GAZA CITY: Palestinians launched boats from Gaza on Tuesday to protest Israel's blockade, a move likely to further raise tensions after mortar fire from the enclave earlier in the day and weeks of deadly unrest.
One main boat carrying around 20 people accompanied by a group of smaller ones departed from the fishermen's port in Gaza City, AFP journalists reported and organisers said.
There were conflicting statements about whether the boats would seek to break Israel's blockade, which currently allows them to travel nine nautical miles (16 kilometres) off the coast.
Some organisers said they would only protest, while other participants said they wanted to move past the limit.
It was not clear how Israel's military would respond and it was yet to comment on the protest.
Earlier Tuesday, Israel's army said some 28 mortar shells were launched toward Israel from the Gaza Strip, with most intercepted by the country's air defence system and no injuries reported.
One mortar shell exploded near a kindergarten building, a military spokesman said. No children were believed to be there at the time.
It appeared to be the largest such barrage from Gaza targeting Israel since a 2014 war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to respond "powerfully" to the mortar fire.
The Gaza Strip has been under Israeli blockade for more than a decade, with Israel saying it is necessary to prevent the Palestinian enclave's militant Hamas rulers from obtaining means to attack.
The boat protest comes after weeks of deadly demonstrations and clashes along the Gaza-Israel border, beginning on March 30.
The protests have called for Palestinians who fled or were expelled in the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation to be allowed to return to their former homes now inside Israel.
They peaked on May 14, when at least 61 Palestinians were killed as tens of thousands of Gazans protested and clashes erupted on the same day of the US transfer of its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Demonstrations and clashes have continued at a low level since then. At least 121 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the unrest.
Palestinians launch boats from Gaza to protest Israeli blockade
Palestinians launch boats from Gaza to protest Israeli blockade
- One main boat carrying around 20 people accompanied by a group of smaller ones departed from the fishermen's port in Gaza City
- It was not clear how Israel's military would respond and it was yet to comment on the protest
Lebanon’s government approves a deal to transfer Syrian prisoners back to Syria
- Lebanon and Syria have a complicated history with grievances on both sides
- A key obstacle to warming relations has been the fate of about 2,000 Syrians in Lebanese prisons
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Cabinet on Friday approved an agreement to transfer Syrian prisoners serving their sentences in Lebanon back to their home country.
The issue of prisoners has been a sore point as the neighboring countries seek to recalibrate their relations following the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in a lightning offensive by Islamist-led insurgents in December 2024. Former insurgent leader Ahmad Al-Sharaa is now Syria’s interim president.
Lebanon and Syria have a complicated history with grievances on both sides. Many Lebanese resent the decades-long occupation of their country by Syrian forces that ended in 2005. Many Syrians resent the role played by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah when it entered Syria’s civil war in defense of Assad’s government.
A key obstacle to warming relations has been the fate of about 2,000 Syrians in Lebanese prisons, including some 800 held over attacks and shootings, many without trial. Damascus had asked Beirut to hand them over to continue their prison terms in Syria, but Lebanese judicial officials said Beirut would not release any attackers and that each must be studied and resolved separately.
The deal approved Friday appeared to resolve that tension. Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos said other issues remain to be resolved between the two countries, including the fate of Lebanese believed to have been disappeared into Syrian prisons during Assad’s rule and the demarcation of the border between the two countries.
Lebanon’s Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri told reporters after the Cabinet meeting that about 300 prisoners would be transferred as a result of the agreement.
Protesters gathered in a square below the government palace in downtown Beirut ahead of the Cabinet vote to call for amnesty for Lebanese prisoners, including some who joined militant groups fighting against Assad in Syria. Some of the protesters called for the release of Sunni cleric Ahmad Al-Assir, imprisoned for his role in 2013 clashes that killed 18 Lebanese army soldiers.
“The state found solutions for the Syrian youth who are heroes and belong to the Syrian revolution who have been imprisoned for 12 years,” said protester Khaled Al- Bobbo. “But in the same files there are also Lebanese detainees. ... We demand that just as they found solutions for the Syrians, they must also find solutions for the people of this country.”
