GAZA, February 27, 2016 (WAFA) – Israeli forces Saturday opened their heavy machine gunfire toward Palestinian farmers and homes along Gaza borderline.

WAFA correspondent reported that armed soldiers stationed at watchtowers along Gaza borders, opened heavy live fire at farmers and homes situated near the borders. However, no injuries were reported.

Israel has unilaterally imposed a no-go zone into the border with Gaza, stretching between 300 and 900 meters in some areas. According to humanitarian groups, this sharply affects the livelihood of tens of thousands of Gaza farmers, who rely heavily on agriculture to provide for their families.

As of 2010, UN-OCHA estimated that 35 percent of Gaza‘s agricultural land is located in restricted-access areas, affecting the lives and livelihoods of approximately 113,000 people.

Farmers in farmlands on the borders say their situation has only worsened since the last war ended in 2014, pointing to the Israeli military‘s frequent incursions into their lands and its practice of firing live ammunition at farmers who enter the sizable ‘buffer zone‘ between Gaza and Israel.

“For nine consecutive years, Israel has tightened the land and naval closure to isolate the Gaza Strip from the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, and other countries around the world,” said the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR).

Earlier Saturday, Israeli navy boats opened fire on Palestinian fishermen, despite sailing within the unilaterally designated allowed fishing zone.

T.R.