Israel Strikes at Aid Flotilla, Killing 9 (Update: Security Council)
Activists trying to bring humanitarian aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip ran afoul of the Israeli military on Sunday Shots were fired after masked Israeli gunmen descended from helicopters hovering over the flotilla as it made its way through international watersShots were fired after masked Israeli gunmen <a href="http://www.
Update:
An earlier report of 16 casualties was based on radio reports shortly after the incident. Media outlets, including Haaretz, are reporting the military’s tally of nine activists killed.
Update 2: The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting called by Turkey to discuss the raid. More from: CNN, Haaretz
Earlier:
Activists trying to bring humanitarian aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip ran afoul of the Israeli military on Sunday. Shots were fired after masked Israeli gunmen descended from helicopters hovering over the flotilla as it made its way through international waters.
An Israeli radio station reported that 14 to 16 civilians were dead. (Latest reports say nine were killed).
Al Jazeera, which had a reporter on the lead ship, showed activists using sticks to fight commandos.
Life on the “freedom flotilla” earlier today:
Your support matters…The Telegraph:
The activists were not carrying guns, but television footage shown by al-Jazeera and Turkish television channels show hand-to-hand fighting, with activists wearing life-jackets striking commandoes with sticks.
The Israeli army said its troops were assaulted with axes and knives.
The television footage did not show firing but shots could be heard in the background. One man was shown lying unconscious on the deck, while another man was helped away.
A woman wearing hijab, the Muslim headscarf, was seen carrying a stretcher covered in blood.
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Hunger, sickness, terror, despair and Israeli military violence routinely afflict and kill the entrapped people of Gaza. The new film “Killing Gaza” explains in heartbreaking detail why Palestinians have been risking their lives during seven weeks of nonviolent protests.
Richard Falk, who for six years served as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Palestinian human rights, argues in a recent interview that there is no evidence that Israel’s air campaign has decreased rocket fire from Gaza. Likewise the claim that Hamas uses human shields is unfounded and Israel’s siege of Gaza is missing from media accounts of the cause of the current conflict, he contends.
Operation Protective Edge has resulted in the deaths of more than 1,400 Palestinians in recent weeks, compared with 56 Israeli soldiers and four civilians. It's long past time for Israel to consider a two-state solution, stop the creeping encroachment of the occupation, and end a blockade that "ensures that ever more Palestinians grow up angry," The Economist writes.
A ship carrying pro-Palestinian activists bound for Gaza was intercepted and boarded by Israeli marines and rerouted to Israel’s southern Mediterranean port of Ashdod, where passengers could face charges of entering Israel illegally.
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