Palestinians blow themselves up on explosives-packed boat

Palestinian militants on an explosives-packed boat blew themselves up when intercepted by an Israeli navy patrol off the Gaza Strip today, wounding four Israeli soldiers, the army and Palestinians said.

The Israeli military closed the Mediterranean waters off Gaza, barring all Palestinian fishing after the attack, defence officials said. The radical group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the blast, saying its two members on the boat, who died, were ‘‘suicide attackers.’’