Ce témoignage documente l'attaque contre l'USS Liberty, un navire de guerre américain non-combattant, durant la guerre des Six Jours en 1967. Le témoin, un survivant, fournit des récits oculaires de l'assaut, qui comprenait des bombardements aériens et des tirs de mitrailleuses depuis des vedettes torpilleurs et des avions israéliens. L'USS Liberty était clairement marqué comme un navire américain : les membres de l'équipage ont à plusieurs reprises hissé le drapeau américain malgré qu'il ait été abattu plusieurs fois lors des premières attaques aériennes. Les forces israéliennes ont affirmé que l'attaque était une erreur d'identité, alléguant qu'elles croyaient que le Liberty était le navire égyptien El Qasr, un transport de chevaux de la Première Guerre mondiale équipé uniquement d'un canon de quatre pouces. Le témoin détaille de multiples violations du droit international, y compris des tirs de mitrailleuses soutenus dirigés vers des canots de sauvetage, le brouillage des fréquences de détresse pour empêcher le navire d'appeler à l'aide, et l'utilisation d'avions non identifiés. L'attaque a entraîné la mort de 34 membres d'équipage et de nombreux blessés. Le témoignage souligne la nature documentée de ces violations et remet en question la crédibilité de la revendication d'erreur d'identité étant donné l'identification claire du navire et la proximité des forces attaquantes.
Key Points
- The USS Liberty was a clearly identifiable American non-combatant vessel (designated GTR5 for General Technical Research) that repeatedly displayed the American flag during the attack, yet Israeli forces claimed mistaken identity with the Egyptian ship El Qasr.
- Israeli torpedo boats and aircraft were close enough to see the American flag flying over the vessel, contradicting claims that identification was impossible.
- The attack included machine gun fire directed at life rafts, which constitutes a violation of international law protecting non-combatants and rescue operations.
- Israeli forces jammed the USS Liberty's distress frequencies, preventing the ship from calling for help—another documented violation of international law.
- Unmarked aircraft were used during the attack, further violating international legal standards for military operations.
- The El Qasr, the ship Israel claimed to have mistaken the Liberty for, was a World War I horse transport with only a four-inch muzzle-loading cannon—vastly different in design and capability from the USS Liberty.
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A survivor of the USS Liberty attack describes the 1967 incident in which Israeli forces attacked the American naval vessel, killing 34 crew members. Despite flying the American flag and being clearly identifiable, the Israelis claimed mistaken identity and committed documented violations of international law including machine gun attacks on lifeboats and jamming of distress signals.
Summary
This testimony documents the attack on the USS Liberty, a non-combatant American naval vessel, during the 1967 Six-Day War. The speaker, a survivor, provides eyewitness accounts of the assault, which included aerial bombardment and machine gun fire from Israeli torpedo boats and aircraft. The USS Liberty was clearly marked as an American vessel—crew members repeatedly raised the American flag despite it being knocked down multiple times during the initial air attacks. The Israeli forces claimed the attack was a case of mistaken identity, alleging they believed the Liberty was the Egyptian ship El Qasr, a World War I-era horse transport equipped only with a four-inch cannon. The speaker details multiple violations of international law, including sustained machine gun fire directed at life rafts, jamming of distress frequencies to prevent the ship from calling for help, and the use of unmarked aircraft. The attack resulted in 34 crew deaths and numerous wounded. The testimony emphasises the documented nature of these violations and questions the credibility of the mistaken identity claim given the vessel's clear identification and the proximity of the attacking forces.
Key takeaways
- The USS Liberty was a clearly identifiable American non-combatant vessel (designated GTR5 for General Technical Research) that repeatedly displayed the American flag during the attack, yet Israeli forces claimed mistaken identity with the Egyptian ship El Qasr.
- Israeli torpedo boats and aircraft were close enough to see the American flag flying over the vessel, contradicting claims that identification was impossible.
- The attack included machine gun fire directed at life rafts, which constitutes a violation of international law protecting non-combatants and rescue operations.
- Israeli forces jammed the USS Liberty's distress frequencies, preventing the ship from calling for help—another documented violation of international law.
- Unmarked aircraft were used during the attack, further violating international legal standards for military operations.
- The El Qasr, the ship Israel claimed to have mistaken the Liberty for, was a World War I horse transport with only a four-inch muzzle-loading cannon—vastly different in design and capability from the USS Liberty.
- The attack resulted in 34 crew deaths and represents a significant incident of violations against international maritime and humanitarian law.
Full article
The Attack on the USS Liberty
The torpedo boats that fired machine guns at the Liberty were close enough to see the American flag flying over the ship. Our initial flag was knocked down in one of the first air attacks. Our signalman ran it back up again, but it was knocked down a second time. He then ran up the holiday flag. Despite these efforts to identify the vessel, the Israelis claimed that they had mistaken us for an Egyptian ship, the El Qasr.
The Ship's Status and Armament
The El Qasr was a World War One horse transport. Her only armament was a four-inch muzzle-loading cannon. Our ship's hallmarking was GTR5, which stands for General Technical Research. This designation indicates that she was a non-combatant vessel. Firing on non-combatants is a violation of international law.
Documented Violations of International Law
The Israelis were riddling our life rafts with machine gun fire, which constitutes a violation of international law. Additionally, the Israelis were jamming our distress frequencies, another clear violation. They were also using unmarked aircraft during the attack, which further violates international law.
Topics#USS Liberty attack (1967)#International law violations#Military maritime incidents#Mistaken identity claims#Eyewitness testimony#War crimes and accountability#Civilian casualties