Gaza City /Tel Aviv  - Israel Navy gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of Gaza Thursday morning, causing no fatalities but sending the fishing vessels scurrying back to shore, Israeli military officials and Palestinians said.

Palestinians said five people were injured by the Israeli gunfire.

An Israeli military spokesman in Tel Aviv said the Israeli ships fired "warning shots" when they noticed the Palestinian boats had sailed too far from shore.

The spokesman said the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip instituted by Israel was still in force, forcing the Palestinian fishing boats to sail closer to the shore.

Thursday morning's incident comes after Israel instituted a unilateral ceasefire on Sunday morning to end three weeks of intense fighting in the strip between the Israeli military and Palestinian militants. (dpa)