Israel's leader defiantly refused on Sunday to apologize to Turkey for a deadly Israeli raid on a Turkish-led flotilla bent on breaching Israel's Gaza Strip blockade, an incident that has battered a relationship once seen as a cornerstone of regional stability. In his first public remarks since Turkey announced Friday that it would expel the Israeli ambassador over the affair, Benjamin Netanyahu expressed Israel's regret for the loss of lives in the May 2010 raid and said he hoped to mend ties with Turkey, formerly Israel's closest ally in a Muslim world largely hostile to its existence. Ankara had wanted Israel to apologize for the deaths and lift the embargo on Gaza, a Palestinian territory run by Hamas militants with a long history of deadly violence against Israel. Netanyahu said Israel, in trying to keep arms from reaching Gaza, had nothing to apologize for. "We need not apologize for acting to defend our civilians, our children and our communities," Netanyahu told his Cabinet and journalists.