The death of the Mavi Marmara Assailant

(INDONESIA) This gripping tale unfolded 13 years ago, on the final third of the night of May 31, 2010. Six humanitarian aid ships carrying 10,000 tons of supplies, including food, medicine, clothing, medical equipment, and building materials, were nearing the waters of Gaza in the Mediterranean Sea.

One of these six ships carried 600 humanitarian volunteers from 32 countries, including Indonesia. They joined the Freedom Flotilla mission to deliver aid to the 1.8 million residents of Gaza, who had been under siege by Israel since 2007. Gaza had become an open-air prison for its inhabitants, and this was an effort to assist them.

However, before they could reach Gaza, the ships were intercepted by Israeli forces. Israel deployed 19 military speedboats, 2 destroyers, 2 submarines, and 2 commando helicopters. Ironically, the humanitarian ships were not armed and carried no weapons or ammunition.

Israeli forces stormed the ships in international waters, approximately 130 kilometers from Israel’s territorial waters. They descended from helicopters, armed with rifles, stun grenades, and tear gas, launching the assault that began at 04:30 local time and continued until 09:00.

Israeli forces not only halted the ships but also fired upon the volunteers. Nine volunteers lost their lives as a result of the gunfire, while one person passed away after being in a coma for 3.5 years. Fifty others were injured, including Surya Fachrizal, an Indonesian journalist who was shot in the chest.

The attack concluded with the volunteers being bound and left on the ships in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea until the afternoon. Subsequently, the Freedom Flotilla ships were forcibly towed to the port of Ashdod, Israel. The volunteers were then interrogated until the early hours of the morning, with some experiencing torture, coerced signing of false documents, and the collection of their fingerprints and retinal scans.

In a thrilling turn of events, news spread that Lieutenant Colonel Eli Ginsburg, the Israeli commander who led the attack on the Mavi Marmara ship, had been killed by Palestinian fighters.