Israeli navy forces opened fire at a boat engaged in fishing off the coast of southern Gaza, on Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.Furthermore, Ma’an reports that forces escorted the fishermen back to five nautical miles from the coast after firing on them.
The previous day, four fishermen were detained by Israeli forces and later released, on Wednesday.
A military spokeswoman for Israel said: ‘earlier there was a vessel that deviated from the designated fishing zone and forces fired in the air and then at the vessel,’ adding that the boat then turned back.
The recent ceasefire agreement brokered by Egyptian officials stipulated that Israel would immediately expand the fishing zone off Gaza’s coast, allowing fishermen to sail as far as six nautical miles off the shore, and would expand the area gradually up to 12 miles.
Earlier agreements had actually settled on a 20-mile limit but were subsequently ignored, as Hamas leadership became prevalent in the region, with the ongoing siege further bolstered by Egypt.
See: ‘Israel Limits Gaza Fishing Zone Again, Violates Ceasefire Agreement For 3rd Time’ for details.
