The Israeli military claimed aircraft had struck “military targets” belonging to the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, Reuters reported.
It said the airstrikes were carried out in response to an incident on Tuesday when a group of men from Gaza broke through the border fence into Israel and set fire to an army post. An Israeli tank then targeted a Hamas observation post. No casualties were reported.
Gaza residents said the vessel that was hit by missiles was set ablaze. They said it was due to sail to meet a flotilla of boats hoping to reach Gaza. Israel maintains a naval blockade of the Gaza Strip and has in the past stopped other boats from reaching it shores.
Violence along the Israel-Gaza border reached a peak on May 14 when Gaza medical sources said at least 60 Palestinian protesters were killed by Israeli gunfire. It has subsided but there are sporadic flare-ups.
Since the border protests began on March 30, 110 Palestinians have been killed, Gaza medical officials said.
Two million Palestinians live in the narrow strip, most descendants of refugees who were driven out of homes by Israelis in 1948.