16 Killed as Israeli Forces Attack Ship Carrying Aid to Gaza Strip
As many as 16 people have been killed in an Israeli attack on an aid convoy carrying pro-Palestinian activists to the Gaza strip, said media reports citing Israel military.
Having intercepted the flotilla of six ships in the morning, Israeli forces opened fire on at least one of the vessels, said reports.
Various reports have put different figures of casualties, ranging from 10 to 16 and nearly 30 people are reported to be injured in the attack.
Turkey’s NTV aired images of Israeli forces boarding a ship from helicopters and clashing with those on board, reports said.
However, Israeli military said that activists attacked Israeli commandos with knives, rocks and metal pipes and that the fight escalated after protesters seized a weapon from one of the commandos, said reports.
Several activists were shown bleeding after the confrontation and the military said that at least four soldiers were wounded, reports said.
Terming the raid as ‘unacceptable’, the Turkish Foreign Ministry warned Israel that it would face consequences, said reports.
An Israeli Cabinet minister expressed regret concerning the deaths, the first official acknowledgment by Israel that the operation had turned fatal, reports said.
Israel has warned it will not allow the flotilla to reach Gaza, which has been under a blockade by Israel and Egypt since 2007 after the Palestinian militant group Hamas seized control of the territory.
The aid ships, carrying more than 600 pro-Palestinian activists and 10,000 tons of supplies, left for Gaza Sunday and defied a radio warning from the Israeli navy not to approach the region.
(Based on internet reports)
