Deadly clash as Israeli troops plunge in from the sky

Raid: Israeli soldiers aim a gun on the deck of the Turkish vessel

This video image released by the Turkish Aid group IHH purports to show Israeli soldiers aboard a military vessel in international waters off the Gaza coast

Dramatic images of Israel's deadly commando raid on a humanitarian aid ship were revealed last night, and showed the desperate battle on board the Mavi Marmara.

The shaky infra-red video, released by the Israeli Defence Force, showed soldiers apparently coming under sustained attack by men armed with metal poles and wearing gas masks.


Clash: A passenger attends to an injured person on board the ship

It was uploaded on to the videosharing website YouTube, complete with English subtitles which highlighted some of the most shocking moments of the battle.
The one-minute video shows the fury of the activists as commandos abseiled on to the Turkish cruise ship from helicopters.

It appears to contradict the protesters' claims that they offered no violence to the special forces soldiers as they stormed the boat.
As the first commando abseils on to the deck of the Mavi Marmara, an activist hurls a missile towards him. The object, which appears to be a stun grenade, explodes in the air. Figures on the deck can be seen scrambling for cover and ducking down as it soars over their heads.

More soldiers pour down the grappling ropes, which are seized by the waiting protesters. The men violently shake the ropes trying to dislodge the commandos.

Others have already begun attacking the soldiers who have made it to the deck, and can be seen raising weapons over their heads as they prepare to assault men beneath them.

An Israeli soldier appears to fall from the rope, as a mob beneath him try to tie the rope to the deck in an apparent attempt to bring down the helicopter itself. The Israeli caption reads: 'Soldiers being hit with metal poles and chairs'.
The chaotic scenes turn to allout battle. More men surge on to the deck waving metal poles and chairs above their heads.

A gang of activists grab a commando by his legs and lift him over the side of the boat before throwing him to a lower deck.

Shocking scenes follow of a sustained attack of a man who has fallen to the ground. Men can be seen repeatedly raising poles above their heads before bringing them down with brutal force. The IDF caption reads: 'Soldiers being hit with metal rods'.

As the pitched battle continues, a masked commando begins shooting into the crowd. The video cuts out shortly afterwards. An al-Jazeera journalist onboard the Mavi Marmara reported that the passengers offered no resistance, and said Israeli soldiers continued to fire at the ship after they waved white flags.

No sign of surrender can be seen on the video, prompting speculation that the clear images could have been doctored to support Israel's account of events.
However the Israeli Defence Force's version is supported by respected journalist and author Ron Ben Yishai, who accompanied the commandos on the raid. He claimed that most of them were armed only with paintball rifles.

In a report for an Israeli website, he wrote: 'Navy commandos slid down to the vessel one by one, yet then the unexpected occurred. The passengers that awaited them on the deck pulled out bats, clubs, and slingshots with glass marbles, assaulting each soldier as he disembarked. The fighters were seized one by one and were beaten up badly, yet they attempted to fight back.

'However, to their misfortune, they were only equipped with paintball rifles used to disperse minor protests.

'The paintballs obviously made no impression on the activists, who kept on beating up the troops and even attempted to wrest away their weapons.

'One soldier who came to the aid of a comrade was captured by the rioters and sustained severe blows. The commandos were equipped with handguns but were told they should use them only in the face of life-threatening situations.

'When they came down from the chopper, they kept on shouting to each other "don't shoot, don't shoot", even though they sustained-numerous blows. The forces hurled stun grenades yet the rioters on the top deck kept on beating up the commandos.

At one point, the attackers held one commando, wrested away his handgun and threw him down from the top deck to the lower deck 30ft below. The soldier sustained a serious head wound and lost consciousness.

'Only after this injury did troops ask for permission to use live fire. The commander approved it: "You can go ahead and fire". The soldiers pulled out their handguns and started shooting at the rioters' legs, a move that ultimately neutralised them.'