As I have suspected from the beginning, it was the specter of additional hostages like Gilad Shalits, apparently four more, that led the Israeli marines to open fire. That is also the conclusion reached by Yücel Köse, who was on another flotilla ship, the Gazze, were no one was harmed. He said, the Mavi Marmara was attacked right before our eyes . . . . because they were angered that our friends held some of their soldiers.

Andre Abu Khalil, a Lebanese cameraman for Al Jazeera TV, recounted how"activists initially wounded and captured four Israelis from a first wave that boarded the ship. A second wave of troops tried to storm the ship after the four were taken below decks."

But even the second wave of marines did not land shooting. It was the Turkish attempt to prevent the Israelis from reaching the hostages that broke the camel's back:

"Twenty Turkish men formed a human shield to prevent the Israeli soldiers from scaling the ship. They had slingshots, water pipes and sticks. They were banging the pipes on the side of the ship to warn the Israelis not to get closer."

After a 10-minute standoff the Israelis opened fire.

"One man got a direct hit to the head and another one was shot in the neck," he said. In all he saw some 40 people wounded, some to the legs, eye, stomach and chest.

One activist used a loudhailer to tell the Israelis the four captive soldiers were well and would be released if they provided medical help for the wounded activists. With an Israeli Arab lawmaker acting as mediator, the Israelis agreed. Wounded were brought to the deck and were airlifted off the ship.

All the 9 dead were Jihadist IHH members. At least three wanted to be martyrs, Shaheeds.

UPDATE:"Peace activist" brags: "We had captured another Shalit"

Waleed al-Tabtabai, a member of Kuwai's national assembly and a Muslim Brotherhood member, was on the flotilla. In the Kuwaiti Al Rai newspaper, quoted by Palestine Today, he said that his group ad captured an Israeli soldier.

"We had a new Shalit; we captured him and he urinated on himself on the Marmala.

"I was on a humanitarian mission risking my self and spirit, and Israel has provided us witha great propaganda service with their barbaric brutality attacking vessels of freedom.

He refused to answer questions from the Zionist interrogator."I told him you are pirates ..and the killers of prophets."