On Monday, August 28, 2023, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested five fishermen off the northern Gaza shores after surrounding their fishing boat.
The boat was carrying five fishermen: Salim Jamal al-Numan, 46, Hassan Jamal al-Numan, Mohammed Jamal al-Numan, Wahid Sayyed Kaskin, and Ahmed Saed al-Saidi, —all residents of Gaza City. All fishermen were arbitrarily arrested.
Meanwhile, several military vehicles and bulldozers forced their way into the east of Al-Fokhari town, east of Khan Yunis, and leveled and vandalized the local farmers’ agricultural properties.
There are 1,300 fishing boats along the Gaza Strip operated by around 4,000 fishermen, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture.
However, Israeli occupation only allows Palestinians in Gaza to fish at a distance of 15 nautical miles.
Palestinian fishermen often suffer from multiple Israeli violations, including attempting to sink Palestinian boats in the sea, firing at them, as well as narrowing the fishing area for long periods.
The practice has in effect destroyed much of the fishing sector of the blockaded coastal enclave.
