Gaza flotilla massacre

The Gaza flotilla massacre occurred on May 31, 2010 when Israeli commandos attacked the Gaza Freedom Flotilla killing up to 20 peace activists and journalists. Fifty-four passengers were hospitalized, many with gunshot wounds. Israel has admitted to nine deaths and returned the bodies to Turkey. Several activists are still missing. Witnesses claim Israeli commandos threw some of the wounded overboard.

Up to 750 people representing 42 countries were on board six ships that were carrying 10,000 tons of relief supplies to the Gaza Strip. 581 of the activists were on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara.

A seventh ship originally part of the flotilla--the MV (Motor Vessel) Rachel Corrie named after the murdered peace activist--was delayed because of mechanical problems and left Malta a few hours after the Israeli attack. On June 6, the ship was seized by Israeli commandos as it approached the Gaza Strip. Two other ships originally part of the flotilla also had mechanical problems.

File:Activists protest at a rally in Jakarta, Indonesia, in June 2010, days after the Mavi Marmara massacre.jpg

Activists protest at a rally in Jakarta, Indonesia, in June 2010, days after the Mavi Marmara massacre with many dead and injured.

Israeli preparation

Prior to the attack, the Israeli cabinet approved the interception of the flotilla. Defense Minister Ehud Barak was to supervise the operation utilizing half of Israel’s naval forces. Israeli security sources planned to prevent the flotilla from reaching Gaza "at any price" and threaten to open fire on the approaching ships.

Israeli attack

As the Israelis approached, a white flag of surrender was raised on the Turkish cruise ship, Mavi Marmara. The Israelis fired before boarding the ships. One eyewitness on board said the commandos fired "the moment their feet hit the deck. They shot civilians asleep."

Two peace activists were shot in the forehead from the Israeli helicopters above before they set foot on the ship. Once the Israelis repelled onto the ship three commandos were disarmed and for a brief time and taken prisoner by former US marine Ken O’Keefe and others who resisted the attack.

The Israeli attack on the peace activists was shown live on Turkish television--filmed from one of the nearby ships--sparking a national outrage. The six ships were in international waters 80 miles off the coast of Gaza at the time of the pre-dawn attack.

One of the sponsors of the aid group, Friends of Al-Aqsa, said thru a spokesman,

This aggression from the Israeli navy was inexcusable. The civilians on board were unarmed so despite Israeli excuses, there could never be any justification for killing these unarmed humanitarians. The response from the global community needs to be strong and swift. Israel's claims that there were weapons on board are no more than an attempt to justify themselves.

Turkish aid

The peace flotilla converged at sea near Cyprus. The aid ships were organized by the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation (Insani Yardim Vakfi) and the Free Gaza Movement. The supplies included water filtration systems, cement, school books and prefabricated homes for the residents of Gaza.

Dead and injured

The Israelis claimed several of their soldiers suffered from gunshots, stab wounds or bruises. They were immediately rushed from the scene by helicopter. Later it was learned only two Israelis were seriously injured.

Those killed on the ships were reported to have been Turkish nationals and Palestinian citizens of Israel. Nine bodies were returned to Turkey all were Turkish citizens except for one who was a Turkish-American. Autopsies show they were shot a total of 30 times with five victims receiving gunshots to the head. The Israelis claimed they fired in self-defense, however five of the dead were shot either in the back or the back of the head. The Turkish-American, Fulkan Dogan, was shot five times at close range, in the face, in the back of the head, twice in the leg and once in the back.

The Israelis took control of the lead ship an hour and a half after they began the attack. They later escorted the six ships toward the port of Ashdod. Once the passengers were in Israel, the authorities accused the activists of entering the country illegally.

International outrage

Most of the international outrage from the attack came from Turkey. Turkey's Prime Minister, Tayyip Erdogan demanded in a speech to his parliament, "Israel's behaviour should definitely, definitely be punished. The time has come for the international community to say 'enough.'"

Aftermath

A senior official in Jerusalem said the alliance between Turkey and Israel was dead. "The Turks are right about one thing: Irreversible harm has been caused to the relations. In the situation that has been created, Turkey will no longer be a strategic ally of Israel."

Ships

Two ships of the flotilla (Challenger I and Challenger II) were suspected of being sabotaged by the Israelis prior to the raid.

Six ships seized on May 31, 2010

• Mavi Marmara (also Blue Marmara, Turkish cruise ship and passenger ferry)
• Challenger 1 (American flaged, 30-foot craft) renamed Samoud, Arabic for "steadfast" carried around 20 passengers including five Americans and ministers of parliament from Germany and Sweden.
• Sfendoni (Greek passenger ship)
• Sofia, Swedish ship with a 25-strong crew. The ship was carrying supplies of concrete and prefabricated buildings.
• Gazze (Turkish, cargo ship)
• Defne Y (Turkish, cargo ship) Ship’s profile on MarineTraffic.com

The Rachel Corrie seized on June 6, 2010

• MV Rachel Corrie (Irish cargo ship, delayed) was named after the slain peace activist. The Rachel Corrie had 11 passengers and a crew of nine from five different countries, mostly Ireland and Malaysia. On board was Mairead Maguire a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Mohd Nizar Zakaria a member of the Malaysian Parliament and Denis Halliday former U.N. Assistant Secretary General. The ship’s cargo consisted of medical equipment, wheelchairs, school supplies and cement, all materials Israel has banned from entering Gaza. The ship was boarded 16 nautical miles (30km) off the Israeli coast.

• Challenger 2 (American, delayed)

Passengers on the flotilla

Notable individuals

• Sinan Albayrak, Turkish actor
• Huwaida Arraf, co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement on board Challenger 1
• Mairead Corrigan-Maguire, 1976 Nobel Peace Prize laureate from Northern Ireland on board the Rachel Corrie
• Jamal Elshayyal, producer for al-Jazeera English, age 25
• Hedy EpsteinTemplate:J, Holocaust survivor, age 85. She went on to help stir up the 2014 St. Louis race riots.
• Kate Geraghty, Australian journalist on board Challenger 1
• Hassan Ghani, journalist and documentary film-maker from Glasgow, age 25 on board the Mavi Marmara
• Annette Groth, German member of parliament on board Challenger 1
• Denis Halliday, former U.N. Assistant Secretary General on board the Rachel Corrie
• Dennis Healy, British citizen and ship's captain from Portsmouth, age 55
• Inge Höger, German member of parliament on board Challenger 1
• Svetoslav Ivanov, Bulgarian journalist
• Ewa Jasiewicz, London-based Polish journalist, age 31
• Iara Lee, Brazilian filmmaker on board the Mavi Marmara
• Henning Mankell, Swedish crime author on board the Sofia, age 62
• Paul McGeough, Australian journalist on board Challenger 1 (audio interview [1])
• Joe Meadors, US Navy veteran of the attack on the USS Liberty
• Kenneth Nichols O'Keefe, a U.S. marine turned peace activist on board the Mavi Marmara and severely beaten by Israelis while in custody.
• Norman Paech, German member of parliament on board the Mavi Marmara, age 72
• Ismail Patel, chairman of Friends of Al-Aqsa
• Edward Peck, former U.S. Ambassador
• Sheik Raed Salah, the leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel
• Valentin Vassilev, Bulgarian journalist
• Ret. Colonel Ann Wright, US Army officer and diplomat on board Challenger 1
• Mohd Nizar Zakaria, a member of the Malaysian Parliament on board the Rachel Corrie
• Haneen Zoubi, Palestinian Israeli citizen and member of the Knesset on board the Mavi Marmara

Known killed

• Ibrahim Bilgen, 61, was an electrical engineer from Siirt. He was a Saadet (Felicity) Party candidate in the Turkish general election of 2007 and ran in the Siirt mayoral election of 2009. He was married and had six children. Killed with four gunshot wounds: right chest, back, right hip, right temple.
• Ali Haydar Bengi, 39, was a telephone repairman in Diyarbakir. He was a graduate of Al-Azhar University, in Cairo (Department of Arabic Literature). He was married and had four children. Killed with six gunshot wounds: left chest, belly, right arm, right leg, left hand twice.
• Cevdet Kiliçlar (also Chetin Genghis), 38, was from Kayseri. He was a graduate of Marmara University's Faculty of Communications and was a newspaper journalist for the National Gazette and the Anatolia Times. He was a reporter and webmaster for the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH). He was married and had one daughter. Killed with one gunshot wound: middle of forehead.
• Cetin Topçuoglu, 54, was from Adana. He was a former soccer player and taekwondo champion. He coached Turkey's national taekwondo team. He was married and had one son. Killed with three gunshot wounds: back of head, left side, right belly.
• Necdet Yildirim, 32, was an IHH aid worker from Malatya. He was married and had one daughter. Killed with two gunshot wounds: right shoulder, left back.
• Fahri Yaldiz, 43, was a firefighter in the city of Adiyaman. He was married and had four sons. Killed with four gunshot wounds: left chest, left leg, right leg twice.
• Cengiz Songür, 47, was from Izmir. He was married and had six daughters and one son. Killed with one gunshot wound: front of neck.
• Cengiz Alquyz, 41, was from Iskenderun. He was married and had three children. Killed with four gunshot wounds: back of head, right side of face, back, left leg.
• Furkan Dogan, 19, was a high school student who had plans to become a doctor. He was the son of Dr. Ahmet Dogan, an associate professor at Erciyes University. He was a Turkish-American with dual citizenship. Killed with five gunshot wounds: nose, back, back of head, left leg, left ankle.

Sources:

• 28 children orphaned by Flotilla attack
• Gaza flotilla attack: Autopsies reveal intensity of Israeli military force

Others reportedly killed

• Sura Fachrizaz, Indonesian cameraman shot in the chest
• Unnamed Malaysian doctor shot while treating the wounded.

Foreign nationals

An Irishman and two women from Australia and Italy remain in Israeli custody. Also a number of Palestinian-Israeli citizens are being held.

• Algeria 28
• Australia 3
• Azerbaijan 2
• Bahrain 4
• Belgium 5
• Bosnia 1
• Bulgaria 2
• Canada 1
• Czech Republic 4
• Egypt 3
• France 9
• Germany 11
• Greece 38
• Indonesia 12
• Ireland 9 to 12
• Italy 6
• Jordan 30
• Kosovo 1
• Kuwait 15 or 16: including a Kuwaiti Minister of Parliament
• Lebanon 3

• Macedonia 3
• Malaysia 11
• Mauritania 3
• Morocco 7
• Netherlands 2
• New Zealand 1
• Norway 3
• Oman 1
• Pakistan 3
• Serbia 1
• South Africa 1
• Sweden 11
• Syria 3
• Turkey 380
• United Kingdom (press reports indicate 28 to 42)
• United States 11: including former US ambassador Edward Peck and a former State Department official were on board the Sfendoni
• Yemen 4

Source: "Israel transfers hundreds of Gaza flotilla activists to airport for deportation", AP [2]

Accounts from activists and journalists

• Theresa McDermott - Fear, pain and propaganda: an activist’s story
• Ahmed Luqman Talib - Australian student tells of his flotilla ordeal
• Henning Mankell - Flotilla raid diary: 'A man is shot. I am seeing it happen'
• Huwaida Arraf - First-hand Account of Israeli Assault
• Matthew Bell - Kidnapped by Israel and abandoned by Britain
• Ken O'Keefe - On Cowardice and Violence
• Paul McGeough - Prayers, tear gas and terror
• Col. Ann Wright - Flotilla Passengers Huwaida Arraf of Free Gaza Movement and Retired Army Col. Ann Wright Respond to Israeli Claims on Deadly Assault

See also

• Valley of the Wolves: Palestine
• USS Liberty attack
• List of Zionist crimes
• Gaza Holocaust

External links

• Israelis celebrate the attack in Tel-Aviv, in front of the Turkish embassy
• Gaza Flotilla Survivors