In other news from the Middle East, Israel’s top general has revealed Israeli commandos fired 308 live bullets aboard a Gaza-bound aid ship in May, as well as some 350 beanbag rounds and non-lethal paintballs. Testifying on Sunday before Israeli’s state-appointed inquest, Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi justified the use of force and said Israel’s killing of eight Turks and one US citizen on the aid boat had been unavoidable.