, the fishermen were targeted four miles away from the coast of the al-Sudaniya area in Gaza City on Saturday morning.
The attack caused damage to one of the vessels, but no one was injured.
Israel had imposed a limit of three nautical miles on fishing in waters off the Gaza shore until last August. Israeli forces have frequently targeted Palestinian boats, well inside the radius.
In the latest incident, a 32-year-old Palestinian fisherman was shot dead and two others were arrested last week.
Under a ceasefire agreement reached between Israelis and Palestinians in August 2014, Tel Aviv agreed to immediately expand the fishing zone off Gaza’s coast, allowing fishermen to sail as far as six nautical miles off the shore. The agreement also stipulated that Israel would expand the area gradually up to 12 miles.
Palestinian fishermen, however, say that the Israeli navy opens fire before they reach the agreed limit.
The ceasefire deal put an end to the Israeli regime’s 50-day military offensive against Gaza, which claimed more than 2,100 lives and injured some 11,000 last summer.
The Israeli military assaults have significantly damaged Gaza’s fishing industry.
Around 4,000 fishermen work in Gaza, with more than half of them living below the poverty line.
The Gaza Strip has been under Israel’s blockade since June 2007. The blockade has caused a decline in the standard of living as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment, and unrelenting poverty.
