Israel-Palestine live: Biden urges Egypt, Qatar to press Hamas for hostage deal

The United States said on Tuesday that it had no involvement in the Israeli air strike targeting the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus, Syria, which resulted in the deaths of two Iranian generals and five military advisors.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby labelled Iranian accusations of US involvement in Monday's bombing as "nonsense" and cautioned that Washington would react to any retaliatory strikes.

"Let me make it clear. We had nothing to do with the strike in Damascus," he told a briefing. "We weren't involved in any way."

"We always take our force protection very seriously, to protect our troops, our facilities in Iraq and Syria," Kirby said. "We will do whatever we need to do to protect those troops."

Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said Israel provided no advance warning of the strike on the Iranian mission in the Syrian capital.

"We were not notified by the Israelis about their strike or the intended target of their strike in Damascus," Singh  a briefing, adding that Iran had been privately told the US was not behind the strike.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the phone and called for “a thorough and transparent independent investigation” into the Gaza aid worker deaths, his office announced on Tuesday.

“He (Sunak) said he was appalled by the killing of aid workers, including three British nationals, in an air strike in Gaza yesterday and demanded a thorough and transparent independent investigation into what happened,” a Downing Street spokesperson said.

“The prime minister said far too many aid workers and ordinary civilians have lost their lives in Gaza and the situation is increasingly intolerable.”

In the initial four months following the Israeli offensive on Gaza which began on 7 October, Gaza has suffered approximately $18.5 bn in damages to its essential infrastructure, as reported in a joint study by the World Bank and the United Nations released on Tuesday.

The preliminary report on damage assessment, financially backed by the European Union, calculates that the damages amount to 97 percent of the total GDP of both the West Bank and Gaza in 2022.

It also noted that 26 million tons of debris and rubble have been left behind, which will require years to clear away.

According to a statement from the World Bank, the report identified that damage impacted every sector, with housing representing 72 percent of the total costs. Public service infrastructure, including water, health, and education facilities, accounted for 19 percent of the damages.

The World Bank reported that over a million people are homeless and 75 percent of the population has been displaced. It further said that more than half of Gaza's population is facing the risk of famine, with the entire population suffering from severe food insecurity and malnutrition.

"Catastrophic cumulative impacts on physical and mental health have hit women, children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities the hardest, with the youngest children anticipated to be facing life-long consequences to their development," the World Bank said.

The United States is "outraged" by the attack that resulted in the deaths of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza, White House spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday.

"We were outraged to learn of an IDF strike that killed a number of civilian humanitarian workers yesterday from the World Central Kitchen," Kirby said.

United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday that the death of seven people employed by the World Central Kitchen charity in Gaza represents “the inevitable result of the way this war is currently being conducted”.

The United Nations reiterated its call for an immediate ceasefire on humanitarian grounds in the Israel-Palestine war, Dujarric said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the Israeli air strike that resulted in the deaths of the aid workers as unintentional and described it as “tragic”.

The United Arab Emirates is suspending its humanitarian aid operations via the maritime route until further assurances of safety and a comprehensive investigation are conducted, a UAE official told Reuters.

Seven people employed by the World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid organisation in Gaza were killed in an Israeli attack on Monday.

The UAE has served as the principal financial backer for aid delivered to Gaza through a maritime route, with WCK organising these missions.

On Tuesday, the British government summoned the Israeli ambassador over the death of aid workers in Gaza, the foreign ministry said.

“I set out the Government’s unequivocal condemnation of the appalling killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, including three British Nationals,” Andrew Mitchell, Britain’s minister for development and Africa, said.

“I requested a quick and transparent investigation, shared with the international community, and full accountability.”Additionally, Foreign Secretary David Cameron shared on X that he had spoken with his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, to emphasise that the deaths were “completely unacceptable”.

“Israel must urgently explain how this happened and make major changes to ensure safety of aid workers on the ground,” Cameron said in the post

Richard Burden, a former British parliamentarian, has written a column for Middle East Eye accusing the UK government of double standards when it comes to Palestinian and Ukrainian refugees. 

He writes: "The contrast between the way the UK treats Ukrainian refugees and those fleeing Gaza is stark and it is brutal. To be allowed entry to the UK, someone fleeing Gaza has to demonstrate both that he or she already has permission to enter the UK for longer than six months and that he or she has a spouse or a child aged 17 or under living here.

If you have a brother or sister living in the UK, or you are a vulnerable older person with an adult son or daughter here, the UK’s rules tell you to forget it.

No such conditions are imposed on people fleeing Ukraine. Indeed, under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, UK citizens have been supported to welcome Ukrainian refugees into their own homes, whether or not they have a family connection. Rightly so." 

You can read the full column below. 

Opinion: The contrast in how the UK treats Palestinian and Ukrainian refugees is brutal

Israel's state budget for 2024 includes details of a ground operation in Rafah with a timeline of six months specified for its completion, according to policy consultant Itay Epshtain. 

The fiscal budget shows that 2024 military spending which had been earmarked at $21 billion was adjusted to $36 billion, a 72 percent increase. 

That makes up a military spend of 6.7 percent, Epshtain said, which is significantly above the defence spend of Nato countries. 

An Israeli drone fired three missiles at the World Central Kitchen convoy on Monday, Haaretz reported citing defence sources. 

According to the sources, the Israeli war room responsible for the route identified an alleged armed Hamas member on a truck going to the food warehouse in Deir al-Balah alongside three World Central Kitchen cars. The truck and the cars arrived at the warehouse safely. 

Minutes later, the cars - with seven volunteers in them - left the facility, without the truck or the armed man. They drove along a route that had been approved by Israel's military. 

The Israeli war room then attacked one of the cars with a missile, according to the report. 

Some of the passengers in the targeted car switched to the other two vehicles, before another missile hit. 

The passengers in the third car then attempted to get those who had survived the second strike out of danger - before the Israeli drone operators targeted with a third missile strike. All seven volunteers were killed. 

Al Jazeera has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of continuing a “frantic campaign” against it, after Israel’s parliament approved a bill on Monday allowing the temporary closure of foreign broadcasters, including the Qatari-owned network.

In a tweet heralding the move, Netanyahu said that Al Jazeera had “harmed Israel’s security, actively participated in the 7 October massacre, and incited against IDF (Israeli) soldiers.”

“The terrorist channel Al Jazeera will no longer broadcast from Israel,” he wrote. 

The law approved on Monday would allow Netanyahu and Israel’s security cabinet to shut Al Jazeera’s offices in Israel for 45 days, which could be renewed, and would stay in force until the end of July or until the end of major military operations in Gaza, Reuters reported.

Responding on Monday night, Al Jazeera called the developments an “escalating move” and condemned Netanyahu’s statements as “nothing but a dangerous ludicrous lie”. 

Read more: Al Jazeera accuses Netanyahu of 'frantic campaign' after parliament bill

A UK Jewish group has blockaded the entrance to Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) to demand that the government send aid to the besieged Gaza Strip instead of sending arms to Israel.

Images posted online showed Naamod placing tents and banners at the entrance of the FCDO that said “no to arms” and “UK Jews say stop arming Israeli war crimes”. 

Among several demands, Naamod called on the government to reverse its decision to defund the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa), which supports millions of Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and regional countries. 

“We're here today because, even as the UN Security Council has come to the belated conclusion that a ceasefire can't wait, the UK gov drags its feet in drawing a line in the sand,” Naamod said on X, formerly Twitter.

“In the face of unimaginable catastrophe in Gaza, we demand that our government follows others and restore funding to Unrwa.”

Read more: Jewish group blocks entrance to UK Foreign Office over Israeli arms sales

Ships are turning back from Gaza with around 240 tons of undelivered aid following the Israeli air strike which killed seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid workers, according to a Cypriot official cited by PA news agency. 

Foreign Ministry spokesman Theodoros Gotsis said that around 100 tons of aid had been unloaded before WCK suspended its operations in Gaza.

Cyprus has played a key role in establishing a new maritime corridor to deliver aid to Gaza.

The Cypriot president said earlier today that aid shipments would continue despite yesterday's Israeli air strike.

The Royal College of Surgeons of England has published a statement following the killing of Ahmed Almaqadma, a Palestinian doctor who was executed during Israel's siege on al-Shifa hospital.

Almaqadma was awarded the college's Humanitarian Innovation Fellowship, and also contributed to its Humanitarian Surgery Initiative. 

The Palestinian plastic surgeon in his early thirties, and his mother Yusra al-Maqadmeh, a general practitioner, were found dead alongside their cousin Bassem al-Maqadmeh at the roundabout next to the Carrefour Mall in Gaza City, a short walk from al-Shifa. 

"We are deeply saddened to hear of the death of surgeon Dr Ahmed Almaqadma," said Tim Mitchell, president of the college.

"Our thoughts are with his family and dedicated medical colleagues caring for those injured during conflict, and trying to maintain services, under such terrible circumstances.

"The Royal College of Surgeons of England supports the World Health Organisation’s call for the protection of health facilities, health workers, patients and civilians in accordance with international humanitarian law."

Following the prime minister's remarks, Israel's military has also released a statement confirming that its air strike in Gaza killed seven people working for the World Central Kitchen aid group. It added that Israel's top military general would review the findings of a preliminary inquiry.

"The tragic incident last night occurred as a result of an IDF strike and we are investigating the circumstances," a military statement on Tuesday said.