Israeli commandos on Monday stormed six ships carrying hundreds of 
pro-Palestinian activists on an aid mission to the blockaded Gaza Strip,
 killing at least 10 people and wounding dozens after encountering 
unexpected resistance as the forces boarded the vessels.
The 
operation in international waters off the Gaza coast was a nightmare 
scenario for Israel that looked certain to further damage its 
international standing, strain already tense relations with Turkey - the
 unofficial sponsor of the mission - and draw unwanted attention to 
Gaza's plight.
The tough Israeli response drew condemnations from 
Turkey, France and the U.N.'s Mideast envoy, while Greece suspended a 
military exercise with Israel and postponed a visit by Israel's air 
force chief.
About 10,000 Turks also marched from Israel's 
Consulate in Istanbul toward the city's main square, shouting slogans 
denouncing Israel. The protesters earlier Monday tried storm the 
Consulate building but were blocked by police.
The Israeli 
ambassadors in Sweden, Spain, Denmark and Greece were summoned for 
meetings, and the French foreign minister called for an investigation. 
Activists from all of those European countries were on board the 
flotilla. In neighboring Jordan, hundreds demonstrated in the capital 
Amman to protest the Israeli action and demand that their government 
breaks diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.
There were 
conflicting accounts of what happened early Monday.
An Al-Jazeera 
reporter on one of the Turkish ships said the Israelis fired at the 
vessel before boarding it. The Israelis, who had declared they would not
 let the ships reach Gaza, said they only opened fire after being 
attacked by activists with sticks, knives and live fire from weapons 
seized from the Israeli commandos.
"On board the ship we found 
weapons prepared in advance and used against our forces," declared 
Israel's deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon.
"The organizers' 
intent was violent, their method was violent and the results were 
unfortunately violent. Israel regrets any loss of life and did 
everything to avoid this outcome."
Israeli security forces were on
 alert across the country. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned
 the Israeli "aggression," declared three days of mourning across the 
West Bank and called on the U.N. Security Council and Arab League to 
hold emergency sessions on the incident.
Ismail Haniyeh, leader of
 the rival Hamas government in Gaza, condemned the "brutal" Israeli 
attack and called on U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to intervene.
The
 activists were headed to Gaza on a mission meant to draw attention to a
 3-year-old Israeli blockade of the coastal territory. Israel imposed 
the blockade after Hamas, hich it considers a terrorist group, violently
 seized the territory. Critics say the blockade has unfairly hurt Gaza's
 1.5 million people.
"It's disgusting that they have come on board
 and attacked civilians. We are civilians," said Greta Berlin, a 
spokeswoman for the Free Gaza movement, which organized he flotilla. She
 spoke from the Mediterranean island of Cyprus and said she had lost 
contact with the flotilla.
Before the ships set sail from waters 
off the east Mediterranean island of Cyprus on Sunday, Israel had urged 
the flotilla not to try to breach the blockade and ffered to transfer 
the cargo to Gaza from an Israeli port, following a security inspection.
Israeli
 naval commandos stormed the ships in a predawn raid while they were in 
international waters after ordering them to stop about 80 miles (130 
kilometers) from Gaza's coast, according to activists.
A Turkis 
website showed video of pandemonium on board one of the ships, with 
activists in orange life jackets running around as some tried to help an
 activist apparently unconscious on the deck. The site also showed video
 of an Israeli helicopter flying overhead and Israeli warships nearby.
Turkey's
 NTV showed actvists beating one Israeli soldier with sticks as he 
rappelled from a helicopter onto one of the boats.
The al-Jazeera 
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 klling people here, 
please help," a Turkish television reporter said.
The broadcast 
ended with a voice shouting in Hebrew, "Everybody shut up!"
The 
Israeli military said troops only opened fire after encountering 
unexpected resistance from the activists. Activists attacked troops with
 knives and ir rods, and opened fire with two pistols seized from the 
forces.
A total of five soldiers were wounded, two seriously, 
including at least one hit by live fire, the army said. Two of the dead 
activists had fired at soldiers with pistols, the army said.
"They
 planned this attack," said Israeli military spokeswoman Lt. Col. Avital
 Leibovitch. "Our soldiers were injured from these knives and sharp 
metal objects ... as well as from live fire."
The violent takeover
 threatened to deal yet another blow to Israel's international image, 
already tarnished by war crimes accusations in Gaza and its blockade of 
the impoverished Palestinian territory.
It occurred a day before 
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was to meet with President Barack 
Obama at the White House to discuss the Middle East peace process.
The
 ships were being towed to the Israeli port of Ashdod, and wounded were 
evacuated by helicopter to Israeli hospitals, officials said. One of the
 ships had reached port by midday.
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, European legislators and 
Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein, 85.
Satellite phones on board the
 ships were turned off, and communication with a small group of 
reporters embedded with the Israeli military was blocked.
The Free
 Gaza Movement is an international group of pro-Palestinian activists 
that claims the blockade, imposed three years ago after the militant 
Islamic Hamas group overran Gaza, is unjust and a violation of 
international law.
Organizers included people affiliated with the 
International Solidarity Movement, a pro-Palestinian group that often 
sends international activists into battle zones, and the IHH, a Turkish 
aid group that Israel accuses of having terrorist links.
The 
Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli raid and said it was 
summoning the Israeli ambassador for an "urgent explanation."
Hasan
 Naiboglu, the Turkish maritime affairs undersecretary, told the 
Anatolia news agency that Israel had jammed communications with the 
ships. He accused Israel of violating international law by carrying out 
the raid in international waters.
Turkey had unofficially 
supported the aid mission and has been vocally critical of Israeli 
military operations against Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel's Ynet 
news website said Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak called Turkish 
officials, including the defense and foreign ministers, to discuss the 
raid.
The United Nations expressed "shock" and condemned the 
killings. "We are in contact with the Israeli authorities to express our
 deep concern and to seek a full explanation," said a statement from the
 highest-ranking U.N. official in the region, Robert Serry.
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.
This is 
the ninth time that the Free Gaza movement has tried to ship in 
humanitarian aid to Gaza since August 2008.
Israel has allowed 
ships through five times, but has blocked them from entering Gaza waters
 since a three-week military offensive against Gaza's Hamas rulers in 
January 2009.
The latest flotilla was the largest to date.
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