Israel's 11-week blockade of humanitarian aid entering Gaza has ended.

This morning, the UN hoped 100 aid trucks would travel into the Gaza Strip.

By this afternoon, they said that no aid had been distributed in Gaza as supplies hadn't arrived at the organisation's "warehouses and delivery points".

BBC's Rushdi Abualouf says trucks had been parked and waiting at the border crossing for nearly eight hours, having not been allowed to enter the designated area where Israeli trucks usually unload their cargo.

In response, Israel says 93 aid trucks had been transferred to the Gaza Strip today.

UN humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, told the BBC earlier that 14,000 babies would die in Gaza in the next 48 hours if aid supplies don't reach them.

Throughout the day, BBC's Alice Cuddy has been speaking to mothers of malnourished children, ambulance drivers and the family of a deceased hostage about the situation in Gaza.

The UK's Foreign Secretary David Lammy said "we are entering a dark new phase of this conflict" as he announced the UK was suspending trade negotiation with Israel.

Hours later, the European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, ordered a review a free trade deal between the EU and Israel.

We're ending our live coverage for the day but you can keep up to date with our news story, a closer look at the UK's actions and analysis from BBC's Jeremy Bowen.

Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Jerusalem

Yesterday, we reported that a severely malnourished baby, Siwar Ashour, was being discharged from Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza.

We’ve been catching up again with her mother today, who says that five-month-old Siwar cannot absorb regular formula milk and doctors told her supplies for the formula she needs were scarce.

Najwa tells us that the “new milk formula appears to be working”.

“I don’t have scales to weigh her but she feels a bit heavier,” she says.

She adds that she is concerned about her malnourished baby living between a tent and a partially destroyed room, and fears for the future if more aid does not arrive.

“I’m worried that when I run out of this new milk, she’ll lose weight again,” she says.

You can look back at my colleague Fergal Keane's reporting on malnourished children in Gaza here.

A changing tone in recent weeks from Trump's administrationpublished at 21:09 British Summer Time 20 May

21:09 BST 20 May

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent

Image source, Reuters

We’ve had a confirmation from Trump’s top diplomat that the administration had been pressuring Israel over recent days to lift its aid blockade on Gaza.

It came here at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Marco Rubio answered questions from senators for the first time since becoming Secretary of State.

Of the “trickle” - as one senator put it - of food now allowed into Gaza, Rubio said: “I don’t think you would have seen the events of the last couple of days without our engagement,” adding that he understood the view that the amount was “insufficient”.

It follows a changing tone in recent weeks from the administration, moving from previously answering questions about the humanitarian crisis by focusing blame solely on Hamas, to starting to apply some pressure to its Israeli ally.

Rubio also confirmed that the administration has been speaking to unnamed countries about what he called “voluntary” relocation of Palestinians from Gaza (without detailing any numbers).

That was in light of an NBC report at the weekend that the Trump administration was working on a plan to “move” 1 million Palestinians to Libya.

It follows Trump’s plans, conve yed over several weeks in February, to expel Palestinians from Gaza and annex the territory to the US, a move which would violate the Fourth Geneva Convention but which the administration claimed was a humanitarian gesture.

Pressed about the latest reports, Rubio said he was not aware of Libya being involved - the White House had earlier described the story an untrue but didn’t give further details.

But the ideas - alongside Trump’s own proposals - will again be seized on by Israel’s ultra nationalist and settler far right, who interpret such signals by the US as a green light for their desire to expel Palestinians - whose dispossession has been a key driver of the century old conflict.

Israel's special envoy for trade, Hassan-Nahoum, tells BBC Radio 4's PM programme that the UK has "double standards" when it condemns Israel.

"Britain sells arms, in fact £17bn worth of arms to countries that are considered human rights abusers," she says.

The show's host Evan Davis asks whether countries that have long been allies of Israel aren't entitled to criticise them for their bombings and blockades in Gaza.

She says it would be more legitimate if the UK condemned Hamas and that aid organisations work with Hamas - Davis pushes back on both claims.

Hassan-Nahoum challenges Davis, saying that "Hamas creates an artificial lack of aid". "So what is Israel supposed to do?" she asks.

Condemning Israel is "very performative", she says, suggesting the UK should instead " help Israel come up with creative solutions".

UK is cranking up the pressure on Israel - but why now?published at 20:53 British Summer Time 20 May

20:53 BST 20 May

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent

British ministers have lost patience with Israel’s government over Gaza and are cranking up the pressure - suspending UK Israel trade talks, summoning Israel’s ambassador and sanctioning some more settlers - all wrapped up with strong condemnatory rhetoric from the foreign secretary in the Commons.

But why is the government acting now?

Officials say the sheer scale of the humanitarian crisis after two months of blockade played a part, as did the lack of any clear path towards a ceasefire.

Ministers were responding, too, to growing pressure from the public and from parliament.

There was also an awareness the White House was becoming frustrated with Israel – President Trump sidestepped the country on his Middle East tour last week and Vice President Vance postponed a trip there this week.

But throughout David Lammy’s statement, he was urged repeatedly by MPs from all sides of the House to go further and impose more economic sanctions and a full arms embargo on Israel, along with officially recognising the state of Palestine.

Mr Lammy promised to consider further concrete actions but refused to say what. But he did acknowledge he was “in close dialogue” with both France and Saudi Arabia about the idea of Palestinian state recognition.

But diplomats say they would still prefer to use recognition as a spur to further action, perhaps as part of a wider peace settlement, rather than a symbolic expression of anger against Israel and support for Palestinians.

Former Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, claims that what Israel "is doing now in Gaza, is very close to a war crime".

He adds that this is "a war without a purpose - a war without a chance of achieving anything that can save the lives of the hostages."

Olmert - who was speaking to the BBC News channel - was instrumental in Israel's exit from Gaza in 2005 before becoming prime minister between 2006 to 2009.

He says the "obvious appearance" of the war is that thousands of innocent Palestinians are being killed, as well as many Israeli soldiers.

"From every point of view, this is obnoxious and outrageous", he explains.

"We are fighting the killers of Hamas, we are not fighting innocent civilians," he says. "And that has to be clear."

• For context: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he "will take control of all of Gaza", but will stop the offensive if Hamas releases Israeli hostages and lays down arms. Israel also says the UK, France and Canada, who urged Israel to change their course of action in Gaza, are standing on the "wrong side of history".

Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Jerusalem

A paramedic says his ambulance was shot at this afternoon by an Israeli drone while he was transporting staff and food between hospitals.

Khaled Sadeh, a paramedic and ambulance driver, said he was with another ambulance on the road between the al-Awda and Kamal Adwan hospitals in northern Gaza when bullets were fired on both vehicles’ windshields. Nobody was injured.

He said he was unable to return to al-Awda because of the threat of Israeli fire.

In a WhatsApp message, al-Awda’s director Mohammed Salha said the ambulances had been shot at by Israeli forces, and shared photos of the vehicles.

“The driver’s stuck - can’t come back to the hospital,” he wrote in a message earlier today.

The BBC supplied details of the allegations and photos with the Israel Defense Forces, who said they "could not confirm" the reports.

Image source, Supplied

Tom Joyner
Live reporter

Image source, Reuters

In Gaza, finding basic food supplies is a daily struggle.

I spoke to Safah Srour, who was forced to find refuge in Deir al Balah after Israeli warplanes bombed her home.

Safah and many people in her neighbourhood are down to just one meal a day, made from whatever they have.

Sometimes, she makes her way to the local market in the hope of affording a rare luxury: fresh produce. But prices have skyrocketed in recent weeks.

A kilo of onions, which may once have cost her 10 shekels (£2) before the war, is now 120 shekels (£25). Meat is entirely out of the question.

"Fish costs you an arm and a leg," she says.

Safah, instead, has to dig into her small stockpile of canned goods, though even that is dwindling.

Children have it much worse, she says.

Lacking proper nutrition, they no longer play on the street like they did earlier in the war. "They all just sit doing nothing. They are not like other children."

Until earlier this month, Safah could rely on meals provided by aid organisation World Central Kitchen. But they had to put that on hold after running out of supplies.

"Now we get nothing," she tells me. "It's a disaster."

Rushdi Abualouf
Gaza correspondent reporting from Cairo

Image source, Reuters

So far, no humanitarian aid has entered Gaza.

What has happened is that Shuheiber and Aql companies which operate the largest truck fleets were instructed to move to a location about 1.2 miles (2km) from the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing and wait there.

The trucks have been parked and waiting for nearly eight hours.

But they have not been allowed to enter the designated area where Israeli trucks usually unload their cargo before withdrawing, allowing the Palestinian trucks to enter, undergo inspection, and transport the goods.

Tom Bennett
Reporting from Jerusalem

Image source, Getty Images

The UK government has announced sanctions on Daniella Weiss, a far-right Israeli settler known as the "godmother" of the settler movement.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the move "demonstrates our determination to hold extremist settlers to account as Palestinian communities suffer violence and intimidation".

Weiss, 79, is the leader of a radical settler organisation called Nachala - or homeland - which has also been sanctioned.

For decades, Weiss has been prominent in the founding of Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, on land captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.

In the sanctions sheet, she was described as having been involved in "threatening, perpetrating, promoting and supporting, acts of aggression and violence against Palestinian individuals".

An Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson described the sanctions - which also target two other settlers, two illegal settler outposts, and two organisations - as "unjustified, and regrettable".

• Read the full story on the announcement

Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Jerusalem

We’ve been catching up with the family of six-year-old Ismail Abu Odeh, who cried last week when he dropped a meal he had collected at a food distribution point and again the next day when no water or food arrived at the camp.

His father said that the food kitchen was no longer coming to their displacement camp in Gaza City.

“Many of the kitchens in the area stopped working,” he said.

But he added that the family had managed to source some lentils which they had cooked today.

As we have been reporting, Israel has said it will allow “basic food aid” into Gaza following an 11-week blockade. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said it is "abominable" that fewer than 10 aid trucks entered Gaza yesterday.

Image source, Reuters

We've just heard that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered his "senior negotiating team" to return from Qatar.

The statement, released by his office, reads: "After about a week of hectic contacts in Doha, the senior negotiating team will return to Israel for consultations, and working levels will remain in Doha at this stage."

Israel agrees to the US proposal for the return of hostages based on the outline by US envoy Steve Witkoff, the statement adds.

For context, Witkoff's plan involves Israel allowing a 50-day ceasefire in exchange for half of the remaining hostages to be released straight away, and the remainder to be released if an agreement is then reached.

"This proposal was recently conveyed to Hamas through mediators, but so fair it continues to adhere to its refusal," the statement added.

Meanwhile, Hamas has accused Netanyahu of entering the talks in bad faith and pretending to participate. "No real negotiations have taken place since last Saturday," they said in a statement on Tuesday.

Lucy Williamson
Middle East correspondent

Back on the ground in Gaza now - our Middle East correspondent Lucy Williamson, in Jerusalem, has been speaking to a healthcare professional.

The UN says thousands of children already suffering severe acute malnutrition in Gaza, as aid begins trickling in after Israel’s lifting of an 11-week blockade.

This is Heba, a 7-month-old baby who weighs the same as a newborn.

Image source, Awda Health and Community Association

The number of patients at the Awda malnutrition unit in central Gaza has doubled during the aid blockade.

The clinic says it’s two weeks away from running out of life-saving drugs.

Ali Naser Jabr, project coordinator for the Awda Health and Community Association says some supplements are out of stock already, especially ones for mothers.

“For two weeks we have enough stock for this type of intervention, but the situation is not just about the stock itself.

"We have a problem now with accessibility as well. A lot of cases suffering from malnutrition cannot come, cannot move, cannot go to the hospitals.

"Since the closure [there are] no cars, no fuel, no electricity, no transportation, so they cannot come. They cannot reach the hospital or the stabilisation centre," he says, adding that the entire population in Gaza is suffering from the lack of food.

Image source, Reuters

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric has said that no humanitarian aid has been distributed in Gaza today.

In his daily press briefing, Dujarric went on to explain some of the intricacies around the distribution process.

The UN announced earlier that Israel had allowed around 100 aid lorries to cross the border after an 11-week blockade.

However, Dujarric said that while aid has entered Gaza, it hasn't yet reached the organisation's warehouses and delivery points.

He described the process as a "complicated operation".

"Israeli authorities are requiring us to offload supplies on the Palestinian side of Kerem Shalom crossing, and reload them separately once they secure our teams' access from inside the Gaza Strip," he clarifies.

"Only then are we able to bring any supplies closer to where people in need are sheltering."

We're now seeing a statement from COGAT, a branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) that deals with logistical coordination between Israel and the Gaza Strip.

The statement says that Israel allowed 93 UN trucks carrying humanitarian aid, including flour for bakeries, food for babies, medical equipment, and pharmaceutical drugs to cross into Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing.

Not long ago, the UN's Stephane Dujarric said that supplies arriving into Gaza had not reached the organisation's warehouses and delivery points to be distributed.

Israel says that "all aid was transferred only after a thorough security inspection by personnel from the Ministry of Defense’s Crossing Points Authority".

"The IDF will continue to facilitate humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip while making every effort to ensure that the aid does not reach the hands of the Hamas terrorist organisation," the statement concludes.

Image source, EPA

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, has ordered a review of the EU-Israel association agreement, a free trade deal between the two regions.

The decision follows Israel's 11-week blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

"In the meantime, it is up to Israel to unblock humanitarian aid," she says in a press conference following the Foreign Affairs Council.

"Saving lives must be our top priority."

A discussion into the review was proposed earlier by the Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp.

As a reminder, the UK suspended its free trade negotiations with Israel earlier today, we have more on that in our earlier post.

Image source, Getty Images

No humanitarian aid has been distributed yet in the Gaza Strip today, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric says.

This is despite supplies arriving at the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, a solely commercial goods junction with Israel in southern Gaza.

"Today, one of our teams waited several hours for the Israeli green light to access the Kerem Shalom area and collect the nutrition supplies. Unfortunately, they were not able to to bring those supplies into our warehouse," Dujarric says during a UN daily briefing.

He adds that "more supplies have come into the Gaza Strip" but says UN teams on the ground have "not been able to secure the arrival of those supplies into our warehouses and delivery points".

As a reminder, the UN said earlier that Israel had given permission for around 100 aid lorries to enter Gaza after 11 weeks of blocking all aid.

Let's return to some news we heard this morning, when the UN's humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher spoke to BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

During the interview, Fletcher said 14,000 babies could die in Gaza in the next 48 hours if more aid doesn't reach them. Pressed on that figure by the BBC's Anna Foster, Fletcher said it was "utterly chilling".

We've since asked the UN for details on that 14,000 number - to which Jens Laerke, their human rights commission spokesman, provided the following statement:

"We are pointing to the imperative of getting supplies in to save an estimated 14,000 babies suffering from severe acute malnutrition in Gaza, as the IPC partnership [Integrated Food Security Phase Classification] has warned about.

"We need to get the supplies in as soon as possible, ideally within the next 48 hours."

In some analysis released earlier this month, external, the IPC estimated that nearly 71,000 children under the age of five are expected to be "acutely malnourished" over the next 11 months - of which "14,100 cases are expected to be severe".

Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Jerusalem

In al-Mawasi in southern Gaza, 60-year-old grandmother Wafa Qablan says "we last ate a meal the day before yesterday. Yesterday, we didn’t eat anything."

Wafa says members of her family went to a food distribution point this morning, but returned empty-handed.

“Us adults can handle it but what about the children?” she says, adding that her grandchildren needed to take “several rests” when walking anywhere because of their hunger.

She says they are struggling to feed her four-month-old grandson because there is no water to make his milk formula.

Image source, Reuters

We're heading back to the US now, where Secretary of State Marco Rubio is responding to questions about Gaza at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

When asked about plans to deport Palestinians in Gaza, Rubio says the US has asked some other countries in the region if they'd be open to accepting people voluntarily. He rejects the term deportation, and says "you don’t want people trapped there".

"They may want to come back, they may want to live there in the future, but right now they can't. But if there are some nations willing to accept them in the interim period, yes we’ve asked countries preliminarily whether they’d be open to accepting people," he says.

Rubio also says Trump's administration is "happy to see they have allowed aid to begin to flow and we hope that will continue". This comes after the UN said Israel gave permission for around 100 aid lorries to enter Gaza today after 11 weeks of blocking all aid.

He adds that Israel remains a "strong ally of the US", saying: "We're supportive and we understand why, for their security, Hamas cannot exist."

As a reminder, Rubio was earlier disrupted by protesters against the Gaza war.