The “activists” Kerry is mourning were members of the Turkish Islamist group IHH, the only reason they were killed is because they were attacking Israeli soldiers who boarded the ship.

(CNSNews.com) – Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday expressed sympathy for the families of nine Turkish activists killed during violent clashes with Israeli commandos who raided a ship trying to break the security blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

Speaking in Istanbul, Kerry commented on a recent U.S.-mediated deal aimed at ending a diplomatic rift between Israel and Turkey, whose Islamist government is supportive of Hamas. The agreement entailed an Israeli apology for “any errors that could have led to loss of life” during the 2010 incident and a pledge to negotiate compensation.

“Now, for the families, I would say to them we know what it’s like to have lost people in any kind of situation where you think somehow it was wrongful,” Kerry said.

“And we have ways of dealing with that. The government is working hard in order to address that,” he continued. “Our sympathies go to those families, and we hope that in the days ahead, that this issue can be appropriately resolved and put behind us so that we can move forward to the larger strategic challenges that we face.”