Cyprus called in the Israeli ambassador on Monday over a deadly Israeli raid on an aid flotilla headed to Gaza which President Demetris Christofias described as 'criminal'. 'The killing of people is condemnable,' Christofias told reporters after the commando assault on the aid flotilla just west of the Mediterranean island. 'The loss of life -- of non-combatants in my estimation -- constitutes a criminal act,' he added. He spoke after the foreign ministry called in the Israeli ambassador to Cyprus to explain the military action against the aid convoy. Scuffles between riot police and pro-Palestinian activists later broke out in front of the embassy in Nicosia. 'The permanent secretary of the ministry of foreign affairs gave instructions to the political director to call the ambassador of Israel to Nicosia and ask for an official briefing and for information regarding his country's armed forces's operation,' a foreign ministry statement said. 'The firm position of the government of the Republic of Cyprus is that non- government organisations must be allowed to exercise their activities freely, always in the framework of legality and of the respect of law,' the ministry added. 'The Cyprus government reiterates its position for the immediate, continuous and unconditional access of humanitarian aid, of trade products and of individuals from and to Gaza.' Several hundred demonstrators gathered outside the embassy, waving Palestinian flags and burning makeshift Israeli flags. Clashes erupted when a handful of the protesters broke through a police cordon and started throwing stones. Riot police armed with batons pushed them back and some suffered minor injuries. Cyprus has been the jumping-off point for a series of bids to run the Israeli blockade of Gaza since it was imposed in 2007 when the Islamist Hamas movement seized control of the territory from forces loyal to Western-backed Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered his 'full backing' to the military following the raid on the maritime convoy, which killed at least nine people. 