Israeli navy fires at Gaza, injures Palestinian fisherman

Ma'an – Israel's navy opened fire toward the coast of the Gaza Strip on Monday morning injuring a fisherman, a medical official said.

Alam Ghanem Baker, in his 20s, was treated for a bullet wound sustained while fishing off the northern coast near Gaza City, Gaza Health Ministry director of emergency and ambulance services Muawiya Hassanein said.

Witnesses said the navy also opened fire along the southern coast, where a shell landed on a beach west of Rafah. There were no reports of injury or damage in that incident.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said the army was investigating the reports.

Gaza's once-thriving fishing industry has withered away as naval forces restrict fishing boats to three nautical miles from the coast, a Red Cross report released in June said. With the total catch down 47 percent between 2008 and 2009, much of the fish entering Gaza now arrives from Israel and via tunnels, the report said.