Khan Younis, Gaza Strip – On the blue, wavy surface of Khan Yunis harbor, two Palestinian fishermen paddle their small, battered boat about 200 meters (656 feet) out to sea. On the shore, 72-year-old Palestinian fisherman Dawud Sehwail stood inspecting a torn net, his eyes fixed on the waves as if reading a language only he understood.
Displaced from Rafah in May 2024 as a result of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, Sehwail now comes to the water’s edge every day, not just to fish, but to escape, to study and remember the sea.
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“Feeling never gets old,” he said, a twinkle in his eye that defied his age. “You have come to see what more wonders the sea has in store for you.”
“We have always been shackled (by Israel),” Sehwail said quietly. “But one period was less harsh than the other.”
Even before October 2023, when Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza, fishermen in the Palestinian enclave were operating under heavy restrictions imposed by Israel. Fishing zones have been repeatedly reduced. Maritime boundaries defined in treaties since the 1993 Oslo Accords have rarely been implemented over water. The distances fishermen are allowed to travel at sea are constantly shifting, often shrinking without warning.
“After every Israeli attack, the consequences fell on us,” Sehwail explained. “We should have gone further to sea (to be allowed), but occupation kept pushing us back.”
Controlling the sea
For a coastal region, the sea should be a source of wealth, stability and fresh food. Instead, under Israel’s blockade, which has controlled Gaza’s land, air and sea since 2007, it is yet another mechanism of control and persecution.
Sehwail once owned a stone delivery business, but was forced to close in 2007 after the Israeli blockade on Gaza tightened. He eventually turned to fishing, a skill he learned as a child and once thought he had given it up.
“Our profession is day-to-day,” he said. “If you work and are lucky, you can sell your catch and feed your family. If you are very lucky, save some for your children’s future.”
But everything changed within days of Israel’s genocidal war. Gaza port destroyed by Israeli airstrikes. Israel bombarded fishing installations from north to south. Boats burned or sunk. The sector collapsed almost immediately.
“The Rafa fishermen had six fishing trawlers,” recalled Sehwail. “They were all bombed and burned. I tried to keep my own small boat and nets as long as I could, but they were destroyed by occupation just days before we moved in May 2024.”
At Khan Yunis port, the aftermath was no different. The port has become a busy place. Broken or burned boats are no longer ships but tent supports, tied with ropes to hold fragile shelters in place.
The trawler’s rusted metal skeleton protrudes from the sand, where displaced children now play around. But even in devastation, fishermen thrive.
“What we’re doing now is trying not to die,” Sehwail said. “We borrow equipment. Some people turn refrigerator parts into floating boards. We don’t have motors, just paddles. We use what’s left.”
Originally from the coastal village of Jourat Askalan, which was deserted of its Palestinian inhabitants during the Nakba of 1948 and the creation of Israel, Sehwail’s bond with the sea runs generations deep. “Connectivity is powerful,” he said. “My home in Rafah was near the seashore. Even in displacement, the sea has accompanied me. But now my children and their families are scattered in displacement camps.”
No safety
Material destruction is part of the toll for Gaza’s fishermen. According to the Gaza Fishermen’s Syndicate, since October 2023 Israel has killed at least 238 fishermen, at sea or on land, out of more than 72,000 Palestinians.
The sector once consisted of more than 5,000 fishermen who provided for more than 50,000 family members who depended on fishing as their primary source of income. Israeli violations have continued since the “ceasefire” began in October, with more than 20 fishermen reported killed or arrested.
“The sea is practically closed,” Zakaria Baker, head of Gaza’s fishermen’s syndicate, told Al Jazeera in a recent interview.
Baker explained that some fishermen in small boats do not risk going more than 800 meters (2,625 feet) out to sea because there is still uncertainty about how far out to sea they can go.
Standing on the shore, Sehwail pointed to an Israeli navy boat.
“They always are,” he said. “We have no official permission. We enter at our own risk. The distance we can go is about 800 meters, and it depends on their mood.”
He described the sudden pursuit of the Israeli navy: the boats were shot or sunk, the fishermen arrested.
“They clearly see what we’re doing,” he said. “But it depends on the mood of the soldier, whether he will let you fish or decide to shoot.”
“Israel has ‘executed’ fishing in Gaza,” Sehwail repeated the painful phrase. “What we are doing now is not real fishing. It is risking your life for the hope of bringing a fish or two back to your tent.”
A critical source of food
Before the genocide, Gaza’s fishing sector played an important role in food security and poverty alleviation. According to the United Nations, by the end of 2024, the sector is operating at less than 7.3 percent of its pre-October 2023 production capacity. The UN estimates that 72 percent of Gaza’s fishing fleet has been damaged or destroyed.
The collapse has severely affected food availability, income generation and community resilience. Reduction of fishing access to less than one nautical mile (1.85km) has severely limited quantity and species diversity.
“The further west we go, the more diversity (of fish) we find,” Sehwail explained. “But now in shallow water, you only find small numbers and mostly juvenile sardines that you have to let grow. But people need whatever they can find.”
Months of Israeli starvation have turned fresh protein into a rarity; Thus, fish is a special luxury.
Even now, with the relative relief brought by the “ceasefire,” the fish found in Gaza’s markets are mostly frozen imports, more expensive than fresh local fish before the massacre. A catastrophic economic downturn meant that many families could no longer afford them.
Baker stressed that rehabilitation and recovery will require more than ceasefire declarations. “So far no materials or compensation have been allowed,” he said, adding, “Israeli sanctions continue to restrict access to equipment. Fishermen need stable and safe conditions to return to work without fear of Israeli bullets.”
“Fishermen are simple, poor people,” Sehwail said. “We only want to live with dignity and provide for our families. From north to south across Gaza, we finally need support for fishing, as we truly deserve.”
(tags to translate) Features
