Activists on a Gaza-bound aid boat that was boarded by Israeli commandos were determined there would be violence, the head of an Israeli military probe into the deadly raid said yesterday.

“They (the activists) were committed to kill and be killed,” retired Israeli general Giora Eiland told the BBC’s Panorama television programme. Mr Eiland led an inquiry into the Israeli raid on the Mavi Marmara ferry on May 31, which left nine Turks, including a Turkish-American citizen, dead and dozens of others injured, including nine Israeli commandos.

The raid in international waters provoked a global backlash against Israel and led to the easing of a four-year blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Mr Eiland said the resistance from the activists on the aid boat “was huge, much above expectation” and said it was surprising there were not more deaths.

“Under the circumstances in a very complex area like a ship, the results – the deaths –are surprisingly low,” he told the BBC programme.

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