A Palestinian fishing boat exploded early on Monday morning near the Israeli coast and the northern Gaza Strip.

The spokesman of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed with Xinhua that the unmanned Palestinian fishing boat, loaded with explosives, was making its way towards the Israeli territory. It blew up when it was some 300 meters off the Gaza coast, near the Israeli border. No one was wounded in the incident.

It is unclear whether the target of the apparent attack was a Navy vessel or a site on the Israeli coast, the IDF spokesman said.

The army continued investigating how the explosives were detonated and whether it was related to a terror attack, the spokesman added.

Tensions between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip still remains during the fragile cease-fire, which was agreed after the 22-day IDF's Cast Lead operation against the Palestinian Islamist Hamas group ended in mid-January.

The IDF said several intelligence warnings of planned attacks involving explosives-laden boats have been received recently.

In 2002, four Israeli sailors were wounded when Palestinians detonated a fishing boat laden with explosives next to an Israeli navy patrol off the northern Gaza coast. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

(Xinhua News Agency April 13, 2009)