Israeli naval forces detain four fishermen off Gaza City
Fishermen's committees said naval boats fired on the vessel while its crew was working, then took four men off it. Two of them are 17 years old.
Palestinian fishermen's committees said Israeli naval boats fired on a fishing boat off the western shore of Gaza City on Thursday morning and detained four of the men working aboard it.
And the committees said two of the four are 17 years old, Yousef Zaher Abu Riala and Mohammad al-Zahar. The two others are Bilal Salah Abu Riala, 22, and Abd Mohammad al-Amoudi, 18.
The committees put the case in a longer line rather than on its own. Fishermen off the coast have reported being shot at and chased while at sea, having their nets torn up and their boats and gear taken from them, and being held after their vessels were stopped.
And they said the accumulated restrictions have put the trade out of reach of the people who live on it, deepening the financial strain on households across the Strip.
The committees have asked repeatedly that the shooting and the limits at sea end, and that fishermen be allowed to reach Gaza's fishing grounds safely and without conditions. A boat stopped offshore is not only four men held: it is a day's catch that never reaches a market, in an economy with few other openings left.