The 40 individuals had no identification papers, and a spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) did not explain how the link to al-Qaeda was established, simply saying they were investigated.
“We had intelligence on some of the people,” said Avital Leibovich, a spokesperson for the IDF.
According to Leibovich, the al-Qaeda connection was leaked by an unidentified member of the Israeli Parliament following Tuesday morning’s security cabinet briefing.
While no evidence has been provided thus far to back up the claim, the IDF is calling the 40 individuals “mercenaries belonging to the al-Qaeda terror organization.”
According to the IDF, the individuals wore bulletproof vests, and carried night vision goggles, and weapons. They all also had the exact same amount of a large cash sum in their pockets.
Other protesters aboard the Marmara were on the lower deck when Israeli commando forces landed on the ship early Monday morning, local time. The group of 40 remained on the top deck to fight.
Video released so far has shown that they sprayed commandos alongside the ship with water hoses and whipped at them with chains. Other commandos who descended by rope onto the ship deck from helicopters were beaten with metal poles, ambushed by groups of 10-15 people at a time, and shot at.
