Israel Boards Gaza-Bound Ship

Israel says it has successfully boarded and redirected an Irish ship bound for Gaza to the Israeli port of Ashdod, avoiding another violent confrontation with activists. The MV Rachel Corrie, whose passengers include Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malread Maguire, set sail to protest Israel's blockade against Gaza and is carrying medical and building supplies. Meanwhile, the Guardian says autopsy reports by Turkish investigators of the nine men killed on the flotilla raided by Israeli forces earlier this week reveal they were shot a total of 30 times, five fatally in the head. Israel said the results of the autopsy don't bolster criticism its soldiers acted inappropriately. "The only situation when a soldier shot was when it was a clearly a life-threatening situation," a spokesman for the Israeli embassy in London told the Guardian. "Pulling the trigger quickly can result in a few bullets being in the same body, but does not change the fact they were in a life-threatening situation."