Since 7 October 2023, the Israeli military has killed at least 230 Palestinian fishermen. 230 pescadores palestinos, asesinados desde el 7 de octubre de 2023 ENG ESP

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‘Treated as criminals’: Gaza fishermen risk everything at sea
Facing starvation, Palestinians turn to the sea to feed their families, risking imprisonment or death.

Since the beginning of the genocide in Gaza on 7 October 2023, the Israeli military has killed at least 230 Palestinian fishermen, according to the Palestinian Fishermen Syndicate.

By Maha Hussaini in Gaza City and Mohammed al-Hajjar in Nuseirat
22 December 2025 

Even after Israeli bombardments destroyed his fishing boat and equipment, Ismail Farhat returned to the sea. Fishing was not a choice for him; it was how he kept his family fed.

On the morning of 8 October, he set out from the shore of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza on a small punt he had built himself. Shortly after, an Israeli naval vessel approached and ordered him to “surrender”.

Farhat was then detained, tortured, and threatened with arrest if he returned to fishing, before being released more than two months later, on Tuesday.

“I was fishing with another fisherman when we were suddenly approached by an Israeli naval vessel. They ordered us to remove our clothes, jump into the sea, and swim towards their vessel,” Farhat told Middle East Eye one day after his release.

“Once we were on board, they began interrogating us, asking where we lived, where we had been before we were displaced, and requesting personal details such as our ID numbers, age and mobile phone numbers. One of the soldiers photographed me with his phone.”

Since the beginning of the genocide in Gaza on 7 October 2023, the Israeli military has killed at least 230 Palestinian fishermen, according to the Palestinian Fishermen Syndicate.

Farhat was taken to a port he could not identify, before being transferred to Sde Teiman, a notorious Israeli detention facility where Palestinian detainees are subjected to severe torture.

“Throughout this entire period, I was wearing only shorts, without anything else, and the weather was extremely cold. But I wasn’t allowed to say a word,” he added.
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“When I arrived at Sde Teiman, they forced me to take off the shorts, searched me, and gave me prisoner clothing. There were around 150 Palestinian detainees in the prison with me, including fishermen and truck drivers, some of whom transported aid or goods.”

For the first 50 days of his detention, Farhat was kept in handcuffs at all times.

“You live 24 hours a day with your hands cuffed. We were forbidden from speaking, forbidden from leaning to either side, and forbidden from sleeping. We were not allowed a mattress. I slept on an iron mesh,” he added.

“Sometimes, due to extreme exhaustion, I would fall asleep or lean unintentionally, and they would immediately punish me, forcing me to stand for two or three hours.”

Over more than two months in custody, Farhat said he and his fellow fishermen were “treated as criminals”, despite never being formally charged.

During this period, he encountered numerous fellow fishermen held in the same facility. Many had been detained for fishing amid Israel’s imposed starvation of the Strip since March.

“On some nights, a unit they called the 'commando' would enter the prison and throw stun and smoke grenades on the prisoners. Most of the time, they forced us to remain kneeling,” Farhat said.

“When we became ill or suffered pain, we would ask for a painkiller, but they would completely refuse, leaving us for days without any medication. On rare occasions, they would photograph us and put us through lengthy procedures just to give us a single dose of painkillers.”
Ruined livelihoods

New fishermen were brought into the prison every couple of days during his imprisonment, according to Farhat.

The youngest among them were two children aged 16, and the oldest was around 56. None of them have been released to this day.

“Before my detention, we were constantly subjected to harassment and attacks by the Israeli occupation, but the harsh living conditions, especially during the war, forced us to return to the sea each time,” he said.

“We risked our lives simply to provide food for our families. We know that this profession usually leads to detention, injury, or death.”

Photo: Fishermen pull their nets to retrieve their catch on a beach in the Nuseirat camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on 30 August 2025 (Eyad Baba/AFP)

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