GAZA: An unmanned Palestinian fishing boat blew up off the coast of Gaza yesterday.
There were no casualties, but the incident threatened to upset a relative calm in the volatile territory ruled by Hamas.
The explosion was heard further along the coast in Gaza City, several kilometers to the north near the Israeli coast.
The spokesman of the Palestinian Fishermen Syndicate, Nizar Ayyash, told reporters that the Israeli Navy hit and destroyed the boat. Ayyash, who also works as a fisherman added that a small Palestinian boat exploded after Israeli forces opened fire on it at sea but no one was injured in the attack. Other fishermen earlier said that they had heard a “huge explosion” but did not immediately know the reason.
Israel’s military chief, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, said the boat was spotted through heavy fog early in the day by a naval patrol. He said the crew monitored the boat and it exploded about 650 yards away from the naval vessel.
“Our estimate is that it was a few hundred kilograms of explosives,” Ashkenazi said during a ceremony at military headquarters in Tel Aviv. “We estimate that it was an attempt to harm Israeli naval vessels that I’m glad did not succeed.” Military officials said they were still trying to determine how the explosives were detonated.
Israeli imposes tight measures on the Palestinian fishermen and prevents them to sail more than 5 km into Gaza waters.
The Israel-Gaza border area has been tense but relatively quiet since Israel ended a three-week military offensive in January.
According to Palestinian fishermen, the Israeli naval forces make frequent attacks on them as they near their fishing sites.
In 2002, four Israeli sailors were wounded when Palestinians detonated a fishing boat laden with explosives next to an Israeli navy patrol off the northern Gaza coast.
— With input from agencies
