hello, i m annita mcveigh. welcome to bbc news now, three hours of fast—moving news, interviews and reaction. we begin with breaking news — a statement released by the israeli defense forces following an investigation into the air strike in gaza which killed seven aid workers. here are the key points. which killed seven aid workers. the idf says the strike should not have happened, and expressed its deep sorrow for the incident. it says those who approved the strike were convinced they were targeting hamas operatives. the strikes on the three vehicles were carried out in "serious violation of standard operation procedure" and that the brigade

chief of staff, an officer with the rank of colonel in reserve, will be dismissed from his position. the world central kitchen has released a statement saying israel's acknowledgment of it's responsibility and fatal saying israel's acknowledgment of its responsibility and fatal errors in the attack and the taking of disciplinary action are important steps forward. they added, "however, it is also clear from their preliminary investigation that the idf has deployed deadly force without regard to its own protocols, chain of command and rules of engagement. we demand the creation of an independent commission to investigate the killings of our wck colleagues. the idf cannot credibly investigate its own failure in gaza." wck ceo erin gore said the apologies "represent cold comfort," for the victim's families and the organisation. well, let's speak to our

middle east bureau chief, jo floto. what we are told our audiences are just represents a small portion of the break and we have been given. tell us more about what you have heard? . . , heard? late last night, we were called in for— heard? late last night, we were called in for a _ heard? late last night, we were called in for a briefing _ heard? late last night, we were called in for a briefing by - heard? late last night, we were called in for a briefing by the . heard? late last night, we were| called in for a briefing by the idf put their point of view. what they were trying to do is establish the context in which these killings took place and they were keen to show us that there were gunmen in the area at the time and that was the mindset of the unit when they saw to intercept what they thought was an armed gunmen. they acknowledged there were catastrophic failures that led to these deaths. first and foremost, was the failure of the military to let units know that

there was a major aid operation happening that evening. this was the second such convoy that occurred that evening, and they didn't bother to make sure that everyone he was fighting in that area or had access to deadly weapons was aware of that fact. the other thing that happened was that the army acknowledged that one of its drone operators, or the drone unit, thought that a gunman had entered the convoy of these world central kitchen vehicles. they were unaware that they were world central kitchen vehicles at the time, they say, that they thought they had seen a gunmen. it turned out that that wasn't a gunmen, it was one of the aid workers carrying a bag. and on the basis of that, apparently very flimsy evidence, lethal force was authorised against that vehicle. we understand from the army's own account, there were survivors from the first strike and

they moved quickly into the second vehicle and two minutes later, that vehicle and two minutes later, that vehicle itself was hit by a second missile. there were even survivors from that air strike and they made their way to a third vehicle and two minutes after that, they were struck by the third missile. in the course of six minutes, seven aid workers deadin of six minutes, seven aid workers dead in three different cars. the beauinnin dead in three different cars. the beginning of— dead in three different cars. the beginning of the written statement, it says the idf had found forces, they had identified gunmen on one of they had identified gunmen on one of the eight tracks earlier in the evening but this was at the depot where the aid was being unloaded. those eight vehicles then drove off and the statement says one of the commanders misstating —— mistakenly assumed one of the government was in the vehicles. the key question, is how much what followed was based on those mistaken assumptions? i think

eve hinu those mistaken assumptions? i think everything is — those mistaken assumptions? i think everything is based _ those mistaken assumptions? i think everything is based on _ those mistaken assumptions? i think everything is based on those - everything is based on those assumptions. the army were keen last night to show us the picture of firstly, gunmen who, at the point of which this aid was being unloaded from the port that has been hastily improvised in northern gaza, this lorry arrives at the reception centre where it picks up the world central kitchen convoy. at that point, gunmen climbed on top of the roof of this lorry and are seen to fly at least one shot and that is clearly visible from the drone. that truck is then taken all the way to a warehouse, which is a bit further on land and at that point, it is kept there and the vehicles leave. crucially, there is one more vehicle that appears on the scene and drives north from that warehouse and is subsequently tracked by the idf as having gunmen in it. you can clearly

see four gunmen leave it but they are not attacked because, the idf say, they were near an eight—point. the timing is odd because a couple of times that it might minutes after that, they engage the world central kitchen vehicle. it is not clear whether it was to those people firing or not, but what the idf are trying to establish, that in the mindset of them, they were —— there were people around there trying to capture the convoy. indie were people around there trying to capture the convoy.— were people around there trying to capture the convoy. we was showing there images — capture the convoy. we was showing there images of— capture the convoy. we was showing there images of the _ capture the convoy. we was showing there images of the seven _ capture the convoy. we was showing there images of the seven aid - there images of the seven aid workers killed in these strikes. clearly this will lead to many more questions for israel, world central kitchen saying that israel can't credibly investigate itself. poland as well, of course one of the aid workers was polish, is demanding a

criminal inquiry by israel for what happened. criminal inquiry by israel for what ha ened. .,, criminal inquiry by israel for what ha ened. ., ., happened. last night, we were told that evidence _ happened. last night, we were told that evidence from _ happened. last night, we were told that evidence from this _ happened. last night, we were told that evidence from this initial- that evidence from this initial inquiry would be handed over to the military advocate general, that is the senior legal authority inside the senior legal authority inside the israeli military. but it was an investigation carried outside the chain of command but by a retired general, so effectively, it is the army policing itself. i think one of the things that jumps army policing itself. i think one of the things thatjumps out, apart from the catastrophic failure of communication, is the way in which deadly force was authorised on the basis of such apparently flimsy evidence and plenty of people have been arguing that the threshold for deadly force has been lowered and lowered and lowered over the last six months to the point of recklessness in the gaza strip. and that we are only finding this out now because six internationals with foreign passports are the ones who've ended up being killed. thank

ou ve who've ended up being killed. thank you very much _ who've ended up being killed. thank you very much of — who've ended up being killed. thank you very much of that, _ who've ended up being killed. thank you very much of that, 10 _ who've ended up being killed. thank you very much of that, 10 floto - you very much of that, jo floto there. let's speak to british army veteran and chief executive of the intelligence company sibylline , justin crump. jo floto there talking about the threshold for deadly force, claims that this threshold has been lowered and lowered over the last six months. what do you make of this statement from the israeli defence forces about the killing of those seven aid workers? i forces about the killing of those seven aid workers?— forces about the killing of those seven aid workers? i would say first of all, the statement _ seven aid workers? i would say first of all, the statement itself, - seven aid workers? i would say first of all, the statement itself, on - seven aid workers? i would say first of all, the statement itself, on the l of all, the statement itself, on the surface of it, appear pretty credible. he had spent that very well. they try to present their side of what happened but have acknowledged their responsibility and their mistake. it is a very competitive statement. again, cold comfort, as he said, to the families involved in this to know that it was

a tragic mistake. i think to the point of the lowering threshold, it is one of the points the israelis themselves made as a learning point that the three engagements and not have taken place —— should not have taken place at all and six men it is quite a long time to have got messages through, even with the relatively pork munication means are available and so it does show —— poor communication. for the israelis, this war that is very close to it is very different to, for example, the british army in. they are looking for vengeance of their colleagues, the october seven and so inclination is going to be aggressive. and so inclination is going to be aggressive-— and so inclination is going to be anressive. . , ., ., ., aggressive. that standard operating -rocedure aggressive. that standard operating procedure should _ aggressive. that standard operating procedure should be _ aggressive. that standard operating procedure should be trying - aggressive. that standard operating procedure should be trying to - aggressive. that standard operating procedure should be trying to take l procedure should be trying to take the heat out of the situation and take a cool, hard look at the fact

and it is clear from what we have said that mistaken assumptions were made, that the communication was not the communication that should have happened, did not happen. so what are the key question is, do you think, for the israeli armed forces, for the idf, as a result of that mission of these failings? it will be, they had — mission of these failings? it will be, they had to _ mission of these failings? it will be, they had to take _ mission of these failings? it will be, they had to take this - mission of these failings? it will be, they had to take this very i be, they had to take this very seriously. this is a tactical error made byjunior people on the battlefield. it has had immense strategic consequences for israel. but they were clearly more senior commanders involved as well? {iii commanders involved as well? of course, at every level, but ultimately, we talk about these junior commanders making decisions that have these consequences and that have these consequences and thatis that have these consequences and that is not to exonerate anyone else. of course, everyone at the chain is responsible for the effective application of things being in place and the israelis themselves admit that there are also

not followed. they are going to have to reinforce that these are followed in future. that will have an effect on the soldiers, of course, and those conducting those operations, both in terms of stricter adherence and potentially the issues they will have, that they feel they can't engage. that is definitely something the british army suffered with. though the israeli military will try to balance the need to get the mod has been around this, because clearly, a number of catastrophic errors happen here —— discipline around this. they also need to keep their troops fighting within those guidelines and that is something hard for their commanders to manage within debts. hard for their commanders to manage within debts-— this report comes as — after us pressure — israel opens more access points for aid — the us secretary of state anthony blinken has been speaking with eu leaders in belgium about the humanitarian situation in gaza.

let's take a listen to what he said. we welcome the steps that have been announced by israel, opening erez as a new crossing point, having shipments go directly from the ashdod port, maximising the route from jordan. these are positive developments, but the real test is results, and that's what we are looking to see in the coming days and in the coming weeks. let's get more on this with cbs correspondent jarred hill, who's in new york. has there been any reaction yet in the states, early there, to what the ids has had to say? irate the states, early there, to what the ids has had to say?— ids has had to say? we are still waitin: ids has had to say? we are still waiting on _ ids has had to say? we are still waiting on reaction _ ids has had to say? we are still waiting on reaction from - ids has had to say? we are still i waiting on reaction from american politicians regarding the idf statement on the drone strikes that happen, claimed a seven aid workers but we do know that yesterday and over the last few days, president biden has said that this was not a stand—alone incident, as he had continued to push the israeli

government to be more strategic and cautious in the way that a canucks the strikes. we also know that us senator chris coons has said that there should be an independent review of whatever independent report comes out of the idf. we are waiting in the next couple of hours to see what senior lawmakers are making at this one but that is certainly something people have been waiting for. certainly something people have been waitin: for. . ~ ., waiting for. going back to the o enin: waiting for. going back to the opening up — waiting for. going back to the opening up of— waiting for. going back to the opening up of additional- waiting for. going back to the opening up of additional aid l waiting for. going back to the - opening up of additional aid rates, president biden asked for specific, concrete and measurable sets from israel. we have any sense yet of what israel —— whether what israel is proposing with his route is going to satisfy the president? what is proposing with his route is going to satisfy the president?— to satisfy the president? what we have heard _ to satisfy the president? what we have heard this _ to satisfy the president? what we have heard this morning, - to satisfy the president? what we have heard this morning, they - to satisfy the president? what we| have heard this morning, they are saying this is a promising step, but really the proof is going to be in the pudding. the big question is why these routes might be open, where

these routes might be open, where the aid actually get to the people in gaza who need it? and that is something that the administration says they'll be watching out for. the other thing here is at the biden administration say not only do they want these aid routes open up, they want these aid routes open up, they want these aid routes open up, they want the israeli government, the israeli military, making some concrete promises, some concrete measures that they can take and look at to showcase that they are prioritising the saving of civilian life as they continue their operation in gaza.- life as they continue their operation in gaza. life as they continue their 0 eration in gaza. . ~ , ., , operation in gaza. thank you very much, operation in gaza. thank you very much. jarred _ operation in gaza. thank you very much, jarred hill— operation in gaza. thank you very much, jarred hill and _ operation in gaza. thank you very much, jarred hill and york. -- - operation in gaza. thank you very much, jarred hill and york. -- in| much, jarred hilland york. —— in new york. let me just tell you that i am hearing we will be hearing from the idf, an interview with the idf and that is going to be the viewers around the world but not in the uk. that is coming up in a little over an hour's time. let's move on.

in taiwan, emergency workers are still trying to reach around 600 people either trapped in highway tunnels or cut off in remote areas after wednesday's earthquake. almost all are guests and staff of a remote hotel who are unable to leave because of damaged roads. ten people were killed and more than 1,000 injured after the island's biggest quake in more than a quarter of a century. strict building regulations in taiwan helped prevent a major catastrophe. let's speak to journalist jan camenzind broomby, who's near the quake's epicentre in hualien. thank you forjoining us. you have beenin thank you forjoining us. you have been in the area for a number of days now. tell us first of all that those efforts to reach people who are either trapped or are unreachable at the moment because they have been left cut off by the impact of the quake?— they have been left cut off by the impact of the quake? when we first arrived in hualien, _ impact of the quake? when we first arrived in hualien, the _ impact of the quake? when we first arrived in hualien, the city - impact of the quake? when we first arrived in hualien, the city closest i arrived in hualien, the city closest to the epicentre on this earthquake, the largest earthquake that taiwan have dealt in 25 years, the big rescue efforts that we saw were people trying to get people out of

buildings. we spoke to an engineer who said they had just rescued glass of either who had been taken to hospital. we spoke to another person who said his friend passed away in this house when it collapsed around her. in the days after that and moving on to today, the rescue effort has begun to shift to getting people out of the mountains around the city. hualien is a tourist hub within taiwan and people come here to enjoy the mountains that are to the west of the city. right now, the earthquakes have caused landslides that have rendered many of the roads around the area difficult to traverse and leaving people trapped in tunnels. we spoke to someone who said that they were on a popular mountain trail, he was faced with a sheer wall on one side and a share dropped on the other side as rubble fell on top of them. he said if he had been five metres more ahead, he

would have died. haifa had been five metres more ahead, he would have died.— would have died. how is taiwan coin: would have died. how is taiwan dining with _ would have died. how is taiwan dining with all _ would have died. how is taiwan coping with all of _ would have died. how is taiwan coping with all of its _ would have died. how is taiwan coping with all of its infra - coping with all of its infra structure with this? in hualien, there are _ structure with this? in hualien, there are spots _ structure with this? in hualien, there are spots by _ structure with this? in hualien, there are spots by the - structure with this? in hualien, there are spots by the damage| structure with this? in hualien, i there are spots by the damage is severe and spots where things seem to have gone back to normal. that is a testament to taiwan's determination to reverse the effects of these aspects. there are different rules that have been implemented, applications on mobile telephones warning of earthquakes, even now we are getting alerts of aftershocks in the city to make sure that people can stay safe in hualien and around taiwan.— and around taiwan. thank you very much, and around taiwan. thank you very

much. janice _ and around taiwan. thank you very much, janice matt _ and around taiwan. thank you very much, janice matt in _ and around taiwan. thank you very much, janice matt in hualien - around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

senior doctors in england have ended their pay dispute with the government. consultants who are members of the british medical association and the hospital consultants and specialists association have backed a new deal. the offer will mean some consultants will get a pay increase of nearly 20% for the financial year 2023—24. junior doctors in england remain in dispute with ministers over pay and have a fresh mandate to strike. with more on this, we can cross to the newsroom and speak to our health editor hugh pym. tell us a bit more about the deal that has persuaded consultants to call of action?— call of action? this is a long-running - call of action? this is a long-running dispute. | call of action? this is a l long-running dispute. it call of action? this is a - long-running dispute. it began a long—running dispute. it began a year ago with the most senior doctors in the nhs in england, many of them have had more than ten years

experience as more junior doctors, before they become consultants, so they are at the top of their profession, and they took strike action at various points last year, which was effectively unprecedented in the history of the nhs for such senior doctors to take this sort of action. just a look at the numbers very briefly, they were awarded a 6% pay rise last year. they said that wasn't enough and stage their industrial action. they went back into talks and got a higher offer, put that to the members he rejected it and then another offer came from the government, which has now been accepted, which in essence means something between 3% on top of the original 6% and 13% depending on seniority. the british medical association, the doctor's trade union, says this is a victory for negotiation and they have praised the consultants who are prepared to

take action to take this far. they also say there have been important changes to the way that doctors pay is negotiated through the public sector pay review body, but now the government has agreed that it should have broader remit, shouldn'tjust be constrained to what the government say is affordable. the government say is affordable. the government position say that this is very welcome, it is good news a patient as well as others in the nhs, gunning for taxpayers and they are obviously pleased with the deal. importantly, this isjust for importantly, this is just for england. importantly, this isjust for england. there are separate disputes in wales and northern ireland. senior doctors in wales are due to take strike action over their pay dispute from the middle of april. senior doctors and northern ireland are about to ballot on the matter, so it is all down to administrations in the different nations of the uk as to how they handle it. junior doctors in england have not settled

their dispute. they first staged strike action in march last year. their dispute is far from strike action in march last year. their dispute is farfrom over. they have another mandate for strike action. they haven't called another strike as things stand but there are no talks any sign of talks there. junior doctors in wales and northern ireland have also staged action. in scotland, there are no dispute for doctors at the moment.— scotland, there are no dispute for doctors at the moment. thank you very much. — doctors at the moment. thank you very much. hugh _ doctors at the moment. thank you very much, hugh pym, _ doctors at the moment. thank you very much, hugh pym, our- doctors at the moment. thank you very much, hugh pym, our health| very much, hugh pym, our health editor. the senior british conservative mp william wragg has reportedly admitted passing phone numbers of some fellow mps to a person he met on a gay dating app. speaking to the times, mr wragg apologised and said he was scared the individual would have "compromising things" on him. the bbc has attempted to contact mr wragg. about 12 people working in westminster are believed to have been targeted, all receiving unsolicited whatsapp messages from suspicious mobile numbers. let's speak to our political correspondent peter saull, who's in westminster.

there has been more reaction to this. bring us up to date? the first element is — this. bring us up to date? the first element is william wragg - this. bring us up to date? the first element is william wragg himself. this. bring us up to date? the first. element is william wragg himself. he is a seniorfigure, he is also element is william wragg himself. he is a senior figure, he is also the vice chair of the 9022 committee, which is a backbench group that bought tory mps belong to. i think questions about his judgment, why did he hand over the phone numbers of some of his colleagues to this individual? he has that he is very sorry for the hurt he has caused to other and his party here and i think the overriding sentiment that we are getting from people is one of sympathy, actually, for william wragg, he is seen as something of a victim. no suggestion that he will face any kind of disciplinary action. the second element of this is how it fits in to wider reports of at least 12 senior

parliamentarians, mps, journalists, receiving unsolicited messages and a short while ago, the chancellor jeremy hunt was asked for his thoughts. well, i think the events of the last few days have been a great cause for concern. the mp involved has given a courageous and fulsome apology, but the lesson here for all mp5 is that they need to be very careful about cyber security and indeed it's the lesson for members of the public as well because this is something we are all having to face in our daily lives. co nta cted contacted william wragg folk comment. he has yet to respond. he is standing down as an mp at the general election. labour say this is a matterfor the general election. labour say this is a matter for the conservative party as whether they take disciplinary action, the liberal democrats leader saying perhaps more support is needed for mps to deal with some of

these security concerns they may have. leicestershire police have opened an investigation after receiving a complaint from an mp in that area over unsolicited messages and a metropolitan police say they are working with parliamentary security and leicestershire police on it too. ,, ., security and leicestershire police on it too. . , , on it too. peter sol in westminster for us. on it too. peter sol in westminster for us- do — on it too. peter sol in westminster for us- do stay _ on it too. peter sol in westminster for us. do stay with _ on it too. peter sol in westminster for us. do stay with us _ on it too. peter sol in westminster for us. do stay with us here - on it too. peter sol in westminster for us. do stay with us here on - on it too. peter sol in westminster| for us. do stay with us here on bbc news. you are watching bbc news. let's catch up with the weather. hello. snow for some across scotland this morning, but the contrasting

it stays rather grey here with further outbreaks of rain. a few passing showers being blown on a brisk south—westerly wind and rain marred for the time of year, 18 or 19 degrees. still quite chilly across the north. rain pushes its way northwards across scotland and we see the next patch of when you buy up for the south, some of the rain to be quite heavy. by the end of the night, temperatures will be lifting, turning milder but very mild further south. into saturday, the steepening area of low pressure hurtling towards the west of ireland has been named by the irish met service as storm kathleen. it is the feel of the weather in saturday dragging weather, up to 22 degrees across eastern england despite the

strong went. some kathleen likely to cause disruption, because see some travel disruption especially to the ferries around irish sea coast. that rain pushes its way northwards early in the morning across scotland but we will see showers. a lot of dry weather around, we will see showers. a lot of dry weatheraround, plenty we will see showers. a lot of dry weather around, plenty of sunshine, despite the widespread gales, it is going to feel very warm indeed. gas can be up to 60 or 70 miles an hour across the north on the west. despite that, with a sunshine amount of those warm southerly ones can be “p of those warm southerly ones can be up to 21 or 22 degrees in the east of england. mid to high teens across scotland, is a much warmer there too. saturday night stains windy. some kathleen passes the north west of scotland, a real squeezed in the isobars as we move to sunday. elsewhere, it stays very windy. we will see more showers in the mix, some of those heavy with hail and thunder mix then pulls up there will be some sunshine, still establishes

are above the seasonal average. stays unsettled into next week, another staffer windy and wet weather. signs of it settling down by the end of the week.

this is bbc news. the headlines: in a report, the israel defense forces admit the killing of seven aid workers was the result of grave mistakes. two officers will be sacked. the un human rights council adopts a resolution calling for a global ban on weapons sales to israel because of its conduct in the war in gaza. scientists believe they have found a new reason behind much of the damage asthma causes

to the body. more now on our top story, the investigation into the killings of seven aid workers in an israeli air strike. it found that the missile attack was the a "grave mistake". it acknolwedged mistaken identification, errors in decision—making and that it was contrary to standard operating procedures. two officers will be sacked and others formally diciplined. just hours earlier, the un human rights council has backed a resolution demanding a halt to all arms sales to israel, because of its conduct in the war in gaza. the vote, while not binding, comes from the un's top human rights body and will increase the diplomatic pressure on israel to change course. let's speak now to our geneva correspondent imogen foulkes.

tell us about the