Israeli naval forces fire and wound Gaza fisherman

Israeli naval forces shot and wounded a Gaza fisherman on Tuesday while he was fishing near northern Gaza Strip, medics and officials said.

Nizar Ayyash, director of Gaza fishermen association, told Xinhua that Ahmed Sherafi, in his mid 20s, was shot and moderately wounded by gunfire of the Israeli naval forces near northern Gaza Strip while fishing.

Medics at Shiffa Hospital in Gaza city said that Sherafi was shot in the abdomen, but his condition is stable.

Since the end of the last 50-day large-scale Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, Gaza fishermen have been complaining that Israeli naval forces have been harassing them while they are fishing in the sea of Gaza.

In March, a Gaza fisherman was shot dead by Israeli forces while he was fishing on his boat in northern Gaza. Official figures said that around 30 fishermen have been injured since the end of the Israeli war on Gaza last August.

Following a ceasefire brokered by Egypt between Hamas and Israel in last summer, Israel has expanded the allowed area for fishing in the Gaza Strip from three to six miles.

However, Hamas authorities in Gaza have complained to Egypt against Israel that the Israeli army has been violating the ceasefire agreement by targeting fishermen and their fishing boats.