In February 2011, Türkiye released the findings of its official inquiry into Israel's assault on the Gaza aid flotilla the previous May, a raid that killed eight Turkish citizens and a US national of Turkish descent and wounded scores of others. The report, drawn up by Türkiye's National Commission of Inquiry, was submitted to the panel the UN secretary-general had convened to examine the episode, and Ankara pressed once more for Israel to apologize and pay compensation for what it called an illegal attack.
The convoy was a civilian one, the report stressed: six ships organized by NGOs from 37 countries, carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, their cargo and passengers inspected and cleared at Turkish ports before departure, with no weapons aboard. Israeli forces boarded the vessels in international waters, roughly 72 nautical miles off the nearest coast and well beyond even the blockade Israel had imposed on Gaza, using frigates, helicopters, submarines, and heavily armed commandos.
According to the inquiry, Israeli troops opened fire from a helicopter with live rounds, killing two people aboard the Mavi Marmara before any soldier had set foot on the deck, and then turned force the report called excessive and indiscriminate on unarmed civilians. It pointed to the UN Human Rights Council's fact-finding mission, which had condemned an “unacceptable level of brutality,” and concluded that the passengers had done no more than defend themselves, without firearms, against an armed assault.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in February 2011, in its own words.