Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said Sunday that results of an investigation into the behavior of IDF commando forces in a deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in May "enhance my sense of pride and confidence in the soldiers", Xinhua reported.
Israeli troops shot dead nine activists in what they said was self-defense, when they tried to take over the Gaza-bound Mavi Marmara in the early morning hours of May 31.
"The soldiers did not immediately open fire and even risked themselves to a great extent. One of them, who was being strangled, used a nearby shock grenade to rescue himself," Ashkenazi told the panel of judges in his second appearance in two months, according to the Ynet news site.
Ashkenazi said the soldiers showed restraint towards passengers "who should not have been hurt," and only responded with lethal force towards those who reportedly set upon the troops with knives, iron bars, and according to the army, small-weapons fire.
Night-vision video clips released in the wake of the clash show passengers setting on the naval commando forces as they alighted on deck after sliding down ropes from helicopters hovering above, and clambering aboard from boarding craft.
Characterized by Ashkenazi as "wild weeds who damaged the IDF's reputation," an IDF officer was convicted on Oct. 18 of stealing impounded computers and other belongings of passengers after the Turkish boat docked in Ashdod Port after the melee.
A military court handed down a five-month sentence to the first lieutenant, who was a squad commander in the botched takeover.
"We shall deal with the matter to the full extent of the law," Ashkenazi said.
Israel, fearing weapons smuggling into the enclave, imposed a blockade in 2007 after a violent takeover by Hamas, but eased the restrictions after international criticism of the operation.
Hamas officials on Saturday scattered ashes from the nine dead on Hamas militants' graves, according to the Ha'aretz newspaper.
An aid convoy who arrived in Gaza in recent days via Egypt brought the remains into the Gaza strip on Thursday, the report said.
"This action reiterates the strong ties between the Turkish people and the Palestinians in confronting Israel," senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar told the newspaper.