Officials in Gaza said Israeli troops shot and wounded five Palestinians along the border yesterday and arrested nine fisherman at sea, a week after both sides agreed a truce.

The Israeli military did not confirm any casualties but said troops had responded to several attempts by Gazans to breach border fences.

“Several Palestinian rioters approached the security fence in several locations... while acting violently, trying to illegally infiltrate Israel through the fence,” a spokesman said.

“The soldiers at the scene acted in order to distance the violent rioters and in accordance with the rules of engagement,” he said without elaborating.

Elsewhere, “in a new violation of the ceasefire, the Zionist enemy arrested nine citizens and sunk several boats in the sea off the northern Gaza Strip,” the Hamas Interior Ministry said.

A Israeli military spokesman said that a patrol boat intercepted a fishing vessel that had sailed beyond the boundary.