By Abbas Nazil
Gaza’s desperate fishermen are risking their lives to access the Mediterranean Sea, defying Israel’s maritime restrictions in a bid to secure food amid an intensifying humanitarian crisis.
Despite the sea once serving as Gaza’s lifeline, recent Israeli military bans and patrols have turned it into a battleground, forcing residents to choose between hunger and potential death.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have confirmed a ban on swimming along Gaza’s coast, with soldiers reportedly using lethal force to prevent access.
Gaza’s fishermen, long cut off from regional trade and surrounded on three sides by high walls, now face armed patrol boats and drones.
The few remaining boats are barely functional, while those who dare to wade into shallow waters are often children and the elderly.
Fisherman Ziyad Abu Amir told CNN, “If I don’t bring food to my children today, I will die.”
He refuses to pursue aid trucks, instead relying on the sea, which he calls “my way.”
Children have taken up the role of providers.
Seven-year-old Faiza collects fish scraps left in abandoned nets.
Eight-year-old Hossam Saadalla throws nets into shallow waters to catch tiny fish for his nine family members.
“I’m always afraid of the military ships,” he says. “If we go a little deeper, they shoot.”
Since the war between Israel and Hamas escalated over 21 months ago, most of Gaza’s fishing fleet has been destroyed.
According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), fishermen are often injured, killed, or arrested for venturing just meters beyond the shore.
Before October 2023, Gaza’s fishing industry was modest but vital.
It produced approximately 4,660 tons of fish annually, supported local economies, and offered much-needed protein.
However, by May 2025, that output had dropped to a mere 60 tons.
Fish farms have completely collapsed.
UN data indicates Gaza’s fishing sector now operates at just 7.3 percent of its pre-war capacity.
Fishing zones, previously limited to three nautical miles or completely closed, have made deeper sea fishing—and richer catches—impossible.
The Ministry of Agriculture in Gaza confirmed that fishing infrastructure has been deliberately targeted.
Even international interventions have failed.
In 2010, an aid flotilla was attacked by Israeli commandos.
In 2025, climate activist Greta Thunberg was detained while attempting to reach Gaza by sea.
Sixteen-year-old Ismail Al Amoudi, from a fishing family, says the sea no longer brings hope.
“Everyone is afraid when they go into the sea,” he told CNN. “We see death before our eyes.”