Two charities - Save the Children and Islamic Relief - say they will continue operating in Gaza, after an Israeli air strike killed seven aid workers in the territory.

Save the Children says its staff will "continue working around the clock" despite a "horrendous trend" of attacks on aid workers.

The charity says it "takes all possible measures to keep our staff safe", but "that is getting harder".

Meanwhile, Islamic Relief says its staff remain "at constant risk alongside every other civilian in Gaza", with every aid delivery being "difficult and perilous".

Image source, EPA

Pope Francis has expressed his "deep sorrow" at the attack on the seven World Central Kitchen workers.

During his weekly audience at the Vatican today, he renewed his appeal for access to aid for the "exhausted and suffering civilian population" of Gaza, and for hostages taken by Hamas to be released.

These comments echoed the ones the 87 year-old leader of the Roman Catholic Church made during his Easter message earlier this week, when he made a call for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Image source, Reuters

The founder of World Central Kitchen José Andrés has called on Israel to "let people eat", after an Israeli air strike killed seven of the charity's workers in Gaza.

In an op-ed for the New York Times, external, Andrés says Israel "is better than the way this war is being waged".

"It is better than blocking food and medicine to civilians. It is better than killing aid workers who had coordinated their movements with the Israel Defense Forces," he says.

The charity head also disputes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claim that something like this "happens in war", saying Monday's strike "was a direct attack on clearly marked vehicles whose movements were known" by the military.

"It was also the direct result of a policy that squeezed humanitarian aid to desperate levels," he says, calling on the government to open more routes for the delivery of food and medicine to Gaza.

Andrés also pays tribute to the seven workers killed, calling them the "best of humanity".

More now from Harding.

He says the three British men's roles were to "to ensure that the convoy follows its safety procedures, that it stays on the correct route, and indeed to be on hand should anything untoward occur".

He adds that the men would have also worked to "remove people from immediate danger" in the event that the convoy came under fire.

He also says World Central Kitchen are “extremely experienced” and have a “long history of successful activities of this kind”.

Asked what information the charity would have given the Israeli military to minimise the chances of a strike on the convoy, he says: “They have been liaising very closely with all the interlocutors in the area to ensure that the correct protocols were followed and all information was known.”

He says aid organisations "will be looking very closely at what happened".

"Those who are willing to continue to operate in this way will be making sure they put as many risk control measures in place as possible to minimise risk," he adds.

We're now hearing from Solace Global, the security firm that employed the three British citizens killed in Monday's strike.

Speaking to the BBC, non-executive director Matthew Harding says the men were "all valued team members, to whom we were very close" and it was a "tragic loss".

He adds that the man were working as "security and safety advisors to the convoy”.

He confirms their convoy was hit as they were returning to the compound after delivering food aid.

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

The UK foreign secretary says an investigation into the deaths of aid workers in Gaza must happen "very, very quickly".

Speaking in Brussels, Lord Cameron says he welcomes Israel pledging a full, urgent and transparent inquiry.

He spoke to his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, after the death of three UK citizens.

Lord Cameron says that Katz had talked about getting more aid into Gaza - including up to 500 trucks a day.

"We've been promised these things before - this really needs to happen," Lord Cameron says.

He adds that the UK would watch "very closely" to ensure aid workers could travel safely around Gaza.

Image source, EPA

Lets bring you some reaction now from other charities operating in Gaza.

Natalia Anguera, head of operations in the Middle East for Action Against Hunger, says despite the killing of the seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, the charity will continue to work in Gaza.

It provides aid to more than 300,000 people, including fresh and dry food, nappies and water.

“The conditions are more and more challenging," she says.

"The lack of access – due to security situation often, but also the damage to infrastructure - and the shortage of will - is really hindering our capacity to deliver aid."

She adds that the majority of the staff are Palestinians, operating in a "very volatile" environment.

"They are suffering themselves, but they also have a very strong and clear commitment to their humanitarian mandate. They want to go on delivering."

She says the international community should "strongly push for a permanent ceasefire".

"That is the only way for everyone – national and expatriate staff - to do safe deliveries and scale up the humanitarian response, which is really what is needed.”

Yolande Knell
Middle East correspondent

In terms of exactly what happened, we know that this was a precise strike on this convoy of three vehicles, two of them armoured and bearing on their roofs the large, distinctive saucepan logo of World Central Kitchen (WCK).

This team had just left a warehouse, where they had been unloading 100 tonnes of food aid that had just arrived by sea.

The Israeli military is claiming that this was a mistake resulting from poor co-ordination between troops in the field and aid organisation officials. But there are big questions about what went wrong.

Israel’s prime minister said “this happens in war” and that “a thorough inquiry” was being conducted to prevent a recurrence.

But there are some Israeli media reports - such as in Haaretz newspaper – suggesting that this also shows there was also poor discipline with officers and soldiers violating regulations and orders.

There is now growing international pressure for better mechanisms so that humanitarian workers can operate effectively and safely.

Some Gazans have woken up wondering how they are going to feed their children today without WCK - they had 67 kitchens across Gaza, serving some 350,000 people a day but those operations are now suspended.

When it comes to the maritime route bringing in aid from Cyprus, there is now an awful situation where some 240 tonnes of desperately needed food supplies are being sent back to Larnaca port.

WCK had only offloaded one barge from a four-vessel flotilla which had just arrived off the coast of Gaza when they came under attack. For now, there is nobody else who can bring that aid in by sea.

We can now bring you the statement from James Kirby's family in full:

"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.

"A genuine gentleman, James was always willing to lend a helping hand to anyone, even in the face of senseless violence. James lost his life trying to save others, he will never know what a void he has left, our family will never be the same.

"We are so incredibly proud of who James was and what he achieved. Never stop caring and trying to help people, love will eventually overcome hate."

Image source, Reuters

The family of James Kirby - one of the three British nationals killed in the Israeli air strike in Gaza - have paid tribute to him. They say he will be remembered as a hero.

They say they are "incredibly proud of who James was and what he achieved".

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent

We have known for some time there have been tensions and frustrations within the US-Israel relationship, which is so crucial to events that have taken place in the Middle East.

These frustrations have been very much on show overnight.

US President Joe Biden put out a statement saying he was "outraged" and "heartbroken" at the killing of the seven humanitarian workers from World Central Kitchen, that Israel has admitted it was responsible for.

But he also said, very specifically, not just what all other world leaders said - that there should be an investigation, that it should be swift, that there should be accountability and the findings should be should be public.

Biden said this is not a standalone incident and that this conflict has been one of the worst in recent memory in terms of how many aid workers have been killed.

This is a major reason why distributing aid in Gaza has been so difficult, because Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers.

What is so significant about this is it's a demonstration of the allies becoming increasingly concerned by way Israel is prosecuting its war.

The UN secretary general Antonio Guterres echoed this on the floor of the UN General Assembly last night, saying that what had happened was an "inevitable result of the way the war was being conducted".

In other words, regardless of the actual findings of any investigation, what Biden is suggesting, what the UN leader is suggesting, is just the nature of the way Israel is behaving militarily on the battlefield is a way they are becoming unhappy with.

The Israeli strike that killed seven aid workers in Gaza was "appalling", Unicef says.

Tess Ingram, Unicef's communications specialist, told BBC Breakfast: "These were brave humanitarian workers doing their job.

"This absolutely should not happen in the line of duty and it is appalling they have been killed."

"In terms of operations, Unicef is staying and delivering", she says but adds that there will "certainly be an impact" from World Central Kitchen pausing their operations - the charity the seven victims worked for- "because they're one of the main players here in the provision of food to the people of Gaza, which as we know are on the brink of a famine".

She adds that the situation in Gaza is dangerous for aid workers, saying that "we have lost so many colleagues".

"But also, it's really dangerous for people in Gaza," she says, highlighting that the air strikes that killed the aid workers on Monday "are killing people in Gaza on an almost daily basis".

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

The conversations between the UK and Israel in the past day have been far from business as usual.

The Israeli ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Office for the first time in 12 years.

And Rishi Sunak’s conversation with his Israeli counterpart last night was frank.

Sunak told Benjamin Netanyahu that he was “appalled” at the killings, that too many aid workers and civilians had died and the situation was “increasingly intolerable”.

That sort of language is not what you’d expect from an official readout between two allies.

And we’ve seen similar frustration from other countries who are typically supportive of Israel. The pressure on Netanyahu is growing.

The UK has also made it clear it wants more protection for civilians, fewer restrictions on aid and more done to repair vital infrastructure like hospitals.

The government in London is likely to wait and see whether Israel delivers on demands for an independent, transparent and thorough investigation.

But the relationship is showing signs of strain – as is Israel’s relationship with other allies.

Aid to Gaza travelling by sea is returning to Cyprus, Reuters news agency reports, after an Israeli killed seven aid workers.

World Central Kitchen staff had just offloaded aid from a barge which sailed from Cyprus when their vehicle convoy was hit on Monday.

The barge was part of a four-vessel flotilla which set sail from Larnaca, Cyprus, on 30 March.

Another ship - the Jennifer - still loaded with 240 tonnes of food, headed back to Cyprus on Tuesday, without making its delivery, after the charity suspended its operations.

"One third (of the aid cargo) was delivered, and two thirds is coming back", a Cypriot official told Reuters.

As we've been reporting, seven people, who were working for aid charity World Central Kitchen (WCK), were killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza on Monday.

Among the victims were British nationals John Chapman, 57, James Henderson, 33, and James Kirby, 47, who were part of WCK's security team, external.

Australian national Lalzawmi Frankcom, Polish national Damian Sobol, Palestinian Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutahas and US-Canadian citizen Jacob Flickinger, were also killed.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has acknowledged that the Israeli military hit "innocent people", describing it as tragic and unintentional.

Read more about the aid workers killed here.

Image source, EPA

British, Polish, Australian, and Palestinian citizens were killed in Monday's strike, along with a US-Canadian dual national.

In a statement, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was “appalled” by the deaths.

“Israel must explain how this tragic incident happened and take immediate steps to protect aid workers and facilitate vital humanitarian operations in Gaza,” he said.

He added that the situation in Gaza was becoming "increasingly intolerable" and that "far too many aid workers and ordinary civilians have lost their lives”.

US President Joe Biden said he was “outraged and heartbroken” by the deaths and that the investigation into them “must be swift” and “must bring accountability”.

He also said that Israel has “not done enough to protect civilians”.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the incident was “completely unacceptable" and would “add to the concern” about the ongoing loss of life in Gaza.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said his country "showed full solidarity with Israel" following the 7 October attacks but that that solidarity was being put "to a really hard test".

Aoife Walsh
Live reporter

Good morning and welcome back.

We'll be bringing you the latest developments following what Israel said was an unintentional strike on an aid convoy in Gaza.

We'll be looking at the question of aid supplies, as Reuters news agency reports that an aid ship loaded with food is now returning to Cyprus.

We'll also be keeping an eye on international reaction - the incident has drawn widespread condemnation from world leaders. And we're expecting to hear more about the three British workers that were killed.

Stay with us.

Johanna Chisholm
Live editor

It's now 22:25 BST in London and 00:25 in Israel, and with that, we're going to be pausing our live coverage on the Israeli air strike in Gaza that killed seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen (WCK).

There's been a lot of developments to keep track of over the last 24 hours. Israel is now under growing international pressure over the air strike, with senior Western officials and world leaders from the UK, Poland, Australia, Canada and the US, whose nationals died in the attack, all calling for a thorough investigation.

Our colleagues over at BBC Verify have helpfully outlined everything that we can say for certain so far.

It's also worth remembering before we go that WCK is now suspending operations in Gaza. This leaves vital humanitarian aid to the Strip in doubt, as the charity was one of the main aid providers. All while Gaza is on the brink of famine, according to a recent UN-backed report.

This page was edited by James Harness, Emily McGarvey, Sophie Abdulla and myself. Writers included Gabriela Pomeroy, Ben Hatton, Ali Abbas Ahmadi, Ruth Comerford, Gem O'Reilly, Krystyna Gajda, Thomas Mackintosh, and Adam Durbin.

Update 8th April: This post has been updated to make clear that a recent UN-backed report has said that Gaza is on the brink of famine.

Image source, EPA

We're going to be closing our live blog shortly, but before doing so, here's everything you need to know about the seven international aid workers who were killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza - which includes three British nationals:

• The BBC has established the names of the three British aid workers killed as John Chapman, James Henderson and James Kirby
• Western officials and world leaders are condemning the strikes and are calling for a transparent investigation
• White House spokesman John Kirby says he is "outraged" at the strike, while President Biden's press secretary says the president is "heartbroken"
• His UK counterpart has told Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu in a call that "he was appalled" by the attack and demanded a thorough and "independent investigation" into the incident

• Netanyahu has said the convoy was hit "unintentionally", while Israeli President Isaac Herzog apologised for the air strike

• The Israeli military has said it will investigate what went wrong and work with aid agencies to improve aid distribution

• Thousands of anti-government protesters gathered for a third day in Jerusalem, with protestors calling for the release of hostages held by Hamas and for Netanyahu to resign

Rebecca Hartmann
Reporting from the White House

At the daily White House briefing earlier today, John Kirby, the National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications, told reporters that the US was ‘‘outraged to learn about the strike".

Kirby took time to draw attention to the approximately 200 aid workers that have been killed since 7 October in Gaza and laid the responsibility for the safety of aid workers in the region with the Israeli military.

He emphasised that the IDF must work at improving the "deconfliction" process, saying the US would make clear to Israel that humanitarian aid workers in Gaza must be protected.

There was also confirmation that President Joe Biden had spoken with Chef Jose Andres, the head of World Central Kitchen, and shared his "deepest condolences" with the charity. He also said that the White House fully respected the decision from World Central Kitchen to pause its Gaza operation.