Mohammed Al-Bardawil, 44, was pronounced dead on arrival at Al-Najar hospital in Rafah city. Gaza medical official, Adham Abu Sulmia told reporters that Al-Bardawil was fatally injured in his head after his boat collided with an Egyptian naval vessel, and was transferred to the hospital where he later died.

In a statement sent to the media after the incident, Hamas government condemned the incident as “a serious crime,” and called for the Egyptian authorities to launch an investigation in the fisherman’s death.

“This is not the first accident to happen, and we call upon the Egyptian government to immediately launch an investigation into the death,” said the Hamas-run ministry of interior.

The ministry also demanded Egypt “to lift the blockade imposed on Gaza instead of killing Palestinian workers,” referring to the recent death of four Palestinian tunnel workers who, as Hamas said, died due to inhaling lethal gas pumped by the Egyptian border guards.

According to reports, the fisherman’s 19-year-old son Ahmad and another three fishermen who were also on the boat suffered light injuries in what they said was a deliberate attempt to ram them by the Egyptian naval vessel.

“The Egyptian security forces tried to arrest us but we tried to get away, then the crash happened,” the son said. “They did it on purpose.”

Palestinian fishermen started a few months ago to work in the Egyptian territorial waters to bring fish into the blockaded Gaza Strip which has been under a crippling siege since Hamas movement took control of the territory in June 2007.