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Israeli Forces Attack Gaza-Bound Aid Flotilla, 10 Killed

   Forces board ship from helicopter

     31 May 2010
   In  this  image  taken  from the Free Gaza Movement website on May 28,
   2010,  one  of the Turkish ships taking part in the 'Freedom Flotilla'
   is  seen  docked prior to heading for the shores off the Gaza Strip in
   this recent but undated photo.

Photo: AFP

   In  this  image  taken  from the Free Gaza Movement website on May 28,
   2010,  one  of the Turkish ships taking part in the 'Freedom Flotilla'
   is  seen  docked prior to heading for the shores off the Gaza Strip in
   this recent but undated photo.

   Israeli  media  say  Israel's  navy has attacked a six-ship aid convoy
   carrying pro-Palestinian activists to the Gaza Strip, killing at least
   10 people.
   A  private  Israeli television station said Israeli forces intercepted
   the  flotilla  early  Monday,  firing on at least one of the vessels.Â
   Activists said about 30 people were wounded.
   Turkey's NTV television aired images of Israeli forces boarding a ship
   from  helicopters  and  clashing with activists.  Several people were
   shown bleeding after the confrontation.
   The Turkish Foreign Ministry called the raid "unacceptable" and warned
   Israel  it  will  face  consequences.   An  Israeli  Cabinet minister
   expressed   regret   concerning   the   deaths,   the  first  official
   acknowledgment by Israel that the operation had turned fatal.
   Israel  has warned it will not allow the flotilla to reach Gaza, which
   has  been  under  a  blockade by Israel and Egypt since 2007 after the
   Palestinian militant group Hamas seized control of the territory.
   The  aid  ships,  carrying more than 600 pro-Palestinian activists and
   10,000  tons  of  supplies,  left  for  Gaza Sunday and defied a radio
   warning from the Israeli navy not to approach the region.

   Three  Israeli  missile  boats left their base in Haifa late Sunday to
   prevent the ships from entering the 32-kilometer exclusion zone Israel
   enforces along Gaza's Mediterranean Sea coast.
   An Israeli official said the navy told the boats they were approaching
   a blockaded area and asked them to go to the Israeli port of Ashdod or
   turn back.
   Organizers  from  the  Free  Gaza  Movement and a Turkish human rights
   group  say  the  convoy,  which  includes  three cargo ships and three
   passenger  boats,  is  carrying medical supplies as well as cement and
   other  building  materials, which Israel has banned from entering Gaza
   due to security concerns.
   The  activists  say  the  construction  supplies  are intended to help
   Gazans  rebuild  homes destroyed during Israel's military offensive in
   the Islamist-controlled territory early last year.
   In  Turkey,  several  dozen  protesters  crowded  outside  the Israeli
   consulate  in  Istanbul  Monday  to  demonstrate  against  the Israeli
   operation against the flotilla.
   U.N.  officials  and  international aid groups say Israel's three-year
   blockade on Gaza has devastated the local economy and failed to weaken
   Hamas grip on power.

   Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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