The Israeli military said on Sunday that its naval forces thwarted a maritime weapons smuggling attempt from Egypt to the Gaza Strip.
"Overnight, a Palestinian vessel departed from Egypt to the Gaza Strip. The vessel deviated into a closed zone in the southern Gaza Strip, violating security restrictions," the IDF said in a statement.
"Israel's Navy soldiers instructed the vessel to halt, and after receiving no response, fired toward the vessel in accordance with standard operating procedures.
"The suspects that were on the vessel swam to the Gaza Strip. The supplies onboard the vessel were intended for the Hamas terrorist organization," the statement read.
The Palestinian fishermen's union said two crew members dove into Mediterranean waters and swam to safety before the Israeli navy fired on their boat. A picture circulated on social media showed black smoke rising close to the Gaza coast.
Vessel on fire as it sinks off Gaza shore after Navy suspects weapons smuggling
Nizar Ayyash, chairman of the fishermen union, described the two crewmen as fishermen.
“The boat was completely burnt and destroyed, I think it may have sunk but fishermen on board jumped and swam to the shore. It wasn’t the first time they made such allegations and at the end these allegations proved baseless," he said.
Earlier, two Palestinian gunmen were killed in a pre-dawn clash with the IDF in the West Bank city of Nablus. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades militant group claimed the two Palestinians slain at a house in Nablus as its members. The Palestinian Health Ministry said six others were wounded.