The Israeli military said its forces seized a Gaza-bound aid vessel today, preventing it from breaking a maritime blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory.

I NOTE the ship attacked by the Israeli defence forces (IDF) was funded by the Turkish IHH, which is widely accepted to be an extreme fundamentalist organisation with links to al-Quaida.

ISRAELI naval commandos stormed a flotilla of ships carrying aid and hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists to the blockaded Gaza Strip yesterday, killing as many as 19 people in a botched raid that provoked international outrage and a diplomatic crisis.

Two Irish campaigners were detained tonight in Israel after being arrested on a humanitarian mission to Gaza in which at least 15 people were shot dead.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen today blamed the Israeli blockade of Gaza for a commando assault on a flotilla of aid ships which left at least 15 people dead and scores injured.

Israeli commandos today stormed six ships carrying hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists on an aid mission to the blockaded Gaza Strip, killing at least 10 people and wounding dozens more.

Eight Irish people were travelling on a flotilla of aid ships where 15 people were reportedly shot dead today by Israeli commandos.

Israeli warships attacked at least one of the six ships carrying pro-Palestinian activists and aid for blockaded Gaza today, killing at least ten and wounding an unknown number of people on board, reports said.