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pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news" 'n washington, and this is bbc 'n world news america. the founder of the food charity whose workers were killed in gaza accuses the israeli military of systematically targeting their convoy. israel's government tells the bbc it was a mistake. >> there is no way in the world that israel would target people that come to give people aid. that is nonsense. i'm sorry. >> nato leaders in russell's -- and brussels as aid remains stalled. ♪

hello and welcome to world news america. i'm caitriona perry. the united natio has suspended all nighttime movement in gaza fort lee's 48 hours to evaluate israeli airstrikes that killed seven humanitarian aid workers. international pressure on israel is building. their calls particularly in the u.k. for the suspension of arms sales to israel. meanwhile, all seven victims from moral central kitchen have now been identified. a palestinian, australian, from poland, u.s. cadian and three britons. the bbc spoke to two of james kirby's cousins who described him as selfless. >> he knew the dangers, he was

no fool. people were telling him this could be very dangerous for you, but he knew the dangers and he was selfless in that regard. he just wanted to help people. he knew if he didn't go someone else would go, and that would probably play on his mind. dames wasn't one of those people who would just sit back. >> just shocked, really. caitriona: an ambulance carrying the body of the six workers cross the border on wednesday from gaza into egypt. back to their home countries.ted israeli forces were targeted which israel has categorically denied. here is the world kitchen founder. >> it was not a situation like, oops, we dropped a bomb in the

wrong place. it was a very defined humanitarian convoy with a very colorful logo that we are of a sleeve very proud of. it's very clear who we are. caitriona: the head of the israeli military says the strike was a great mistake that occurred due to misidentification in complex circumstances. we will hear directly from the israeli government later in this program with the minister of the economy and industry. first, there has been increasing pressure inside the u.k. to stop sending weapons to israel from protesters and politicians. members of britain's three main opposition party called on promised rishi sunak to suspend arms sales. a letter was sent to the prime minister saying the u.k. government continues to allow british-based companies to arm israel, despite the fact that israel has killed children, women, aid workers and bombed hospitals, schools, and refugee

camps. it continues, israel's actions have gone beyond a legitimate response. enough is enough. since 2008, the u.k. has rented arms export licenses worth 500 million pounds, mostly for components used in american warplanes that in up in israel. by contrast, the united states gives more than $3 billion of military aid to israel each year and has given no recent indication that it plans to suspend or limit that aid. on wednesday, state department spokesman matthew miller was asked what message the u.s. has four humanitarian aid workers now. >> we support the work that you do. we fund the work that aid organization doing israel, in gaza, all around the world, and we want to see that work continue. we will continue to make clear to the government of israel that it needs to do much better to protect those workers from harm. caitriona: pressures also

building inside israel as prime minister and jeanette yahoos government grows increasingly unpopular. he's faced criticism over his failure to rescue the remaining hostages from gaza. for more on the israeli government's response, i spoke with the country- countries minister of economy. there is anger with the prime minister's approach to the war and his failure so far to bring home all of the hostages. are you happy with how prime minister netanyahu is handling this war? >> tnk israel is united together, fighting together, understanding and what happened to us on october 7, we have not seen since theays of the nazis, and we all understand it is a long haul. we understand that we have to wipe hamas off the face of the earth. similarly to the way the nazis

were wiped out in the second world war and the japanese needed 100% full surrender before the war was over. we need to get there. there are differences of opinions on democracy, that is fine. but generally the whole country is united. we have a war cabinet comprised of the opposition in coalition together. we are in this together. i believe we are doing the right thing. caitriona: your fellow or cabinet member, benny gantz, is calling for elections by september. he wants a change of leadership. you agree with that? should there be elections? >> i think we should come to terms on how to move forward. right now, let's focus on winning the war. we still have about the fourth of hamas, a fourth of the nazis and other places. we have to finish the war, and then discuss together how we

move on. caitriona: let's talk about the israeli killing of seven aid workers from world central kitchen and charity that has been feeling -- feeding israelis as well as palestinians. the prime minister said those killings were unintended. you are major in the idf, so i just want to ask you, how do you unintentionally kill aid workers traveling in vehicles that are well marked as charity and ngo and aid workers and whose movements have been coordinated with the idf? >> first of all, it is tragedy. condolences to the families. unfortunately, in wars, friendly fire happens. over 30 israeli soldiers were killed by friendly fire. actually three of the kidnapped people were unfortunately killed in friendly fire. it is part of war. you do everything we can that it will not happen and learn from incidents that -- to make sure

it doesn't happen again. but it is part of war, and we are terribly sorry. this is the way we view it, we are very sorry and we will do everything we can to ensure this does not happen again. caitriona: you're talking about finley fire, but in this case, this was not one vehicle, this was three vehicles. there re some distance apart. these missiles landed some distance apart, and the idf was aware of what was going on. so how is that friendly fire? >> in the sense that i'm sure that the people that eventually were attacking would believe that this is not friendly. nobody wants to kill their own soldiers. caitriona: we are talking about this specific incident, though, minister. you can say perhaps a mistake happened once, and how does it happen a second time and a third time, some distance down the road? >> again, i want to mention the

fact that in war, unfortunate, there are people that get killed, civilians get killed. in the second world war, over 33 million civilians were killed in the war. of course, we don't intend to kill any civilians. we target the terrorists, the ones that committed those evil crimes. caitriona: minister, we will come to the killing of civilians in just one moment, but just to stick with the killing of aid workers, 196 of them in total have been killed in gaza in these six months. jose andres, the founder of the world central kitchen charity where the seven aid workers were working, he says that they were targeted, that these missiles came systematically, car by car. he says the workers try to call the idf in between the strikes. he said this was not a bad luck

situation, that they were targeted. are you saying they were not targeted? is that what you are saying? >> with all due respect, there is no way in the world that israel would target people who come to give people aid. that is nonsense. i'm sorry. give us a bit of respect that we care about those peoe. it's his same people that help israel. we will never target people like this. i'm sure there was a mistake, the israeli army will interrogate this and give the families of the people that unfortunately were killed all the details. we want to make sure it doesn't happen again. it's not intentional. i will tell you what is intentional. hamas, on october 7, they entered the villages in isra. they raped women, kill them while they were raping them. we have 134 -- i don't understand why you're not asking out 134 hostages that were

taken from their homes. women, children. we know from testimonies they were raped there. why are you asking about that? caitriona: minister, my first question actually referenced those israel hostages that are still in gaza. we are of course very aware of that. it was my first question to you. i just want to stick with this point for a moment. those aid workers for their trying to get food to the people in gaza. the international foods security classification have said that over a million people are currently at risk of starvation. 2 million people have food insecurity. why would israel not let food, adequate food and medical supplies in two those innocent civilians who are in such desperate need? >> israel has opened its gates

and allowing people to aid the people that are innocent. caitriona: not at adequate levels, though, minister. why would so many people be starving if that was the case? >> with all due respect, ask the mas leaders i don't they surrender? the minute they surrender, the war is over. they are terrorists. there are people who deliberately kill israelis. they want to wipe israel off the map. they are hiding behind the civilians, and what they want is the world to attack israel, instead of attacking the terrorists, the jihadis. in another terrorist group. caitriona: minister, we are asking you -- you are a member of the war cabinet, that's why we are asking you about matters that pertain to israel which are

in your control in which you are a decision-maker. >> with all due respect, you have to attack the people people that intentionally target women, raping women. they use rape as a tool to scare jews and israelis. that's what you should be locust on. they are funding isis -- what you should be focused on. why don't you ask about this? caitriona: i'm asking you to account for the actions of israel. you do not speak for hamas, obviously. in relation to israel, the you and says it's going to suspend operations in gaza because of its concerns over security after that airstrike on those aid workers. can israel guarantee the safety of aid workers in gaza now? >> we will do evything we can. we did before, and it is an unfortunate accident.

over 30 israeli soldiers were killed by accident. it was nonintentional for the israeli army to kill our own people are too important killed three of the hostages that escaped thomas. don't delay brutally kill innocent people. that is not the jewish heart. that is not the jewish dna. our dna is to defend ourselves from terrorist who committed crimes against humanity, that entered israel, rate people, to kill people one by one just because they are jews and israelis. >> 1200 jews were killed under horrific circumstances, none forgets at. some british members of parliament are now calling for the u.k. to halt its arms sales to israel because of the killing of these aid workers. what is your response to that? >> tell the british army going

into dresden in the second world war the same thing? this is totally a double standard. we will finish the job. we didn't start this war. the muslim brotherhood that are attacking moderate arab states, that are fearful. they are lined with iran. caitriona: we are just out of time for today, the minister of economy and industry, thank you for joining us on bbc news. turning now to the war in ukraine, no allies met in brussels on wednesday and agreed to start planning for long-term military support for ukraine. under the plans, nato would take over the coordination of some military aid from the u.s. that coalition, moved designed to art against a potential return of donald trump to the white house.

there were mixed responses among allied members. asking if the u.s. had his priorities wrong by failing to pass funding for ukraine in congress. >> every day they delay in the decision of the united states of providing more support ukraine has consequences on the battlefield. that's one of the reasons why the ukrainians are running out of ammunition. it is urgent that the united states make a decision and that congress is able to turn the majority and the u.s. public and also the u.s. congress into a concrete decision. caitriona: our defense correspondent is at the nato meeting. >> ukraine is not running out of courage but it was running out of ammunition. once again he appealed for the u.s. to pass its military aid that got stalled in congress.

he's not just worried about the present, but also the longer-term. a long-term plan is set up for ukraine to give it the support it needs. that includes having a package of military aid of 100 billion euros, that's more than $100 billion over the next five years. also nato taking over the u.s. led contact which coordinates military aid and support, the weapons supplied to ukraine. so have called this the trump proof land. in other words, something that would withstand the political changes that might happen in the united states, which of course is concerning europe. this is clearly as far as stoltenberg and nettle are concerned, message to ukraine that they a in it for the long haul. caitriona: kay bailey hutchinson

, i ask for her thoughts about nato potentially bringing ukrainian military funds under its control. >> i think it is a good idea. that was the format used for our nato mission in afghanistan, and i think the u.s. has taken the mantle early in this war. thank goodness they did. because 50 members of that contact group that all contribute arms that will go to ukraine, and we made sure that they were delivered. now i think turning it over to nato, where the supreme allied commander very helpful, and i think it will work very well. caitriona: does the proposal mean in any way that nato partners no longer see the u.s. as a reliable partner anymore? given the failure by congress so far to agree further funding for

ukraine, and also with pledges from the former and possible future president donald trump, who has in the past promised to withdraw from nato? >> no president had -- can withdraw from nato, it has to be ratified by treaty, as nato is a treaty. is very important that we lead nato. the u.s. spends the most on defense and we are the reliable ally. we are still going to be the reliable ally. what i think turning this over to the supreme allied commander, who will be an american -- you won't be an american, is also positive. i think our allies know that we will be there, we will organize as we always do and work with our allies to reduce -- it is

certainly in our interest, all of our allies interest to make sure that ukraine wins this invasion and it is important for our security and our publics that we do everything we can to help ukraine defeat this russian aggression. caitriona: but that has stopped short of the u.s. providing funding that it had promised. >> the u.s. will provide the funding. it is an overwhelmingly positive vote that will come out of the house and the senate. i think the fact that it has be delayed through internal conflicts is unfortunate, but i think that ukraine knows that they can count on the aid coming, even though i'm very troubled -- many -- that they have had to wait so long during

this really hard time for them. hopefully we will correct that when congress gets back after easter and they will he the arms that we want to provide for them, because they need to have those certain deliveries to be able to continue this fight. caitriona: on the occasion of nato's 75th anniversary, it is expected the nato leaders will debate membership for ukraine, which has been promised for many years, but has yet to be realized. when do you think that might happen? >> i think it has to be after there is an agreement, a negotiated agreement that russia will stop the invasion of ukraine, and ukraine will be whole. i think that has to happen before an actual membership. i think that president zelenskyy has understood that from the beginning.

we can have a nato alliance start when a country is partially under control of a hostile adversary. so i think that as soon there can be a negotiated agreement, that ukraine agrees is the right termination of the russian aggression, and they will be welcome in nato, i have no doubt. caitriona: kay bailey hutchison, former u.s. senator and former ambassador to nato, thanks for joining us. the u.s. race for the white house is heating up. a new poll out today shows donald trump leading against joe biden -- joe biden in six of the seven battleground states that could decide the election in november, known as swing states. a wall street journal poll shows him leading, the only state

where he is not leading is in wisconsin. president biden lead slightly on the multiple candidate battle but ties with donald trump in a head-to-head matchup. overall pose -- poll suggests unhappiness with joe biden. let's turn to some other important news from around the world. at least nine people have been killed and more than 1000 injured after an earthquake in taiwan. it was the most powerful quake for quarter of a century. it was in a mountainous region on the east coast, more than 60 miles away from the capital of taipei. more than 100 people are leaves still trapped inside a tunnel on the coastal highway. the former president of the spanish football federation was arrested as part of a corruption investigation. he is suspected of receiving illegal commissions while negotiatg a lucrative deal to stage spanish super cup competition in saudi arabia. he is also due to go on trial for sexual assault after last

summer's world cup final. he denies any wrongdoing. uganda's controversy as constitutional court refused to overturn an anti-gay law that is considered one of the harshest in the world. the law imposes a life sentence and the death penalty for what it ascribes as aggravated homosexuality. the court did weaken the legislation saying parts of it violated constitutional rights. campaigners say they will take the case to uganda's supreme court. finally, the british what family is opening the door to its scottish residents, foul moral castle, for the first time ever this summer. -- balmoral castle. tickets are limited to just 40 entries a day that cost 100 pounds, about $126 u.s., and visitors can sit down for afternoon tea. as always, you can keeup with

all of the days headlines at bbc.com. that's it, thank you for announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james. bdo. accountants and advisors. cunard is a proud supporter of public television. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. it's to die for. now you won't miss a thing. this is the way. the xfinity 10g network. made for streaming. >> on the next newshour, israeli officials say the deadly strike on an aid to convoy in gaza was geoff: president biden and former president trump when tuesday's primaries about both see protest both that hint at challenges come november. amna: and our report on major

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