Three Palestinian fishermen who died in an offshore explosion on Sunday have encountered an Israeli drone full of explosives that had fallen into the sea and exploded in their nets, the Hamas Interior Ministry said in Gaza on Thursday .
An IDF spokesman did not immediately comment. At the time of the explosion, the Israeli military had denied any involvement in the incident.
Video showing details of Hamas’ version of the event
The incident came at a time when Palestinian militants have been firing rockets into the sea, and a Gaza-based human rights group, the Palestinian Human Rights Center, said Sunday that the fishing boat was hit by an accident.
But Eyad Al-Bozom, a Gaza Interior Ministry account, said no Palestinian rocket hit the fishing boat, and parts of an Israeli rectangular drone carrying explosives were found in the her nets. The drone exploded as the fishermen lifted the net, killing all three.
Bozom said the drone may have been in the water since the Israeli attack on a Palestinian naval submarine on Feb. 22 far Gaza.
The IDF said at the time that its forces had detected suspicious naval activity off the coast of Gaza and stopped a “potential threat to Israeli naval vessels”, without explaining the weapons fired. used.
The military rarely comments publicly on the use of explosives-carrying drones.
Hamas, an Islamic militant group, took control of Gaza in 2007, and the coastal strip, home to 2 million Palestinians, has been blocked by Israeli and Egypt, citing security concerns. for the degree.
The armed wing of the Gaza-based Islamic Jihad blamed Israel for the death of the fishermen and vowed revenge.
“Israel has committed a crime and certainly a response against Palestine will respond,” the terrorist group said. “The opposition to Palestine emphasizes that it will not be possible to change the rules of the game set by Israel. “