Palestinians have held a funeral procession for two Gaza fishermen who were shot dead by Egyptian naval forces. Mourners carried the bodies of brothers Mahmoud and Hassan al-Zaazoua to lay them to rest in the Israeli-besieged Gaza Strip on Sunday.

The fishermen were shot on Friday off the coast near the southern Gaza town of Rafah.

A third brother was also wounded by Egyptian fire.

On Saturday evening, Egypt sent the bodies of the victims via the Rafah crossing point, Gaza’s main gate to the outside world.

The Gaza-based Hamas resistance movement condemned the violence and called on Egypt to investigate the incident.

“There is no justification for the repeated violent treatment against those who seek to eke out a living for their children,” it said in a statement.

Additionally, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) called on Egyptian forces to refrain from shooting with the intent to kill and comply with the principle of proportionality in the use of force.

“The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights followed up with deep regret the killing of two fishermen and the injury of another after Egyptian naval forces opened fire at them.

PCHR calls upon the Egyptian authorities to open an immediate investigation into the incident and announce its results to the public,” it said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian fishermen’s union in Gaza said that its members usually work near the Gaza-Egypt maritime border and that the Egyptian Navy is aware of their presence.

“Even if they happen to exceed the limit, shooting and killing them is unjustifiable,” said Nezar Ayyash, head of the union.

“They could have stopped them because their boat’s engine is weak and can’t run faster than the naval boat.” He also announced a general strike by Gaza fishermen for three days to protest against the loss of their colleagues.

The economy of Gaza has suffered from years of Israeli and Egyptian blockades.

The coastal enclave has been under an Israeli land, air and sea blockade since June 2007, which has caused a decline in the standard of living as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty.

Israel maintains a heavy naval presence off the coast of the impoverished Palestinian enclave, severely affecting the livelihood of some 4,000 fishermen and at least 1,500 more people involved in the fishing industry.

Over the past few years, Israeli forces have carried out more than a hundred attacks on Palestinian boats, arresting fishermen and confiscating boats