Israel's military released more video Wednesday of Monday's raid on a flotilla attempting to carry aid to Gaza that left nine dead. The video, uploaded by the Israel Defense Forces on their YouTube channel, has been annotated to show what the Israeli military says are attacks on its soldiers by the activists.
Here is the IDF's description of the video:
In footage captured on the Mavi Marmara, activists are seen attacking the soldiers with a stun grenade, a box of plates, and water hoses as the soldiers attempt to board the ship. the activists are also waiving around metal rods and chains later used to attack the soldiers with. The IDF soldiers were armed with paint ball guns (used for riot dispersal) and pistols which they were ordered to use only as a last resort.
Here's the video:
Israel initially released video of the raid Monday which it said showed its military being attacked as they boarded the flotilla. See more videos of the raid here. None of the videos released so far have managed to establish which side was responsible for instigating the deadly violence, despite both sides claiming their respective videos offer such evidence.
The New York Times' Robert Mackey suggests the Israeli military likely has a full video account of what happened.
Obviously the world would get a more complete picture of what took place on Monday if all of the video shot from both sides was released and posted online. At the moment, we are forced to rely on clips of the encounter that are only partial and fragmentary, as if this was the Zapruder film. The complete, original video is very likely time-coded and in the control of Israel's military. If the I.D.F. wants to present a complete picture of what happened, or when certain parts of the encounter were filmed, it could release the unedited footage.
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