GAZA, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The Gaza Center for Human Rights has strongly condemned what it described as Israel’s systematic targeting of Gaza’s fishing sector, warning that the campaign has escalated from imposing severe restrictions to the “comprehensive destruction” of a vital civilian industry.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the rights group said the devastation along Gaza’s coastline amounts to the destruction of the livelihoods of thousands of Palestinian families and forms part of a broader policy of starvation used as a weapon in Israel’s genocide in the besieged enclave.
According to field monitoring and testimonies from specialists, Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have carried out widespread destruction against Gaza’s fishing industry in recent months. More than 5,000 fishermen depend on the sector for their livelihood.
The report said the damage includes the near-total destruction of the industry’s infrastructure. Large trawlers and fishing vessels, which formed the backbone of Gaza’s fish production, were destroyed in Gaza’s main harbor and the fishing ports of Khan Yunis and Rafah, forcing them permanently out of service.
Of roughly 2,000 boats and small fishing vessels that once operated along the coast, in addition to around 100 large boats, about 95 percent have been destroyed by Israeli bombardment.
The center also documented the destruction and burning of hundreds of small fishing boats used by low-income fishermen, including boats that had been stored far from the shoreline.
In addition to targeting vessels, the IOF reportedly destroyed engines, fishermen’s storage rooms, ice factories and repair workshops, leaving the sector without the basic infrastructure required to operate. The scale of damage, the group said, far exceeds Gaza’s current local capacity for reconstruction.
The center added that Israeli forces have effectively declared Gaza’s coastline a closed military zone, with fishermen facing direct gunfire if they approach the sea.
At least 235 fishermen have been killed, according to the organization’s documentation, including around 40 who were shot while working. Dozens more have been wounded while attempting to fish within 100 meters of the shore.
The IOF has also continued to detain fishermen at sea, confiscating their remaining equipment and boats. At least 43 fishermen have reportedly been arrested.
The Gaza Center for Human Rights said these practices constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity under international law.
It noted that using starvation as a weapon violates Article 54 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, which prohibits attacking or destroying objects indispensable to civilian survival.
The center called on the international community to pressure Israel to immediately halt attacks on fishermen and ensure their freedom to work safely at sea.
It also urged the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to investigate the destruction of Gaza’s fishing sector as part of the broader case concerning the use of starvation as a weapon against civilians.
The organization further called on the United Nations and international aid agencies to provide protection for fishermen and establish an emergency fund to rebuild fishing ports and supply alternative equipment to help restore minimum food security in Gaza.
