The Israeli Navy has attacked a pair of fishing boats from the Gaza Strip today, saying they went outside of the new “expanded” fishing zone. Gaza’s Interior Ministry confirmed the incident, saying that nine men were captured and at least one fishing boat was sunk.

Israel has long imposed a 5 km limit on Gaza fishermen, which given the sandy shores around the strip has made the area of limit commercial value. Since last week’s Gaza War, the area was expanded to 10 km.

10 km is certainly better, but Gaza fishermen note that the sardine fishing areas remain outside of even the new limit, and during sardine season the areas further out to sea remain, it seems, off-limits to Palestinian boats.

Israel’s blockade has long made an effort to limit calories available to Gazans to the bare minimum to prevent starvation. Since the war, the expansion of the available fishing grounds as well as farmland in eastern Gaza.

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