Israeli naval vessels carried out an attack on Wednesday against two ships headed for southern Gaza that were suspected of smuggling tobacco and cigarettes. Two Palestinians were wounded in the assault, Gulfnews.com reported.
However, reports from Palestinian sources say that four were wounded in the attack, according to The Jerusalem Post.
The Israeli navy open fried as the ships were traveling towards the southern Gaza town of Rafah, witnesses and medical officials said. The ships, which left from Egypt, were destroyed. The crew on board was able to escape, and the Palestinians' injuries were moderate. It is not clear how many crew members were on board the Palestinian vessels.
Israel confirmed the attack, saying the Palestinian ships were targeted due to a "suspected smuggling attempt," from Egypt to Gaza, an Israeli military spokeswoman told Gulfnews.com.
The spokeswoman said Israeli forces first asked the boats to stop and fired warning shots.
"After the vessels failed to comply the soldiers fired towards the vessels. Hits were confirmed, and secondary explosions were heard."
The Palestinians fired back, damaging one of the Israeli vessels, the spokeswoman told Gulfnews.com
"The soldiers responded by opening fire toward the terrorist position," she said.
No Israelis were injured, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Other Palestinian sources say the Israelis used light artillery to retaliate against gunmen that fired from Rafah, which resulted in a power outage, The Times Of Israel reported.
Gaza ships are prohibited from entering the waters more than six nautical miles from shore, according to a land and maritime blockade on the strip issued by Israel in 2006.
Egypt has also imposed limitations on travel to Palestinian territory, Gulfnews.com reported. Some 1,370 smuggling tunnels under Egypt's boarder with the Gaza Strip have already been destroyed. The restrictions are for security purposes due to an unfriendly relationship with Hamas, Gulfnews.com reported.
