A day after an Israel military raid on an international flotilla trying to breach the blockade left nine foreign activists dead, Egypt, an important partner for Israel in keeping tight control over the flow of goods into the territory, said it would open the land border with Gaza for humanitarian purposes.  Israel’s relations with Turkey, once relatively close, also came under heavy strain. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey called the raid on the Turkish ship, which killed at least four Turkish citizens, a “bloody massacre” and said Israel should immediately end “the inhumane embargo on Gaza.”  At the same time, the volatile Israel-Gaza border seemed to be heating up. Israeli soldiers killed two gunmen from the Islamic Jihad who had infiltrated Israel early Tuesday. Later in the day, the Israeli air force struck a group of militants in northern Gaza who were preparing to fire rockets at Israel, killing three.  While a growing number of countries view the Israeli blockade as counterproductive, causing more harm to the population of 1.5 million Palestinians than it does to Hamas, Israeli officials insisted Tuesday that it was a vital Israeli security interest and even a matter of life and death.  “We know the meaning of allowing these boats to reach Gaza,” Silvan Shalom, an Israeli minister, told Army Radio, warning that they could bring “missiles, mortars and Iranians who will help them arm and train.”  The Obama administration backed the Security Council resolution that condemned “acts” resulting in the nine deaths on the large Turkish boat, the Mavi Marmara. But American officials said relatively little about the matter and diluted demands for condemnation exclusively of Israel. The statement called for an impartial investigation into the confrontation.  “The Security Council deeply regrets the loss of life and injuries resulting from the use of force during the Israeli military operation in international waters against the convoy sailing to Gaza,” the statement said, adding that the 15-member body “in this context, condemns those acts which resulted in the loss” of lives.  Israel had issued multiple warnings to the pro-Palestinian flotilla, which was carrying thousands of tons of aid intended for Gaza despite an Israel ban on direct shipments to the territory. Israeli naval commandos intercepted the ships early Monday, setting off a violent confrontation that left the nine activists dead and many other injured, including seven Israeli soldiers.  Israel said its soldiers had acted in self-defense in response to violent resistance to their interception. After the raid, Israel seized hundreds of activists, as well as the ships.  Many of those activists remained in custody in southern Israel on Tuesday, awaiting deportation; at least 48 who had agreed to identify themselves to the Israeli authorities, including a former American diplomat, Edward Peck, and the Swedish writer Henning Mankell, were on their way back home. The government said late Tuesday that it intended to deport all the activists within 48 hours.  Israel did not provide journalists with access to those detained. But some European activists on board the flotilla, who were deported and returned home, disputed Israeli accounts of the confrontation.  Norman Paech, a former member of the Left Party in Germany who was aboard the Marmara, said he had seen only three activists resisting the naval commandos, and called the Israeli response a violent overreaction.  “They had no knives, no axes, only sticks that they used to defend themselves,” Mr. Paech said at a news conference in Berlin after returning from Tel Aviv. He said, however, that he could not rule out that others on the boat had used weapons against the soldiers.  Egypt’s decision to temporarily open its border with Gaza was a victory for Hamas, the Islamic militant group that holds sway in the Palestinian enclave and has sought to raise pressure on Egypt to stop cooperating with the Israeli embargo. The opening of the border caused thousands of Gazans to stream toward the crossing at Rafah.  Israel also will face a fresh test in coming days of its policy of intercepting sea shipments, which it tightened after the 2008-2009 Gaza war. The pro-Palestinian Free Gaza Movement is planning to send a 1,200-ton cargo ship, the Rachel Corrie, to challenge the naval blockade as early as next week.  Israeli officials vowed that it, too, would be stopped.  “There will be lessons learned” at the tactical level, one government official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly. “But the policy is the policy. We are talking about another interception at sea.”  Israel began transferring to Gaza the cargo it had unloaded from the six-boat flotilla at a naval base in the Israeli port of Ashdod. The military said it included toys, some wheelchairs and a lot of used clothes.  Col. Moshe Levi, commander of the Israeli military’s Gaza Coordination and Liaison Administration, said there was “no need for this cargo.” Tons of supplies, including medical equipment, have been going into Gaza all year through the Israeli-controlled land crossings, he said.  While condemnation of Israel in the Security Council is not uncommon, the criticism at the emergency session called by Turkey and Lebanon was notable for both its vehemence and for the broad array of countries demanding an independent investigation.  Gérard Araud, the French ambassador, said the death toll indicated that “there was disproportionate use of force and a level of violence which nothing justifies and which we condemn.”  Several envoys said Israel was in violation of international law, not least because Security Council Resolution 1860, passed in January 2009 during the Gaza war, called for ending the blockade and opening unfettered access to humanitarian assistance throughout the strip.  The United States, which habitually defends Israel in the council, said the attempt to run the blockade by sea had been ill-advised.  “Direct delivery by sea is neither appropriate nor responsible, and certainly not effective, under the circumstances,” said Alejandro D. Wolff, the deputy permanent representative of the United States. But he also described the situation in Gaza as “unsustainable” and called on Israel to undertake a credible investigation.  Reporting was contributed by Fares Akram from Gaza, Mona El-Naggar from Cairo, Dina Kraft from Tel Aviv, Rina Castelnuovo from Ashdod, Israel, and Alan Cowell from Paris.
The day after a raid that left nine activists dead, Egypt reopened its border with Gaza to allow aid to arrive.