Israeli naval forces arrested eight Palestinian fishermen and destroyed seven fishing boats early Wednesday on the shores of the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah.
Abdallah al-Najjar, a fisherman who witnessed the incidents, said four Israeli gunboats and two helicopters participated in the operation that targeted the fishermen who were fishing near the border with Egypt.
"The watercrafts and the helicopters have suddenly opened fire at the boats," al-Najjar said, adding that seven boats could flee towards the beach but the helicopters and the gunboats shelled them.
According to al-Najjar, his son was also among the detainees.
He denied that the fishermen were smuggling weapons from Egypt, asserting that "the arms that were in the boats were only a few quantities of fish estimates at 150 Shekels (about 35 U.S. dollars) ."
Source: Xinhua
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