Jerusalem (CNN) -- The head of Israel's military defended the "bravery, morality and calm" of his commandos Wednesday on the third day of the nation's inquiry into Israel's mid-sea interception of a humanitarian aid flotilla that left nine people dead.
But Gabi Ashkenazi, chief of staff for Israel Defense Forces, acknowledged that "there was a lacking evaluation regarding the intensity" of the activists' "resistance and their intentions".
"We should have known more," he said at the inquiry. Nevertheless, he said, the "first shooting was by the activists on the boat and not by the IDF soldiers. This is a clear and founded fact".
The flotilla's organizers say the ships were headed to the Palestinian territory of Gaza with humanitarian aid on May 31. That's when Israel stopped the vessels as part of its naval blockade to thwart weapons smuggling to Gaza militants intent on attacking the Jewish state.
Naval commandos who boarded one of the ships, a Turkish-flagged vessel called the Mavi Marmara, fought with activists. The confrontation left one Turkish-American and eight Turkish activists dead, and sparking an international outcry.
Ashkenazi said stopping the flotilla was right and such an action "was to be made with minimum friction". CNN
