JERUSALEM – Israeli naval commandos stormed a flotilla of ships carrying aid and hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists to the blockaded Gaza Strip on Monday, killing nine passengers in a botched raid that provoked international outrage and a diplomatic crisis.
Dozens of activists and six Israeli soldiers were wounded in the bloody predawn confrontation in international waters. The violent takeover dealt yet another blow to Israel's international image, already tarnished by war crimes accusations in Gaza and its 3-year-old blockade of the impoverished Palestinian territory...
[Full Article]Israel Navy Commandos: Gaza Flotilla Activists Tried To Lynch Us
Nine activists on board Gaza-bound flotilla killed in violent clashes when Israel Navy commandos boarded ships; 7 commandos hurt, 2 seriously.
Story Highlights
- Confrontation took place in international waters
- Israel says six-ship flotilla ignored orders to turn back from course to Gaza
- IDF: Activists on board attacked lone commando with iron bars, opened fire
[Full Article]
Israeli Commandos Gun Down 19 Peace Activists In Raid On Gaza Ships With 28 Britons On Board
The Foreign Secretary today 'deplored' the loss of life during the interception of a flotilla of ships carrying aid to Gaza.
Up to 19 people were killed after Israeli commandos boarded ships carrying 10,000 tonnes of aid en route from Cyprus.
Another 26 people are being treated in two Israeli hospitals for injuries sustained in the assault.
Details of what happened remain sketchy after Israel imposed a news blackout, preventing activists on board the ships from contacting the outside world.
But it believed troops were attacked with knives and metal pipes as they attempted to board one of the ships from a helicopter...
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1282802/Israeli-forces-kill-19-people-carrying-aid-ship-Gaza.html#ixzz0pXEBVop9
Close-Up Footage Of Flotilla Passengers Attacking Israeli Soldiers
Israel Flotilla Action Criticised By Friends And Foes
DUBAI, May 31 (Reuters) - Israel's storming of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla set off a diplomatic furore, drawing criticism from friends and foes alike and straining ties with regional ally Turkey, which called off planned joint military exercises.
The United Nations Security Council called an emergency session for later on Monday following the killing of 10 of the mostly international activists aboard a six-ship convoy that tried to break Israel's blockade of Gaza...
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Ten Dead As Israel Storms Aid Ship
(Reuters) - Israeli marines stormed a Turkish aid ship bound for Gaza on Monday and at least 10 pro-Palestinian activists were killed, triggering a diplomatic crisis and an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council.
European nations, as well as the United Nations and Turkey, voiced shock and outrage at the bloody end to the international campaigners' bid to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Its navy stopped six ships ferrying 700 people and 10,000 tons of supplies toward the Islamist-run Palestinian enclave, but bloody miscalculation left Israel isolated and condemned.
Once-close Muslim ally Turkey accused it of "terrorism" in international waters, and the U.N. Security Council prepared an emergency session. Speaking for Israel's most powerful friend, the United States, President Barack Obama said he wanted the full facts soon and regretted the loss of life.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also voiced regret as he cut short a visit to Canada and rang Obama to call off a White House meeting planned for Tuesday.
He said his forces had been attacked. "They were mobbed, they were clubbed, they were beaten, stabbed, there was even a report of gunfire. And our soldiers had to defend themselves."
Netanyahu vowed to maintain a three-year-old embargo to stop Iranian-backed Hamas from bringing arms to Gaza.
His White House meeting had seemed intended to soothe ties with Obama, which have been strained by differences over Jewish settlement construction that had delayed a revival of peace talks with the Palestinians. But Obama must also balance support for Israel, which is popular with American voters, with understanding for an angry Turkey and other Muslim U.S. allies.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas seemed unlikely to hold further sessions soon of U.S.-mediated peace talks that began three weeks ago. He said: "What Israel has committed on board the Freedom Flotilla was a massacre."...
[Full Article]Israel In Eye Of Storm Over Deadly Gaza Ship Raid
Israel's allies froze military ties and summoned its ambassadors Monday over the storming of an aid flotilla bound for Gaza, as Muslim leaders slammed the deadly raid as "criminal" and "inhuman".
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was "shocked" by the Israeli navy's assault on a convoy carrying hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists, lawmakers and journalists through international waters towards besieged Gaza.
Ban called on Israel to "urgently" explain itself over the raid, which Israel's Channel 10 TV left 19 passengers killed and 36 wounded, many of them Turks...
