Court orders Israel to return a 150,000 ILS bond to fishermen from Gaza whose boats were destroyed by the Israeli military

21/10/2025

The money had been paid by the fishermen as a guarantee to the state against return of two boats to the Strip in 2022, following their seizure by the Israeli navy for allegedly exceeding the Israeli-enforced “fishing zone.” The state had refused to return the money, but the court accepted the fishermen’s claims and ruled that, as the boats were destroyed during the war, the funds must be returned immediately

Tuesday, October 21, 2025: The Haifa Maritime Court ruled on October 13, 2025, that the State of Israel must return 150,000 shekels (approximately 46,000 USD) to two fishermen from the Gaza Strip. In February and November 2022, the Israeli navy seized two boats belonging to Jihad and Mohammed Al Hassi, members of a long-established fishing family from Gaza. After the seizure and transfer of the boats to Israel, the state petitioned the Haifa District Court, sitting as a maritime tribunal, with an unprecedented request to allow it to permanently confiscate the vessels, based on the Naval Prize Act, legislation that dates from over 160 years ago.

The state argued that the boats had been seized for violating Israel’s restrictions on the permitted fishing zone it enforces off the Gaza coast. Human rights organizations Gisha and Adalah, representing the fishermen, countered that Israel’s restrictions on Gaza’s maritime area are illegal under international law, and that Israel has no authority to seize or confiscate civilian fishing boats. During proceedings, the court issued an interim order allowing the fishermen to recover their boats upon the deposit of 150,000 shekels as a guarantee and their commitment to return the boats if the court later ruled in the state’s favor. The boats were returned to their owners in poor condition and having been stripped of vital equipment.

In keeping with Israel’s widespread attacks on Gaza’s civilian and economic infrastructure after October 7, Israel decimated Gaza’s fishing sector, bombing and sinking most of the boats docked in its fishing ports, including the two boats belonging to the Al Hassi family. Satellite imagery published by Forensic Architecture, submitted to the court by the organizations, showed that Israeli strikes destroyed all the fishing vessels in the Gaza Fishermen’s Port.

Given the extensive damage to the boats, the organizations asked the court to refund the financial bond deposited by the fishermen. The state refused, however, claiming that there was no proof the boats had been destroyed and that the fishermen bore the burden of proof to demonstrate this claim, even though they had been displaced to southern Gaza and would have to risk their safety to reach the port. The state also sought to continue legal proceedings to secure the permanent confiscation of the boats.

On October 13, Judge Ron Sokol ruled that the state must return the bond. Accepting the evidence presented, he held that the boats had been destroyed and that the state’s confiscation case was now purely theoretical. The judge rejected the state’s demand that the fishermen provide additional proof, writing:

“It is impossible to ignore the realities on the ground and to demand that the respondents produce better evidence of the condition and destruction of the boats. The applicant’s attorney’s claim that they could simply go to the port and photograph the boats completely disregards the situation. Large parts of the Gaza City are destroyed, and anyone moving about risks being hit by ongoing fire. In such circumstances, it is unreasonable to require the respondents to endanger themselves or others to obtain better evidence.”

Gisha and Adalah responded: “After the outbreak of the war, Israel destroyed the port and the boats docked there. Yet it still sought to add insult to injury by seizing the fishermen’s money as they faced displacement, starvation, and constant risk to their lives. We welcome the ruling prohibiting the forfeiture of the financial guarantees, which were seized in violation of international law, as part of a long-standing pattern of harassment and targeting of Gaza’s fishermen.”

To read the full ruling (Hebrew), see here.