"There have been two flights in request and we refused both," the diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said.

He underlined that the two incidents did not indicate a general ban on Israeli overflights, and added that future requests would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

"This doesn't mean that we will refuse them in the future but we are taking them one by one," the diplomat said.

Civilian flights remain unaffected as they are an "international obligation", the diplomat said.

He did not give details of the two flights which were refused.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that an overflight request for an Israeli military plane heading to Poland was refused immediately after the May 31 raid on aid ships which left eight Turks and a dual US-Turkish citizen dead.

Turkish media quoted the Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot as saying that the military plane had been taking an army delegation of 100 officers to the former Nazi death camp of Auschwitz.

Turkey's English-language Hurriyet Daily News reported on Monday that a second flight had been barred, but gave no details.

Turkey's already strained ties with Israel, a one-time regional ally, have taken a sharp downturn since the May 31 raid, with Ankara recalling its ambassador and scrapping plans for three joint military exercises.

Senior officials have said that Turkey expects Israel to apologise for the deaths and injuries, compensate the victims' families, agree to an international inquiry and release three Turkish vessels seized in the operation.

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