Israeli soldiers hit Mavi Marmara flotilla monument amid tensions
Israeli soldiers destroy monument in Gaza commemorating the 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla incident when Israel raided the 6 ships that were trying to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, killed 10 Turkish citizens
Israeli forces have struck and destroyed a monument in Gaza that commemorated the 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla which had tried to break a blockade on Gaza when it was intercepted by Israel in a raid that resulted in the deaths of 10 Turkish citizens.
The destruction happened a day after the organizers of the Mavi Marmara initiative announced another attempt to form such a flotilla later this year.
Nine Turkish activists aboard the Mavi Marmara aid vessel, part of a flotilla of six ships traveling to the Gaza Strip to deliver humanitarian aid, were killed on May 31, 2010, when Israeli troops stormed the vessel out in international waters before it reached the Palestinian territories. A 10th victim succumbed to his wounds in 2014 after being in a coma for years. Another 56 were wounded.
The relations between Turkiye and Israel had hit rock bottom after the incident and tensions remained high until 2013 when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a formal apology to Turkiye and Israel paid $20 million in compensation to the Mavi Marmara victims.
WHAT HAPPENED
Hamas' military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, announced that they launched a comprehensive attack against Israel called "Al-Aqsa Flood" on the morning of Oct. 7.
While thousands of rockets were fired from Gaza towards Israel, armed groups entered the settlements in the region. The Israeli army also launched an attack on the Gaza Strip with dozens of warplanes. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that Israel killed 11,500 people, including 4,506 children, 3,027 women, and 397 elderly people. It injured at least 32,000 people in its attacks on Gaza.
It was reported that 1,200 Israelis, including 324 soldiers, were killed and 5,132 Israelis were wounded in the attacks from Gaza.
The Israeli army hit Damascus and Aleppo airports. As the Middle East is once again turning into a bloodbath, a deadline has been set for nearly 2.5 million Palestinians to leave the blockaded Gaza.
In the occupied West Bank, 106 Palestinians were killed in attacks by Israeli forces and Jewish settlers. In Israel’s attacks on Gaza, 48 journalists were killed.
In the clashes between the Israeli army and Hezbollah on the Israel-Lebanon border since Oct. 8, 55 Hezbollah members and 4 civilians, one of whom was a journalist, were killed. Three Israeli soldiers and one Israeli civilian were killed in the attacks organized by Lebanon.
Most recently, Israel attacked the Jabalia Refugee Camp in Gaza, killing civilians.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he was breaking off all contact with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu because of Israeli attacks on civilians in the Gaza Strip.
Source: Newsroom
