Israel seizes Gaza boat seeking to break naval blockade

Israel's navy seized a boat on Tuesday that had left from a Gaza port with wounded Palestinians aboard in a bid to challenge the blockade of the besieged coastal territory.

Hundreds of people had gathered to see off the boat carrying nine passengers, including four people said to have been wounded by Israeli soldiers along with students.

The passengers "with specific needs are prevented from travelling, receiving care and finishing their studies", said organiser Raed Abu Dair.

"We are determined to break the blockade."

Mahmoud Abu Ataya, 25, who recently suffered a leg wound east of Gaza City, said: "I am leaving to be cared for abroad."

But the boat was seized by Israel's navy a short time after setting off.

"After the boat and the Palestinians on board are searched, the boat will be towed to the Israeli navy base in Ashdod," Israel's military said in a statement.

"The (military) assigned medical personnel to treat Palestinians on board requiring medical assistance."

A similar attempt was made in May and also resulted in Israeli forces seizing the main protest boat several kilometres out to sea.

Israel's blockade restricts Gazan boats to up to six nautical miles off the enclave.

UN officials and rights activists have repeatedly called for Israel to lift the blockade, citing deteriorating humanitarian conditions.

Israel says it is necessary to stop Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza from obtaining weapons or materials that could be used to make them.

On Monday, Israel also closed its only goods crossing with the Gaza Strip in response to weeks of fires at farms caused by kites and balloons carrying "firebombs" from the Palestinian enclave.

A spokesman for Israel's fire service says 750 fires have burned 2,600 hectares, putting the damage at millions of shekels (hundreds of thousands of dollars).

Gazans began launching the kites as part of protests along the border calling for Palestinian refugees to return to their former homes now inside Israel.

Since demonstrations began along the Gaza border on 30 March, at least 139 unarmed Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire and more than 4,000 have been wounded by gunfire.

No Israelis have been killed.