Israel apologises to Turkey for flotilla raid

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologised to Turkey on Friday for a deadly raid on a Gaza aid flotilla and announced a full resumption of diplomatic ties as well as compensation.

The breakthrough, which ends a nearly three-year diplomatic rift, was engineered by US President Barack Obama at the tail end of a historic three-day visit to the Holy Land, the first of his presidency.

Speaking soon after Air Force One departed for Amman, a senior US official said the Israeli leader had apologised to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a special telephone call from Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv.

"On behalf of Israelis he apologised for any deaths those operational mistakes might have caused," the official said.

"Prime Minister Erdogan accepted the apology on behalf of Turkey," he added, saying Obama had also spoken with the Turkish leader.

Israel and Turkey both confirmed the apology.