Washington activist killed by Israeli fire buried in Turkey as Israel strikes Gaza

A Turkish-American activist with ties to Washington who was killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank was buried and 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.

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

US officials condemn the shooting of the Washington activist

Multiple members of Congress from the state of Washington want a federal investigation into the Eygi’s killing.

Democratic politicians from Washington U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray signed a joint letter sent to President Joe Biden and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

In the letter they call for “an immediate, transparent, credible, and thorough” U.S. investigation into the killing of Ayşenur Eygi’s killing. They requested an answer by Sept. 24.

The family & loved ones of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi—the WA state resident killed in the West Bank—deserve to know their government has done everything it can to fully understand what led to her killing & pursue accountability.
@RepJayapal & I are calling on @POTUS for a full, US-led… pic.twitter.com/kxtS9thuej

— Senator Patty Murray (@PattyMurray) September 11, 2024

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, Washington’s other Democratic senator, also sent a letter to Biden and Blinken asking the White House and the State Department to order an independent investigation into Eygi’s death, noting she wants the U.S. government to do “everything it can to fully understand what led to her death and pursue accountability for those involved.”

I’ve asked President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken to order a full, independent investigation into the killing of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi.

As Vice President Harris stated, “No one should be killed for participating in a peaceful protest.” pic.twitter.com/2Cjw1LUo4d

— Sen. Maria Cantwell (@SenatorCantwell) September 12, 2024

Her death was condemned by 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.

In a statement Wednesday, Biden said he was “outraged and deeply saddened” by Eygi’s death. He also called for “full accountability.”

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.

Eygi’s ties to Washington

Eygi has deep ties to Seattle. She was a recent graduate at the University of Washington, and also prayed at a mosque downtown, the Muslim Association of Puget Sound.

“I’m absolutely devastated. The whole community is,” said Aria Fani, an assistant professor of Middle Eastern languages and cultures at UW, said, according to The Seattle Times. Fani had taught Eygi in a translation studies class and got to know her well.

“It’s a huge tragedy,” she added.

Previous coverage: Washington woman killed by Israeli military was a recent UW grad

Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza

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.

Contributing: The Associated Press; Steve Coogan, MyNorthwest; Sam Campbell, KIRO Newsradio