hello. i'm sumi somaskanda. israel is facing international condemnation over an air strike that killed seven aid workers monday night, including sharp rebukes from the united states, the united kingdom, and the united nations. the group of mostly foreign nationals was working for us—based world central kitchen — a charity organisation that was delivering food and other humanitarian aid to gaza, including by boat. the organisation says its team members were travelling in a deconflicted zone in branded armoured cars and had co—ordinated movements with israeli forces. in the last few hours, the organisation named the seven victims of the attack on social media: palestinian saifeddin issam ayad abutaha, lalzawmi zomi frankcom of australia, damian sobol of poland, jacob flickinger, a dual citizen of the us and canada, and three people

from the uk: john chapman, james henderson, and james kirby. the israel defense force's chief of staff, herzi halevi, released this video calling the attack a mistake. i want to be very clear. the strike was not carried out with the intention of harming wck aid workers. it was a mistake that followed a misidentification at night during a war in a very complex conditions. that should not have happened. in response to the aid convoy attack, president biden released a statement saying: "i am outraged and heartbroken "by the deaths of seven humanitarian workers "from world central kitchen, including one american "in gaza yesterday. "they were providing food to hungry civilians inthe "middle of a war. "they were brave and selfless. "their deaths are a tragedy. "this conflict has been one of the worstin recent memory "in terms terms of how many worked have been killed."

meanwhile, prime minister rishi sunak posted on x that "israel must explain how this tragic "incident happened and take immediate steps to protect aid "workers and facilitate vital humanitarian "operations in gaza." downing street says mr sunak described the situation in gaza as "increasingly intolerable" in a phone call with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. the un also criticised the attack with un secretary general antonio gutteress, calling it "unconscionable". another un official said the killings of seven staff is a, quote, "dreadful failure of deconfliction". lucy williamson has more from jerusalem. warning, viewers may find some of the images in her report distressing. hey, this is zomi. we're at the deir al—balah kitchen. they came from australia, poland, the us and the uk. their mission — to feed people — one of the simplest. in gaza — one of the hardest. and most dangerous. last night, israeli airstrikes hit their convoy, clearly marked with the charity logo

of the world central kitchen. seven people killed, including three british nationals. colleagues, distraught, identified their bodies. "these are the people who brought the aid from the sea", he says. "they're all dead, all of them." the workers had been unloading a second shipment of aid brought into gaza by sea. they were travelling back from the warehouse in deir al—balah when their convoy was hit. theirvehicles, more than a mile apart. translation: 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. this is the situation here. anyone who brings aid to gaza is at risk of shelling and death. the remains of the convoy tell the story. three vehicles, each struck separately. one straight through the logo that was meant to protect them.

a sustained and targeted attack. translation: unfortunately, in the past day, there - was a tragic event in which our forces unintentionally harmed non—combatants in the gaza strip. this happens in war. we are conducting a thorough inquiry and we are in contact with the governments. we will do everything to prevent a recurrence. six months into this war, the questions around the killing of civilians are getting sharper. this was a clearly marked aid convoy passing through an area without heavy fighting under israeli control. aid agencies say co—ordinating safe passage with the israeli army in gaza is cumbersome and time—consuming. but it's this kind of event that it's designed to avoid. the un here says it's been warning about something like this for months. we have got people in these i very, very dangerous situations moving around without any comms between the different groups - or different teams. and then, you know, i

last night, for example, there was telephone calls - coming from the world central kitchen trying - to make connections and itjust wasn't possible. so you're moving around gaza, no communication between teams. why not? well, because the israelis say we shouldn't have - communications equipment because, if they do, - they could actually be taken i by hamas and used by hamas. i think it's a poor excuse. the first of the victims was buried today — a local man called saif abu taha. gaza, already a byword for grief, is tonight mourning those who came to save lives and paid with their own. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. for more on the reaction and growing pressure on israel, i spoke to nimrod novik, who served as a senior policy advisor to former israeli president shimon peres. asa as a professor myself, i share

the sentiment that the prime minister's strategy over 15 years of strengthening hamas and weakening the moderate palestinian authority, thrashing our faces palestinian authority, thrashing ourfaces in a brittle way on 7 october, the government are in the month following the tragedy, and yes, 75% of the public by every poll over months now wish him gone. the conduct of the war since its purposeful stage, which was justified, was over, we are now in a phase of the fighting matters more than an attrition war than a purposeful one. and people would like to see a different leadership leading us out of this crisis and embracing opportunities that may come out of the tragedy.

meanwhile, concerns are growing about the war in gaza spilling over into the region. yesterday a suspected israeli strike destroyed an iranian consulate building in the syrian capital, damascus, killing at least seven people, including the top two commanders in the powerful iranian revolutionary guards. iran vowed to respond. iran, israel's archenemy, is a key supporter of hamas — the group designated a terrorist organisation by the uk government — who carried out the attack on israel on 7 october. iran also back hezbollah — a militant group based in neighbouring lebanon — who have been exchanging fire with israeli forces almost daily since hamas�*s attack. most of those flash points have been on the border of northern israel. our international editor, jeremy bowen, sent this report. 25,000 israelis lived in kiryat shmona, a mile or so inside the border. around 90% of them have left because of attacks out of lebanon from iran's allies. this is the other war that has been fought since 7 october. deeper and more dangerous after

the assassination in damascus. but as you can see, the little marks from the anti—personnel. designed to kill people, right? yep. the town's mayor, avichai sten, said last year, 10,000 hezbollah forces practiced taking over northern israel — just like hamas in october. "it can happen here," he said. "the only way to stop it is to go "into lebanon, to eliminate this threat as soon "as possible." further west, right on the border wire, the avivim winery was destroyed last week in a hezbollah strike. the winery's owner agrees that israel has to go into lebanon to finish hezbollah. this man, who was born here, says he isn't scared by their threats, sent by text with photos of him taken from their side. he says, "there's no other choice, "otherwise the community

won't return to live here. "maybe just a few crazy guys like me. "the children won't come back." it might not look it, but both sides have held back — conscious all out war could be even worse than gaza. but the israelis are now pushing harder, saying iran's strongest ally cannot be tolerated near them. and the reason why the israelis say all this is completely unacceptable to them is because life here has really ceased. people have left. businesses are being destroyed. the area has been emptied. something similar has been happening, too, on the other side of the border. israeli firepower has done a lot of damage in lebanon and has forced tens of thousands of lebanese civilians to flee the border. in 2006, when these israeli conscripts were infants, hezbollah fought israel to a standstill. like their enemies in lebanon, israeli commanders have spent

years training for the next war. hezbollah is quite a strong enemy. but after 170, or more than 170 days, we understand them much better. and we can attack them when we want. the borderlands on a spring afternoon can feel peaceful. we're going to walk, i it's a couple hundred... it's an illusion. there's no frontier in the middle east that's more dangerous or as saturated with weapons. on the border, hezbollah set the pace at first — aiding hamas by tying down israeli troops. but israel is escalating faster now. the empty, overgrown border communities won't be iran's first choice to retaliate for the assassination in damascus. they could try an israeli target in another country or cyber attacks rather than artillery. neither israel, iran or hezbollah

wants all out war, but no side seems ready to stop the slide towards it. jeremy bowen, bbc news, northern israel. at the white house tonight, presidentjoe biden and vice president harris were planning to hold an iftar dinner — a fast—breaking meal during the muslim holy month of ramadan — with muslim and arab leaders. instead, the dinner was cancelled because of the optics of famine concerns in gaza. according to a white house official, the president made clear he mourns the loss of every innocent life in this conflict and expressed his commitment to continue working to secure an immediate ceasefire as part of a deal to free the hostages and significantly increase humanitarian aid into gaza. sabrina siddiqui is national politics reporter for the wall streetjournal. great to have you again. the strike on aid workers and the convoy added more attention to the plans for the dinner tonight. tell us what ended up happening. it’s tonight. tell us what ended up happening-— happening. it's interesting because the _ happening. it's interesting because the white - happening. it's interesting because the white house |

happening. it's interesting - because the white house iftar as celebration dates back for decades. the first was traced to thomas jefferson decades. the first was traced to thomasjefferson in 1805 but a tradition under the clinton, bush obama administrations, trump give one but still had iftar ambassador dinners will stop in the white house has a predicament under president biden were we are trying to host what been a pretty bipartisan and noncontroversial event when there is so much pressure for the handling of the conflict in gaza by the president so instead of the dinner invited, most leaders said with more than a million people starving in gaza that want to sit down to break bread with the white house so they requested a poly discussion with the president and state and that what they did was sit down to raise their concerns directly about the humanitarian crisis in gaza, some western leaders rejected invitation, calls to boycott and others i spoke to weather so they felt like it was a rare opportunity to have a direct audience with

a president who they believe is one of the only people who can change the course of the war in gaza. , �* gaza. president biden, the white house _ gaza. president biden, the white house has _ gaza. president biden, the white house has pointed l gaza. president biden, the| white house has pointed to gaza. president biden, the - white house has pointed to his shifting on rhetoric to the war in gaza and the last six months, more critical of israel, looking at the mass civilian death toll in gaza. how is that landing with the arab and muslim american community in the us? fix, arab and muslim american community in the us? a lot of --eole community in the us? a lot of peeple see. — community in the us? a lot of people see, when _ community in the us? a lot of people see, when i _ community in the us? a lot of people see, when i talk - community in the us? a lot of people see, when i talk to - people see, when i talk to them, the shift in tone. and of course they wanted the president to speak more critically of israel's conflict in the war, civilian casualties and again the lack of aid getting into gaza, the fact that there has been a very real and acute risk of family, but what they have not seen as a shift in policy and that is a lot of these muslim and arab american leaders and voters want. some attendees at this meeting told the president directly, at what point will be

your stop providing military assistance to israel, certainly at least in the course of this conflict, why is the administration still providing bombs and fighterjets at the same time as asking israel to rain and civilian casualties and that's not happening. the president has called for a temporary ceasefire to release hostages still being held by hamas and to get more aid in gaza but people want publicity, not a six—week ceasefire and going back to the status quo. if you look at the democratic primary in michigan, w had more than 100,000 people vote uncommitted because of the concerns of the policy by the administration. we've seen similar patterns and other primaries. what could be the impact on the election in november? it impact on the election in november?— impact on the election in november? _, . ,., november? it could impact some ofthe november? it could impact some of the battleground _ november? it could impact some of the battleground states - november? it could impact some of the battleground states like i of the battleground states like in michigan we have an outsized arab and muslim american population. states like georgia, separated by something

like 11,000 votes, notjust arab muslim americans, young, black americans, a lot of good who are voting for democrats are angered by the president's approach to the conflict so if there is turnout that is suppressed by his handling of the world, that's a problem for president biden, if people vote third party or leave the ballot black, that's a vote for former president trump which what the white house and biden campaign are trying to convey to voters. having said that, now we're looking at a rematch between former president and president biden is, some voters i've spoken to you sure yet how they will vote. some have made up their mind and said they are done with president biden and there's nothing he could do to change their mind, the war was a dealbreaker, but others said trump would be worse so maybe that will bring some of these voters back home to biden and others are watching and waiting to see if there is a meaningful change policy on president biden�*s but perhaps he would earn their vote. biden's but perhaps he would earn their vote.— earn their vote. what is the white house _ earn their vote. what is the white house saying - earn their vote. what is the white house saying about | earn their vote. what is the | white house saying about its

strategy? white house saying about its strate: ? ~ ., , , strategy? the white house is sa in: strategy? the white house is saying that — strategy? the white house is saying that they've _ strategy? the white house is saying that they've been - strategy? the white house is. saying that they've been trying to host discussions with muslim and arab american leaders since the start of the conflict, the president sitting down with a handful of leaders in october and senior officials have met with muslim and arab american leaders in the white house went to michigan to sit down with some of the elected officials over there who were frustrated by the administration's handling of the one seeking a meeting to talk about potential alternatives the current approach in policy. they are trying to straddle a convoluted line on the one hand starving their support for israel and honouring the support for the offensive in gaza while again trying to be a bit more critical, put more pressure on israel and its conduct in the war. we will see how long they can thread the needle and if they are able to appease the many different constituencies they are trying to keep the support of at this time. interesting reporting. great to have you one. thank you.

around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at another story making news. working parents in england can now receive more government—funded care for their children. up until the end of march, there were 30 hours per week of funded childcare available for three— and four—year—olds. now, there'll be 15 hours per week available for working parents of two—year—olds during school term time. the government says it will mean tens of thousands more children will be eligible for a government—funded childcare place. here's prime minister rishi sunak. this week it's being expanded to two —year—olds, that's really positive and i've been talking to families for whom that'll be a big difference. we fully funded the programme and increase the rates we are paid to nurseries, making sure there are more childcare places available, more childcare staff available, more childcare staff available in the future looks bright and it is a really positive intervention which when it's fully rolled out will be worth around £7,000 of support to working parents. but many in the industry are warning that the funding simply isn't enough. labour said last week it would not commit to the government's plans,

calling the system a "total mess". you're live with bbc news. ukrainians can now register losses they suffered since russia's 2022 invasion at a newly—established register based in the hague. kyiv says hundreds of people have registered since the online portal went live on tuesday, and tens of millions of applications are expected. ukrainians can currently submit claims for damage to their homes. but the scheme will expand to cover reparations for rape, of torture, the loss of a loved one, orforced displacement. it launched as diplomats convened in the hague to discuss the reparations claims, and efforts to prosecute russia at the international criminal court. in a video message, the country's president, volodymyr zelensky, told delegates seized russian assets should be used "to restore ukraine to normality". but in moscow, vladimir putin said he will not let western countries, quote, "plunder" russia's assets. in another development in the war, mr zelensky

approved a law to lower the age of conscription from 27 to 25 years old. the bill was passed by the country's parliament in may 2023, and mr zelensky did not explain why he is signing it into law nearly a year later. meanwhile, ukraine says it carried out a drone strike in russia 1,300 kilometres, or 800 miles, from the border. the attack — in the region of tatarstan — is thought to be the deepest into russia that ukraine has managed to hit so far. sarah rainsford has more from kyiv. this was a strike on a site that russia must have thought was well out of ukrainian range. that's where it chose to build a giant factory to make the kamikaze drones that russia uses often in its attacks on ukraine. but that's where ukrainian drones managed to fly hundreds of miles into russia itself, undetected, and to reach that site. now, there is a video that has been posted on social media that shows one of those drones

looking very much like a light aircraft and it's hurtling towards a building and it explodes there on impact. and there was another attack, too, a drone attack on an oil refinery in the same area. now, in kyiv tonight, ukrainian intelligence officials have told us that they carried out those attacks and they've talked about significant damage. but there isn't actually any evidence of the drone production facility itself being damaged. so far, the only videos coming out of russia have shown damage to a hostel, a student hostel across the road. but i think it is still clear that ukraine is significantly increasing its capacity in terms of drone production. there is a big stress on the hearing ukraine with president zelensky saying they need more longreach drones. and that's happening at a time when ukraine's western allies, of course, are stalling on providing ammunition and they are shying away from providing long—range missiles. if any reminder with leonard about why all this is

happening, tonight there was another russian missile attack on ukrainian city, denny premac the southeast, that russian missile heating. heading a school and several teenagers were insured as they ran for a prompt shelter when the missile hit —— dnipro. us presidentjoe biden and his chinese counterpart xi jinping spoke by telephone on thursday — their first direct talks since november 2023. the white house said the call was, quote, "candid and constructive," as the two superpowers seek to keep tensions from mounting. the leaders talked for nearly two hours about a number of issues, including the taiwan strait, us tech restrictions, ownership of tiktok, and beijing's support for russia. the call comes ahead of upcoming visits to china by treasury secretary janet yellen and secretary of state antony blinken, according to a white house readout of the call. a 7.5 magnitude earthquake has hit the east coast of taiwan, triggering japan and the phillippines to issue tsunami alerts. the authorities warn

of waves that could be three metres in height. these are some recent pictures from on the ground in hualien, taiwan — where buildings have collapsed and there are reports of power outages. live now to shaimaa khalil, our tokyo correspondent. she is standing by in tokyo after the latest. good to see you. what's been happening and what is the impact of the quake? what is the impact of the auake? ~ . . , what is the impact of the auake? ., ., , ~ ., what is the impact of the auake? ., ., ., ., ., quake? we already know that one area injapan. _ quake? we already know that one area in japan. i'm _ quake? we already know that one area in japan, i'm looking - quake? we already know that one area in japan, i'm looking at - area injapan, i'm looking at different sources, so bear with me, i am looking at three different friends. japan's nhk, the public broadcaster, and to other channels, all caricatures of okinawa and three big red bash as of tsunami warning. we know that this anomaly reached an island very close to taiwan

of 30 centimetres, that's not very high the three metres we were told were expected, but we understand that higher waves may come later so authorities are still warning people to move away from the coast and evacuate as quickly as they can. i've been in okinawa on some of these islands and they are very, very close to taiwan on a good day. if you stella donnelly islands you can see the horizon in taiwan and because of the magnitude of that earthquake in taiwan, the biggest in over two decades, there are these worries about there are these worries about the effect it will have not just here of course it japan and the okinawa southwest region but in the philippines. we also know that as of 20 minutes ago we were expecting a tsunami wave to hit an island which has not happened yet but authorities are telling people on the ground to stay on high alert, not to relax and move away from the coast and as i am speaking to you i'm getting a lot on my third and looking at

the different screens here, all carrying these warnings, because sometimes we get these waves after the alerts have been issued.— been issued. very tense momenta _ been issued. very tense moments. tell - been issued. very tense moments. tell us - been issued. very tense moments. tell us about| been issued. very tense - moments. tell us about the impact on taiwan. we saw images of shaking buildings. yes. impact on taiwan. we saw images of shaking buildings.— of shaking buildings. yes. it is a big one _ of shaking buildings. yes. it is a big one and _ of shaking buildings. yes. it is a big one and we - of shaking buildings. yes. it i is a big one and we understand that some buildings have been damaged. big, very strong shakes. we also have reports of some people trapped. we still have no reports of casualties or injuries at the moment but it is early. we woke up in the region to this news but we already know that there has been impacts, strong impacts in taiwan. we will watch very closely for the latest on what we get from the ground from people. but this is a big earthquake in taiwan, one that people have not seen in a very

long time. you still have to wait and see the actual impact of that and what other areas are impacted around it. shaimaa khalil in tokyo. _ are impacted around it. shaimaa khalil in tokyo. thank _ are impacted around it. shaimaa khalil in tokyo. thank you - are impacted around it. shaimaa khalil in tokyo. thank you for i khalil in tokyo. thank you for bringing us up—to—date with the latest. a reminder that there are 7.5 magnitude earthquake hitting the east coast of taiwan and we heard from shaimaa khalil there are tsunami warnings across the region. we will follow the latest on the story at the top of the next hour and go to a website for the latest updates. i am sumi somaskanda in washington. thanks for watching. stay with us here on bbc news. hello, there. weather for the remainder of this week is going to stay very unsettled. it's going to be a frustrating week to try and make plans for those who have children off for the easter break. there will be some sunny intervals, but spells of wind and rain at times, and as we head into the weekend, it will turn windier, but milder.

in fact, in east anglia, we could see a high of 20 celsius — 68 fahrenheit — way above the average for this time of year in that area. bearthat in mind, but we are all starting to be aware that a warmer atmosphere means a wetter one, and you can see these areas of low pressure waiting in the wings to influence the weather story. so the first low is moving through on wednesday, bringing rain into northern ireland, southern scotland. behind it, there'll be a few sharp showers to come, as well, so by the middle part of the afternoon, expect some sunny spells, perhaps more than we saw on tuesday, and temperatures will peak at highs of 15 celsius. some of the showers across northern england, though, could still be quite heavy, and that showery rain will start to drift out of northern ireland, improving here into central scotland. the far north and east of scotland will stay largely fine and dry, with some showers, but a north—easterly wind will make it feel noticeably colder, temperatures a good ten degrees down on where they are further south. so that low pulls away, another one is going to replace it on thursday, and then another significant low waiting in the wings for the start of the weekend.

so on thursday, as that cloud and rain pushes its way steadily north through the night, it will be a mild start to thursday morning. we'll see showery outbreaks of rain pushing their way steadily eastwards throughout the day, so hopefully a slow improvement. but here's the next system already starting to show its hand across cornwall and south wales by the end of the day. ahead of it, with some brightness, we'll see highs of 16 degrees. but that north—easterly wind once again pegging those temperatures back — in aberdeenshire, a high ofjust 16. then, as we move towards the end of the week, this low could bring some very windy weatherfor a time, gales on exposed coasts, a spell of heavy rain moving its way steadily north, and it's this that will tap into that pretty mild air all the way down from the south—west, starting to push its way across scotland now, as well. but don't expect anything prolonged, settled and sunny. there will continue to be showers, longer spells of rain. windy but warm.

high—stakes diplomacy between the world's two largest economies. president biden and president xi speak on the phone as the us treasury chief heads to beijing. plus, mass lay—offs in one place and recruitment

drives in another. how tech workers finding themselves unemployed could look to asia for new opportunities. hello and welcome to asia business report. our top story today. the leaders of the world's two biggest economies, us presidentjoe biden and china's president xijinping have spoken on the phone, marking the first time the two have talked in months. that's as the us treasury secretary janet yellen embarks on her second trip to china in less than a year. erin delmore has the details. the phone call marked the first one—on—one communication between us presidentjoe biden and china's president xi jinping since november, and they had a lot of ground to cover. the risks associated with rapidly developing ai technology and military communications, and the trafficking of illicit drugs like fentanyl. a white house summary of the call included a few

others, like china's "unfair trade policies" and preventing