Egyptian naval forces have opened fire on Palestinian fishermen off the southern coast of the besieged Gaza Strip, arresting two of them.


A Palestinian security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Egyptian forces fired at two fishermen in waters off the Rafah city - located 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Gaza City - and detained them on Saturday.

The official further also stated that there were no injuries in the incident.

“Hamas condemns the fire from Egyptian gunboats toward Palestinians within Palestinian waters, and the arrest of some of them,” the Palestinian resistance movement’s spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in a statement.

The development comes as Egyptian forces had earlier opened fire on Gaza fishermen.

On August 30, two Palestinian fishermen were wounded and five others arrested when Egyptian naval forces fired at them.

Tensions have been growing between Hamas and Egypt’s interim government since the Egyptian military ousted President Mohamed Morsi on July 3.

The Rafah crossing is Gaza’s sole gateway to the outside world as many people in the blockaded Palestinian coastal enclave avoid traveling through the Israeli-controlled Erez crossing in northern Gaza.

On September 11, Egyptian authorities shut down Rafah following deadly bomb attacks in the restive Sinai Peninsula. Eleven people, including seven civilians, were killed and 17 others injured in two car bomb attacks targeting the headquarters of Egyptian security forces in northern Sinai.

The Israeli regime imposed a land, aerial, and naval blockade on Gaza in June 2007 after the democratically-elected Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, took over the administration of the territory.