Image source, Reuters

In Iran, President Ebrahim Raisi says Israel "will pay a heavy price" for its "criminal actions", referring to a suspected Israeli strike on an Iranian consulate building in Syria.

He made his remarks in a phone call with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Tehran says.

The strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, on Monday, killed seven members of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), including Brig Gen Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander of the IRGC's extraterritorial Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon.

Raisi also praised the "common positions" of Iran and Iraq against Israel over the Gaza war.

According to the Iranian readout, Sudani described the Damascus attack as a result of Israel's "failures" in the face of the "resistance movement" in the region.

An opposition politician in the Israeli Knesset has said she hopes the country's allies "will stand by Israel and continue to support us" amid international criticism of how the country is handling the war.

Shelly Tal Meron is a member of Yesh Atid, the main opposition party in the Israeli parliament, tells Radio 4's World at One programme that when it comes to "the national security of the state of Israel, we are all in agreement" that Hamas needs to be eradicated.

"Israel has to defend itself, has to defend its borders, and has to do everything in its power to return our hostages," she says.

Asked about whether control of aid into Gaza was a weapon of war that could be used by Israel, Tal Meron says Israel "does not want to harm civilians" and its forces "do not target them".

"When civilians get hurt, it is horrible, it shouldn't happen," she says, "but we do not target them on purpose in any way."

Biden under intense pressure ahead of talks with Netanyahupublished at 15:51 British Summer Time 4 April

15:51 BST 4 April

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

We reported earlier that US President Joe Biden is due to speak to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today - their first direct contact since the air strike on Monday that killed aid workers in Gaza.

The phone call, due in the next few hours, could amount to a defining moment in the course of this six-month war. US-Israel relations, in terms of what is said (but not for now what is done), are at a nadir - their lowest point in many years.

Biden expressed his "outrage" at Israel’s killing of international aid workers this week. As the war has worn on, the White House has signalled his frustration, then exasperation and now anger at Israel’s conduct.

The president is a life-long staunch supporter of Israel. He embraced Netanyahu - literally and figuratively - after the 7 October attacks.

But this backing, especially with a US election nearing, has put him under growing pressure particularly from his Democrat base.

Every day the administration is having to explain how an "ironclad" alliance remains in place with the Israeli leader and his ultra-nationalist coalition - given the catastrophically high number of civilians killed by Israel, along with a siege that has now left Gaza on the brink of famine.

He will press Netanyahu - again - to urgently open ground routes for aid and to try to stop Israel invading the city of Rafah. So far, few of the American requests have been meaningfully acted upon.

Netanyahu is also under unprecedented pressure at home. Many Israelis are on the streets, wanting rid of their prime minister, as they demand the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas. Netanyahu tends to try to build his base of popular support by portraying himself as able to resist US pressure.

Both leaders will likely try to demonstrate a tough approach to their positions in the messages put out after the call.

But the bedrock of the relationship remains - the US flow of weapons has continued uninterrupted to Israel despite the row. For now, that is unlikely to change. Today’s call will further shape whether Biden thinks he’s going to be listened to in future.

Image source, Reuters

Our last couple of posts have looked at the aid situation in parts of Gaza - particularly the north - following an Israeli strike on Monday that killed seven humanitarian workers.

Meanwhile, the NGO Oxfam has been looking at the realities of what Palestinians in the north of the Strip are facing on a daily basis - including that people have been forced to survive on an average of 245 calories a day (less than a can of fava beans) since January.

It adds that "the minuscule amount of food represents less than 12% of the recommended daily 2,100-calorie intake needed per person, calculated using demographic data considering variations by age and gender".

Oxfam quotes one mother in the region as saying:

Israel has previously rejected a global assessment, external, warning of imminent famine in Gaza, and a UN court order calling for Israel to enable an immediate "unhindered" flow of aid - saying allegations that it's blocking supplies are "wholly unfounded".

David Gritten & Mahmoud Elnaggar
BBC News and BBC Arabic

Image source, .

Many Palestinians in Gaza will be wondering how they are going to feed their families after World Central Kitchen (WCK) paused its operations in response to the killing of seven of its aid workers in an Israeli air strike.

Another US charity it works with, Anera, has also suspended work because of the escalating risks faced by its local staff and their families.

Together, they were serving two million meals a week across the Palestinian territory, where the UN has warned that an estimated 1.1 million people - half the population - are facing catastrophic hunger because of Israeli restrictions on aid deliveries, the continuing hostilities and the breakdown of order.

WCK's decision to pause its work also led to the "freezing" of a maritime aid corridor from Cyprus, which the charity helped set up last month to increase the trickle of aid getting into the north of Gaza and avert a looming famine.

The Norwegian Refugee Council has warned that "what happened to WCK threatens the entire aid system" and has left it "on the brink".

• Read more about this here

Rushdi Abualouf
Gaza correspondent

The Kuwait roundabout is almost empty of people waiting for aid trucks. Since the air strike that killed seven aid workers, the very few trucks transporting aid to northern Gaza - where residents are suffering from famine - have stopped.

Three aid charity groups have stopped transporting aid in the wake of the recent raid.

Osama Tawfiq, who lives in Gaza City, tells me: "The products in the market were very scarce and expensive before and are now almost unavailable. The price of a kilo of flour has increased by 100% since the aid trucks stopped. Last week I bought it for $10 (£8). Today it has become $20, almost not available in most stores."

Aid trucks to northern Gaza stopped after the decision of the United Arab Emirates, which was co-ordinating their arrival with Israel, to suspend its humanitarian operations following the air strike on aid workers.

The suspension of work threatens to exacerbate the hunger crisis there, where residents are living in tragic, near-famine conditions.

As international pressure mounts on Israel following the deaths of seven aid workers in Gaza at the start of the week, here's a look at the latest images coming out of the Palestinian enclave.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

We’ve heard more from Cogat, the Israeli defence ministry body that co-ordinates humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Speaking to the BBC, its spokesman Shimon Friedman says Monday's strike on World Central Kitchen aid workers was a “terrible tragedy” and a “mistake” which “shouldn’t have happened”, adding Israel is taking it “extremely seriously”.

Israel has already launched an investigation which is being carried out by an “independent professional body”, he says.

Amid calls for other countries to be included in the process, he says he cannot share details of “exactly who is going to be involved”, saying Cogat is not leading it. But he says "full transparency” is “something that we’ve already declared”.

He does not directly answer when pressed over whether other countries should be involved, but says: “We want this investigation to be as thorough as possible in order for us to learn whatever needs to be learned so that we can prevent these things from happening again in the future.”

“We hope for [the investigation to report] in the next few days. And as we’re learning things, we’re trying to implement them already.”

And on aid, he says: “Israel is continuing to make sure that we are facilitating humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.”

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

Even before Monday’s fatal missile strikes that killed international aid workers in Gaza, there has been mounting criticism of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tactics in Gaza from highly experienced and senior retired British Army officers.

Commenting on the air strikes on X, formerly Twitter, Maj Gen Charlie Herbert wrote: "They were the result of systemic flaws in IDF rules of engagement".

He accuses the IDF of viewing everyone in Gaza as a legitimate target, which it denies.

But Gen Herbert, who has served on numerous operational tours in the British Army, says IDF tactics in Gaza are counter-productive from a military perspective as well as being wrong on moral grounds.

Other former officers, who have asked not to be named, concur.

They say that in the IDF’s pursuit of Hamas, in response to the atrocities committed on 7 October, it has killed so many civilians and wreaked so much destruction on Gaza that it has created an entire generation of future fighters who will now be intent on targeting Israel.

Pressure is growing on the UK government to suspend its arms sales to Israel, after an Israeli air strike which killed seven aid workers in Gaza. If you're just joining us, here's a look at some of the latest developments:

• Three former UK Supreme Court justices have joined hundreds of legal experts in calling for an end to weapons sales to Israel - saying the country risks breaking international law over a "plausible risk of genocide" in Gaza
• Reports from an Israeli news outlet suggest , externalPrime Minister Rishi Sunak warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that, unless it allows more aid in to the territory, the UK will say Israel violated international law

• World Central Kitchen - the charity who's workers were killed in the air strike - has called for an independent investigation, with its head saying Israeli forcers targeted the group "systematically, car by car"
• But Israeli minister Nir Barkat told the BBC he believes it is "nonsense" to suggest Israel deliberately targeted aid workers, adding that "there's no way in the world that Israel would target people that come to give people aid"
• And later, Joe Biden is due to speak with Netanyahu, after the US President said yesterday he was "outraged" by the strike

Stay with us for more.

Image source, EPA

World Central Kitchen (WCK) has called for an independent investigation after seven of its workers were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza

The seven victims, who were working for World Central Kitchen (WCK), were killed when their convoy was attacked from the air on Monday.

Three of the killed aid workers were British nationals. A Polish national, an Australian, a Palestinian and a dual US-Canadian citizen were also killed.

In a statement, external, the charity says its workers were travelling in vehicles "marked as WCK" and their movements were in "full compliance with Israeli authorities who were aware of their itinerary, route, and humanitarian mission".

The group urges Australian, Canadian, United States, Polish, and UK governments to "join us in demanding an independent, third-party investigation into these attacks, including whether they were carried out intentionally or otherwise violated international law."

An independent investigation is the "only way to determine the truth of what happened" and "prevent future attacks" on aid workers, the statement adds.

Israel says the strikes were a "grave mistake" and has promised its own investigation.

Who supplies Israel with weapons?published at 12:44 British Summer Time 4 April

12:44 BST 4 April

UK military exports to Israel came to £42m in 2022 (representing about 0.02% of Israel's total), according to the UK government, external.

And since 2008 the UK has licensed over £547m worth of arms to Israel, according to the House of Commons Library.

But this figure doesn’t include components for military equipment, like parts for US-made F-35 fighter jets, which are sold via Open General Export Licence (OGEL). These licenses allow companies to sell unlimited amounts of specific equipment to several countries.

The pressure group Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), estimates that British parts account for 15% of the value of F-35s, and 36 of these jets have been sold to Israel - bringing in at least £368m to the UK arms industry.

But compared with other countries, the UK is a relatively small supplier.

According to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the US has been Israel's main supplier for more than a decade.

Between 2011 and 2023 the US accounted for two-thirds of arms transfers to Israel, while Germany supplied just under 30%.

However, this data only includes major weapons systems like aircraft, ships, missiles, artillery, air defence systems and armoured vehicles.

The number of people killed in Gaza since 7 October has risen to 33,037, the Hamas-run health ministry says.

The toll includes 62 deaths in the last 24 hours.

The number of people injured since 7 October now stands at 75,668,a ministry statement adds.

The Israeli military began its offensive following the 7 October attack in which Hamas fighters killed about 1,200 people Israel.

Will the Gaza aid convoy strike shift US policy?published at 12:11 British Summer Time 4 April

12:11 BST 4 April

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

International pressure is growing on Israel to carry out a full and transparent investigation into the strike on the World Central Kitchen convoy, an attack that has raised fresh questions about the way the Israeli military has conducted its war in Gaza.

We still do not know details of the misidentification that, according to the Israeli army, led to the attack, that killed seven aid workers in a clearly marked convoy, or how the strike was approved to go ahead.

US President Joe Biden, who has come under criticism for his staunch support for Israel in this conflict amid a growing death toll in Gaza and a worsening humanitarian crisis, is expected to hold a phone call with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today.

Over the last few months, White House officials have, in public and in private, expressed anger and frustration with some of Israel’s actions, from what they see as inadequate protection of civilians to insufficient delivery of humanitarian aid.

Words have not managed to change the Israeli strategy. Will this incident, which has led to widespread condemnation, lead to a shift in US policy, especially in relation to the vast exports of weapons to Israel? It is still not clear, and any change would mark a significant change in the US position.

Leaders from Australia, Poland and the UK, the countries where the victims in the convoy hit came from, also issued strong condemnations after the attack. This is an indication that patience with Israel could be running out.

Image source, EPA

Let's bring you some fresh comments from Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk who says Israel should "pay damages" to the family of a Polish aid worker Damian Sobol who died on Monday.

The 36-year-old came from the south-eastern Polish city of Przemyśl and was one of the seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid workers who were killed on Monday's strike in Gaza.

"We will expect an immediate explanation of the circumstances and compensation for the victims' relatives," Tusk told a news conference.

Israel has said the strike, on the clearly-marked convoy, was a mistake, and has promised a thorough investigation.

Previously in the aftermath of the fatal attack, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged the Israeli military hit "innocent people", describing it as tragic and unintentional.

Following Unrwa's claim that three aid convoys have been hit in recent months, we've been hearing from Unicef spokesperson, Tess Ingram, who is currently in Gaza.

Ingram tells BBC 5 Live Breakfast that Gaza is "one of the most dangerous places" for humanitarian workers to be at the moment.

Asked about the seven aid workers who were killed in an Israeli strike, she says it feels "frustrating".

“This is not the first time that has happened", Ingram adds.

"We have lost nearly 200 humanitarian aid workers since the escalation of hostilities. Other vehicles and warehouses have been hit, The system that is supposed to protect us is clearly not functioning properly."

At least three aid convoys in Gaza for the UN's relief agency (Unrwa) have been hit by the Israeli military in recent months, according to the organisation's communications director.

Speaking to the BBC's Newsday, Juliette Touma says the organisation co-ordinates their movements with the Israeli army - "where we are, what are the names and nationalities of people...the route, the GPS co-ordinates" - but still "have been hit, luckily without casualties".

Touma says "people are terrified," and wherever they are, aid workers "should be protected".

Gaza aid convoy strike: What we knowpublished at 11:10 British Summer Time 4 April

11:10 BST 4 April

BBC Verify has been studying images shared on social media of the aftermath of Monday's attack to try to piece together what we know about the incident that killed seven aid workers.

The World Central Kitchen (WCK) says the convoy had just dropped off more than 100 tonnes of food supplies at a warehouse in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.

The vehicles, two of which were armoured, are around 2.5km (1.5 miles) apart, which suggests there was more than one strike.

WCK says the third car was a "soft-skin vehicle" - meaning not armoured. It was about 1.6km south of the second vehicle and 2.5km of the first.

"It was a direct hit. They tried to treat some of them and put them in another car in front. But they shelled the car," said a local resident, who said he had witnessed the strike.

Read more about BBC Verify's findings here.

Image source, .

Image source, No 10 Downing Street

We’re going to take a closer look now at reports from an Israeli news outlet, external, which claims to have a transcript of a call between Rishi Sunak and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday night.

Sunak reportedly warned Netanyahu: "If there is no change in the introduction of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, we will have to declare Israel in violation of international humanitarian law."

The call between the two leaders came after three UK nationals were among seven aid workers killed in an Israeli air strike - an incident Israel says was a “grave mistake” which is being investigated.

Diplomatic correspondent for Israel's Channel 13 News, Moriah Asraf Wolberg, says Netanyahu told Sunak Israel would increase the amount of humanitarian aid into Gaza “in the coming days” and is working on a broad aid programme.

Downing Street is not commenting on the reported leak, but did, as normally happens after such a call, produce an official read-out. It says Sunak told the Israeli PM he was "appalled" by the killing of the aid workers.

“The prime minister said far too many aid workers and ordinary civilians have lost their lives in Gaza and the situation is increasingly intolerable," No 10 says.

"The UK expects to see immediate action by Israel to end restrictions on humanitarian aid, deconflict with the UN and aid agencies, protect civilians and repair vital infrastructure."

Image source, Reuters

Israel was not taking sufficient care to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza when the World Central Kitchen’s aid convoy was hit, according to the former chief of MI6.

Speaking on the Today Podcast, Sir Alex Younger said: "My view is that what happened is essentially systematic of an approach to targeting that has, on occasion, bordered on the reckless.”

"Fundamentally undermines therefore what must be Israel's political objectives, which is to sustain some moral high ground and some moral purpose.

"It's hard not to conclude that insufficient care is being paid to these collateral risks of these operations, one way or another.”