February 24, 2010

Gaza – Ma'an – Palestinians collecting small stones and concrete rubble in the As-Saifa area, part of the northern 'no-go zone' at the western tip of the Strip, were targeted by Israeli fire from a military patrol and warships on Wednesday morning, sources said.

The workers, reportedly collecting fragments for construction projects in Gaza City, were able to escape the fire unharmed, local sources said.

Israeli gunboats were also reported to have opened fire on the northern Gaza Strip in the early morning, fishermen in the Al-Waha area of the coast reported. The zone, north of Beit Lahiya, is adjacent to the area where workers were collecting construction materials.

It was not immediately clear if the incidents were related.

In the southern Strip, witnesses said an Israeli military patrol entered 100 meters beyond the buffer area into civilian areas.

An Israeli military spokesman said he was looking into both reports.

A weekly report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs noted an escalation in violence "in areas along the Gaza-Israel border," last week, which killed one and injured six. According to the the UN office, "Since the beginning of 2010, Israeli forces have killed nine Palestinians and injured 13 others in Gaza; no Israeli casualties have been reported."