Funeral of Turkish-American activist Aysenur Eygi as Israeli airstrikes kill 14 in Gaza

Aysenur Ezgi Eygia Turkish-American activist who, according to Israel, was probably killed by one of its soldiers, in West Bank a week ago, was buried on Saturday morning.

Eygi, a 26-year-old from Seattle with dual U.S. and Turkish citizenship, was buried in her hometown of Didim on the Aegean Sea.

Eygi's body had previously been taken from a hospital to her family's home and to the central mosque in Didim. Thousands of people say goodbye to her in the streets of the city, which were lined with Turkish flags.

The Turkish Justice Ministry announced an investigation into Eygi's death earlier this week.

“We will not leave our daughter's blood on the ground and demand responsibility and accountability for this murder,” Numan Kurtulus, speaker of the Turkish parliament, told mourners on Saturday.

Eygi's father said Thursday that the family calls for a similar investigation by the US governmentand said the US would normally investigate the killing of one of its citizens as if it “had an eagle on its coat of arms”, but claimed that “there is an attempt to evade the issue” when Israel is involved.

Eygi was a member of the International Solidarity Movement, a group that organized protests against Israel's occupation of the West Bank and its treatment of Palestinians since before the current war in Gaza began. On September 6, she attended a planned protest in the West Bank along with other activists and Palestinians. Protesters clashed with Israeli forces, but witnesses said Eygi was shot after the protest. She was standing alone under an olive tree when she was shot once in the head, CBS News previously reported.

The Israel Defense Forces said an initial investigation found it was “highly likely” that Eygi was “indirectly and unintentionally hit by Israeli forces fire, which was aimed not at her but at the main instigator” of the so-called riot.

Her death was condemned by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken while the United States, Egypt and Qatar are pushing for a ceasefire and the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas. always broken while Israel and Hamas accuse each other of making new and unacceptable demands.

Saturday was marked by violence in Gaza as Israeli airstrikes hit central and southern parts of the territory overnight. Strikes in Gaza City hit a house where 11 people lived, including three women and four children, while another attack hit a tent in Khan Younis. Earlier attacks this week hit a tent camp and a United Nations school housing displaced people.

The war began when Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in an attack on southern Israel on October 7. They kidnapped another 250 people and still hold around 100 hostages, having released most of the rest in exchange for Palestinians Israel held during a week-long ceasefire in November. Around a third of the remaining hostages are believed to be dead.

The war has caused enormous destruction and around 90% of the population of the Gaza Strip displaced 2.3 million people have been killed, often multiple times, and the territory has plunged into a severe humanitarian crisis. Gaza's Health Ministry says more than 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.