Israeli forces opened fire on at least two vessels in an aid flotilla sailing towards Gaza on Tuesday, according to video footage and flotilla organisers, but Israel said no live ammunition was used and there were no casualties.
Video from the flotilla's livestream showed soldiers firing shots at two of the boats, but the type of ammunition was not clear. Another spokesperson for the flotilla said six vessels had been fired at.
"At no point was live ammunition fired," the Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement. "Following multiple warnings, non-lethal means were employed toward the vessel - not toward protesters - as a warning. No protesters were injured during this event," it added, only referring to action against one vessel.
The Global Sumud Flotilla said on its website that 48 vessels had been intercepted, with some 400 people detained and two boats still sailing in the eastern Mediterranean.
Israel's foreign ministry had said on social media on Monday that it, "will not allow any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza".
Speaking in Ankara late on Monday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan condemned the intervention against the "voyagers of hope" in the flotilla and called on the international community to act against Israel's actions, in a rather hypocritical statement.
Ships from the Global Sumud Flotilla had set sail for a third time on Thursday from southern Turkey, after earlier attempts to break the Gaza blockade were intercepted by Israel in international waters.
The group previously said there were 426 people taking part in the flotilla from 39 countries.
Israel's foreign ministry has called on, "all participants in this provocation to change course and turn back immediately".
The US Treasury said on Tuesday it was imposing sanctions against four people associated with what it described as the pro-Hamas flotilla.
(Reporting by Omer Berberolgu, Daren Butler, Alexander Cornwell, Nina Lopez; Editing by Timothy Heritage, Alex Richardson, Baird Maritime)
