Palestinian media initially blamed Israel, but reported Hamas had been test firing rockets out to sea minutes before the explosion.

By Paul Shindman, World Israel News

Three Palestinian fisherman were killed Sunday when their fishing boat was apparently blown up by a rocket in the waters off the coast of Gaza where the Hamas terror group had been conducting test firings, Arab media reported.

The cause of the blast was not initially known and Palestinian media reports blamed the deadly explosion on the Israeli Navy, which had earlier in the day fired warning shots at Palestinian fishing boats to keep them from straying beyond the legal fishing zone, Ynet reported.

The boat appeared to take a direct hit from a rocket fired from land, the Daily Sabah website reported.

A statement issued several hours after the incident by the Hamas terror group that runs Gaza under tight military rule said an investigation had been launched, conspicuously omitting any mention of Israel.

“A team of experts has been set up, in cooperation with the security forces in Gaza, to examine the circumstances of the deaths of the three fishermen. The test results will be published as soon as possible,” said the Hamas statement posted on Telegram by Abu Ali Express, an Israeli group that monitors Arab language media.

On Sunday afternoon, a massive funeral procession for the three “martyrs” was held under the apparent sponsorship of Hamas, with extensive coverage given to the event by the Hamas-controlled Al-Quds television station in Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces issued a statement saying that the IDF was not involved in the incident and at the time of the explosion there were no Israeli Navy vessels in the area where minutes before the explosion local Palestinian media had reported that Hamas was test-firing rockets aimed out to sea.

Over the years Hamas has continued to build up its military arsenal and with the help of Iran has established a local arms industry to produce surface-to-surface rockets that it fires at Israeli towns and cities.

In December, the terror group organized a war games training exercise with other Gaza terror organizations to rehearse for its next confrontation with Israel. That exercise also involved firing multiple rockets out to sea.

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Gazan shores will be closed “until further notice,” Israeli authorities say.

By World Israel News Staff 

Israel announced Wednesday night that the Gazan shores will be closed “until further notice” to Palestinian fishermen due to a renewed flareup of violent attacks on Israel from Gaza.

In its statement, the IDF noted “the continuous launching of incendiary balloons and kites from the Gaza Strip towards Israel.” Authorities say that eight booby-trapped balloons and kites were launched from Gaza on Wednesday. In six cases, they say, fires broke out on the Israeli side.

Such attacks have been taking place for more than a year, causing extensive damage to Israeli fields near the Gazan border and financial loss to Israeli farmers. Israel reportedly has made a cessation of such attacks a condition toward stopping IDF airstrikes on terror targets in Gaza. Wednesday’s attack was the largest daily launch in several weeks.

Also, overnight on Wednesday a rocket was fired from Gaza, landing in the Eshkol region of southern Israel. The IDF said that the rocket was intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system.

A full naval blockade is a rare step taken by Israel. More frequently, Israeli authorities have reduced the size of the fishing zone off the Gazan coast when there was an uptick in violence and increased it again when relative calm was restored.

Nizar Ayyash, chair of the Gazan Fishermen Union, complained in an interview with Ynet that the fishermen are caught in the middle, saying they are punished by Israel for actions for which they are not responsible.

The Islamic Jihad terror group is accusing Israel of making too many demands on the heels of an Israeli-Hamas truce brokered by Egypt in May after some 700 rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel. Kan public radio cited a senior member of Hamas saying that the situation along the Gazan-Israeli border will deteriorate further if Israel does not abide by the terms of the ceasefire.

Israel reportedly is also demanding a stop to the violent clashes along the border, including the large protests which often take place on Fridays.

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