Credit to: BBC NEWS
At least nine people died, and 30 were wounded, when Israeli troops boarded a flotilla of ships carrying aid for Gaza. It was the ninth attempt since 2008 to break an Israeli and Egyptian blockade of the Gaza Strip by sea, but the first that has resulted in bloodshed.
The six ships were boarded in international waters, about 80 miles from the Israeli coast. Commandos landed on the largest ship by descending on ropes from helicopters. They were attacked by the activists on board and opened fire.
This is disputed. The activists say the commandos started shooting as soon as they hit the deck. Israeli officials say the commandos fired in self-defence. Video clips show activists wielding something that looks like a baseball bat and other objects. Photographs have also been produced of metal bars and slingshots. Israel says the activists used axes, knives and fired shots from a gun taken from the soldiers.
It is reported that all nine were Turkish, or of Turkish origin.
It wanted to deliver aid to Gaza, to break an Israeli and Egyptian blockade on the territory. According to the UN, Gaza receives about one quarter of the supplies it used to receive in the years before the blockade was tightened in 2007. The ships were carrying 10,000 tonnes of goods, including school supplies, building materials and two large electricity generators. The activists also say they wanted to make the point that, in their view, the blockade is illegal under international law.
A group called Free Gaza, an umbrella organisation of activist groups from numerous countries, and a Turkish group called the IHH (Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief). The Israeli government says the IHH is closely linked to Hamas, and is a member of another organisation, the Union of the Good, which supports suicide bombings. However, the Turkish government regards the IHH as a legitimate charity, and urged Israel to let the flotilla through.
Israel and Egypt prevent a large range of goods from reaching Gaza, in order to put pressure on the Hamas government. These include cement and scaffolding, which it says can be used to make launchers for rockets, but also a range of other goods which do not undermine Israeli security. Israel also wanted to check that the ships did not contain deliveries of weapons or cash. It offered to allow the flotilla to land in an Israeli port, and to deliver by road any goods that passed its checks.
Some previous flotillas have been allowed to reach Gaza, others have been turned round and sent back. It is not clear why this latest one was greeted by a commando-style raid. It may have been because of the size of the largest boat, the Turkish-owned Mavi Marmara carrying nearly 600 passengers, which made it difficult to board by pulling up alongside.
Apart from the question as to who started the violence, it remains unclear whether the commandos' lives were in danger when they opened fire, whether all the dead activists were attacking at the time they were shot, and whether they were all armed. The video released by the Israeli military stops just before the shooting begins.
This is disputed. A Turkish draft resolution circulated at the UN Security Council described the attack as a violation of international law. Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu called the raid "tantamount to banditry and piracy" and "murder conducted by a state".
Israel's foreign ministry says that under international maritime law, when a maritime blockade is in effect, no boats can enter the blockaded area. It adds: "Any vessel that violates or attempts to violate a maritime blockade may be captured or even attacked under international law."
There has been widespread condemnation of the violence. The UN Security Council has issued a statement calling for a "prompt, impartial, credible and transparent" inquiry into the raid. Turkey and several other countries wanted an independent international investigation, but the US said it should be led by Israel. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has, though, said that the US is "open to different ways of ensuring a credible investigation including international participation".
Turkey has withdrawn its ambassador from Israel, while Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for Israel to be punished for its "bloody massacre" and Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said Israel would face legal action in a Turkish court.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon urged Israel to lift the Gaza blockade.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said peace talks with Israel will continue. Proximity talks, mediated by the US, resumed in May after a two-year break.
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