An American activist killed by Israeli fire is buried in Turkey as Israel strikes Gaza

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) — A Turkish-American activist who was killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank was laid to rest on Saturday in her hometown in Turkey with thousands lining the streets and anti-Israeli feelings in the country rising from a conflict that threatens to spread across the region.

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26-year-old woman from Seattle, was shot dead Sept. 6 by an Israeli soldier during a demonstration against Israeli West Bank settlements, according to an Israeli protester who witnessed the shooting.

Thousands of people lined the streets in the Turkish coastal town of Didim on the Aegean Sea, as Eygi was buried in a coffin draped in a Turkish flag, which was taken from her family home. A portrait of her wearing her graduation gown was propped against the coffin as people paid their respects.

Her body was earlier brought from a hospital to her family home and Didim’s Central Mosque.

Turkey’s condemned the killing and announced it will conduct its own investigation into her death. “We are not going to leave our daughter’s blood on the ground and we demand responsibility and accountability for this murder,” Numan Kurtulmus, the speaker of Turkey’s parliament told mourners at the funeral.

On Friday, an autopsy had been carried out at Izmir Forensic Medicine Institute. Kurtulmus said the examination showed Eygi was hit by a round that struck her in the back of the head below her left ear.

The Israeli military said Tuesday that Eygi was likely shot “indirectly and unintentionally” by Israeli forces.

Her death was condemned by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken as the United States, Egypt and Qatar push for a cease-fire in the 11-month-long Israel-Hamas war and the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas. Talks have repeatedly bogged down as Israel and Hamas accuse each other of making new and unacceptable demands.

The war began when Hamas-led fighters killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in an Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. They abducted another 250 people and are still holding around 100 hostages after releasing most of the rest in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel during a weeklong cease-fire in November. Around a third of the remaining hostages are believed to be dead.

Israeli airstrikes pounded central and southern Gaza overnight into Saturday, killing at least 14 people.

The strikes in Gaza City hit one home housing 11 people, including three women and four children, and another strike hit a tent in Khan Younis with Palestinians displaced by the Israel-Hamas war, Gaza's Civil Defense said. They followed airstrikes earlier this week that hit a tent camp on Tuesday and a United Nations school sheltering displaced on Wednesday.

The Israeli army on Saturday ordered Palestinians sheltering in the northern neighborhoods of Manshiyeh, Beit Lahia and Sheikh Zayed to evacuate south toward Gaza City. The order came after projectiles were fired from the area, the Israeli army said in a post on X. It remains unclear how many people are sheltering in those areas.

Meanwhile, a campaign to inoculate children in Gaza against polio drew down and the World Health Organization said about 559,000 under the age of 10 have recovered from their first dose, seven out of every eight children the campaign aimed to vaccinate. The second doses are expected to begin later this month as part of an effort in which the WHO said parties had already agreed to.

"As we prepare for the next round in four weeks, we’re hopeful these pauses will hold, because this campaign has clearly shown the world what’s possible when peace is given a chance,” Richard Peeperkorn, WHO’s representative in Gaza and the West Bank, said in a statement on Saturday.

The war has caused vast destruction and displaced around 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, often multiple times, and plunged the territory into a severe humanitarian crisis. Gaza’s Health Ministry says over 41,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its count, but says women and children make up just over half of the dead. Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 militants in the war.

__

Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip. Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo and Sam Metz in Rabat, Morocco, contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

The coffin of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26 year-old Turkish-American activist killed by the Israeli military, is carried during her funeral in Didim, Turkey, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024,(AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Turkish military police carry the coffin of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26 year-old Turkish-American activist killed by the Israeli military, for the funeral prayer outside the central mosque of Didim, Turkey, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024,(AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

A relative of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26 year-old Turkish-American activist killed by the Israeli military, mourns over her coffin during her funeral in Didim, Turkey, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024,(AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Demonstrators place a Palestinian flag next to a photograph of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26 year-old Turkish-American activist killed by the Israeli military, during a protest in her memory in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A woman holds up a poster that reads: "The Land" during a protest in memory of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26 year-old Turkish-American activist killed by the Israeli military, in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

People hold photographs of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26 year-old Turkish-American activist killed by the Israeli military, as they shout slogans during a protest in her memory in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

People hold up photographs of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26 year-old Turkish-American activist killed by the Israeli military, as they shout slogans during a protest in her memory in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A man holds up a photograph of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26 year-old Turkish-American activist killed by the Israeli military, during a protest in her memory in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A woman holds up a photograph of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26 year-old Turkish-American activist killed by the Israeli military, during a protest in her memory in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Relatives mourn the death of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26 year-old Turkish-American activist killed by the Israeli military, during her funeral in Didim, Turkey, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024,(AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

People hold Palestinian flags while attending the funeral of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26 year-old Turkish-American activist killed by the Israeli military, in Didim, Turkey, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024,(AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Mehmet, the father of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26 year-old Turkish-American activist killed by the Israeli military, left, attends prayers during his daughter's funeral outside the central mosque of Didim, Turkey, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024,(AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

People attend the funeral prayers for Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26 year-old Turkish-American activist killed by the Israeli military, outside the central mosque of City of Didim, Turkey, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Turkish military police carry the body of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26 year-old Turkish-American activist killed by the Israeli military, for the funeral prayer outside the central mosque of City of Didim, Turkey, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

People attend the funeral prayers for Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26 year-old Turkish-American activist killed by the Israeli military, outside the central mosque of City of Didim, Turkey, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Turkish authorities carry the coffin of Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi during a ceremony at Istanbul airport, in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (IHA via AP)

Women attend a funeral prayer in abstentia ceremony in memory of Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi killed by Israeli gunfire, at Fatih mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Men attend a funeral prayer in abstentia ceremony in memory of Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi killed by Israeli gunfire, at Fatih mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

An Israeli soldier lights candles at the entrance of a tunnel where the military says six Israeli hostages were recently killed by Hamas militants in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Israeli soldiers move next to destroyed buildings following Israeli strikes during a ground operation in the Gaza Strip on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian drones struck a large military depot in a town deep inside Russia overnight, causing a huge blaze and prompting the evacuation of some local residents, a Ukrainian official and Russian news reports said Wednesday.

The strike came as a senior U.S. diplomat said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recently announced — but still confidential — plan for winning the war “can work” and help end the conflict that is now in its third year.

Ukraine claimed the strike destroyed Russian military warehouses in Toropets, a town in Russia’s Tver region about 380 kilometers (240 miles) northwest of Moscow and about 500 kilometers (300 miles) from the border with Ukraine.

The attack was carried out by Ukraine’s Security Service, along with Ukraine’s Intelligence and Special Operations Forces, a Kyiv security official told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the operation.

According to the official, the depot housed Iskander and Tochka-U missiles, as well as glide bombs and artillery shells. He said the facility caught fire in the strike and was burning across an area 6 kilometers (4 miles) wide.

Russian state news agency RIA Novosti quoted regional authorities as saying air defense systems were working to repel a “massive drone attack” on Toropets, which has a population of around 11,000. The agency also reported a fire and the evacuation of some local residents.

There was no immediate information about whether the strikes had caused any casualties.

Successful Ukrainian strikes on targets deep inside Russia have become more common as the war has progressed and Kyiv developed its drone technology.

Zelenskyy is also seeking the approval from Western nations for Ukraine to use the sophisticated weapons they are providing to hit targets inside Russia. Some Western leaders have balked at that possibility, fearing they could be dragged into the conflict.

Ukraine’s targeting of Russian military equipment, ammunition and infrastructure deep inside Russia, as well as making Russian civilians feel some of the consequences of the war that is being fought largely inside Ukraine, is part of Kyiv's strategy.

The swift push by Ukrainian forces into Russia’s Kursk border region last month fits into that plan, which apparently seeks to compel Russian President Vladimir Putin to back down.

Putin, however, has shown no signs of backing down, and has been trying to grind down Ukraine's resolve through attritional warfare and also sap the West’s support for Kyiv by drawing out the conflict. That has come at a price, however, as the U.K. Defense Ministry estimates that the war has likely killed and wounded more than 600,000 Russian troops.

On Tuesday, Putin ordered the country’s military to increase its number of troops by 180,000 to a total of 1.5 million by Dec. 1.

Zelenskyy last month said his plan to victory includes not only battlefield goals but also diplomatic and economic wins. The plan has been kept under wraps but the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said during a news conference Tuesday that Washington officials have seen it.

“We think it lays out a strategy and a plan that can work,” she said, adding that the United States will bring it up with other world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly in New York next week. She did not comment on what the plan contains.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends the Fourth Crimea Platform Leaders Summit in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (Leon Neal/Pool via AP)