French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday called for a credible and impartial inquiry into Israel's deadly raid on a flotilla of ships carrying aid to Gaza.

"The inquiry must be impartial, credible, transparent and conform to international criteria," he said, adding that it could be carried out by the United Nations or the International Red Cross.

Sarkozy was addressing an Africa-France summit in the city of Nice, where he again "condemned the disproportionate use of force by the Israelis."

On Monday Israeli troops stormed the aid flotilla in an attack that left nine people dead.

The aid convoy was seeking to overcome the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip which has been imposed almost continuously since Hamas took control there three years ago.