At least nine activists killed in commando raid on aid ship
Israel was struggling to contain a rapidly mounting diplomatic crisis last night after naval commandos killed at least nine pro-Palestinian activists in international waters after storming their Turkish passenger ship as it attempted to reach the coast of the besieged Gaza strip.
Amid international calls for a full investigation, Ankara's accusations of "state terrorism" and angry protests at embassies around the globe, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pulled out of a planned meeting with US President Barack Obama and flew back home to deal with the backlash from the pre-dawn confrontation. The flotilla – made up of the Mavi Marmaraferry and five other vessels – had left the coast of Cyprus on Sunday, aiming to deliver around 700 activists and 10,000 tons of aid supplies into Gaza yesterday in the biggest effort yet to break Israel's three year blockade of the Hamas-controlled territory. But the finale was bloody.
According to Israeli officials, commandos opened fire in self-defence after descending by winch from helicopters and boarding the Mavi Marmara from dinghies about 75 miles offshore and coming under attack. "They were mobbed. They were clubbed, they were beaten, stabbed," Mr Netanyahu said in Ottawa, where he was meeting Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
