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For the Commandos, No Fiasco and Relatively Few Casualties
(Ha'aretz) Anshel Pfeffer - The naval commandos who participated in Monday's raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla have no doubt: They weren't battling "activists" aboard the Mavi Marmara, but terrorists. "Everyone who was there on the ship and saw what they had prepared understands this," said Capt. A., who commanded one boarding party. The commandos are dismayed by the view that the raid was a fiasco. They think the level of casualties on both sides was very low, given the circumstances. Within two minutes nearly half of the initial team had been wounded. The commandos actually gained control of the upper deck in about three minutes and began handcuffing the passengers. "But then there was a shout of 'live fire,' and that we had shooting casualties." Once the situation had stabilized - aided by the arrival of reinforcements - the commandos began to treat the wounded. They then began advancing toward the lower deck and the bridge. "There was fierce resistance," said Capt. A. "There were hundreds of people on the deck. In my estimation, between 50 and 100 of them were terrorists. There was still live fire being aimed on us, but that stopped at an early stage....They would jump on us from doors and windows with batons and knives. At this stage, we all stood with guns and fired at anyone coming at us with means or intent [to harm]." However, he said, the commandos fired "very selectively," and most of the passengers who were shot at that stage were only wounded.