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Line 20: The '''Gaza flotilla raid''' was a military operation by Israel against [[Ships of Gaza flotilla raid|six civilian ships]] of the "[[Gaza Freedom Flotilla]]" on 31 May 2010 in [[international waters]] in the Mediterranean Sea. Nine activists were killed during the raid, with thirty wounded (including one who later died of his wounds).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chebil |first1=Medhi |title=Repatriated flotilla activists challenge Israeli version of deadly raid |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20100601-repatriated-flotilla-activists-challenge-israeli-version-deadly-raid-israel-gaza |website=France24.com |publisher=France 24 |access-date=30 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Booth |first1=Robert |title=Gaza flotilla activists were shot in head at close range |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jun/04/gaza-flotilla-activists-autopsy-results |website=The Guardian |date=4 June 2010}}</ref> Ten Israeli soldiers were wounded, one seriously. The exact sequence of events is contested, in part due to the IDF's confiscation of the passengers' photographic evidence.<ref>Finkelstein, N. (2021). Gaza: An Inquest Into Its Martyrdom. United States: University of California Press. pp. 146 "The only witnesses able to contest the official Israeli account had been impris- oned and their photographic evidence confiscated."</ref> The [[flotilla]], organized by the [[Free Gaza Movement]] and the Turkish [[IHH (Turkish NGO)|Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (İHH)]], was carrying humanitarian aid and construction materials, intending to break the Israeli [[2007–present blockade of the Gaza Strip|blockade of the Gaza Strip]]. On 31 May 2010, Israeli [[Shayetet 13]] naval commandos boarded the ships from speedboats{{sfn|UN Palmer Report|2011|p=19}} and helicopters in order to force the ships to the Israeli [[port of Ashdod]] for inspection. On the Turkish ship [[MV Mavi Marmara|MV ''Mavi Marmara'']], according to the Israel's own [[Turkel Commission]], the Israeli Navy faced resistance from about 40 of the 590 passengers, including IHH activists – described in the commission's report as a separate "hardcore group"<ref name="Guardian 2-6-10">{{cite news |last=Sherwood |first=Harriet |date=2 June 2010 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jun/02/flotilla-raid-turkish-jihadis-troops-israel-claims |title= Flotilla raid: Turkish jihadis bent on violence attacked troops, Israel claims |work=The Guardian |location=London |access-date=23 September 2011}}</ref><ref name="hardcore"/> – who were said to be armed with iron bars and knives.{{Sfn|UN Palmer Report|2011|pp=54–61}} According to flotilla organizer [[Greta Berlin]], the Israeli soldiers did not start firing until an activist seized a gun from one of them.<ref name="TOI 201803">{{cite web | last=Philpot | first=Robert | title=Free Gaza spox admits activist initiated fatal 2010 violence aboard Mavi Marmara | website=The Times of Israel | date=2018-03-13 | url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/free-gaza-spox-admits-activist-initiated-fatal-2010-violence-aboard-mavi-marmara/ | access-date=2018-03-14}}</ref> During the struggle, [[#Casualties|nine]] activists were killed, including eight [[Turkish people|Turkish nationals]] and one [[Turkish American]], and many were wounded. On 23 May 2014, a tenth member of the flotilla died in hospital after being in a coma for four years.<ref name="imemc.org">{{cite news |title=Turkish Man Dies of Wounds Sustained During Israel's Attack on Solidarity Ship |date=24 May 2014 |author=Saed Bannoura |publisher=IMEMC News |url=http://www.imemc.org/article/67911 |access-date=1 June 2014}}</ref> Ten of the commandos were also wounded, one of them seriously.{{Sfn|UN Palmer Report|2011|pp=54–61}}<ref name ="NYT-201005">{{cite news |last=Kershner |first=Isabel |date=31 May 2010 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/01/world/middleeast/01flotilla.html |title=Deadly Israeli raid draws condemnation |work=The New York Times |access-date=23 September 2011}}</ref> According to a UN report, all activist deaths were caused by gunshots, and "the circumstances of the killing of at least six of the passengers were in a manner consistent with an extra-legal, arbitrary and summary execution."<ref name="www2.ohchr.org">{{cite web |title= Report of the international fact-finding mission to investigate violations of international law, including international humanitarian and human rights law, resulting from the Israeli attacks on the flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian assistance |publisher=United Nations General Assembly Human Rights Council |date=27 September 2010 |url=http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/15session/A.HRC.15.21_en.pdf |access-date=1 June 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Robert Booth |author2=Harriet Sherwood |author3=Justin Vela |title=Gaza flotilla attack: Autopsies reveal intensity of Israeli military force |newspaper=The Guardian |date=4 June 2010 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jun/04/gaza-flotilla-attack-autopsy-results |access-date=1 June 2014}}</ref> The five other ships in the flotilla employed [[passive resistance]], which was suppressed without major incident. According to the UN report, several of the passengers were injured and the leg of one was fractured.<ref name="www2.ohchr.org" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Gaza flotilla raid: 'We heard gunfire – then our ship turned into lake of blood' |author=Robert Booth |author2=Kate Connolly |author3=Tom Philips |author4=Helena Smith |newspaper=The Guardian |date=1 June 2010 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jun/02/gaza-flotilla-raid-gunfire-ship-blood |access-date=1 June 2014}}</ref> The ships were towed to Israel. Some passengers were deported immediately, while about 600 were detained after they refused to sign deportation orders; a few of them were slated for prosecution. After international criticism, all of the detained activists were also deported.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kosharek|first1=Noah|last2=DPA|last3=Ravid|first3=Barak|last4=Kyzer|first4=Liel|title=Israel transfers hundreds of Gaza flotilla activists to airport for deportation|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-transfers-hundreds-of-gaza-flotilla-activists-to-airport-for-deportation-1.293634|work=Haaretz|agency=Associated Press|date=1 June 2010|quote="The decision to deport the hundreds of foreign activists was announced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided late Tuesday, in the face of mounting world criticism of Monday's assault"}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Gaza flotilla activists back in Turkey|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/gaza-flotilla-activists-back-in-turkey-1.933602|access-date=26 August 2014|publisher=CBC News|date=3 June 2010|quote=""Israel had said it will not prosecute dozens of activists detained in the raid, opting instead to deport them all immediately in an apparent effort to limit the diplomatic damage from the raid."}}</ref> | |||