Gazan fisherman whose boat 'sunk by Israel' declared dead

The family of a Palestinian fisherman who disappeared after his boat was “sunk by Israeli forces” off the Gaza coast has declared him dead.

Hundreds held a symbolic funeral Saturday for 33-year-old Mohammad al-Hissi at a Gaza fishing harbor following three days of searches failed to locate a body.

His uncle, Nidal al-Hissi, said a navy vessel hit al-Hissi's boat, splitting it in half and turning him upside down.

The family said in a statement that “after consultations and after listening to witnesses who watched what had happened, we have decided to announce the death of Mohammad and declare him a Martyr”.

The family added that Israel was fully responsible for the death, since Israeli forces had “deliberately sunk his boat.”

The statement also urged the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other international human rights groups to put pressure on Israel to find and return al-Hassi’s body and to stop the routine attacks on Gaza fishermen.

Gazan fishermen have suffered from a near decade-long siege of the Gaza Strip, which limits fishermen to just six nautical miles into the sea in accordance with the ceasefire agreement signed with Palestinian factions in 2014.

The Israeli army regularly opens fire on Palestinian fishermen and farmers along the border areas, despite a ceasefire agreement that ended the 2014 war.

There have also been reports of Israeli forces attempting to sink the boats of fishermen as they approach Israel’s unilaterally declared “buffer zone,” which lies on both the land and sea sides of Gaza.

The Israeli military says it was escorting a separate vessel that had deviated from the zone when it accidentally collided with the al-Hissi’s boat on a stormy day. It says forces helped search the area for the missing fisherman and were further investigating the incident.