Gaza City, April 30 (RHC)-- Two Palestinians were shot and injured by Israeli forces while collecting stones in a field in the northern Gaza Strip. According to Gaza’s medical sources, the shooting took place on Monday near the Israeli-controlled Erez crossing.

The Palestinian Ma’an news agency reported that the men were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment after the incident. The Israeli regime confirmed the shooting and said the Palestinians entered "a prohibited area."

Many people in the coastal enclave collect stones for construction operations which have been hampered due to the Israeli siege on the impoverished sliver. Israeli forces often shoot at civilians inside the Gaza Strip if they approach areas that they consider off-limits to Palestinians.

On April 25th, Human Rights Watch (HRW) slammed the Israeli regime for shooting at Palestinian civilians in the besieged Gaza Strip. The rights group called on Tel Aviv to stop the shootings, and said four people have been killed near the Israeli separation wall since the beginning of 2014.

The 1.7 million Palestinians of the Gaza Strip are living in what is called the world's largest open-air prison as Israel retains full control of the airspace, territorial waters and border crossings of the coastal sliver.