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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Joanna Walters (now); Martin Belam, Yohannes Lowe and Adam Fulton (earlier)

Middle East crisis: Israel criticised for strike that killed seven aid workers in Gaza – as it happened

Gaza World Central Kitchen Israel Joe Biden John Kirby United States Antony Blinken the White House (Organization) WCK Roberta Metsola
Zomi Frankcom, left, and Damian Sobol were among the aid workers killed in Israeli strike.
Zomi Frankcom, left, and Damian Sobol were among the aid workers killed in Israeli strike. Composite: World Central Kitchen, Reuters

Closing Summary

Hello again, global live blog readers, it’s around 9.30pm in Gaza City and Tel Aviv. We are closing this blog now, thanks for following our coverage of the news in the Middle East as it happens. Our latest report on the killing of seven humanitarian aid workers by the Israeli military can be read here.

Here’s where the day stands:

  • Joe Biden is conveying his condolences to the World Central Kitchen staff killed in Gaza by the Israeli military on Monday night and the White House has expressed that the administration is “outraged” over the tragic killing of the workers by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).

  • US secretary of state Antony Blinken has called the World Central Kitchen humanitarian workers killed in Gaza “heroes.” Blinken is in Paris, meeting with government ministers in the French capital, and took part in a press conference after a meeting at the ministry of foreign affairs. He has called for “a swift, a thorough and impartial investigation.”

  • The killing of seven humanitarian workers with the international aid organization World Central Kitchen has been summed up by United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric as “the inevitable result of the way this war is being conducted.”

  • Israel’s prime minister has admitted Israeli forces killed seven humanitarian aid workers in Gaza in an airstrike yesterday. Saying “This happens in wartime,” Benjamin Netanyahu described it as “a tragic case of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people in the Gaza Strip.”

  • Three of the seven people killed were British nationals. The UK summoned the Israeli ambassador in London saying Israel must “put in place an effective deconfliction mechanism immediately and urgently to scale up humanitarian access”. The UK’s foreign secretary David Cameron said the deaths were “completely unacceptable”.

  • The group had been travelling in two armoured vehicles branded with the World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity’s logo. WCK said those killed were from the UK, Australia, Poland and Palestine, as well as a US-Canada dual citizen. The charity said it was suspending operations in the Palestinian territory.

  • US president Joe Biden’s administration said it had been in touch with José Andrés, who founded WCK. Secretary of state Antony Blinken said the US had also spoken directly to the Israeli government about the issue. He told the media “We’ve urged a swift, a thorough and impartial investigation to understand exactly what happened.”

  • France’s foreign minister Stéphane Séjourné on Tuesday said his country “strongly condemned” the Israeli airstrike, which “nothing can justify”.

  • Israel has said it plans to open a joint situation room with international groups to enable the coordination of humanitarian aid. WCK on Monday said in its statement about the attack that “Despite coordinating movements with the IDF, the convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse.”

  • Cyprus said on Tuesday afternoon that ships that recently arrived in Gaza were turning back with 240 tonnes of undelivered aid. “At least two-thirds of the assistance is on its way back,” Cyprus’s foreign minister spokesperson, Theodoros Gotsis, told the Guardian.

  • UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric has said that the organisation’s secretary-general António Guterres condemns an attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, calling for “utmost restraint”. The attack, which killed at least 11 people, including a senior commander in the al-Quds force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), has been widely attributed to Israel. Turkey said the attack was a violation of international law by Israel. Iran’s leaders in Tehran described the targeting of a diplomatic mission late on Monday as unprecedented and promised a harsh response.

  • Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant said Israel would “act everywhere, every day to prevent the force buildup of our enemies. We are in a multi-front war, in the offence and defence. We see evidence of this every day, including in recent days”. He said Israel was acting “to make it clear to everyone who acts against us, all over the Middle East, that the price for acting against Israel will be a heavy price.”

  • Israel’s delegation will return from Cairo having formulated a new proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas, according to reports.

  • The World Health Organization (WHO) said the destruction of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza amounted to “ripping the heart out” of the health system of the territory.

Over in Cyprus the European Parliament’s visiting president, Roberta Metsola, has said “all resources” must be used to find out how an Israeli airstrike on a humanitarian convoy could ever have occurred.

“We must use all our resources to get answers, to bring in more relief,” said the

The Maltese politician spoke after touring the joint rescue and coordination centre in Larnaca, the Cypriot port that has become the distribution point for aid dispatched via the recently inaugurated maritime route to Gaza.

“Humanitarian organisations like World Central Kitchen must be protected,” he said.

Escorting Metsola, Cypriot president Nikos Christodoulides described the charity as a “crucial partner in sending much-needed assistance” to the Palestinian territory.

“I express our sincere condolences to the WCK and the countries which have lost their citizens, and we call for an immediate and complete investigation,” he said. “The tragic events of last night prove once again that this is not a regional crisis of limited concern or impact. Its effects reverberate across the region.”

Christodoulides said as the closest EU member state to the Middle East, Cyprus had a “moral obligation to ease the suffering of civilians in Gaza” although he stressed the humanitarian sea corridor was not a substitute for aid reaching the besieged coastal strip through land routes or airdrops.

Standing alongside Metsola as he addressed reporters he said:

Your presence here today as president of the European parliament, representing almost 400 million European citizens, is a strong message that Europe and its citizens care deeply about the severely deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, and that they stand behind initiatives to alleviate the crisis.

Despite the fact that US secretary of state Antony Blinken did not formally condemn the strike by the Israeli military that killed seven aid workers with the World Central Kitchen organization, the White House has followed up at the daily press briefing, claiming that its expression of outrage adds up to a condemnation.

National security spokesman John Kirby was asked why the US was not condemning the strike, given that Blinken, speaking at a press conference earlier in Paris, did not do so while his French counterpart did.

Kirby said that by his expressing outrage at the strike, when he spoke from the west wing podium in the press briefing room in Washington moments ago, could be read as condemnation of the strike by the White House.

Kirby said there was no evidence as yet that the Israeli Defense Forces killed the aid workers in Gaza deliberately.

He also said it continued to be the US position that in the Israeli military offensive against Hamas in Gaza in the last five months, Israel has not violated international humanitarian law.

Kirby, in addition, said that the US was not involved “in any way” with the Israeli air strike on Iran’s embassy compound in Damascus in Syria on Monday.

Biden sends "deepest condolences" to aid workers killed

Joe Biden is conveying his condolences to the World Central Kitchen workers killed in Gaza by the Israeli military on Monday night, the White House announced moments ago.

The White House is “outraged” over the tragic killing of the workers by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).

At the latest media briefing in the west wing in Washington, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the US president sends his “deepest condolences” over those killed and he is “grieving with the entire World Central Kitchen” team.

Biden acknowledges the “tremendous contribution” that WCK has made to “the people of Gaza and people around the world,” Jean-Pierre said.

Biden wishes to “make clear to Israel that humanitarian workers need to be protected,” she said.

National security spokesman John Kirby, also at the briefing, added that the White House was “outraged by the IDF strike” on people “working to get food to those who need it.” Kirby said the US expects an investigation and “appropriate accountability.”

A fresh warning of famine in Gaza comes in the joint World Bank and United Nations report released on Tuesday.

Beyond the structural damage found in Gaza as a result of Israeli bombardment, the report echoes multiple reports in recent weeks signaling that famine is imminent in the besieged Palestinian territory.

More than half of Gaza’s population is on the brink of famine, with the whole population “experiencing acute food insecurity and malnutrition,” the report found, and the Agence France-Presse (AFP) wire says.

An estimated 84 percent of Gaza’s health facilities have been damaged or destroyed, while three quarters of the population have been displaced by the fighting, leaving more than a million people without homes.

The report, created using remote data collection sources, found that Gaza’s water and sanitation system had “nearly collapsed,” and was delivering less than five percent of its pre-war output.

All – 100 percent – of Gaza’s children are out of official school due to the collapse of the education system, while 92 percent of its primary roads were either destroyed or damaged, according to the World Bank.

The new report calls for:

An increase in humanitarian assistance, food aid and food production; the provision of shelter and rapid, cost-effective, and scalable housing solutions for displaced people; and the resumption of essential services.”

A lot of Gaza is in ruins as the war on Hamas by Israel approaches the end of its fifth month, following Hamas’s murderous attack on southern Israel on October 7, last year, killing around 1,200 people and taking hostages, more than 100 of whom are still being held in the Palestinian territory by Hamas and other Islamist groups.

Here are some images of the damage in the strip, following the release of a report about that by the World Bank and the UN.

More from Gaza City.

And Rafah.

The cost of damage to Gaza’s critical infrastructure between October and January is estimated at about US$18.5bn, according to a joint World Bank and the United Nations report released on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

This is equivalent to 97 percent of the combined economic output of the West Bank and Gaza in 2022, the World Bank said in its interim damage assessment, which covers the period between the onset of the conflict on October 7 and the end of January.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) adds that the report, produced with the United Nations and the European Union, found structural damage affected “every sector of the economy,” with more than 70 percent of the estimated costs due to the destruction of housing.

The Israeli military’s heavy aerial bombardment in the aftermath of the attack, and its ongoing ground operations inside Gaza, have reduced many areas of the territory to rubble, creating an estimated 26 million tons of debris.

For several sectors, the rate of damage appears to be leveling off as few assets remain intact,” the Bank said.

Updated

Killed Gaza aid workers were 'heroes', says US secretary of state Blinken

US secretary of state Antony Blinken has called the World Central Kitchen humanitarian workers killed in Gaza “heroes.”

Blinken is in Paris, meeting with government ministers in the French capital, and took part in a press conference after a meeting at the ministry of foreign affairs.

Blinken has called for “a swift, a thorough and impartial investigation” into the killings of the seven workers on Monday night by Israeli forces, Reuters reported.

These people are heroes, they run into the fire, not away from it. We shouldn’t have a situation where people who are simply trying to help their fellow human beings are themselves at grave risk.”

But Blinken stopped short of directly condemning the attack, unlike his French counterpart Stephane Sejourne.

Biden faces pressure from foreign partners, human rights groups and some of his fellow Democrats in Congress to impose conditions on arms transfers to rein in Israel’s offensive in Hamas-ruled Gaza.

Hours before the Israeli strike on WCK workers on Monday, Reuters reported that the Biden administration was considering proceeding with an $18bn arms transfer package to Israel.

Asked if incidents like the killing of WCK workers made the United States think twice about its “flood of weapons” to Israel, Blinken did not address the specific question but said all US arms transfers happened consistent to policy requirements.

Updated

Senior UN aid official Sigrid Kaag met with World Central Kitchen (WCK) staff just hours before they were killed, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

Let humanitarian workers do their job,” Dujarric said was his message to the Israeli government.

Seven aid workers trying to deliver much-needed food to Gaza were killed in an Israeli strike in the city of Deir al-Balah on Monday night.

The Israeli government confirmed its military had carried out “an unintended strike”, hours after WCK, an international charity that has brought hundreds of tonnes of food aid into Gaza, said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were responsible.

Killing of World Central Kitchen workers "inevitable result" of how this war is conducted - UN

The killing of seven humanitarian workers with the international aid organization World Central Kitchen has been summed up by United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric as “the inevitable result of the way this war is being conducted,” Reuters reports.

The United Nations again called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas, Dujarric said.

He added that at least 196 humanitarian personnel have been killed in Gaza in the current offensive by Israel on the Palestinian territory.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid is reportedly going to make a visit to Washington DC next week.

There isn’t much detail about but Lapid is the main political rival to the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and this past weekend he called the current crisis “an existential moment” for Israel and said he’d “never been more worried in my life” for the state.

It’s unclear who he plans to meet in the US capital, if the trip is confirmed.

The news comes amid the absence of any news confirming if or when the Israeli high-level government delegation that had intended to come for talks in Washington about Rafah, requested by Joe Biden but later was called off by Netanayahu, will be back on.

Updated

Summary: Israel criticised after strike that killed seven aid workers in Gaza

  • Israel’s prime minister has admitted Israeli forces killed seven humanitarian aid workers in Gaza in an airstrike yesterday. Saying “This happens in wartime,” Benjamin Netanyahu described it as “a tragic case of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people in the Gaza Strip.”

  • Three of the seven people killed were British nationals. The UK summoned the Israeli ambassador in London saying Israel must “put in place an effective deconfliction mechanism immediately and urgently to scale up humanitarian access”. The UK’s foreign secretary David Cameron said the deaths were “completely unacceptable”.

  • The group had been travelling in two armoured vehicles branded with the World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity’s logo. WCK said those killed were from the UK, Australia, Poland and Palestine, as well as a US-Canada dual citizen. The charity said it was suspending operations in the Palestinian territory.

  • US president Joe Biden’s administration said it had been in touch with José Andrés, who founded WCK. Secretary of state Antony Blinken said the US had also spoken directly to the Israeli government about the issue. He told the media “We’ve urged a swift, a thorough and impartial investigation to understand exactly what happened.”

  • France’s foreign minister Stéphane Séjourné on Tuesday said his country “strongly condemned” the Israeli airstrike, which “nothing can justify”.

  • Israel has said it plans to open a joint situation room with international groups to enable the coordination of humanitarian aid. WCK on Monday said in its statement about the attack that “Despite coordinating movements with the IDF, the convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse.”

  • Cyprus said on Tuesday afternoon that ships that recently arrived in Gaza were turning back with 240 tonnes of undelivered aid. “At least two-thirds of the assistance is on its way back,” Cyprus’s foreign minister spokesperson, Theodoros Gotsis, told the Guardian.

  • UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric has said that the organisation’s secretary-general António Guterres condemns an attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, calling for “utmost restraint”. The attack, which killed at least 11 people, including a senior commander in the al-Quds force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), has been widely attributed to Israel. Turkey said the attack was a violation of international law by Israel. Iran’s leaders in Tehran described the targeting of a diplomatic mission late on Monday as unprecedented and promised a harsh response.

  • Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant said Israel would “act everywhere, every day to prevent the force buildup of our enemies. We are in a multi-front war, in the offence and defence. We see evidence of this every day, including in recent days”. He said Israel was acting “to make it clear to everyone who acts against us, all over the Middle East, that the price for acting against Israel will be a heavy price.”

  • Israel’s delegation will return from Cairo having formulated a new proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas, according to reports.

  • The World Health Organization (WHO) said the destruction of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza amounted to “ripping the heart out” of the health system of the territory.

Updated

CNN is reporting that a senior Biden administration official told the news network that the US administration had been in touch with World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés.

It reports “These communications began when the US first learned of the deadly incident around 6pm ET last night and has continued overnight and this morning, the official said.”

Earlier secretary of state Antony Blinken said the US had spoken directly with the Israeli government about the strike which killed seven humanitarian aid workers.

Turkey on Tuesday condemned what it called an Israeli attack on an Iranian diplomatic building in Damascus which killed 11 people, and warned that the incident could lead to a wider conflict in the region.

Reuters reports the foreign ministry said the attack was a violation of international law by Israel. It called for restraint, common sense and respect for laws from all parties.

Israel has not claimed the attack, and rarely comments officially on what are widely suspected to be Israeli strikes in Syria or Lebanon.

UK foreign minister Cameron: Israel must 'make major changes to ensure safety of aid workers'

The UK’s foreign secretary David Cameron has posted to social media to say that has spoken to his Israeli counterpart over the killing of seven humanitarian aid workers by an Israeli airstrike on an aid convoy in Gaza.

The former prime minister said:

I spoke with Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz to underline that the deaths of World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza, including three British nationals, are completely unacceptable. Israel must urgently explain how this happened and make major changes to ensure safety of aid workers on the ground.

UK tells Israeli ambassador: 'put in place effective deconfliction mechanism and urgently scale up humanitarian access'

The UK government has issued a statement after summoning the Israeli ambassador. In it, the minister for development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, said:

Today, I summoned the ambassador of the Israeli embassy in London to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

I set out the government’s unequivocal condemnation of the appalling killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, including three British nationals. I requested a quick and transparent investigation, shared with the international community, and full accountability.

I reiterated the need for Israel to put in place an effective deconfliction mechanism immediately and urgently to scale up humanitarian access. We need to see an immediate humanitarian pause, to get aid in and the hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable ceasefire.

UK opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer: deaths of aid workers 'outrageous and unacceptable'

In the UK, opposition party Labour leader Keir Starmer has called the deaths of aid workers in an Israeli airstrike “outrageous and unacceptable”.

PA Media reports he said:

Reports of the death of British nationals – among others from World Central Kitchen – in an Israeli strike on Gaza are horrifying. Our thoughts are with the families of all of those killed.

We condemn this strike. There must be a full investigation and those responsible must be held to account.

Humanitarian workers put their lives in danger to serve others. Their deaths are outrageous and unacceptable – and it is not the first time aid workers have come under fire in Israel’s campaign. International law must be upheld and humanitarian workers must be protected so that they can deliver the aid that is so desperately needed.

This war must stop now. Far too many innocent people have died in this conflict and more than a million are facing starvation. Labour repeats our call for an immediate ceasefire, the immediate release of all hostages and full humanitarian access into Gaza.

UK summons Israeli ambassador over killing of British aid workers in Gaza airstrike

Reuters has a quick snap that the UK is to summon the Israeli ambassador over the deaths of three British nationals killed in an Israeli airstrike on an aid convoy in Gaza that yesterday killed seven people in total.

More details soon …

Project Hope, which operates clinics in Rafah and Deir al Bala, has issued a statement about the killing of seven humanitarian aid workers in an Israeli airstrike yesterday. The organisation says it has suspended its humanitarian work for three days pending a security review.

Executive vice-president, Chris Skopec, said:

We are horrified and heartbroken by the tragic killing of seven innocent humanitarians in Gaza who were bombed while traveling in marked vehicles after facilitating lifesaving food delivery operations in Deir al Balah. Aid workers are protected under international humanitarian law and should never be targeted. Nearly 200 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since October including our late colleague, Mohammed Hamed Mansour Madi, making Gaza one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a humanitarian worker. This is unacceptable and demands accountability through the international criminal court.

Millions of people in Gaza are on the brink of famine. To prevent more senseless deaths, aid workers and aid shipments must be protected. We have paused all programming in Deir al Balah and Rafah for the next three days in solidarity with World Central Kitchen and to reassess the security situation as we prioritize our staff members’ safety. In order to allow humanitarian organizations to safely provide lifesaving care, we reiterate our call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire.

Here is the video clip of Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying “this happens in wartime” after Israel’s military admitted it had killed seven aid workers, including three British citizens, in an airstrike on an aid convoy in Gaza.

Updated

UN chief condemns suspected Israeli attack on Iranian consulate

UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric has said that the organisation’s secretary-general condemns an attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, calling for “utmost restraint”. The attack, which killed at least 11 people, including a senior commander in the al-Quds force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), has been widely attributed to Israel.

In the statement, Dujarric said António Guterres “cautions that any miscalculation could lead to broader conflict in an already volatile region, with devastating consequences for civilians who are already seeing unprecedented suffering in Syria, Lebanon, the occupied Palestinian Territory, and the broader Middle East.”

Reuters reports that in the statement Guterres called on “all concerned to exercise utmost restraint and avoid further escalation”.

Israel rarely expressly claims strikes carried out inside Lebanon or Syria, both of which it is believed to have targeted on multiple occasions since the 7 October Hamas attack inside southern Israel.

Earlier today Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant said Israel would “act everywhere, every day to prevent the force buildup of our enemies. We are in a multi-front war, in the offence and defence. We see evidence of this every day, including in recent days.”

He said Israel was acting “to make it clear to everyone who acts against us, all over the Middle East, that the price for acting against Israel will be a heavy price.”

Iran’s leaders in Tehran described the targeting of a diplomatic mission late on Monday as unprecedented and promised a harsh response.

Israel has said it plans to open a joint situation room with international groups to enable the coordination of humanitarian aid after admitting that its military killed seven aid workers in an airstrike yesterday.

World Central Kitchen yesterday said in its statement about the attack that “Despite coordinating movements with the IDF, the convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse.”

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, earlier described the deaths as “a tragic case of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people.”

More details soon …

Blinken: US government has 'spoken directly to the Israeli government' about airstrike that killed seven aid workers

During a visit to France, the US secretary of state Antony Blinken has said the US has spoken directly to the Israeli government about the Israeli airstrike that yesterday killed seven humanitarian aid workers in Gaza.

“We’ve spoken directly to the Israeli government about this particular incident. We’ve urged a swift, a thorough and impartial investigation to understand exactly what happened,” Reuters report Blinken told the media at a news conference in Paris, adding that humanitarian workers have to be protected.

France's foreign minister: 'nothing can justify' the 'tragedy' of Israeli airstrike on aid workers

France’s foreign minister Stéphane Séjourné on Tuesday said his country “strongly condemned” the Israeli airstrike which killed seven people working for the World Central Kitchen charity in Gaza.

“The protection of humanitarian personnel is a moral and legal imperative that everyone must adhere to,” Reuters reports Séjourné said. “Nothing can justify such a tragedy,” he added.

Three British aid workers confirmed killed yesterday in Israeli airstrike in Gaza

The charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) has confirmed that three of the seven humanitarian aid workers killed in Gaza yesterday by an Israeli airstrike were UK citizens.

The group had been travelling in two armoured vehicles branded with the charity’s logo.

WCK said those killed were from the UK, Australia, Poland and Palestine, as well as a US-Canada dual citizen. The charity said it was suspending operations in the Palestinian territory.

Other aid agencies have also suspended operations, and aid being sent through a maritime corridor from Cyprus is being returned. Aid organisations have warned of imminent famine in the territory.

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, earlier described the deaths as “a tragic case of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people in the Gaza Strip,” adding that “This happens in wartime.”

Summary of the day so far...

  • Seven people working with World Central Kitchen (WCK), a charity spearheading efforts to alleviate looming famine in Gaza, have been killed in an Israeli airstrike, the charity said. The workers were travelling in two armoured vehicles branded with the charity’s logo, according to a statement released early on Tuesday. WCK said those killed were from the UK, Australia, Poland and Palestine, as well as a US-Canada dual citizen. The bodies of the aid workers were taken to a hospital in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, on the Egyptian border, according to an Associated Press reporter at the facility.

  • Israel’s military acknowledged that one of its airstrikes in Gaza on Monday killed the aid workers, and that its top general would review the findings of a preliminary inquiry, Reuters reported. “The tragic incident last night occurred as a result of an IDF strike and we are investigating the circumstances,” a military statement said. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, earlier described the deaths as “a tragic case of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people in the Gaza Strip”.

  • Cyprus said on Tuesday afternoon that ships that recently arrived in Gaza were turning back with 240 tonnes of undelivered aid. “At least two-thirds of the assistance is on its way back,” Cyprus’s foreign minister spokesperson, Theodoros Gotsis, told the Guardian. “Around 332 tonnes of aid left Cyprus on Saturday. Around 100 tonnes, about a third, were unloaded and delivered but after these tragic events the other two-thirds are being brought back.”

  • Senior western officials and ministers, including the Australian foreign minister and British foreign secretary, condemned the airstrike and called for a swift and transparent investigation into it. The EU, meanwhile, repeated the need for Israel to operate within international law amid continuing fears for the safety of aid workers bringing vital food supplies to starving Palestinians in Gaza.

  • Israel’s delegation will return from Cairo having formulated a new proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas, according to reports.

  • The World Health Organization (WHO) said the destruction of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza amounted to “ripping the heart out” of the health system of the territory. “Destroying al-Shifa means ripping the heart out of the health system,” WHO spokesperson, Margaret Harris, said. “It was the place people go to for the kind of care that a really good health system provides, that we in all our societies expect to have should we be in need.” Israeli forces left al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Monday after a two-week operation by special forces that left most of the major medical complex in ruins.

  • Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, has vowed revenge after Israeli war planes destroyed the Iranian consulate in Damascus, killing at least 11 people, including a senior commander in the al-Quds force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps. “After repeated defeats and failures against the faith and will of the Resistance Front fighters, the Zionist regime has put blind assassinations on its agenda in the struggle to save itself,” Raisi said on his office’s website. “Day by day, we have witnessed the strengthening of the Resistance Front and the disgust and hatred of free nations towards the illegitimate nature of (Israel). This cowardly crime will not go unanswered.”

Updated

American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera) has issued a press release explaining the “unprecedented step” it took in pausing its humanitarian operations in Gaza.

The charity, which helps provide emergency relief for Palestinians, said delivering aid safely in the enclave is no “longer feasible”, with Palestinian staff in Gaza now deeming the risk to themselves and their families as “intolerable”.

Here is Anera’s statement:

Following the targeted Israeli attack on a humanitarian aid convoy yesterday, resulting in the deaths of seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) workers, Anera is taking the unprecedented step of pausing its humanitarian operations in Gaza.

The killing of WCK humanitarians, occurring less than a month after the still-unexplained killing of Anera staff member Mousa Shawwa, alongside the loss of numerous other aid workers and their families, has led our team to conclude that delivering aid safely is no longer feasible. For the safety of our staff and their families, we are suspending Anera’s work in Gaza.

Since the onset of the war on 7 October, Anera’s Gaza team has provided an average of 150,000 meals daily (in collaboration with WCK), millions of medical treatments, and thousands of other critical emergency aid items. While we understand the severe consequences this suspension will have on the Palestinian population, the escalating risks associated with aid delivery leave us with no choice but to halt operations until our staff regain confidence that they can do their work without undue risk.

In nearly six months of conflict, this marks the first instance where our Palestinian staff in Gaza, enduring continuously hazardous conditions, have deemed the risk to their safety, and that of their families, intolerable. Anera’s longstanding presence in the occupied Palestinian territories, spanning over 55 years and enduring through multiple conflicts, underscores the gravity of this decision. The unprecedented scale of the current conflict and the disregard for international law necessitate this historic pause in our operations.

The attack on the seven WCK aid workers constitutes a clear violation of the international court of justice’s provisions, emphasizing that humanitarian workers and civilians must never be targeted. The ongoing targeting of humanitarian workers and the lack of adequate safety measures demand thorough investigation and immediate action. Israel bears the ultimate responsibility for ensuring the unhindered delivery of urgent humanitarian assistance and basic services to those in need.

In accordance with international law and principles of humanity, parties with effective control over a population are obligated to provide protection, ensuring the provision of essential supplies for civilian survival. Even if specific obligations under occupation laws do not apply, all parties must uphold the minimum duties outlined in international humanitarian law. Israel, as the occupying authority in Gaza, holds ultimate responsibility for obstructing the delivery of essential supplies and failing to ensure the safety of humanitarian workers.

We reiterate our demand for adequate security for humanitarian and health workers, journalists, and all civilians, and call for an immediate and enduring ceasefire.

Updated

Aid delivered to Gaza via maritime corridor being returned to Cyprus after deadly Israeli airstrike

In the aftermath of the shocking news of the aid workers’ deaths, much of the humanitarian consignment that had reached Gaza via the maritime corridor from Cyprus is now being returned to the island, we have learned.

“At least two-thirds of the assistance is on its way back,” Cyprus’s foreign minister spokesperson, Theodoros Gotsis, told the Guardian.

“Around 332 tonnes of aid left Cyprus on Saturday. Around 100 tonnes, about a third, were unloaded and delivered but after these tragic events the other two-thirds are being brought back.”

The aid, which had included basic non-perishable food supplies such as flour and pasta, had reached the besieged coastal strip on a flotilla of ships that had departed the Cypriot port of Larnaca two days earlier.

Of the four vessels that had plied the route, two were carrying vital food provisions and two equipment and personnel. The humanitarian assistance had been loaded on a transport ship, the Jennifer, and a barge towed by the Spanish-flagged Open Arms.

By the time Monday’s airstrike occurred, in which seven aid workers with World Central Kitchen died, only supplies from the barge had been offloaded at a makeshift jetty off the Gaza coast.

Gotsis said with the charity putting its humanitarian relief operation on pause, the cargo would probably remain in Cyprus until the completion of investigations into the tragedy. “Obviously we will have to wait now until the whole process of inquiry is carried out,” he said. “We have to wait and see if WCK resumes operations.”

The International organisation is now the only charity involved in overseeing the distribution of aid from the Mediterranean island.

With famine reportedly spreading at an alarming pace among Gaza’s 2.3 million strong Palestinian populace, the news of much-needed food being sent back from the territory has only exacerbated the unfolding tragedy in the enclave.

Warsaw demands 'explanations' from Israel as Polish aid worker killed in Israeli airstrike is named

Poland’s foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, said he has demanded “urgent explanations” from Israel’s ambassador in Warsaw after an Israeli strike killed a Polish volunteer and six other aid workers in Gaza.

The president of the city of Przemysl, in southeastern Poland, earlier identified the volunteer as Damian Sobol.

“I personally asked the Israeli ambassador Yacov Livne for urgent explanations,” Sikorski said on social media, adding that he had offered “condolences to the family of our brave volunteer”.

He also announced Poland had opened its own inquiry into the aid worker’s death.

“Our brave compatriot, Damian Sobol from the city of Przemysl, helped those in need in Gaza, where a humanitarian crisis is taking place,” Sikorski said in a video published on X.

“He was killed in an attack for which the Israeli army claimed responsibility,” Poland’s top diplomat added, saying he would hold a phone call with his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz.

World Central Kitchen said its team was travelling in a “de-conflicted” area in a convoy of “two armoured cars branded with the WCK logo and a soft skin vehicle” at the time of the strike yesterday evening.

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, lamented the killings, which he said had been caused by an Israeli airstrike. He described the incident as tragic and unintended.

Updated

Israeli strike killed Gaza aid workers, military says

Israel’s military said one of its airstrikes in Gaza killed seven people working for the World Central Kitchen aid group, and that its top general would review the findings of a preliminary inquiry, Reuters reports.

“The tragic incident last night occurred as a result of an IDF strike and we are investigating the circumstances,” a military statement said.

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, earlier described the deaths as “a tragic case of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people in the Gaza Strip”.

Updated

UK-based charity Medical Aid for Palestinians has condemned the “horrific attack” on the seven aid workers killed by an Israeli airstrike on Monday, and said the deaths demonstrate there is “no safe place in Gaza, whether you are Palestinian, British or any other nationality”.

It added:

Gaza is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be an aid worker right now.

Every day our team in Gaza have to risk their lives to provide vital aid to those in need.

The charity has joined calls for a “swift and independent investigation”, adding “those responsible must be held accountable”.

In January, it reported a near fatal airstrike by the Israeli military on a residential compound housing some of its staff.

Here are some of the latest images coming out from the newswires:

Juliette Touma, communications director for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugee, has expressed concerns about the disruption of getting aid into northern Gaza amid warnings of a looming famine.

“Children are dying of hunger,” she told BBC News. “Any organisation which delivers assistance to people in Gaza is key.

“Any disruption will have severe consequences on a population which is already going through quite a lot.”

“We need to coordinate with the Israel authorities. On three different occasions we have had our convoys hit by Israeli forces.”

The UN has said at least 576,000 people in the coastal territory – a quarter of the population – are on the brink of famine, and pressure has been growing on Israel to increase the flow of aid.

Two charities, World Central Kitchen and American Near East Refugee Aid, have suspended their operations in Gaza after the Israeli airstrike killed seven aid workers on Monday evening.

Karla McLaren, Amnesty International UK’s head of government affairs, has responded to the UK’s prime minister, Rishi Sunak, and foreign secretary, David Cameron, calling for an investigation into the deaths of the seven aid workers killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.

McLaren said:

These killings are only the latest in a sickening death toll of aid workers in Gaza, and Rishi Sunak asking the Israeli authorities to yet again investigate themselves is at best naive and at worst deliberately colludes in Israel’s decades-long history of cover-ups.

Years of so-called ‘investigations’ by Israel into abuses committed by its forces in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem have worked to deny justice for grieving Palestinian families, and there’s no reason whatsoever to think this ‘investigation’ will be any different.

The prime minister, the foreign secretary and other ministers need to finally start confronting the reality of Israeli war crimes in Gaza and take action now to ensure there are consequences.

The UK should immediately stop transfers of arms to Israel, stop the trade in settlement goods, and fully support efforts by the international criminal court and the International Court of Justice to examine the long catalogue of Israeli atrocities in Gaza.

It’s long overdue for the UK to change course on this harrowing crisis, including by calling for an immediate ceasefire, exerting pressure on Israel over allowing vastly scaled-up aid deliveries, and also demanding that Israel end its 17-year-long blockade of Gaza, which is an act of collective punishment.

If we get no more than this weak and disingenuous response to Israel’s killing of aid workers in Gaza, then the UK risks slipping into deeper complicity with possible acts of genocide and Israel’s decades-long system of apartheid against the Palestinian people.

Netanyahu on aid worker deaths: 'This happens in wartime'

Israel’s prime minister has spoken about the deaths of seven humanitarian aid workers killed in Gaza while trying to deliver aid to the starving population there, saying “this happens in wartime.”

Netanyahu described it as “a tragic case of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people in the Gaza Strip.”

In a video statement Benjamin Netanyahu said:

This happens in wartime. We are thoroughly looking into it, are in contact with the governments, and will do everything to ensure it does not happen again.

The victims of what World Central Kitchen (WCK) said was an Israeli airstrike are believed to from the UK, Australia, Poland and Palestine, as well as a US-Canada dual citizen.

In a statement WCK said “Despite coordinating movements with the [Israeli army], the convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse, where the team had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza on the maritime route.”

Erin Gore, the WCK chief executive, said it was an attack on “humanitarian organisations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war.”

Authorities in Gaza say that over 32,000 people have been killed by Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip since 7 October. Israel has claimed to have killed more than 9,000 fighters belonging to Hamas and other groups.

Updated

Islamic Relief has reiterated its calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, and condemned the deaths of seven aid workers working with World Central Kitchen (WCK), which WCK said were killed by an Israeli airstrike. Israel’s military has said it is investigating the claim and said it expressed “sincere sorrow” over the killings.

In a statement Islamic Relief said:

Six months of Israeli bombing has turned Gaza into the world’s most dangerous place to deliver aid. More than 200 aid workers, mostly Palestinians, have been killed – the deadliest ever crisis for humanitarian workers.

Children are starving to death because Israel is preventing sufficient aid from entering by land, and now humanitarian workers are being killed while they try to deliver life-saving food that has been shipped in by sea.

It added it was “outraged by yet another deadly attack on humanitarian workers.”

As well as the death toll on humanitarian workers in the Gaza Strip during Israel’s months-long aerial bombardment and ground offensive, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has said nearly 100 journalists have been killed in the war since 7 October, making it “the deadliest period for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992.”

At a meeting of the Knesset’s foreign affairs and defense committee, Israel’s defense minister has said his country will “act everywhere” to make “the price for acting against Israel” heavy.

The Times of Israel quotes Yoav Gallant saying Israel will “act everywhere, every day to prevent the force buildup of our enemies. We are in a multi-front war, in the offence and defence. We see evidence of this every day, including in recent days.”

He said Israel was acting “to make it clear to everyone who acts against us, all over the Middle East, that the price for acting against Israel will be a heavy price.”

Israel rarely comments directly on strikes it makes inside other states, but has repeatedly struck at the Palestinian territory of Gaza and inside Lebanon and Syria since 7 October, as well as stepping up security operations in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, where thousands of Palestinians have been detained and over 400 killed.

Israel has given new draft hostage and ceasefire deal proposal to Hamas – reports

Israel’s delegation will return from Cairo having formulated a new proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas, Haaretz reports, citing the Mossad.

Reuters is reporting that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has also said a new Gaza truce and hostage rleease proposal has been presented.

More details soon …

Updated

My colleague Sam Jones earlier put together this explainer of what we know so far about the deaths of seven aid workers in Gaza in what international charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) said was an airstrike carried out by the Israel Defense Forces.

You can read it here: Gaza aid convoy strike: what happened and who were the victims?

European Commission appeals to Israel to 'respect international humanitarian law'

Lisa O’Carroll is in Brussels for the Guardian

The EU has repeated the need for Israel to operate within international law amid continuing fears for the safety of aid workers bringing vital food supplies to starving Palestinians in Gaza.

With an annual budget of €125m (£107m / $134m) for Palestine, the bloc is one of the chief contributors of aid to Gaza, both before and after the Israeli assault on the territory triggered by Hamas’s attack inside southern Israel on 7 October.

A spokesperson said on Tuesday that so far is has contracted €81m of that budget with most food and medical supplies being routed through the Red Cross, Red Crescent, the World Food Programme and Unrwa.

“Our appeal [to Israel] to respect these rules is part of the integral part of our position stressing the need to respect international humanitarian law,” the European Commission’s foreign affairs spokesperson said on Tuesday.

It also has five staff in Cyprus working on a pilot maritime corridor that has so far seen just two boats sail to Gaza since it was launched in the second week in March.

It was aid workers dealing with the distribution of aid from the maritime corridor believed killed by an airstrike carried out by the Israel Defense Forces, although the European Commission said its money had not been behind the World Central Kitchen (WCK) mission.

Updated

Summary of the day so far...

  • Seven people working with World Central Kitchen, a charity helping to alleviate looming famine in Gaza, have been killed in an Israeli airstrike, the charity said. WCK said those killed were from the UK, Australia, Poland and Palestine, as well as a US-Canada dual citizen. The workers were travelling in two armoured cars branded with the charity’s logo in Deir al-Balah, according to WCK. It said it was immediately “pausing” its operations in the region. Medical officials said the group had been helping to deliver food and other supplies to northern Gaza that had arrived hours early by ship. American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera), which helps provide emergency relief for Palestinians, told BBC News that it is also freezing its operations in Gaza.

  • Senior western officials and ministers, including the Australian foreign minister and British foreign secretary, have condemned the airstrike and called for a swift and transparent investigation into it. The Israeli military expressed “sincere sorrow” over the deaths, but stopped short of accepting responsibility for it. Israeli military spokesperson, Rear Adm Daniel Hagari, said the incident would be investigated in the “Fact Finding and Assessment Mechanism”, which his statement called an “independent, professional, and expert body”, without giving further details. “We also express sincere sorrow to our allied nations who have been doing and continue to do so much to assist those in need,” he said in the statement.

  • The World Health Organization (WHO) said the destruction of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza amounted to “ripping the heart out” of the health system of the territory. “Destroying al-Shifa means ripping the heart out of the health system,” WHO spokesperson, Margaret Harris, said. “It was the place people go to for the kind of care that a really good health system provides, that we in all our societies expect to have should we be in need.” Israeli forces left al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Monday after a two-week operation by special forces that left most of the major medical complex in ruins.

  • Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, has vowed revenge after Israeli war planes destroyed the Iranian consulate in Damascus, killing at least 11 people, including a senior commander in the al-Quds force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps. “After repeated defeats and failures against the faith and will of the Resistance Front fighters, the Zionist regime has put blind assassinations on its agenda in the struggle to save itself,” Raisi said on his office’s website. “Day by day, we have witnessed the strengthening of the Resistance Front and the disgust and hatred of free nations towards the illegitimate nature of (Israel). This cowardly crime will not go unanswered.”

Updated

The UK’s prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has said the government’s “longstanding” view is that Israel has the “intention and the ability” to comply with international humanitarian law.

He said:

Our view is longstanding that Israel has both the intention and the ability to comply with international humanitarian law, I’ve made that very clear to prime minister Netanyahu whenever I’ve spoken to him.

There have been too many civilian deaths in Gaza, of course we want to see an immediate humanitarian pause so that we can get the hostages out and more aid into the region.

Sunak told broadcasters during a visit to the north-east of England:

We are asking Israel to investigate what happened urgently, because clearly there are questions that need to be answered. My thoughts are with their friends and family.

They are doing fantastic work bringing alleviation to the suffering that many are experiencing in Gaza.

They should be praised and commended for what they are doing.

They need to be allowed to do that work unhindered and it is incumbent on Israel to make sure they can do that.

His comments come after the World Central Kitchen charity said seven of its workers were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.

Updated

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, has sent her condolences to the families of the workers with World Central Kitchen who lost their lives.

Janez Lenarcic, European commissioner for crisis management, has condemned the attack on aid workers in Gaza.

The Polish foreign ministry is seeking official confirmation from Israel about reports a Polish person was among the seven aid workers killed during an Israeli strike on Gaza.

The president of the city of Przemysl, in southeastern Poland, identified the volunteer as Damian Sobol.

While Poland finds the reports of the death credible, it is currently unable to confirm their personal details while the identification process is ongoing.

The EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has condemned the Israeli airstrike on Gaza which killed seven members of the World Central Kitchen.

He has called for an investigation into the “attack”, which he says reinforces the need for an immediate ceasefire and full humanitarian access into the enclave.

Borrell has previously said that Israel is provoking famine in Gaza and using starvation as a weapon of war, a claim Israel rejects, and has said the US should put more pressure on Israel to allow more aid into Gaza.

David Cameron calls for 'transparent explanation' from Israel over aid worker deaths

The UK’s foreign secretary, David Cameron, has called for a “full, transparent explanation” from Israel after seven aid workers, including a British national, were killed in an Israeli airstrike.

The former Conservative prime minister said:

The news of the airstrike that killed World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid workers in Gaza is deeply distressing.

These were people who were working to deliver life-saving aid to those who desperately need it.

It is essential that humanitarian workers are protected and able to carry out their work.

We have called on Israel to immediately investigate and provide a full, transparent explanation of what happened.

Cyprus’s president called for an immediate probe into the killing of seven aid workers in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, saying the US- based World Central Kitchen charity they were members of was a “crucial partner” in its initiative to get aid to the enclave by sea.

“We need to double down on efforts to get aid to Gaza,” Nikos Christodoulides said, after a meeting with the European parliament president, Roberta Metsola.

Israeli military expresses 'sincere sorrow' over the deaths of seven aid workers

The Israeli military has expressed “sincere sorrow” over the deaths of seven aid workers killed in an airstrike on Gaza, but stopped short of accepting responsibility for it.

Israeli military spokesperson, Rear Adm Daniel Hagari, said the incident would be investigated in the “Fact Finding and Assessment Mechanism”, which his statement called an “independent, professional, and expert body”, without giving further details.

He said he had spoken to the WCK founder, chef José Andrés, and expressed his deepest condolences.

“We also express sincere sorrow to our allied nations who have been doing and continue to do so much to assist those in need,” he said in the statement.

The strike hit an aid convoy, killing seven people working with World Central Kitchen (WCK), a charity spearheading efforts to alleviate looming famine in Gaza.

They were delivering desperately needed food aid that had been brought in by sea. The WCK said Israel was behind the airstrike.

Numerous western officials and ministers have demanded an explanation for the deaths after WCK said those killed were from the UK, Australia, Poland and Palestine, as well as a US-Canada dual citizen.

Updated

World Health Organization: destruction of Gaza's al-Shifa hospital 'rips heart out of health system'

The World Health Organization (WHO) said the destruction of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza amounted to “ripping the heart out” of the health system of the enclave.

“Destroying al-Shifa means ripping the heart out of the health system,” WHO spokesperson, Margaret Harris, was quoted by Reuters as saying.

“It was the place people go to for the kind of care that a really good health system provides, that we in all our societies expect to have should we be in need.”

Israeli forces left al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Monday after a two-week operation by special forces that left most of the major medical complex in ruins.

The Hamas-run Gaza media office said Israeli forces killed 400 Palestinians around the hospital and put the medical facility out of function.

The Israeli military said it had killed and detained hundreds of gunmen in clashes in the area of the hospital, and seized weaponry and intelligence documents.

The president of the city of Przemysl, in southeastern Poland, identified the Polish volunteer who was killed in the Israeli airstrike in Gaza as Damian Sobol.

“Yesterday, our colleague, resident of Przemysl, volunteer, member of the World Central Kitchen team – Damian Sobol, was killed in a rocket attack by Israeli forces on a humanitarian convoy delivering food in the Gaza Strip,” he wrote on Facebook.

“There are no words to describe what people who knew this fantastic guy feel at this moment … May he rest in peace.”

Foreign ministry spokesperson Pawel Wronski told reporters Poland was checking reports of the death of the Polish volunteer.

“We are currently urgently verifying this information,” he said. “We have asked the Israeli authorities, security forces and the Israeli armed forces for explanations.”

Deputy justice minister Arkadiusz Myrcha told state news channel TVP Info there would be an investigation into the incident.

“There is no exception here, of course every death must be explained and such proceedings should be initiated here,” he said.

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, will hold talks in Paris on Tuesday after seven aid workers were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.

Blinken arrived in the French capital before heading to Brussels for a Nato ministerial meeting on Wednesday.

France on Monday proposed a draft UN security council resolution that seeks options for possible UN monitoring of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and proposals to help the Palestinian Authority assume responsibilities.

The EU has called for a “thorough investigation” into the deaths of seven aid workers in Gaza bringing food from the World’s Central Kitchen to starving Palestinians.

“We are mourning with the families and friends of the @WCKitchen humanitarian aid workers who lost their lives in Gaza,” the European Commission said in a post on X.

“Humanitarian aid workers must always be protected, in line with international humanitarian law. We call for a thorough investigation into this tragedy.”

The EU, along with the US and Cyprus, were instrumental in establishing a maritime corridor to bring aid to Gaza across the Mediterranean.

A pilot delivery with a ship operated by a Spanish search and rescue group, Open Arms, taking 200 tonnes of food provided by the charity, World Central Kitchen, arrived in Gaza in the second week in March.

Second charity providing relief to Palestinians pausing Gaza operations

Another US-based charity, American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera), which helps provide emergency relief for Palestinians, has told BBC News that it is also freezing its operations in Gaza, following on from the World Central Kitchen’s (WCK) announcement earlier.

“Anera and WCK are pausing our Gaza operations. Together, Anera and WCK provide some 2 million meals a week in Gaza,” Sean Carroll, the charity’s CEO, said.

Asked about the impact the decision to suspend food provision would have on Palestinian people, whom face a looming famine, Caroll said: “The occupying power has an obligation under international law to provide for the people under occupation.”

Anera, which has been working closely with WCK in recent months, says on its website that it works on the ground with partners in Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan.

It said that its medical team helped treat hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday and Monday, providing displaced people free medication in the process.

The seven WCK aid workers were killed by a suspected Israeli airstrike fired on their convoy south of Deir al-Balah late on Monday. Medical officials said the group had been helping to deliver food and other supplies to northern Gaza that had arrived hours earlier by ship.

While Israel has claimed it is allowing aid into Gaza, senior UN, US and other international officials, as well as NGOs, have accused the country of obstructing life-saving aid to Gaza’s population of 2.3 million.

The UN said last week that famine was “ever closer to becoming a reality in northern Gaza” and that the health system was collapsing owing to the continuing hostilities and “access constraints”.

Updated

Here is the full statement issued by Australia’s foreign minister, Penny Wong, on the death of Lalzawmi Frankcom, the Australian aid worker killed by an Israeli military airstrike in Gaza.

The statement reads:

It is with overwhelming sadness that the Australian Government confirms the death of an Australian aid worker in Gaza.

The tributes flowing for Lalzawmi ‘Zomi’ Frankcom tell the story of a life dedicated to the service of others, including her fellow Australians during natural disasters.

Her tireless work to improve the lives of others should never have cost Ms Frankcom her own.

The government expresses its deepest sympathies to her family and loved ones, just as we mourn all civilian deaths in this conflict.

The department of foreign affairs and trade is providing consular assistance to her family in Australia. The death of any aid worker is outrageous and unacceptable.

Throughout this conflict, Australia has called for restraint, for the protection of civilians and safe and unimpeded access for humanitarian assistance.

The Australian government condemns this strike. The government has made representations to the Netanyahu government and seeks a thorough and expeditious review. We expect full accountability for these deaths.

We repeat our demands for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire leading to a sustainable ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and that international humanitarian law be upheld.

Updated

Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said he was “horrified” by the deaths of the seven World Central Kitchen staff members who were reported to have been killed in an Israeli airstrike.

“Horrified by the death of seven humanitarian workers from @WCKitchen in an airstrike in Gaza. I have just conveyed to @chefjoseandres my sincere condolences and all my love and support for him and his team,” he wrote on X.

“Your solidarity, altruism and commitment to those who need it most is a source of pride. The government of Spain is with you.”

Chef José Andrés, the founder of the WCK charity, was born in Spain and is a naturalised US citizen.

He said on X that the charity “lost several of our sisters and brothers in an IDF airstrike in Gaza”.

“I am heartbroken and grieving for their families and friends and our whole WCK family. These are people … angels … I served alongside in Ukraine, Gaza, Turkey, Morocco, Bahamas, Indonesia. They are not faceless … they are not nameless.

He said the Israeli government needed to “stop this indiscriminate killing”.

Iran president says Israel’s deadly Syria attack 'will not go unanswered'

Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, has vowed revenge after Israeli war planes destroyed the Iranian consulate in Damascus, killing at least 11 people, including a senior commander in the al-Quds force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps

“After repeated defeats and failures against the faith and will of the Resistance Front fighters, the Zionist regime has put blind assassinations on its agenda in the struggle to save itself,” Raisi said on his office’s website.

“Day by day, we have witnessed the strengthening of the Resistance Front and the disgust and hatred of free nations towards the illegitimate nature of (Israel). This cowardly crime will not go unanswered.”

Iran said that several long-serving diplomats were killed alongside Brig Gen Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Zahedi’s deputy, Gen Haji Rahimi. It was also reported that Brig Gen Hossein Amirollah, the chief of general staff for the al-Quds force in Syria and Lebanon, was among the victims.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 11 people were killed in the attack.

Iran’s ambassador to Syria, Hossein Akbari, said Iran’s response to the strike would be “at the same magnitude and harshness”.

The strike follows a marked increase in violence between Israel and Hezbollah on the Israeli-Lebanon boundary since Hamas’s 7 October attack, as well as the resumption of violent attacks by Iranian-backed militia on US and Israeli positions in Iraq.

Updated

The Polish foreign ministry has expressed its condolences to the family of the Polish volunteer who was among the seven aid workers killed in Gaza.

“We express our sincerest condolences to the family of the volunteer who provided aid to the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip,” the ministry wrote in a post on X.

“Poland does not agree to the lack of compliance with international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians, including humanitarian workers.”

The World Central Kitchen said earlier that those killed in the Israeli airstrike were “from Australia, Poland, United Kingdom, a dual citizen of the US and Canada, and Palestine” and announced that it was “pausing our operations in the region” in response.

Updated

UK government 'very concerned' over the killing of seven aid workers in Gaza

As we reported earlier, a British national was, according to the World Central Kitchen (WCK), among the seven aid workers killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.

A spokesperson for the UK’s Foreign Office said on Tuesday morning: “We are aware of reports of the death of a British national in Gaza and are urgently seeking further information.”

The education secretary, Gillian Keegan, told the BBC that the UK government was “very concerned” over the reports and that it was “worrying” that the WCK had suspended its work in Gaza.

She said:

We haven’t had it confirmed yet, but we are very, very concerned by the situation.

We do know that we’ve urged Israel to do more to protect civilians, but also to allow aid to get into Gaza.

But we haven’t yet had this confirmed and I think the IDF are reviewing this, probably as we speak …

One of the key things is trying to ensure we get more aid into Gaza, so if one of the charities working on the ground has suspended, then that’s obviously deeply concerning.

Our thoughts would go to everybody affected.

The secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, Jan Egeland, has shared his condolences over the killing of the seven aid workers in Gaza.

He said that nowhere else are so many aid workers killed and called for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict.

Unrwa, the UN Palestinian refugee agency, which is the main UN agency in Gaza, and other aid groups have said sending truck convoys to northern Gaza has been too dangerous because of the Israeli military’s failure to ensure safe passage.

In its latest report, Unrwa said that 173 of its workers have been killed in Gaza. The figure does not include workers for other aid organisations.

Updated

The bodies of the aid workers have been taken to a hospital in the southern city of Rafah on the Egyptian border, according to an Associated Press reporter at the hospital.

The bodies of the foreign aid workers will reportedly be evacuated out of Gaza and the Palestinian driver’s body will be handed to his family in Rafah for burial.

Cyprus’ foreign ministry has offered condolences to the family and friends of the World Central Kitchen aid workers killed in an Israeli airstrike and has demanded a swift investigation into the incident.

Cypriot authorities have established, in cooperation with Israel, a maritime corridor to facilitate pre-screened cargoes arriving directly in Gaza.

WCK was involved in the first shipment of aid to Gaza via a sea corridor from Cyprus in March.

A second WCK maritime aid shipment carrying 332 tonnes of food was due to arrive in Gaza early this week.

Updated

Summary

Here’s a rundown on the latest key developments:

  • The food aid charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) says seven of its team members were killed in what it called an Israeli military strike in central Gaza on Monday.

  • The seven were from Australia, Poland, the UK, a dual citizen of the US and Canada, and Palestine, WCK said.

  • The workers were travelling in two armoured cars branded with the charity’s logo in Deir al-Balah, according to WCK. It said it was immediately “pausing” its operations in the region.

  • An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said it was “conducting a thorough review at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident”.

  • Footage showed the bodies of five of the WCK workers at Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah. Several of them wore protective body armour with the charity’s logo.

  • Medical officials said the group had been helping to deliver food and other supplies to northern Gaza that had arrived hours early by ship.

  • Australia’s prime minister said the death of an Australian aid worker among those killed was “completely unacceptable” and the government demanded “full accountability”. Lalzawmi Frankcom died “doing the work she loves”, her grieving family said.

Updated

The White House national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, plans to travel to Saudi Arabia this week for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman amid a US push for progress toward normalising relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Talks on normalisation had been put on ice in the immediate aftermath of Hamas’s 7 October attack and Israel’s subsequent assault on Gaza, but conversations have resumed in recent months.

Reuters reports a US official said Sullivan planned talks with the crown prince to check in on the issue but did not expect a major breakthrough. Sullivan would consult broadly on a number of matters, a second US official said, adding:

He has not been to Saudi Arabia in some time and there’s lots to discuss.

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said almost two weeks ago that the US and Saudi Arabia had made “good progress” in talks on normalising ties between the kingdom and Israel, without providing a timeline for concluding a deal.

As part of a normalisation deal, Saudi Arabia wants to secure a mutual defence pact with Washington and get US support for its civil nuclear program.

Updated

World Central Kitchen halts operations in region

The charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) also says it is immediately “pausing” its operations in the region.

“We will be making decisions about the future of our work soon,” the not-for-profit said in a statement on its website.

Its CEO, Erin Gore, said:

I am heartbroken and appalled that we – World Central Kitchen and the world – lost beautiful lives today because of a targeted attack by the IDF.

The love they had for feeding people, the determination they embodied to show that humanity rises above all, and the impact they made in countless lives will forever be remembered and cherished.

Updated

Seven killed in Gaza strike, food charity says

World Central Kitchen says seven of its team members were killed in what it called an Israeli military strike in Gaza.

The toll updates an earlier number of five.

The food charity said in a statement on its website that the seven killed were from Australia, Poland, the UK, a dual citizen of the US and Canada, and Palestine.

World Central Kitchen’s chief executive, Erin Gore, said its team was “travelling in a deconflicted zone in two armored cars branded with the WCK logo and a soft skin vehicle”.

Despite coordinating movements with the IDF [Israel Defence Forces], the convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse, where the team had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza on the maritime route.

Gore also said:

This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organisations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable.

The Israeli Defence Forces said it was conducting a “thorough review” into what occurred.

Updated

The grieving family of Zomi Frankcom, the Australian aid worker killed by an apparent Israeli military airstrike in Gaza, has said she died “doing the work she loves”.

“We are deeply mourning the news that our brave and beloved Zomi has been killed doing the work she loves, delivering food to the people of Gaza,” her family said in a statement.

She will leave behind a legacy of compassion, bravery and love for all those in her orbit.

The Melbourne-born 43-year-old “was a kind, selfless and outstanding human being [who] travelled the world helping others in their time of need”, her family said.

Frankcom and four other international and Palestinian colleagues were killed in the alleged Israeli airstrike fired on their convoy south of Deir al-Balah late on Monday.

Updated

The White House national security council said the US was “heartbroken and deeply troubled” by the death of the aid workers in Gaza.

Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson went on to say the White House urged Israel to “swiftly investigate what happened”.

A Palestinian Red Crescent paramedic has said the aid workers killed on Monday were in a three-car convoy that was crossing out of northern Gaza when an Israeli missile hit.

Mahmoud Thabet, who was on the team that brought the bodies to hospital, told the Associated Press he was told by World Central Kitchen staff the team had been in the north coordinating distribution of the newly arrived aid and were heading back to Rafah in the south.

Three aid ships from Cyprus arrived earlier on Monday carrying some 400 tons of food and supplies organised by the charity and the United Arab Emirates – the group’s second shipment after a pilot run last month. The Israeli military was involved in coordinating both deliveries.

The US has touted the sea route as a new way to deliver desperately needed aid to northern Gaza, where the UN has said much of the population is on the brink of starvation, largely cut off from the rest of the territory by Israeli forces.

Israel has barred Unrwa, the main UN agency in Gaza, from making deliveries to the north, and other aid groups say sending truck convoys north has been too dangerous because of the military’s failure to ensure safe passage.

Updated

Tributes have been paid to Zomi Frankcom, the Australian aid worker killed in Gaza.

Karuna Bajracharya posted on Facebook:

Rest in peace our beautiful sister.

Zomi risked her life many times to help those in dire need, yet our cowardly politicians don’t even dare to risk their own careers by speaking up against Israel and the USA’s six months of genocide!

Frankcom had worked with the World Central Kitchen charity for five years, having been previously based in Bangkok and the US. She had formerly worked at Australia’s Commonwealth Bank for more than eight years.

Tim Costello, a former World Vision chief, paid tribute to aid workers who risked their lives in conflict zones:

It’s a special type of person who actually says: ‘I’m going to serve others in this way, I’m going to risk my own life to actually protect the innocent’.

Costello described the deaths of aid workers as a “bridge that we have crossed”.

We know [foreign aid] is inherently risky … we know that aid workers take risks. They don’t take rifles, they don’t take tanks. All they have is a logo, and a flag, and the confidence that the international system respects humanitarian workers.

That’s why this is utterly, utterly devastating.

The full story from Ben Doherty is here:

Updated

In late March, Zomi Frankcom, the Australian aid worker killed in the strike in Gaza, appeared in a video filmed at Deir al-Balah talking about the meals being prepared for Palestinians by World Central Kitchen.

A week later, Frankcom, along with her international and Palestinian colleagues, would die in that same besieged neighbourhood of central Gaza.

Updated

Top American and Israeli officials have held virtual talks as Washington pushes alternatives to Israeli’s anticipated ground assault in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

The more than two-and-a-half-hour meeting by video conference on Monday was described by both sides as constructive and productive, as Washington encourages the Israelis to avoid an all-out assault on the city, where an estimated four battalions of Hamas fighters are dispersed among more than 1.3 million civilians, the Associated Press reports.

The potential operation against the militant group in the city has exposed one of the deepest rifts between Israel and its closest ally, funder and arms supplier. The US has already openly said Israel must do more to allow food and other goods through its blockade of Gaza to avert famine.

“They agreed that they share the objective to see Hamas defeated in Rafah,” the US and Israeli teams, known as the strategic consultative group (SCG), said in a joint statement released by the White House.

The US side expressed its concerns with various courses of action in Rafah. The Israeli side agreed to take these concerns into account and to have follow-up discussions between experts overseen by the SCG. Those discussions would include an in-person SCG meeting as early as next week.

The virtual meeting came a week after planned in-person talks were nixed by Netanyahu when the US didn’t veto a United Nations resolution that called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Updated

Recapping other news, thousands of angry Israelis took to the streets on Monday for the third consecutive night to demand Benjamin Netanyahu quit as Israeli prime minister.

And, Agence France-Presse reports, the demonstrators say they are not going away.

Mass protests uniting families of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and an anti-government street movement that failed to unseat Netanyahu last year brought Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to a standstill on Saturday and Sunday.

As thousands again gathered in Tel Aviv and outside Israel’s parliament in Jerusalem on Monday, several protesters told AFP that Netanyahu had to be forced out “to save Israel”.

“This is an existential crisis for Israel,” said Einat Avni Levi, 40, whose family had to flee from the Nirim kibbutz a little over 2km (1.25 miles) from the border barrier with Gaza.

Referring to the around 250 hostages abducted by Hamas during the 7 October attack, she said:

If someone comes and takes me from my bed, and I can’t trust my army and my government to come and rescue me, I cannot live here.

Updated

The Israeli strike on a central Gaza convoy on Monday came as, separately, Israeli forces withdrew from al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City after a two-week raid that left most of the major medical complex in ruins, as Lorenzo Tondo in Jerusalem reported.

Hamas claimed the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) killed 400 people in the northern Gaza compound.

The report continues:

According to the IDF, the facility – Gaza City’s main hospital before the war – was used to harbour Hamas fighters …

Palestinians who fled the facility described days of heavy fighting, mass arrests and forced marches past dead people, while the Hamas-run health ministry described the scale of the destruction inside the complex as “very large”.

Footage showed widespread devastation, with the facility’s main buildings reduced to burned-out husks. The hospital was now “completely out of service”, the ministry said.

Most of Gaza’s hospitals are no longer functioning, the UN has said.

See the full story here:

Updated

We’ve launched this video report on the Gaza strike, including footage of people being transported on stretchers as ambulances flash nearby.

PM names Australian aid worker killed, demands 'full accountability'

Australia’s prime minister says the death of an Australian aid worker in Gaza is “completely unacceptable” and “beyond any reasonable circumstances”, saying the government will call in the Israeli ambassador and contact Israel’s government.

Anthony Albanese says Australia’s government is demanding “full accountability” over the death.

Albanese named the aid worker as Zomi Frankcom, who was working with World Central Kitchen (WCK) in Gaza. At a press conference in Brisbane, Albanese said she was doing “extraordinarily important work”.

Four foreign nationals working for the food aid charity were killed in an Israeli strike in central Gaza, according to health officials in the occupied territory. The founder of the WCK charity confirmed on Twitter that “several” staff members had died in an Israeli airstrike.

The Australian prime minister said:

Those doing humanitarian work and civilians need to be provided with protection. Australia has had a very clear position of supporting a sustainable ceasefire ... Australians want to see an end to this conflict.

This news today is tragic. Dfat [the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade] have also requested a call-in from the Israeli ambassador as well. We want full accountability for this, this is a tragedy that should never have occurred.

Albanese said the government had contacted the Israeli government directly.

Updated

An Australian judge on the world court has called on Israel to suspend its military operation in Gaza.

Hilary Charlesworth, a distinguished international lawyer who replaced the late Australian judge James Crawford on the international court of justice, believes a suspension is required to ensure enough aid reaches civilians.

She also cautioned that such a step “only partly addresses the risk of destruction of the Palestinians in Gaza”.

Charlesworth is the only Australian woman to have served on the ICJ. Her comments come just months after the Australian government supported her re-election to the top UN court.

See the full story from Daniel Hurst here:

Japan will lift its suspension of funding to the UN Palestinian refugee agency Unrwa, Reuters quotes its foreign minister, Yoko Kamikawa, as saying.

Tokyo decided in January to suspend additional funding to the agency while it conducted an investigation into an allegation that its staff were involved in Hamas’s 7 October attack on Israel, which triggered war in Gaza .

The accusations by Israel led 16 countries including the US to pause $450m in funding to the Unrwa, throwing its operations into turmoil. The agency is the largest relief body operating in Gaza, which has been besieged by Israel since the attack.

Countries including Australia, Canada, Finland and Sweden have since restored funding to Unrwa, while several Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia have increased funding.

Japan is the sixth-biggest donor to the agency, according to the Unrwa’s 2022 data.

A correspondent for Agence France-Presse confirmed seeing five bodies with three foreign passports lying nearby at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, the news agency reports.

Earlier, the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry had said the bodies of four foreign aid workers and their Palestinian driver and translator were brought to the hospital after an Israeli strike targeted their vehicle.

The Israeli military said it was “conducting a thorough review”.

World Central Kitchen has been involved in delivering the aid arriving by boat from Cyprus, and in the construction of a temporary jetty in Gaza.

Two charities have organised aid deliveries by sea from Cyprus, with the second flotilla, setting sail on Saturday with about 400 tonnes of supplies – a fraction of Gaza’s needs.

Since Hamas’s unprecedented 7 October attack, Gaza has been under a near-complete blockade, and UN agencies have warned repeatedly that northern Gaza is on the verge of famine. Israel has denied responsibility.

Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has told national broadcaster the ABC that the country’s foreign ministry is “urgently investigating” reports of the strike on a Gaza convoy.

An Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said reports of the death of an Australian aid worker were very distressing.

“We have been clear on the need for civilian lives to be protected in this conflict,” Reuters quoted the spokesperson as saying.

We have been very clear that we expect humanitarian workers in Gaza to have safe and unimpeded access to do their lifesaving work.

World Central Kitchen founder 'heartbroken' at deaths

José Andrés said he was “heartbroken and grieving” over the deaths in the strike.

The World Central Kitchen’s founder said on X (formerly Twitter) that the WCK “lost several of our sisters and brothers in an IDF air strike in Gaza” and that “they are not faceless … they are not nameless”.

Andrés added:

The Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing. It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon. No more innocent lives lost. Peace starts with our shared humanity. It needs to start now.

The Guardian has not been able to independently verify the source of the strike.

Updated

A full report on the reported Gaza strike is here – by my colleague Ben Doherty:

For some background on the World Central Kitchen (WCK), the US-based charity delivers food relief and prepares meals for people in need.

It said last month it had served more than 42m meals in Gaza over 175 days.

Reuters reports that chef José Andrés started the WCK in 2010 by sending cooks and food to Haiti after an earthquake. The organisation has since delivered food for communities hit by natural disasters, refugees at the US border, healthcare workers during the Covid pandemic and people in conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.

In its most recent post from Monday on X, the WCK said its teams mobilised across Gaza daily to distribute food to displaced Palestinians.

It said:

Our 60+ kitchens in southern and central Gaza are cooking hundreds of thousands of meals each day like this mujadara, a comforting dish of rice, lentils, and caramelised onions.

Updated

Opening summary

Welcome to our live coverage of a reported air strike on a convoy in central Gaza that has killed four foreign nationals, according to the territory’s health officials. Here’s what we know so far:

  • The Israeli military said it was investigating after nationals from UK, Australia and Poland who were working for the World Central Kitchen were reportedly in the convoy that was struck.

  • The nationality of a fourth aid worker was not immediately known. A Palestinian translator was also reportedly killed.

  • The group were travelling in a convoy that was hit south of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, local officials said.

  • The media office of the Hamas-run government of Gaza reported the deaths late on Monday.

  • Footage showed the bodies of the five dead at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah. Several of them wore protective body armour with the charity’s logo. Hospital staff showed the passports of three of the dead – British, Australian and Polish.

  • The source of strike could not be independently confirmed.

  • World Central Kitchen said: “This is a tragedy. Humanitarian aid workers and civilians should never be a target.”

  • A spokesperson for the Israel Defence Forces, Avichay Adraee, said it was “conducting a thorough review at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident”.

  • Medical officials said the group had been helping to deliver food and other supplies to northern Gaza that had arrived hours early by ship.

We’ll bring you all the latest developments on the story as they come to light.

Updated

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