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Gaza flotilla raid
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Coordinates: 32.64113°N 33.56727°E
The Gaza flotilla raid was a military operation by Israel against six civilian ships of the "Gaza Freedom Flotilla" on 31 May 2010 in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Nine activists were killed on one ship during the raid and ten Israeli soldiers were wounded, one seriously. One Turkish activist died later of his wounds. Three of the six flotilla ships, organized by the Free Gaza Movement and the Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (İHH), were carrying humanitarian aid and construction materials, with the intention of breaking the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. Israel had warned the flotilla to abort their mission, describing it as a provocation.
On 31 May 2010, Israeli Shayetet 13 naval commandos boarded the ships from speedboats and helicopters in order to force the ships to the Israeli port of Ashdod for inspection. On the Turkish ship was the 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" who were said to be armed with iron bars and knives. According to flotilla organizer Greta Berlin, the Israeli soldiers didn't start firing until an activist seized a gun from one of them. During the struggle, nine activists were killed including eight 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.Five of the activists who were killed had previously declared their desire to become witnesses.Ten of the commandos were also wounded, one of them seriously.
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. 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.The ships were towed to Israel. Some 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.
The raid drew widespread condemnation internationally and resulted in a deterioration of Israel–Turkey relations. Israel consequently eased its blockade on the Gaza Strip. All activists were freed, yet only the Turkish and Greek ships were returned. Israel confiscated and continues to hold the other ships, as well as most of the property (including all media recordings) of over 700 passengers.
There were several probes into the incident. A UNHRC report in September 2010 into the incident deemed the blockade illegal and stated that Israel's actions were "disproportionate" and "'betrayed an unacceptable level of brutality"', with evidence for "'willful killing"'. The UNHRC later also set up a panel of five human rights experts to examine the conclusions of the Palmer report. The panel stated that Israel's blockade of Gaza amounted to collective punishment and was unlawful. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced a parallel probe in August 2010 by a four-member panel headed by Geoffrey Palmer. The Palmer report was published on 2 September 2011 after being delayed, reportedly to allow Israel and Turkey to continue reconciliation talks. The report found that the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza was legal, and that there were "serious questions about the conduct, true nature and objectives of the flotilla organizers, particularly IHH".The report also found that the degree of force used against the Mavi Marmara was "excessive and unreasonable" and that the way Israel treated detained crew members violated international human rights law.
Israel has offered Turkey $20 million in compensation for the raid. On 22 March 2013, in a half-hour telephone exchange between Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the former apologized on behalf of his nation; Erdoğan accepted the apology and both agreed to enter into further discussions. On June 29, 2016 the agreement was finalized and approved by the Israeli government.