JERUSALEM - Israel's navy killed four Palestinian activists in diver suits off the coast of Gaza early Monday in the first violence at sea since a deadly raid against an international flotilla last week killed 19 pro-Palestinian activists and set off an international storm of criticism against Israel. In Istanbul, a 20-member Asian security group kicked off a summit with Turkey seeking to condemn Israel for last Monday's raid. Israel has been enforcing a blockade of Gaza since 2007, when the Islamic activist Hamas seized the territory. Israel hoped it would weaken Hamas, prevent the entry of weapons and press for the release of an Israeli soldier captured in 2006, but the objectives have not been achieved. The blockade has been highlighted with the Israeli interception of the Gaza-bound ships and has prompted growing calls for Israel to lift or at least ease it. In Monday's incident, a naval force spotted Palestinians in diving suits in the waters off Gaza and opened fire, the military said. It added its forces prevented an attack on Israeli targets, but did not provide any further details. In a text message sent to reporters in Gaza, Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades - an activists offshoot of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction - said the four men killed were members of its marine unit who were training in Gaza's waters. The message said more details would be available at a press conference later Monday. Four bodies were retrieved and taken to a hospital in central Gaza, said Moawiya Hassanain, a Palestinian health official. The Palestinian naval police said two people were still missing. Also Monday, Palestinian officials said Israel fired a missile at Palestinian militants near the Gaza border, wounding one. The military said it targeted a group of militants preparing to fire rockets at Israel. The military said 10 rockets and mortars had been fired from Gaza in the past three weeks. "The bloody escalation today is a desperate attempt by the occupation government to divert the world attention away from the massacre committed against the flotilla," Hamas's spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told reporters in Gaza. A week after the raid, its fallout continued to reverberate around the world. Turkey, most important ally of Israel in the Muslim world, has said it will reduce military and trade ties with Israel and shelved discussions of energy projects. It has also threatened to break ties unless Israel apologizes for the raid last week.
