The fishermen, who were brothers, were shot dead near the southern border town of Rafah.
The bodies of two Palestinian fishermen who were shot dead by the Egyptian navy have been returned to the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian officials, according to the region’s interior ministry.
The fishermen, who were brothers, were shot dead off the coast near the southern border town of Rafah on Friday. A third brother was injured and was undergoing treatment in Egypt.
Hamas, the ruler of the Palestinian group Gaza, condemned the violence and called on Egypt to investigate the incident.
Hamas said in a statement on Saturday that “there is no justification for the frequent violence against those who seek to earn a living for their children.”
There was no immediate comment from Egyptian officials, but the Palestinian Fishermen’s Union in Gaza said its fishermen generally operate near the Gaza-Egypt maritime border and that the Egyptian navy is aware of their presence.
“Even if they exceed the limits, it is unreasonable to beat and kill them,” said Nazar Aishe, head of the union. “They could have stopped them because their boat’s engine is weak and they can’t run faster than a Navy boat.”
Egypt sent the corpse to the outside world on Saturday evening, through the Rafah crossing point, the main gate of Gaza, on the 13 km long (8 mile) border with the Gaza Strip.
Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on Gamma in 2007 to separate Hamas from the Palestinian Authority.
Hamas’s relations with Egypt have gone through hot and tense phases, but Cairo has long been a mediator between Hamas and Israel, which has secured numerous ceasefire deals and unauthorized conflicts between the two sides to prevent cross-border fighting.
Ayesha said the Egyptian army has killed six Gaza fishermen in separate incidents in the last 14 years.
He said the fishermen would go on a three-day general strike in protest of the loss of their comrades.
