Closing summary
It has gone 4pm in Gaza, Tel Aviv and Beirut, and 5pm in Sana’a. We will be closing this blog soon, but you can stay up to date on the Guardian’s Middle East coverage here.
Here is a recap of the latest developments:
The bodies of six foreign aid workers killed in a Gaza strike are expected to be transported out via Egypt on Wednesday. Israeli bombardment killed seven staff of the US-based food charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) on Monday in an attack that UN chief António Guterres labelled “unconscionable” and “an inevitable result of the way the war is being conducted”. The remains of the six international staff, who were killed alongside one Palestinian colleague, were set to be taken out of Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt, said Marwan al-Hams, director of the city’s Abu Youssef al-Najjar hospital.
WCK founder José Andrés described the seven people killed on a WCK mission in Gaza on Monday as the “best of humanity”. He wrote in a piece published in English in the New York Times and in Hebrew in Yedioth Ahronoth: “They are not faceless or nameless. They are not generic aid workers or collateral damage in war … we welcome the government’s promise of an investigation into how and why members of our World Central Kitchen family were killed.”
Joe Biden said that Israel is not doing enough to protect aid workers and has called for a swift investigation into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) drone attack in Gaza which killed seven people working for the WCK charity.“This conflict has been one of the worst in recent memory in terms of how many aid workers have been killed,” the US president said, in comments that were highly critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Early on Wednesday, the IDF chief of staff Herzi Halevi put the strike down to “misidentification”, adding that the “the strike was not carried out with the intention of harming WCK aid workers,” and that it was a mistake that should not have happened.
Rishi Sunak called for an urgent investigation into the deaths of three British aid workers working for the WCK who were killed by an Israeli airstrike that hit an aid convoy in Gaza. A Downing Street spokesperson said the prime minister “was appalled by the killing of aid workers, including three British nationals, in an airstrike in Gaza … and demanded a thorough and transparent independent investigation into what happened”.
The British citizens killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza will be remembered as “heroes”, their families have said. James Kirby, 47, John Chapman, 57 and James Henderson, 33, were among seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid workers killed in strikes by the Israel Defense Forces on Monday. The family of Chapman said in a statement on Wednesday, that he had been “subject to an inhumane act”.
The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza seems likely to worsen after charities announced they are suspending operations in the territory in the aftermath of an Israeli drone attack which repeatedly targeted a clearly identified convoy of international aid workers, killing seven. Calling the decision an “unprecedented step”, Anera said the killings, “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”
An attack that killed aid workers, including a Polish national, in Gaza and the reaction of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu have caused “understandable anger” and are straining relations with Warsaw, Poland’s prime minister said on Wednesday. “Mr prime minister Netanyahu, Mr ambassador Livne the vast majority of Poles showed full solidarity with Israel after the Hamas attack,” Donald Tusk wrote on social media platform X. “Today you are putting this solidarity to a really hard test. The tragic attack on volunteers and your reaction arouse understandable anger.”
Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese said he had spoken with Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling him that Australians were ‘outraged’ over the death of aid worker Zomi Frankcom in an Israeli airstrike. “There is a need for a thorough investigation into what happened here and prime minister Netanyahu committed to that,” Albanese said, before describing Frankcom as someone “who we can all be proud of”.
Australian foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said Netanyahu “must change course”. “I would say to Mr Netanyahu that wartime does not obviate responsibility for observing international humanitarian law, including the protection of aid workers,” Wong told the ABC. Wong, who also spoke with the Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz on Tuesday evening, reiterated that “unless Israel, Mr Netanyahu, changes his course of action, Israel will continue to lose [international] support. We say to Mr Netanyahu: you must change course”.
Canadian foreign minister, Mélanie Joly, called on Wednesday for a “full investigation” into the killing of aid workers in Gaza, among whom was a Canadian citizen, by an Israeli airstrike. Speaking on the sidelines of a Nato foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, Joly said Israel needed to respect international law, adding Canada would make sure it does.
Prosecutors in the home city of the Polish aid worker killed in Gaza launched an investigation into his killing, reported state news agency PAP on Wednesday. “We have started an investigation into the killing of Polish citizen Damian Sobol on 1-2 April in the Gaza Strip as a result of an attack by the Israeli armed forces using explosives,” Beata Starzecka, the deputy district prosecutor in Przemysl, told PAP.
“We should mourn the loss of these brave humanitarian workers, including the three British citizens that tragically were killed,” David Cameron, the UK foreign secretary, told press outside the Nato summit on Wednesday. Cameron added: “I welcome what the Israeli foreign minister said yesterday to me about a full, urgent and transparent inquiry into how this dreadful event was allowed to happen. And we want to see that happen very, very quickly.”
Pope Francis expressed his “deep sorrow” on Wednesday for the deaths of seven charity workers killed by an Israeli strike while they were delivering aid in Gaza. The 87-year-old pontiff said during his weekly audience at the Vatican:“I pray for them and their families.” He also renewed his appeal for access to humanitarian aid for the “exhausted and suffering civilian population” of Gaza, and for the hostages taken by Hamas to be released.
The UN Human Rights Council will consider a draft resolution on Friday calling for an arms embargo on Israel, citing the “plausible risk of genocide in Gaza”. If the draft resolution is adopted, it would mark the first time that the UN’s top rights body has taken a position on the war in Gaza.
An ongoing Lebanese army investigation has determined that a landmine injured three UN military observers and a translator last week, a judicial official said on Wednesday. The ongoing investigation by the army and peacekeepers from the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) has yet to determine who planted the mine, a Lebanese official told AFP, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media.
Israel’s military said on Wednesday it had obtained information that indicated a Hezbollah explosive charge had caused the blast in south Lebanon that injured three UN military observers and a translator last week. A source close to Hezbollah told AFP the Iran-backed group would “certainly not respond to the Israeli accusations”, adding that the matter was in the hands of Unifil and the army. Unifil spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told AFP that preliminary reports showed “the explosion was not caused by direct or indirect fire”.
The latest figures from the Gaza health ministry, which is run by Hamas, said 59 Palestinians were killed and 83 injured in Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours. According to the statement, at least 32,975 Palestinians have been killed and 75,577 have been injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October. The ministry does not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants.
The families of Israeli hostages have staged four consecutive nights of mass protests, joined by a resurgent anti-government movement. Thousands gathered in front of Israel’s parliament on Tuesday, with former prime minister Ehud Barak blaming Netanyahu for the 7 October “disaster” and demanding new elections.
Gen Ramazan Sharif, a spokesperson for Iran’s paramilitary revolutionary guard, accused Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of using airstrikes on countries in the region as a way to divert public attention from the “the racist nature of this regime.” He warned Israel over the airstrike that destroyed Iran’s consulate in Damascus, on Monday, and killed 12 people, including two Iranian generals. The strike has been widely blamed on Israel, but it has not clarified its involvement, and seldom comments on attacks it makes outside its borders.
The Vermont senator and former US presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders told the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu: “Stop murdering innocent people.” Sanders delivered his blunt message in an interview with MSNBC on Tuesday, a day after seven aid workers were killed by an Israeli strike in Gaza.
The UK government is under pressure from Tory MPs and peers to stop arming Israel after seven humanitarian aid workers were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza. Three Conservatives told the Guardian on Wednesday that the UK should stop exporting arms to Israel after the strike, which killed three British aid workers.
Lord Ricketts, who was the former permanent secretary at the UK Foreign Office, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Wednesday: “Sometimes in conflict, you get a moment where there’s such global outrage that it crystalises a sense that things can’t go on like this.” Ricketts said the international community “needs to look at further steps to increase the pressure on [Israeli prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu,” adding that the UK should stop arming Israel.
The country director for American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera) in Palestine, Sandra Rasheed told Al Jazeera that the aid agency had paused its operations in Gaza. She told the news network: “This is something that we were forced to do to ensure our safety. Our staff have guided our work, and they themselves feel like there’s a target on their backs.”
Updated
The British citizens killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza will be remembered as “heroes”, their families have said.
James Kirby, a 47-year-old former Army sniper, and John Chapman, 57, were among seven World Central Kitchen aid workers killed in strikes by the Israel Defense Forces on Monday.
The pair worked in the charity’s security team and died alongside fellow British military veteran James Henderson, 33.
Kirby’s family described him as a “genuine gentleman” who lost his life trying to help others.
In a statement to the BBC, they said: “As a family, we are utterly heartbroken by the loss of our beloved James Kirby. Alongside the other six individuals who tragically lost their lives, he will be remembered as a hero.
“James understood the dangers of venturing into Gaza, drawing from his experiences in the British Armed Forces, where he bravely served tours in Bosnia and Afghanistan. Despite the risks, his compassionate nature drove him to offer assistance to those in dire need.”
You can read the full piece by Emine Sinmaz here:
World Central Kitchen founder describes seven killed in Gaza aid convoy strike as the 'best of humanity'
World Central Kitchen (WCK) founder José Andrés has written a piece published in English in the New York Times and in Hebrew in Yedioth Ahronoth. Here are some of the key quotes:
The seven people killed on a World Central Kitchen mission in Gaza on Monday were the best of humanity. They are not faceless or nameless. They are not generic aid workers or collateral damage in war.
We welcome the government’s promise of an investigation into how and why members of our World Central Kitchen family were killed. That investigation needs to start at the top, not just the bottom.
(The strike) was a direct attack on clearly marked vehicles whose movements were known by the Israel Defense Forces. It was also the direct result of a policy that squeezed humanitarian aid to desperate levels.
UN rights council to consider call for Israel arms embargo
The UN Human Rights Council will consider a draft resolution on Friday calling for an arms embargo on Israel, citing the “plausible risk of genocide in Gaza”, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
If the draft resolution is adopted, it would mark the first time that the UN’s top rights body has taken a position on the war in Gaza.
According to AFP, the text condemns “the use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects by Israel” in populated areas of Gaza and demands Israel “uphold its legal responsibility to prevent genocide”.
The draft resolution was brought forward by Pakistan on behalf of 55 of the 56 UN member states in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) – the exception being Albania. The text is co-sponsored by Bolivia, Cuba and the Palestinian mission in Geneva.
AFP reports that the eight-page draft demands Israel end its occupation of Palestinian territory and immediately lifts its “illegal blockade” on the Gaza Strip.
Reportedly, it also calls upon countries to stop the sale or transfer of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel, citing “a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza”.
The draft, say AFP, also “condemns the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare”, calls for an immediate ceasefire and “condemns Israeli actions that may amount to ethnic cleansing”.
Last week, the UN security council in New York passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire – thanks to an abstention from Washington, Israel’s closest ally.
The draft being brought in Geneva calls on states to ensure that the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) receives sufficient funding and demands Israel stop expanding settlements in Palestinian territories.
It “reaffirms that criticism of violations of international law by Israel should not be conflated with antisemitism”.
The resolution condemns the firing of rockets against Israeli civilian areas and demands “the immediate release of all remaining hostages and detainees”.
AFP reports that the council will discuss on Friday whether to adopt the resolution, alongside three other resolutions concerning Israeli settlements, the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, and human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan.
Israel has long accused the Human Rights Council of being biased against it.
The UK government is under pressure from Tory MPs and peers to stop arming Israel after seven humanitarian aid workers were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.
Three Conservatives told the Guardian on Wednesday that the UK should stop exporting arms to Israel following the strike, which killed three British aid workers.
Their intervention comes after Peter Ricketts, who was a government national security adviser during David Cameron’s premiership, said the “time has come” to send a signal and stop exporting arms.
David Jones, the Conservative MP for Clwyd West, said the Israeli strike on the aid convoy was “extraordinary”.
“The government should urgently reassess its supply of arms and deliver a stern warning to Israel about its conduct. Israel has every right to defend itself and every right to act proportionately – that doesn’t include people who are trying to do good,” he said.
“Given that we’ve seen three British citizens – all of them ex-forces – killed in what is, at best, a negligent manner I think that we really need to reassess our supply of weaponry there.”
“I thought that [Benjamin] Netanyahu’s response – ‘these things happen in war’ – was completely inadequate, frankly shamefully inadequate.”
Flick Drummond, the Conservative MP for Meon Valley, said UK arms sales to Israel should be stopped “for the foreseeable future”.
You can read the full piece by Eleni Courea and Sammy Gecsoyler:
Lebanese official says landmine injured UN observers
An ongoing Lebanese army investigation has determined that a landmine wounded three UN military observers and a translator last week, a judicial official said on Wednesday, according to a report by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“Preliminary results of a Lebanese army investigation have found that the observers were wounded by a landmine,” the Lebanese official told AFP, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media.
The ongoing investigation by the army and peacekeepers from the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) has yet to determine who planted the mine, the official added, noting three mines were in the area, “one of which exploded”.
Unifil said that military observers from Australia, Chile and Norway and a Lebanese language assistant were wounded in Saturday’s blast.
The observers from the UN’s Truce Supervision Organisation (Untso), which supports Unifil, had been on a foot patrol along the Blue Line – the UN-demarcated border between Lebanon and Israel, the peacekeepers said.
Israel’s military said on Wednesday it had obtained information that indicated a Hezbollah explosive charge had caused the blast.
A source close to Hezbollah told AFP the Iran-backed group would “certainly not respond to the Israeli accusations”, adding that the matter was in the hands of Unifil and the army.
Unifil spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told AFP that preliminary reports showed “the explosion was not caused by direct or indirect fire”.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency had reported on Saturday that an “enemy [Israeli] drone” raided the Rmeish area where the blasts struck.
The Israeli army had told AFP: “We did not strike in the area”.
Gen Ramazan Sharif, a spokesperson for Iran’s paramilitary revolutionary guard, accused Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of using airstrikes on countries in the region as a way to divert public attention from the “the racist nature of this regime.”
Associated Press reports he warned Israel over the airstrike that destroyed Iran’s consulate in Damascus, on Monday, and killed 12 people, including two Iranian generals. The strike has been widely blamed on Israel, but it has not clarified its involvement, and seldom comments on attacks it makes outside its borders.
Iran has vowed revenge after Israeli war planes destroyed Iran’s consulate in Syria’s capital city. Gen Sharif said that “soon we will see deadlier blows to the Zionist regime and the Resistance Front will carry out its duties in this regard.”
Iran often refers to a loose coalition including Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis as a resistance front against Israel.
The family of John Chapman, who was killed on Monday in Gaza in an Israeli airstrike on the aid convoy he was working with, has issued a statement via the UK’s Foreign Office. In it, the family say:
We are devastated to have lost John, who was killed in Gaza. He died trying to help people and was subject to an inhumane act. He was an incredible father, husband, son and brother.
We request we be given space and time to grieve appropriately. He was loved by many and will for ever be a hero. He will be missed dearly.
The UK’s prime minister Rishi Sunak has called for an urgent investigation into the deaths of three British aid workers working for the charity World Central Kitchen in the airstrike which killed seven people in total.
A Downing Street spokesperson said the prime minister “was appalled by the killing of aid workers, including three British nationals, in an airstrike in Gaza … and demanded a thorough and transparent independent investigation into what happened”.
Al Jazeera has spoken to Sandra Rasheed, who is the country director for American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera) in Palestine. She told the news network that the aid agency had paused its operations in beseiged Gaza.
It quotes her saying:
This is something that we were forced to do to ensure our safety. Our staff have guided our work, and they themselves feel like there’s a target on their backs.
I think the more that we have time to process this, the more surprising and shocking it is that three convoy vehicles were hit by three different bombs – through the roof of their car, which indicates a targeted killing.
David Cameron, the UK foreign secretary, spoke about the aid workers killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza.
“We should mourn the loss of these brave humanitarian workers, including the three British citizens that tragically were killed,” he said to press outside the Nato summit.
“We should also send our condolences to their families and our thoughts should be with them.”
The three British citizens who were working with World Central Kitchen (WCK) have been named as John Chapman, 57, James Henderson, 33, and James Kirby, 47, who were working for the charity’s security team. They were killed by an Israeli airstrike on Monday.
Speaking to the press, Cameron added: “I welcome what the Israeli foreign minister said yesterday to me about a full, urgent and transparent inquiry into how this dreadful event was allowed to happen. And we want to see that happen very, very quickly.
“I also welcome the fact that he spoke about much more aid getting into Gaza, up to 500 trucks a day. That is essential. We’ve been promised these things before and this really needs to happen, including longer opening times at the vital crossing points.
“But of course, the extra aid won’t work unless there is proper deconfliction, unless aid can be taken around Gaza, and we avoid the dreadful incidents like we’ve seen in the last couple of days. That is vital and Britain will be watching very closely to make sure that that happens.”
UN rights council to consider call for Israel arms embargo citing 'collective punishment' and 'plausible risk of genocide'
The UN Human Rights Council will consider a draft resolution on Friday calling for an arms embargo on Israel, citing the “plausible risk of genocide in Gaza”.
AFP reports the text condemns “the use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects by Israel” in populated areas of the Gaza Strip and demands that Israel “uphold its legal responsibility to prevent genocide”.
The text was brought forward by Pakistan on behalf of 55 of the 56 UN member states in the Organisation of Islamic cooperation (OIC) – the exception being Albania. The draft resolution is also co-sponsored by Bolivia, Cuba and the Palestinian mission in Geneva.
The eight-page draft demands that Israel end its occupation of Palestinian territory and immediately lifts its “illegal blockade” on the Gaza Strip and all other forms of “collective punishment”.
It calls upon countries to stop the sale or transfer of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel, citing “a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza”.
The draft “condemns the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects by Israel in populated areas in Gaza” and voices grave concern at the effects of explosive weapons on hospitals, schools, water, electricity and shelter in Gaza.
The draft resolution also calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and “condemns Israeli actions that may amount to ethnic cleansing” and “the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare”.
Here are some of the latest images on the newswires:
Canadian foreign minister calls for 'full investigation' into Gaza aid convoy strike
Further to the comments made by Canada’s foreign affairs minister Mélanie Joly in Brussels on Wednesday (see 11:11 BST), my colleague Lili Bayer has sent over additional quotes.
Joly said: “Unfortunately a Canadian was killed in the IDF strike that targeted humanitarian workers from World Kitchen. My deepest condolences to their loved ones and family members.
We call for a full investigation, we want to make sure that Israel goes – looks directly into this issue. I’ve reached out last night to Israel Katz, my Israeli counterpart, on this very issue.
Israel needs to respect international humanitarian law, and we will make sure that that is the case.”
Updated
Israel army implicates Hezbollah in UN peacekeepers’ wounding
Israel’s military said on Wednesday it had obtained information that indicated a Hezbollah explosive charge caused the blast that injured UN peacekeepers in Lebanon last week, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The UN peacekeeping force said three military observers and a translator were injured in Saturday’s blast in south Lebanon, where Israel and Hezbollah militants trade frequent cross-border fire.
“According to information available to the (army), the explosion that occurred on 30 March … occurred after a Unifil patrol passed over a charge that had been previously placed by Hezbollah in the area,” army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on X, reports AFP.
After the blast, the army told AFP: “We did not strike in the area.”
The military observers, from Australia, Chile and Norway, and a Lebanese language assistant were on patrol near the Blue Line – the UN-demarcated border between Israel and Lebanon.
Israel and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah have exchanged near-daily fire since Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported an “enemy [Israeli] drone” raided the Rmeish area of southern Lebanon where the incident is said to have occurred.
Cross-border fire since October has killed at least 347 people in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters, but also at least 68 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
The fighting has displaced tens of thousands of people in southern Lebanon and in northern Israel, where the military says 10 soldiers and eight civilians have been killed.
Canada’s foreign affairs minister Mélanie Joly called on Wednesday for a full investigation into the killing of aid workers in Gaza, among whom was a Canadian citizen, by an Israeli airstrike.
Speaking on the sidelines of a Nato foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, Joly said Israel needed to respect international law, adding Canada would make sure it does, reports Reuters.
Updated
The families of Israeli hostages have staged four consecutive nights of mass protests, joined by a resurgent anti-government movement, reports AFP.
According to the news agency, thousands gathered in front of Israel’s parliament on Tuesday, with former prime minister Ehud Barak blaming Netanyahu for the 7 October “disaster” and demanding new elections.
Bernie Sanders to Benjamin Netanyahu: ‘Stop murdering innocent people’
The Vermont senator and former US presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders has a message for the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu: “Stop murdering innocent people.”
Sanders delivered his blunt message in an interview with MSNBC on Tuesday, a day after seven aid workers were killed by an Israeli strike in Gaza.
“Stop murdering innocent people,” Sanders said. “Two-thirds of the people who have been killed, over 32,000 people have been killed [in Gaza], are women and children. This is inexcusable.”
Netanyahu is unlikely to heed advice from the Democratic socialist senator, a hero to the US left who sits as an independent but caucuses with Democrats. But Sanders’ words will be heard across a Democratic party in upheaval over Israel’s war against Hamas and the Biden administration’s reluctance to rein in Netanyahu.
You can read the full piece by Martin Pengelly in Washington here:
Bodies of foreign aid workers killed in Gaza strike to be repatriated
The bodies of six foreign aid workers killed in a Gaza strike are expected to be transported out via Egypt on Wednesday, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Israeli bombardment killed seven staff of the US-based food charity World Central Kitchen on Monday in an attack that UN chief António Guterres labelled “unconscionable” and “an inevitable result of the way the war is being conducted”.
The remains of the six international staff, who were killed alongside one Palestinian colleague, were set to be taken out of Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt, said Marwan al-Hams, director of the city’s Abu Youssef al-Najjar hospital.
Prosecutors in the home city of the Polish aid worker killed in Gaza have launched an investigation into his killing, reports Reuters citing state news agency PAP.
“We have started an investigation into the killing of Polish citizen Damian Sobol on 1-2 April in the Gaza Strip as a result of an attack by the Israeli armed forces using explosives,” Beata Starzecka, the deputy district prosecutor in Przemysl, told PAP.
Updated
59 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours, says health ministry
The latest figures from the Gaza health ministry, which is run by Hamas, said 59 Palestinians were killed and 83 injured in Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours.
According to the statement, at least 32,975 Palestinians have been killed and 75,577 have been injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October.
The ministry does not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants.
The UK should stop arming Israel, a former national security adviser has said, after seven international aid workers were killed in Gaza in an Israeli airstrike.
Lord Ricketts, who was also the former permanent secretary at the Foreign Office, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Sometimes in conflict, you get a moment where there’s such global outrage that it crystalises a sense that things can’t go on like this.”
The seven aid workers, who had been delivering food aid to Gaza, were killed on Tuesday after reportedly being repeatedly targeted by an Israeli drone. Those killed – three British citizens, a Palestinian, a US-Canadian dual citizen, a Pole and an Australian – were working for the World Central Kitchen (WCK), an international charity that has brought hundreds of tonnes of food aid into Gaza.
Ricketts said the international community “needs to look at further steps to increase the pressure on [Israeli prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu,” adding that the UK should stop arming Israel.
“I think there’s abundant evidence now that Israel hasn’t been taking enough care to fulfil its obligations on the safety of civilians. And a country that gets arms from the UK has to comply with international humanitarian law. That’s a condition of the arms export licence. So honestly, I think the time has come to send that signal.
“It won’t change the course of the war. It would be a powerful political message. And it might just stimulate debate in the US as well, which would be the real gamechanger if the Americans began to think about putting limits restrictions on the use of American weapons in Israel”
You can read the full piece by Sammy Gecsoyler here:
Pope Francis expressed his “deep sorrow” on Wednesday for the deaths of seven charity workers killed by an Israeli strike while they were delivering aid in Gaza, reports the news agency, Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“I express my deep sorrow for the volunteers killed while they were distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza,” the 87-year-old pontiff said during his weekly audience at the Vatican.“I pray for them and their families.”
He renewed his appeal for access to humanitarian aid for the “exhausted and suffering civilian population” of Gaza, and for the hostages taken by Hamas to be released.
Polish PM Tusk says Gaza aid worker deaths caused 'understandable anger'
An attack that killed aid workers, including a Polish national, in Gaza and the reaction of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu have caused “understandable anger” and are straining relations with Warsaw, Poland’s prime minister said on Wednesday, reports Reuters.
“Mr prime minister Netanyahu, Mr ambassador Livne the vast majority of Poles showed full solidarity with Israel after the Hamas attack,” Donald Tusk wrote on social media platform X.
“Today you are putting this solidarity to a really hard test. The tragic attack on volunteers and your reaction arouse understandable anger.”
Panie premierze Netanjahu, panie ambasadorze Liwne, zdecydowana większość Polaków okazała pełną solidarność z Izraelem po ataku Hamasu. Dzisiaj poddajecie tę solidarność naprawdę ciężkiej próbie. Tragiczny atak na wolontariuszy i wasza reakcja budzą zrozumiałą złość.
— Donald Tusk (@donaldtusk) April 3, 2024
Updated
My colleague, Daniel Hurst, Guardian Australia’s foreign affairs and defence correspondent, has more reaction from the Australian government to the Gaza aid convoy strike. You can read his full piece at the link below, but here is a snippet:
Despite Netanyahu’s public comment that such things happened in times of war, Albanese said the Israeli prime minister in the phone call “did accept responsibility” for the tragedy “so there was no equivocation there”.
But the Australian foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, had a sharper response to Netanyahu.
“I would say to Mr Netanyahu that wartime does not obviate responsibility for observing international humanitarian law, including the protection of aid workers,” Wong told the ABC.
She noted that the conflict in Gaza had been “particularly fatal for aid workers” and cited UN figures that about 196 aid workers had been killed. “This is unacceptable.”
Wong, who also spoke with the Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz on Tuesday evening, reiterated that “unless Israel, Mr Netanyahu, changes his course of action, Israel will continue to lose [international] support”.
“We say to Mr Netanyahu: you must change course,” Wong said.
Australian prime minister conveys 'anger and concern' to Netanyahu over Gaza aid convoy strike – video
Anthony Albanese says he has spoken with Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling him that Australians were ‘outraged’ over the death of aid worker Zomi Frankcom in an Israeli airstrike.
“There is a need for a thorough investigation into what happened here and prime minister Netanyahu committed to that,” Albanese said, before describing Frankcom as someone “who we can all be proud of”.
You can watch and listen to Albanese’s comments in this video:
UK prime minister calls for investigation as British aid workers killed in Israeli airstrike named
Rishi Sunak has called for an urgent investigation into the deaths of three British aid workers working for the charity World Central Kitchen who were killed by an Israeli airstrike that hit an aid convoy in Gaza.
WSK confirmed that British victims John Chapman, 57, James “Jim” Henderson, 33, and James Kirby, 47, who were working for the charity’s security team, were among seven of its staff killed.
The team’s leader, Lalzawmi “Zomi” Frankcom, 43, an Australian national, also died, along with American-Canadian dual citizen Jacob Flickinger, 33, Polish national Damian Sobol, 35, and Palestinian Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha, 25.
The UK prime minister said far too many aid workers and ordinary civilians had lost their lives in Gaza during a conversation with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Tuesday.
David Cameron, the UK foreign secretary, spoke to his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, and requested an urgent explanation of the incident.
A Downing Street spokesperson said the prime minister “was appalled by the killing of aid workers, including three British nationals, in an airstrike in Gaza … and demanded a thorough and transparent independent investigation into what happened”.
The spokesperson added: “The prime minister said far too many aid workers and ordinary civilians have lost their lives in Gaza and the situation is increasingly intolerable.”
You can read the full piece by Eleni Courea, Emine Sinmaz and Nadeem Badshah here:
Biden says Israel is not doing enough to protect aid workers and calls for inquiry
Joe Biden has said that Israel is not doing enough to protect aid workers and has called for a swift investigation into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) drone attack in Gaza which killed seven people working for the World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity.
“This conflict has been one of the worst in recent memory in terms of how many aid workers have been killed,” the US president said, in comments that were highly critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
The strike on the WCK convoy killed citizens of Australia, Britain and Poland as well as Palestinians and a dual citizen of the US and Canada. Early on Wednesday, the IDF chief of staff Herzi Halevi put the strike down to “misidentification”, adding that the “the strike was not carried out with the intention of harming WCK aid workers,” and that it was a mistake that should not have happened.
Biden said he was “outraged and heartbroken” by the aid workers’ deaths and highlighted that this was not a standalone incident.
“This is a major reason why distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza has been so difficult – because Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians … Israel has also not done enough to protect civilians.”
You can read the full piece by Jonathan Yerushalmy here:
Updated
This explainer provides some key information on the Gaza aid convoy strike, such as what happened and who the victims were:
Charities halt Gaza aid after drone attack that killed seven workers
The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza seems likely to worsen after charities announced they are suspending operations in the territory in the aftermath of an Israeli drone attack which repeatedly targeted a clearly identified convoy of international aid workers, killing seven.
The strikes on a team from World Central Kitchen (WCK) led the charity – along with other aid organisations such as Anera, which helps refugees around the Middle East, and the US-based Project Hope, which focuses on healthcare – to announce on Tuesday that it would pause operations in Gaza to protect its staff.
Calling the decision an “unprecedented step”, Anera said the killings, “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”.
“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,” a statement said.
You can read the full piece by Bethan McKernan here:
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Opening summary
It has just gone 11am in Gaza and Tel Aviv. This is our latest Guardian live blog on the Israel-Gaza war and the wider Middle East crisis.
US president Joe Biden has said Israel is not doing enough to protect aid workers and has called for a swift investigation into the attack in Gaza which killed seven people working for the World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity.
“This conflict has been one of the worst in recent memory in terms of how many aid workers have been killed,” the Biden said, in comments that were highly critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
More on that in a moment but first, here’s a summary of the latest developments:
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.”
Israel’s prime minister has admitted Israeli forces killed the World Central Kitchen 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”.
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 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.
