A group of 60 would-be immigrants who landed early Monday on Italy's eastern Adriatic coast, saying they are Palestinians fleeing the Gaza Strip, DPA reported.
The group were intercepted some 60 kilometres north of the port of Bari after local residents spotted them on a beach and alerted police.
The group - all males - told officials they reached the Italian shoreline in groups of 10 aboard a dinghy from a larger vessel carrying around 100 people, the ANSA newsagency said.
Authorities have transferred the group to a holding centre in nearby Barletta where their identities are being certified.
In the past some migrants arriving in Italy illegally have claimed they are Palestinians in the hope qualifying for refugee status. In several cases they were later identified as Egyptians and repatriated.
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