U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he considering all the options for an investigation into an Israeli raid aboard a ship carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip that ended in the deaths of nine pro-Palestinian activists.

The U.N. chief stepped off a plane from Africa Wednesday and immediately went into separate meetings with ambassadors from Israel, Turkey, the Arab States and the permanent five Security Council member countries.

Afterwards, he told reporters he is ready to take "the necessary action" to start a full investigation into the events on the Turkish flagged ship the Mavi Marmara. But he said he would proceed in a deliberate manner, discussing it with all the concerned parties, before making a decision on how to go forward.

"It [the investigation] should be one which can gain credibility and support from the parties concerned," said Ban Ki-moon. "This is a very sensitive and even difficult, therefore, I am still in the process of these consultations. I will try to make it as impartial, as credible, as transparent as possible."

Mr. Ban added that there are "various options" for the investigation, but would not go into details.

He urged the Israeli authorities to quickly provide a full and detailed accounting of the events surrounding the incident, including information on those detained, wounded and killed.

He also noted the decision by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council to send an international fact finding mission to the region to look into possible violations of international law.

Secretary-General Ban said the violence aboard the Turkish ship could have been avoided if Israel had heeded earlier calls to lift its three-year long blockade which has prevented essential goods from reaching Gaza's 1.5 million residents.

"This tragedy only highlights the serious underlying problem," he said. "The long-running closure imposed on the Gaza Strip is counter-productive, unsustainable and wrong. It punishes innocent civilians. It must be lifted by the Israeli authorities immediately."

Turkey and Arab states are calling for an independent, international probe into the raid by Israeli commandos on the Mavi Marmara, which was in international waters when it was intercepted. Israel says its soldiers were acting in self-defense because passengers attacked them when the commandos repelled onto the ship from helicopters.

On Tuesday, the U.N. Security Council called for a "prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation" into the incident. Several council members said that meant an independent investigation with international elements, while the United States said Israel is capable of investigating itself.

The Obama administration is refusing to condemn Israel for its deadly raid on a convoy of ships carrying aid to the Gaza Strip.

Facing reporters' repeated questions at the White House Tuesday, Mr. Obama's spokesman Robert Gibbs said the United States agrees with the wording of a U.N. Security Council statement on the controversial raid.

The Security Council said it "deeply regrets" the casualties that occurred during the Israeli military operation, and it condemned "those acts which resulted in the loss" of life. But the statement does not specifically blame Israel for the bloodshed.

President Obama telephoned Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has denounced the Israeli action as a "bloody massacre."

Four Turkish citizens were among the nine people killed when Israeli commandos boarded a flotilla of vessels carrying aid supplies to the Gaza Strip, and Turkey has led the international outcry against Israel for its actions.

Turkey also has called for an independent investigation of the incident - not a probe conducted by Israel. Russia and the European Union issued a joint call Tuesday for an impartial probe, and separately condemned Israel's use of deadly force.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appealed for restraint by all sides Tuesday. She voiced support for an Israeli probe of the assault on the aid convoy, saying any inquiry must be prompt, impartial, credible and transparent, as outlined by the Security Council.

Israel has said its troops fired shots in self defense after they boarded the aid convoy in international waters and encountered resistance.

A White House statement about Mr. Obama's conversation with Prime Minister Erdogan says the president expressed his condolences for Turkey's losses and stressed the importance of finding better ways to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza without undermining Israel's security.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been scheduled to visit President Barack Obama at the White House Tuesday, but canceled the trip and returned to Israel from Canada.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas is expected to meet Mr. Obama at the White House June 9 as scheduled.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.

Israel says it is speeding up deportation of hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists who were aboard ships stormed by Israeli commandos this week. The raid in the Mediterranean this week killed nine activists and sparked a storm of worldwide protests.

More than 100 deported activists have arrived at the Jordanian border.

They had hoped to break the blockade on Gaza but, instead, were taken by Israeli authorities early Wednesday on buses from a prison at Bersheeva in Israel to the Allenby bridge on Jordan's border.

Israel says it wants to get all of the activists out of the country within two days.

The deportees are from countries including Indonesia, Pakistan, Mauritania, and a number of other nations that have no diplomatic ties with Israel.

The deportees, who included journalists aboard the vessels, spoke of their experiences after Israeli commandos stormed the ships in the early hours of Monday and during their detention in Israel. This man, arriving at the border, complained of what he describes as brutal treatment by the Israelis.

He says what he saw were tragic and bloody scenes. He says he had thought that Israel, a democratic state, would differentiate between militants and civilians and, within civilians, see the difference between journalists and human rights activists. He says he was surprised the Israeli reaction was so violent.

Israel has released more video of the raid on the open sea. The sound of gunshots and shouting tell of violence in the moments that Israeli commandos descended from helicopters onto the deck of the Turkish-flagged main vessel of the flotilla.

One of the commandos, speaking to Israeli TV from his hospital bed, said activists attacked him first.

He says those he encountered on the deck of the ship were not peace activists. He expected verbal and forceful opposition, but not with such strength. He says each and every one who approached him on the deck, he could perceive was out to kill him.

Israel says its commandos acted in self-defense and said it regrets the loss of life.

None of the explanations, however, have quelled the protests around the world.

In Turkey, anti-Israel demonstrations have prompted the Israeli government to order the families of Israeli diplomats to leave the country.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected criticism of his commandos' storming of an activist flotilla that was trying to break the blockade on Gaza. The raid, Monday, killed nine activists. International criticism is growing, but as our correspondent reports, Israel is not bowing to international pressure for it to lift the blockade on the Palestinian enclave.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was unapologetic in the face of mounting criticism.

"Israel regrets the loss of life," said Benjamin Netanyahu. "But we will never apologize for defending ourselves."

He said the flotilla that Israeli commandos raided on Monday intended to break the blockade, not bring aid to Gaza.

Mr. Netanyahu said Israel could not afford to let the flotilla break the blockade, saying that would have been followed by hundreds of boats possibly carrying missiles to the militant Islamist group Hamas that rules Gaza.

"Hamas is smuggling thousands of Iranian rockets, missiles, and other weaponry, smuggling it into Iran to establish a Mediterranean port a few dozen kilometers from Tel Aviv and from Jerusalem," he said.

Mr. Netanyahu said Israel has a right to inspect cargo going into Gaza.

"And we do let civilian goods get into Gaza," said Netanyahu. "There's no humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Each week an average of 10,000 tons of goods enter Gaza. There's no shortage of food. There's no shortage of medicine. There's no shortage of other goods. So our naval personnel had no choice but to board these vessels."

Israeli authorities said they speeded up deportation of the activists and cleared the last of the nearly 700 people who were aboard the flotilla for departure. Some were flying out on Turkish and Greek airplanes. Another group of nationals of countries that have no diplomatic ties to Israel were bussed to the Jordanian border.

Some, like this man, complained of brutal treatment by the Israelis.

He says he witnessed tragic and bloody scenes. He says he was surprised that Israel, as a democratic state, would mistreat people, and that its reaction was so violent.

Israel dropped plans to prosecute some of the activists for attacking the commandos. But this, along with the release of the activists, and the government's repeated efforts to justify the raid at sea is not stopping the growing wave of criticism.

The parliament of Turkey, where most of the flotilla activists are from, is calling for a review of all of its ties to Israel.

British Prime Minister David Cameron described the raid completely unacceptable and called on Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza.

The raid, which came just weeks after the start of U.S.-brokered proximity talks, has cast further doubt on the peace process.

U.S. special envoy George Mitchell is back in the region, but has announced no plans to meet with Israeli leaders.

Italy's foreign minister says Afghan authorities have released three Italian aid workers detained in southern Afghanistan earlier this month.

Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Sunday he was satisfied with the swift resolution of the case.

Afghan authorities in the southern city of Lashkar Gah arrested the three members of the Italian medical charity Emergency, along with six other employees, on April 10. Authorities had accused the aid workers of involvement in a plot to kill the governor of Helmand province.

Afghan police said weapons and suicide vests were found in the hospital where they worked. The aid workers strongly denied the accusations.

The Italian foreign minister said the release came about without "putting into question" Italy's solidarity with Afghanistan in the international fight against terrorism.

Italy has more than 3,000 troops serving in Afghanistan with the NATO-led international forces.

Meanwhile, NATO says one of its service members has died from a roadside bomb attack in southern Afghanistan. The soldier's nationality was not given in Sunday's statement. NATO previously reported the killing of two Dutch soldiers Saturday by a roadside bomb in Uruzgan province. The Netherlands' Defense Ministry said a third Dutch soldier was seriously wounded in that attack. It is not clear if the latest service member to die was that wounded soldier.

NATO also says Afghan and international forces found two caches of weapons in the Garm Ser and Lashkar Gah districts of Helmand province Saturday. The weapons included assault rifles, explosive devices and materials used in bomb-making.

Another joint patrol found a cache of weapons in Kandahar province after receiving a tip from an Afghan civilian. NATO added Sunday that Afghan and international forces found more than 1,700 kilograms of opium and about 280 kilograms of hashish in two trucks in Helmand province on Saturday.

The joint force took the truck occupants into custody and plans to destroy the narcotics.