Fishermen in the besieged Gaza Strip continue to launch distress signals over the increasing violations and attacks perpetrated by the Israeli occupation navy against them on a daily basis as they sail off Gaza’s seashore in the hunt for a living to feed their families.
Head of Gaza’s Fishermen Union Nizar Ayyash said 90% of fishermen estimated at some 4000 have been living below the poverty line as a result of the simmering Israeli aggressions on the enclave.
He said Gaza’s fishermen along with their families have been struggling for survival owing to abject living conditions they have been made to endure.
According to Ayyash the list of violations includes gunboat attacks by the Israeli occupation navy. Fishermen have been directly hit with machine gunfire while sailing a few miles away from Gaza’s seashore. As a result fishing vessels have sustained serious damage; others drowned at sea; while several other ships have been seized by the occupation navy and towed to Ashdod seaport.
At the same time the Israeli occupation navy abruptly reduced the authorized fishing zone for Gaza’s fishermen from six nautical miles to three only and banned the import of equipment used to repair damaged boats and construct others.
Ayyash referred to a recent attack by the Israeli navy which occurred last Thursday when the occupation forces chased down fishermen off Gaza’s northern and southern coast and unleashed heavy spates of machine gunfire.
Sometime later on that very day Israeli gunboats targeted a fishing vessel north of Gaza’s shoreline with machine gunfire and arrested two brothers onboard. The two fishermen were released hours later but their vessel was seized.
Ayyash warned of the socio-economic repercussions of Israeli crackdowns on Gaza fishermen calling on the concerned human rights bodies to take urgent action in response to such violations.
