Israeli navy commandos stormed a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in international waters Monday, killing at least nine pro-Palestinian activists in a pre-dawn raid that sparked global outrage. The bloody ending to the high-profile mission to deliver supplies to the besieged Gaza Strip plunged Israel into a serious diplomatic crisis. Israeli police say 16 pro-Palestinian activists from the Gaza-bound flotilla have been sent to jail. Dozens of other activists are to be deported. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld says the activists were taken ashore and were jailed in the southern desert town of Beersheba after refusing to identify themselves. As Israel pointed the finger of blame at passengers for initiating the violence, accusing them of using deadly force, activists from the ships countered with their own descriptions of how events unfolded in the raid which took place at around 5:00 A.M. (0200 GMT). Live footage from the Turkish passenger boat, which was posted all over the Internet, showed black-clad Israeli commandos rappelling down from helicopters and clashing with activists, as well as several wounded people lying on the deck of the ship. Communications to the ships were cut off shortly after the raid began. Activists said Israeli naval commandos stormed the ships after ordering them to stop in international waters, about 130 km from Gaza's coast. An Al-Jazeera reporter on one of the Turkish ships said the Israelis fired at the vessel before boarding it. The pan-Arab satellite channel reported by telephone from the Turkish ship leading the flotilla that Israeli navy forces fired at the ship and boarded it, wounding the captain. “These savages are killing people here, please help,” a Turkish television reporter said. The broadcast ended with a voice shouting in Hebrew, “Everybody shut up!” Many of the passengers were from European countries. There were no details on the identities of the casualties, or on the conditions of some of the more prominent people on board, including 1976 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire of Northern Ireland and European legislators. According to Channel 10 television, 19 passengers were killed and 36 wounded in the confrontation, although the Israeli army gave a toll of 10. The IHH, a Turkish NGO involved with the flotilla, put the toll at least 15, saying most of them Turkish nationals. Israel's military top brass said the violence had been limited to the Turkish passenger boat. But organizers say the Greek passenger ship, Sfendoni, also came under fire from Israeli troops. Hours after the confrontation, the Sfendoni and another ship were seen being towed by the navy into the southern port of Ashdod. The activists were headed to Gaza on a mission meant to draw attention to a 3-year-old Israeli blockade of the coastal territory. The flotilla of three cargo ships and three passenger ships carrying 10,000 tons of aid and 700 activists was carrying items that Israel bars from reaching Gaza, like cement and other building materials. – Agencies u The deadly last moments ..P5 __
