Turkey and 12 other southeastern European countries on Wednesday denounced the recent Israeli raid on an aid flotilla headed to Gaza, which left eight Turks and one Turkish American dead. The countries said in a joint declaration at the end of a Balkan summit that they want "an impartial, independent and internationally credible investigation on this matter." They also stressed the urgent need to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Nine pro-Palestinian activists eight Turks and an American-Turkish teenager were killed after a squad of naval commandos stormed a ship trying to breach Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip. Israel says its soldiers began shooting only after a mob of activists attacked them.