Photo Gallery Attack at Dawn
Many dead, many injured: Israel stopped an aid flotilla headed for the Gaza Strip with bloody military action on the morning of Monday, May 31. Israeli soldiers took over one of six of the ships in the fleet. Here a photo shows the Israeli troops storming the "Mavi Marmara." The organization Free Gaza said the ship was clearly in international waters.
Images from Turkish television show how a helicopter circled over the Turkish ship, "Mavi Marmara," which was part of the convoy. Hundreds of elite soldiers were reported to have boarded the ship from helicopters and speedboats at around 4:30 a.m.
The organization Free Gaza alleges that the Israeli commandos opened fire on unarmed passengers. The soldiers are also said to have used tear gas. According to statements given to the Israelis Army Radio, the activists tried to wrestle the guns away from the Israeli soldiers.
According to a report from Israeli television, up to 19 people were killed and around 50 wounded -- here an image from Turkish television taken from the "Mavi Marmana" ship.
Israeli television also released images which show how Israeli military boats rushed toward the Gaza aid flotilla. On board the convoy were about 10,000 tons of aid goods, among them hundreds of ready-made houses, 500 wheelchairs and medical equipment.
Here Israeli soldiers transport one of the injured activists on Monday morning to a hospital near Tel Aviv.
Despite Israeli warnings the aid flotilla set out into international waters near Cyprus on Sunday. Here, activists from a Turkish aid organization on Sunday night pose confidently -- shortly before the fleet was attacked by Israel.
On Sunday some activists prayed in life vests on board the Turkish ship "Mavi Marmara."
One prominent member of the convoy is Swedish crime novelist Henning Mankell. Nobel peace laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire from Northern Ireland and the 85-year-old Holocaust survivor and activist Hedy Epstein are also on board. Dozens of European politicians were reported to be on the flotilla, including two members of the German parliament.
The incident could weigh heavily on diplomatic relations between Israel and the government in Ankara, as some of the ships in the fleet sailed under the Turkish flag. The Turkish foreign minister deplored the Israeli operation with sharp words and called the takeover manuever irresponsible. "Israel will have to endure the consequences of this behavior," the minister said.
On Monday a demostrator waved a Palestinian flag in front of the Israeli consulate in Istanbul, where people gathered to protest the military action.
Hamas police patrolled the waters on Sunday off the coast of Gaza City in preparation for the arrival of the "Freedom Flotilla." The radical Islamist Hamas government controls the Gaza Strip, where 1.5 million people live.
