IDF opens fire at boat off Gaza coast
No injuries reported after Palestinian vessel sails beyond area permitted by Israel for fishing
Illustrative photo of Palestinian fishermen paddling their small boat a few hundred meters off the beach of Gaza City while casting their nets in search of small fish on August 10, 2014. (AFP/Roberto Schmidt)
Israeli naval forces opened fire Saturday at a Palestinian boat sailing off the coast of the northern Gaza Strip, after the vessel crossed out of the area permitted by the IDF for sailing and fishing. No injuries or damage were reported in the incident.
An Israeli blockade on the Strip, also enforced by Egypt, has been in place since Hamas seized Gaza in 2007.
Israel and Egypt say they need to maintain the closure because Hamas, shunned by much of the world as a terror group, poses a security threat.
Israel has fought three wars with Hamas in the past six years, in part to try to halt repeated Gaza rocket fire on Israeli towns.
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