Israel restricts Gaza Strip fishing as punishment for ‘fire balloons’ | Abroad

By reducing the fishing zone from 12 to 6 nautical miles, Israel says it is responding to the “violation of Israeli sovereignty” by Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip. Israeli firefighters put out fires they believe were caused by the fire balloons on Sunday.

Two weeks ago, Israel expanded its fishing zone after it had remained calm following the ceasefire that ended an 11-day battle in May between Hamas and Israel. At the same time, more imports of goods were allowed to the Palestinian territory.

Israel uses these economic sanctions to punish or reward Hamas. Before the last conflict, the fishing zone near Gaza was 15 nautical miles wide.

–