it is time to step back from the brink, to silence the guns, to ease the horrible sufferings and to stop the potential famine before it is too late. israel says its attack which killed seven aid workers in gaza was a grave mistake and that a number of senior military officers have been disciplined. israel has promised to improve access to aid. tonight, we will hear from a unicef worker inside gaza about the situation on the ground and if these new aid routes are enough to improve things. we will also speak to a former state department human rights official who resigned over presidentjoe biden�*s handling of the israel—gaza war. meanwhile, an earthquake shakes new york city, the strongest in a0 years. but the big apple escapes unscathed.

hello, welcome to the programme. the israeli military has said air strikes on a convoy in gaza, which left seven aid workers dead, happened after a series of "grave mistakes". israel has sacked two senior officers and has given its first detailed account about how and why it carried out the attack. here are the key points. 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 the brigade chief of staff, an officer with the rank of colonel in reserve, and the brigade fire support commander with the rank of major have been dismissed from their positions. the people who died were working for the charity,

world central kitchen, which has called for an independent inquiry. in response to the deaths, joe biden says israel is doing what he asked, in opening more aid routes. we will hearfrom one un aid group on the ground in gaza shortly. but first our correspondent lucy williamson has more from jerusalem. israel says hamas gunmen often pose as aid workers. not this time. its army today said the killing of seven aid workers in air strikes this week was a grave mistake, due to mistaken identification, errors in decision—making and a serious violation of army procedures. the convoy, belonging to the charity world central kitchen, was struck in central gaza late on monday night — survivors running between the remaining vehicles before being hit again, and then again. the army said its forces had mistaken the bag one passenger was carrying for a gun, after spotting gunmen

at the warehouse earlier. there was a visual confirmation of a gunman, first of all, on one of the trucks that then conducted shooting from one of the trucks. and when they indeed reached the hangers, —— and when they indeed reached the hangars, there were more gunmen identified on the location, and it led, basically, to the entire miscalculation, misidentification and the failure of what should have happened. israel's army said the aid was picked up by a lorry at 10pm. the armed figure was then spotted firing from one of the trucks, before the convoy moved on with other vehicles to an inland warehouse, where drone footage showed more gunmen getting out of one car. that vehicle later moved north to another warehouse, while the three cars from world central kitchen turned back to the coast, where they were hit in separate air strikes minutes apart. the army has fired two senior officers who approved the strikes,

but world central kitchen has called for an independent inquiry, saying the idf cannot credibly investigate its own failure and that systemic change was needed. other aid agencies say this was not a one—off mistake. this is notjust an incident, this is a series, a pattern of incidents that have been going on for months and months now. we're now up to the stage of having 200 humanitarian workers killed. we are operating in an environment of complete impunity. it is a deliberate choice to allow these attacks to continue to happen. one former major general pointed out that israeli forces have also killed their own compatriots in gaza. it was a huge mistake. unfortunately, many, many other mistakes were made. for instance, israel killed three israeli hostages that managed to release themselves, and nevertheless they were killed by israeli soldiers, and of course no—one believed that we killed them deliberately.

the difficulties of getting aid to gaza was already deepening rifts with israel's allies. the killing of british and american nationals has shifted the debate. the port of ashdod is less than 30 miles from gaza, but for the past six months, it's remained closed to aid. now, this port and the nearby erez crossing point have been prised open by a stinging us demand that israel find new routes to get aid safely into northern gaza or risk losing american support. israel says its war is with hamas, not gaza's civilians, that it's fighting one and feeding the other. but aid workers accuse israel of seeing them as targets and aid as a weapon of war. lucy williamson, bbc news, ashdod. let's get more now on the aid

situation and those new routes opened up by israel. we can speak to unicef�*s communications specialist, tess ingram, whojoins us from gaza. thank you very much for coming on the programme. thank you very much for coming on the programme-— thank you very much for coming on the programme. thanks for having us. so “ust talk the programme. thanks for having us. so just talk poster _ the programme. thanks for having us. so just talk poster with _ the programme. thanks for having us. so just talk poster with the _ the programme. thanks for having us. so just talk poster with the impact - so just talk poster with the impact is of presidentjoe biden and the us demanding more aid routes into gaza. we have seen today the news, as your correspondent just explained, we have seen today the news, as your correspondentjust explained, that ashdod port and erez crossing might be opened. that's a very positive news, it's something we've been asking for, for weeks now, we desperately need to flood the gaza strip with aid stuff it is undetectable the amount of aid we are getting in through the two existing crossings in the south, and it also puts us at great risk trying to move that ate all the way to the north, if we can even get access to the north, so it's positive news that the erez crossing might open and allow us to bring a directly into the starting families that need

it. however, this isjust news, so we need to see it in action, we need it soon, we needed at scale and then we needed to be sustained. what we needed to be sustained. what do ou make we needed to be sustained. what do you make of — we needed to be sustained. what do you make of the _ we needed to be sustained. what do you make of the fact _ we needed to be sustained. what do you make of the fact that _ we needed to be sustained. what do you make of the fact that you - we needed to be sustained. what do you make of the fact that you have, | you make of the fact that you have, you make of the fact that you have, you and other organisations, been calling for more routes for aid to get into gaza and has not happened until, it seems, a stiff phone call from joe biden? until, it seems, a stiff phone call from joe biden?— from joe biden? there's lots of thins from joe biden? there's lots of things we _ from joe biden? there's lots of things we have _ from joe biden? there's lots of things we have been _ from joe biden? there's lots of things we have been asking - from joe biden? there's lots of things we have been asking for| from joe biden? there's lots of. things we have been asking for for months now that have not happened. we been asking to be safer on the ground, we have been asking for the instrument killing of children to end, we have been pleading for a cease—fire. none of these calls are being heated, so, look, we have to keep going, head down, chin up, do our work and continued to hope that international pressure can shift some of the problem is we are facing on the ground. some of the problem is we are facing on the ground-— on the ground. what do you make of the explanations _ on the ground. what do you make of the explanations we _ on the ground. what do you make of the explanations we have _ on the ground. what do you make of the explanations we have heard - on the ground. what do you make ofl the explanations we have heard today from the idf about what happened with that aid convoy, those aid vehicles, being hit? what do you make of their explanation and the impact on the work that you do? i

think it's unacceptable. international law is clear. humanitarian smuts be protected, as do all civilians. pregnant women, children, journalist —— we have lost far too many people, innocent civilians over the last six month, and it makes it kind of clear the type of war this is. this is an industry and it war that is killing children, humanitarian workers, about 200 now, and we need these mistakes and stop piling up —— indiscriminate war. ii mistakes and stop piling up -- indiscriminate war.— mistakes and stop piling up -- indiscriminate war. if we do get a creater indiscriminate war. if we do get a greater degree — indiscriminate war. if we do get a greater degree of _ indiscriminate war. if we do get a greater degree of protection - indiscriminate war. if we do get a greater degree of protection for l greater degree of protection for humanitarian workers on the ground, if these new aid routes to open up and start getting more aid in, what kind of difference will that make on the ground? and what else would you want? the the ground? and what else would you want? , , ., , want? the list is long, the wish list, but will — want? the list is long, the wish list, but will really _ want? the list is long, the wish list, but will really need - want? the list is long, the wish list, but will really need that i want? the list is long, the wish | list, but will really need that was the crossings to open at scale. we

are only getting 156 trucks a day in on average at the moment and we need 500. that is what we were getting before the war, maybe even a bit more than that, so more trucks coming in, then we needy safe conditions on the ground to distribute the aid. that involves this coordination process we have discussing a lot this week that world central kitchen said that he was using. we need to know that when we get a safety assurance, when we are coordinating a mission with israel, that that safety assurance is going to be respected, and lastly we need more access. we knocking enough convoys out to the north of gaza. we know children are dying their —— we are not getting. that has to be an acceptable when the aid that could save their lives is just a few kilometres away. —— unacceptable. tess ingram, we have to leave it there. we can take a look now at the handling byjoe biden of the is zero gaza war. what do they think?

polling from gallup last week showed that only 27% of voters believe he is handling the situation in gaza well. there is also growing pressure from within his own administration. last week, a state department official working on human rights issues in the middle east resigned. annelle sheline stepped down after a year as a foreign affairs officer in the bureau of democracy, human rights and labour. and annellejoins me now from washington. thank you for coming on the programme. thank you for coming on the programme-— thank you for coming on the rouramme. . ~ i. ., ., programme. thank you for having me. wh did programme. thank you for having me. why did you — programme. thank you for having me. why did you resign? _ programme. thank you for having me. why did you resign? i _ programme. thank you for having me. why did you resign? i resigned - programme. thank you for having me. why did you resign? i resigned over i why did you resign? i resigned over this oli , why did you resign? i resigned over this policy. the _ why did you resign? i resigned over this policy, the united _ why did you resign? i resigned over this policy, the united states's - this policy, the united states's enabling what experts on genocide have described as genocide. the us has also not upheld us laws that would mean that because israel is locking it american unitarian aid and is engaging in gross violations of human rights it is the longer eligible to receive us military assistance, yet the weapons keep flowing. assistance, yet the weapons keep flowinr. �* , ., i. ~ assistance, yet the weapons keep flowinr. �* , ., ,, ~' . flowing. and why do you think that is? ithink flowing. and why do you think that is? i think it _ flowing. and why do you think that is? | think it is — flowing. and why do you think that is? i think it is political _ is? i think it is political compilation _ is? i think it is political compilation that - is? i think it is political - compilation that increasingly is? i think it is political _ compilation that increasingly maybe out of date, i think biden is a self

identified zionist, and this has been his stance throughout his long career, but i do think americans are devastated and horrified by the images that they are seeing coming out of gaza, and i think we are seeing a shift. ijust worry it is going to be too little and too late. can i ask about your personal position and the decision and any shift? because after the attacks by hamas, many, many countries around the world of allies of israel, stood firmly and defended israel's right to defend itself. was that your position? to defend itself. was that your osition? , ., , , to defend itself. was that your osition? , ., _ ., to defend itself. was that your osition? , ., , , ., ., position? obviously, the attacks on a tober position? obviously, the attacks on a toher the — position? obviously, the attacks on a tober the seventh _ position? obviously, the attacks on a tober the seventh were _ position? obviously, the attacks on | a tober the seventh were horrifying, but i think even very quickly, we saw the statements by israeli officials of what their intent was, in terms of their intention to kill people and start people, that it was

clear that their goal was not just to try to get their hostages back, which is certainly a justifiable goal, but to engage in this, these behaviours of mass starvation, of trying to kill as many people in gaz as possible. trying to kill as many people in gaz as possible-— as possible. israel and the idf would pretty _ as possible. israel and the idf would pretty heavily _ as possible. israel and the idf would pretty heavily dispute i as possible. israel and the idf . would pretty heavily dispute that. they say they're going after hamas and they say hamas use civilians as human shields. i and they say hamas use civilians as human shields.— human shields. i think the world is caettin human shields. i think the world is getting pretty _ human shields. i think the world is getting pretty tired _ human shields. i think the world is getting pretty tired of _ human shields. i think the world is getting pretty tired of those - getting pretty tired of those excuses. i think people are seeing, coming through social media, from people inside gaza, the ways that these lies that the israeli system continues to disseminate, people are not buying it any more. i think also the us government is not being honest. in terms of not appointing us law. the evidence is quite clear,

and again, ijust hope that we will see a shift from this administration while it still possible to make a difference for people on the ground. what you make of the shift thatjoe biden did appear to make in the last 24 biden did appear to make in the last 2a hours or so, with that phone call to benjamin netanyahu, saying if israel does not change, make certain changes, the support of the us would change? i changes, the support of the us would chan . e? ~ changes, the support of the us would chance? ~' ., , ., change? i think it remains to be seen. i certainly _ change? i think it remains to be seen. i certainly welcome - change? i think it remains to be seen. i certainly welcome that, | change? i think it remains to be| seen. i certainly welcome that, i hope you will go much further in using us leverage. i think this pushes back against those who say there's not much that biden would have done. clearly there's much more he could do, and specifically in terms of us weapons, that is really military officials themselves have admitted they cannot conduct this war without this direct us support —— israeli military officials. i hope we see these crossings open, but more important either has to be a cease—fire. israel has had six months to achieve its military goals

and at which point as the us and the world say, that's enough? do and at which point as the us and the world say, that's enough?— world say, that's enough? do you think the us _ world say, that's enough? do you think the us has _ world say, that's enough? do you think the us has enough - world say, that's enough? do you think the us has enough leverage world say, that's enough? do you - think the us has enough leverage and influence to create a cease—fire? yes, absolutely, israel cannot, without us weapons, and the billions of dollars that the us uses to subsidise israel's settlement project, this war cannot continue, so i very much hope that biden will realise, evenjust in purely so i very much hope that biden will realise, even just in purely a cold political couplets during an election year, that it is his own self—interest as a politician to realise that views are really changing here.— realise that views are really changing here. realise that views are really chanauin here. . ,. . changing here. ok, and he said that is our changing here. ok, and he said that is your hope- _ changing here. ok, and he said that is your hope. what _ changing here. ok, and he said that is your hope. what using _ changing here. ok, and he said that is your hope. what using the - changing here. ok, and he said thatl is your hope. what using the chances are? i is your hope. what using the chances are? ., is your hope. what using the chances are? . ., , , is your hope. what using the chances are? . ., _ , . are? i am not terribly optimistic -- what do you _ are? i am not terribly optimistic -- what do you think? _ are? i am not terribly optimistic -- what do you think? i _ are? i am not terribly optimistic -- what do you think? i do _ are? i am not terribly optimistic -- what do you think? i do fear - are? i am not terribly optimistic -- what do you think? i do fear that l biden has been so far unwilling to make much of a shift. but i hope

that the public pressure will continue to grow and that we will see new policies.— continue to grow and that we will see new policies. annelle sheline, thank ou see new policies. annelle sheline, thank you very _ see new policies. annelle sheline, thank you very much _ see new policies. annelle sheline, thank you very much for _ see new policies. annelle sheline, thank you very much for coming i see new policies. annelle sheline, | thank you very much for coming on the programme. thank you.- thank you very much for coming on the programme. thank you. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

we are going to head to the us. residual biden is in baltimore right now, he is looking at the aftermath of the collapsed bridge thereof course —— president biden. beating state and local officials. six people were killed after a cargo ship accidentally crashed into the bridge, causing it to collapse. the incident sparked transport and trade disruption, with business owners raising concerns on how this blockade will impact them

on the short and long run. presidentjoe biden on the right—hand side, he has not spoken yet. we will keep across these pictures and cut tojoe biden as soon as he does say something, but our correspondent will vernon is there for us. just talk us through what is happening?— there for us. just talk us through what is happening? good afternoon from baltimore. _ what is happening? good afternoon from baltimore. president- what is happening? good afternoon from baltimore. president biden i what is happening? good afternoon | from baltimore. president biden has been inspecting the site of the bridge from the air. he has been flying over, having a look for himself, he has been beating local officials, receiving briefings on the situation and also he is expected to meet families of the people killed in that disaster for looking to send a message of support, a message of reassurance to the local community here, ten days after that catastrophic bridge collapse, and we expect mr biden to call once again on the us congress to swiftly approve federal funding to swiftly approve federal funding to rebuild that bridge, the bill for

thatis to rebuild that bridge, the bill for that is expected to reach perhaps $2 billion, and mr biden also is expected to announce some sort of additional measures to support the local economy here. baltimore has been badly affected by this disaster. of course, the main impact is on the port of baltimore, just up the river here. that is more or less at a standstill. there's no traffic going in or out of that port at the moment, and the reason for that is because the river is full of wreckage, debris from that falling bridge, concrete, glass, so the main priority now for the authorities is to get that tunnel open and get that shipping lane open again, and of course once they do that, they have already got a lot of heavy kit here, around six heavy lifting cranes on barges, they already started cutting up barges, they already started cutting up that wreckage to get it out of the water, and of course once they do that, not only will that mean

that traffic can resume at the port but also the recovery operation can resume for the four bodies that are still missing. there were six construction workers that were on that bridge, eight that were on the bridge, but six unfortunately were killed in that collapse, and four of them, their bodies have not been found, so most iraqis out of the river, they then can resume the search for those bodies. and of course the investigation continues. —— once the wreckage is out of the rivers. it is unclear what caused the catastrophic power failure for there is a team of investigators here in baltimore, they have been interviewing the crew who are still on that ship, and they've also recovered the data recorders. these are on board, like black boxes, like we think from aircraft, they have recovered those and they are recovering, they're analysing the data from those data recorders and investigators say that they are expecting to release some sort of

preliminary report next month, but of course the full picture of what exactly happened will not be known for much longer than that. fiifi exactly happened will not be known for much longer than that. ok, thank ou ve for much longer than that. ok, thank you very much _ for much longer than that. ok, thank you very much for — for much longer than that. ok, thank you very much for that. _ for much longer than that. ok, thank you very much for that. here - for much longer than that. ok, thank you very much for that. here in the l you very much for that. here in the uk, that police have confirmed they are investigating unsolicited explicit images and messages sent to mps in a parliamentary honey trap scan. a tory mp has apologised after admitting he gave other mps personal phone numbers to a man on a dating app. william wragg told the times newspaper he was sorry for the hurt he caused but he had been scared because the individual had compromise information on him. in the last hour, another mp, dr luke evans, has come forward to say he was targeted as part of the honeypot scam. he reviewed the detail in a clipped reviewed on social media. here is a video i did not expect make on friday evening, but a month ago, i was a victim of cyber

flashing and malicious communications and blew the... we were able to record the conversation and catch on that capture photos and beers of the messages coming through, including another explicit female image —— photos and videos. i wanted it to be private, the police investigation has been going on going for a month, i have been hounded byjournalists. it is not too difficult to work out, there were only so many leicestershire mps, i am pleased i

blew the whistle, reported it to the authorities and it is now being looked into.— looked into. our political correspondent _ looked into. our political correspondent iain - looked into. our political i correspondent iain watson looked into. our political - correspondent iain watson is standing by. another development? two developments. last night we reported that leicestershire police were investigating a report of malicious communications, these unsolicited messages, tonight dr luke evans says he was a person who reported them, and we now find out that the met and leicestershire please are looking into this as well in conjunction with the parliamentary security authorities. what is interesting about this development is we expected some conservative mps to be targeted, because william wragg had said, he felt dreadful about it but he passed on, undersome felt dreadful about it but he passed on, under some duress, felt dreadful about it but he passed on, undersome duress, some felt dreadful about it but he passed on, under some duress, some of these numbers to the person he was in contact with over social media, on that gay dating app, but we've also spoken to somebody who works for a

labour mp and they said they had received the flirtatious and salacious messages last autumn, and they did not have any contact whatsoever with william wragg, they did not think he would know what the telephone number was. that does tenses suggest this is part of a wider problem and what we still don't know is what the motivation is of the person who has been sending these messages or the true identity, whether working alone or whether they are actually working on behalf of others, at the moment the punditry authorities are saying if mp see anything suspicious, do report it. mp see anything suspicious, do re ort it. ., mp see anything suspicious, do reort it. . ., ~ mp see anything suspicious, do reort it. . ., ,, i. , mp see anything suspicious, do reort it. ., ., ~' ,, , . report it. iain, thank you very much for that. take _ report it. iain, thank you very much for that. take you _ report it. iain, thank you very much for that. take you live _ report it. iain, thank you very much for that. take you live to _ report it. iain, thank you very much for that. take you live to baltimore | for that. take you live to baltimore and the president biden is speaking, let's listen in. bill and the president biden is speaking, let's listen in.— let's listen in. all the families and loved _ let's listen in. all the families and loved ones _ let's listen in. all the families and loved ones are _ let's listen in. all the families and loved ones are grieving, l let's listen in. all the families and loved ones are grieving, i let's listen in. all the families - and loved ones are grieving, i have come here to grieve with you. we all are. it's not the same, but i know a little bit about what like to lose, a piece of your soul, you get that phone call in the middle of the

night to say if any member is gone. i have been there. it is feeling like having a black hole in your chest, like you're being sucked in, unable to breathe. the anger, pain, the depth of the loss is so profound. and we know it is hard to believe, you are probably not going to believe me, but i can tell you now from personal experience, the day is going to come when the memory of your loved one, as you walk by that park or the church or something that park or the church or something that you shared together is going to bring a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eye. it is going to happen, it is going to take a wild but i promise you, it will happen, and that's when you know you're going to be able to make it. i promise you, it will come. my prayers for you is that the time come sooner rather than later. but it will come. i also neverforget the contributions these men made to the city. we are going to work hard to recover each of them and my vow is

that we will not rest, as carlos said, until...— that we will not rest, as carlos said, until... that is present and bitin: said, until... that is present and biting their _ said, until... that is present and biting their speaking _ said, until... that is present and biting their speaking live - said, until... that is present and biting their speaking live in - biting their speaking live in baltimore to the families —— that is president biden. plenty more to come here on bbc news. stay with us. i'm lewis vaughanjones. bye—bye. hello there. it's set to turn very windy as we head into the weekend. storm kathleen is racing towards our shores, expecting to bring some disruption, i think, across northern and western parts of the country through the course of saturday. tonight, though, we'll see a band of rain moving ahead of the storm. some of this will be quite heavy across the north and the west of the country, lying across scotland by the end of the night. temperatures lifting here, but very mild further south — 13—15 degrees to start saturday. here it is, then, on the pressure chart, storm kathleen deepening as it passes to the west of ireland.

lots of ice bars on the charts indicating windy conditions and it'll be scooping up some very warm air from southern climes right across the uk. but it's southern and eastern parts of the country which could be seeing temperatures into the low 20 celsius. so, storm kathleen likely to cause some impacts to northern and western parts of the country, a bit of travel disruption. stay tuned to subsequent weather forecasts or head onto your bbc local radio for the latest updates. so, for saturday, starts off sunny, very windy for many areas. we will see some showers rattling their way eastwards, some are staying dry all together. so, sunny and very windy for many gales inland, but certainly gales around irish sea coasts, where we could see severe gales — 60—70 mph gusts here at times. very mild, with temperatures reaching 17 degrees across northern scotland, but up to 21 degrees or so for eastern england. given some good spells of sunshine as we head through saturday night,

as we head through saturday night, it stays very windy, further showers rattling their way from west to east. temperature—wise, again, mild for most, but something slightly cooler beginning to push into northern and western areas by the end of the night. so, into sunday, then — we have storm kathleen passing to the northwest of the uk. a squeeze in the isobars across western scotland. it's here where we'll see the strongest of the winds throughout the day on sunday. again, a chance of severe gales for the outer hebrides, but a windy day across the board. more showers in the mix, i think, and some of these could be heavy with some hail and thunder. could be that the southeast escapes them and stays dry. some good sunny spells again, another mild day to come, but not as warm as what we expect on saturday. could see another spell of wet and windy weather affecting england and wales on monday.

hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones. you're watching the context on bbc news. on sunday, rwanda marks the 30th anniversary of the genocide, where ethnic hutu extremists killed hundreds of thousands of tutsis and moderate hutus. we have a special report from one of our presenters, who was among those who fled rwanda. and made an emotionaljourney back.

sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre. a from the bbc sport centre. big weekend of qualifyi 2025 a big weekend of qualifying in the 2025 women needs euros. the defending champions are playing wembley is the tough opener and already a goal up around half an hour mark and scores elsewhere in austria are beating germany in a row champions are well up in belgium and northern ireland is goalless and dwells threshing crew a show 4—0 at the moment and first match and leaving the republic —— leading the republic of ireland but the kick off a lot later and plenty of action still to go and earlier, scotland do in serbia and the czech republic, india beat the netherlands and norway thrashed england. bad