Gaza Flotilla Carried 40 al-Qaeda Members, Says Israel

“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. Each 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.