Reaction from around the world

United Nations: The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting on Israel's commando raid on the aid flotilla heading for the Gaza Strip.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, whose country had been a longtime Muslim ally of Israel, called the raid "banditry and piracy" and urged the council to adopt a statement circulated by Turkey. Many of the activists aboard the ships were Turks.

The draft text would have the council condemn the attack "in the strongest terms" as a violation of international law, express deep regret at the loss of life and call for an independent international investigation.

Turkey: Separately, Turkey recalled its ambassador and canceled military exercises with Israel. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan cut short a visit to Latin America. "This assault proved once again, clearly, that the current government of Israel does not want peace in the region," he said.

Arab League: The Arab League, which represents 22 countries, released a statement assailing "this terrorist act" and called for an "urgent meeting ... to look into this heinous crime." The meeting is expected to be held Tuesday.

United States: President Obama voiced "deep regret" over the loss of life but stopped short of criticizing Israel until full details of the incident emerged.

European Union: The European Union's foreign affairs chief, Catherine Ashton, said the bloc was deeply concerned and called on Israel to carry out an inquiry.

Once viewed only as a political nuisance by Israel's government, the group behind the Gaza aid flotilla has grown since its inception four years ago into a broad international movement that now includes Islamist organizations that Israeli intelligence agencies say pose a security threat to the Jewish state.

The Free Gaza Movement's evolution is among Israel's chief reasons for conducting Monday morning's raid on a ship carrying medicine, construction materials and other supplies. The movement once drew its support almost entirely from activists and donors in Australia, Britain and the United States. But the ship that Israeli forces stormed Monday morning was operated by a Turkish charity, Insani Yardim Vakfi, that Israeli intelligence agencies and others contend has connections to radical Islamist groups.

Itamar Rabinovich, a former Israeli ambassador to Washington, said there was a "qualitative change" to this Gaza aid mission compared with earlier ones that Israel's navy had let pass. He said the group on the Mavi Marmara vessel was "a front for a radical Islamist organization, probably with links to the ruling party in Turkey."

The movement's leadership rejected Israeli claims of an Islamist takeover. "That's absolutely ridiculous," said Ramzi Kysia, who sits on the board of the U.S. arm of the Free Gaza Movement. "There's always been an expectation that Israel would try to set an example with one of these flotillas. But the fact that they did so in this way is absolutely insane. The Israeli government is out of control."

"One of our goals is to bring in actual materials," said Adam Shapiro, a Free Gaza Movement board member whose wife, Huwaida Arraf, was aboard one of the boats seized Monday. "But there's also a political component. The blockade is a form of collective punishment, and nearly everyone talks about how it shouldn't be in place but never does anything about it. We're showing you must act."