Israel

The Gaza Flotilla Raid: What Happened On The Ship? (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | June 4, 2010, 6:19PM

Injured being evacuated after Israeli raid on flotilla

Monday's raid by Israeli naval commandos on a ship bearing medical, construction, and other supplies for the Gaza Strip resulted in the deaths of at least nine civilians. Many aspects of the episode -- the blockade, the run-up to the confrontation, the law governing international waters, etc. -- are being fiercely contested. But what about what actually happened when Israeli commandos boarded the Mavi Marmara?

The Gaza-bound boat was 80 miles from the Israeli coast with nearly 600 passengers on board when Israel soldiers from the naval special forces unit Shayetet 13 boarded the vessel in the dark early Monday morning.

The basic competing narratives are: the passengers mobbed the soldiers with crude but effective weapons, prompting the soldiers to fire bullets in self defense vs. the soldiers fired live weapons indiscriminately, starting from the helicopter above before they even boarded the ship.

But let's take a closer look at the various written and video accounts.

Read more »

Furkan Dogan

Reports: Young U.S. Citizen Killed By IDF In Gaza Flotilla Raid

Justin Elliott | June 3, 2010, 9:06AM

Injured being evacuated after Israeli raid on flotilla

A U.S. citizen was killed by Israeli commandos Monday during the raid of the Free Gaza flotilla, multiple media outlets are reporting.

Al Jazeera reports the man's name is Furkan Dogan, with ABC reporting he was 19 years old. Dogan was reportedly of Turkish descent and lived in Turkey.

Read more »