GAZA (Reuters) – Three Palestinian fishermen were killed on Sunday when their boat exploded off the Gaza Strip, an explosion that a human rights group said was probably caused by wandering Palestinian rockets.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said the boat was two miles off the coast when the projectile hit it and “completely destroyed it”.
“The center condemns the incident, the indications of which suggest it probably occurred as a result of resistance training,” the statement said, referring to Palestinian militant groups.
Israel’s military denied any connection to the incident and said “our indications show that their deaths were caused by an explosion inside Gaza”.
The Interior Ministry in Gaza, led by the Islamic group Hamas, said it was investigating the incident.
Hamas’ armed wing said it opened an investigation into the “painful incident” and will publish the results as soon as possible.
(Reporting by Nidal Almughrabi; Editing by Frances Kerry)