IDF says roads to Gaza aid centres are 'combat zones' as sites close for day

Overnight on Tuesday, at least 27 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire close to a distribution centre, according to the Hamas-run Civil Defence Agency.

In a separate update, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said people would be "prohibited" from entering the distribution centres or travelling on roads leading to them.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a controversial US and Israel-backed aid network which began operating last week, said it was closing its sites for "update, organization and efficiency improvements works".

Aid distribution centres in Gaza will be closed for a day on Wednesday, as the Israeli military warned roads leading to the sites will be considered "combat zones".

The IDF said its troops fired shots after identifying suspects who moved towards them "deviating from the designated access routes".

It was the third deadly incident in as many days to occur on a route to a GHF site.

GHF said it would start distributing aid again on Thursday.

It comes as humanitarian organisations continue to warn that Palestinians in Gaza do not have sufficient access to food, water and other supplies.

The GHF aims to replace the UN-led aid distribution network in Gaza following repeated claims from Israel that it did not prevent supplies being hijacked by Hamas, which the UN denies.

Under the new distribution system, Gazans are required to collect supplies from a small number of centres in areas under Israeli military control and staffed by armed American contractors.

Critics say the model has left people needing to walk long distances to the sites and transport boxes weighing 20kg back to their homes or shelters.

The UN and other humanitarian organisations have accused the GHF of failing to uphold humanitarian principles.

Also on Tuesday, Reverend Dr Johnnie Moore - a Christian evangelical pastor and prominent supporter of US President Donald Trump - was announced as the new head of GHF.

He was appointed to replace its first chief Jake Wood, a former US marine who stood down and criticised the GHF model.

Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas' cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 54,470 people have been killed in Gaza since then, including 4,201 since Israel resumed its offensive on 18 March, according to the territory's health ministry.

UK spared from Trump's 50% steel and aluminium tariffs

The UK has been spared from US President Donald Trump's executive order doubling steel and aluminium tariffs from 25% to 50%.

The order signed by Trump on Tuesday evening raises import taxes for US firms buying from other countries - but the levy remains at 25% for the UK.

The UK and US tariff pact signed in May will axe all import taxes on steel and aluminium, but it has not yet come into force, meaning UK steel exporters will face tariffs until then.

A UK government spokesperson said it remains "committed to protecting British business and jobs across key sectors", but the Conservatives said the order was a "fresh tariff blow".

MI5 lied deliberately, BBC tells court

5 hours ago Share Save Daniel De Simone • DdesimoneDaniel BBC investigations correspondent Share Save

PA Media MI5 told the court everyone from director general Ken McCallum downwards acknowledged the seriousness of the false evidence

MI5 lied "deliberately and repeatedly" as it tried to defend its handling of a neo-Nazi agent who abused women, the BBC has told a panel of High Court judges. The corporation argued the threshold for contempt of court proceedings against MI5 and three individual officers had been met. Sir James Eadie KC, acting for MI5, issued an "unreserved apology" on behalf of the Security Service but said the "errors that had been made had not been deliberate". The three judges - England and Wales' most senior judge, Lady Chief Justice Baroness Sue Carr, President of the King's Bench Division Dame Victoria Sharp and Mr Justice Chamberlain - reserved judgement on the case until a later date.

The case, which began in 2022 with an attempt to block the BBC from publishing a story about the neo-Nazi agent, has become a major test of how the courts view MI5 and the credibility of its evidence. MI5 gave evidence to three courts, saying that it had never breached its core secrecy policy of neither confirming nor denying (NCND) that a man known only as X was a state agent. But in February, the BBC was able to prove with notes and recordings of phone calls with MI5 that this was false. An MI5 officer had confirmed the agent's status as he tried to persuade me to drop an investigation into X, a violent neo-Nazi misogynist who used his Security Service role to coerce and terrify his former girlfriend, known publicly as "Beth". At Tuesday's hearing MI5 acknowledged that the NCND policy could no longer be maintained in this case. This policy has meant significant amounts of evidence has been confined to closed hearings which neither the BBC nor Beth - who has brought a separate case complaining about MI5 - are permitted to attend. Outside court, Beth's solicitor Kate Ellis said this meant she would now get a fair trial of her own legal claim against MI5. "It's a huge outcome for Beth. She's had to fight this all the way to the High Court," Ms Ellis said. "This case has really undermined MI5's credibility in the courts."

Julia Quenzler Sir James Eadie KC for MI5 told the court "the errors that had been made had not been deliberate"

Charlotte Kilroy KC, representing Beth, told the court her client agreed with the BBC that the threshold for contempt of court proceedings had been met. There had been "copious levels of dishonesty" which had not been acknowledged in MI5's investigations into how it came to give false evidence. Contempt of court is a legal term for behaviour that impedes the administration of justice or creates a risk of that happening, such as publishing information that prejudices a trial or giving false statements to court. It can be punished with a fine or up to two years in prison. The BBC's barrister, Jude Bunting KC, submitted to the court that it should consider contempt of court proceedings against MI5 itself, and three individual Security Service officers - including one who confirmed X's status as an agent on the phone to me and a senior officer known as Witness A who gave the false evidence to court. MI5's accounts of how it came to give false evidence "lack candour" and there is a "real concern" that the court has not been given a full explanation of what went wrong, Mr Bunting said. He said an external review by the government's former chief lawyer Sir Jonathan Jones KC did not speak to two crucial witnesses. Sir James Eadie KC, representing the Attorney General for the Security Service, offered an "unreserved apology on behalf of MI5". "Everyone from the director general downwards acknowledges the seriousness caused," he said.

Avalon/PA The panel of judges hearing the case was Lady Chief Justice Baroness Sue Carr (centre), Mr Justice Chamberlain and President of the King's Bench Division Dame Victoria Sharp

Madeleine search police scour disused building on day one

9 hours ago Share Save Daniel Sandford Home affairs correspondent Reporting from Algarve, Portugal Hafsa Khalil & Aleks Phillips BBC News Share Save

Watch: The BBC's Daniel Sandford at the scene of the new search operation

Portuguese and German authorities have begun a new search for Madeleine McCann in Portugal, nearly two decades after she disappeared. Madeleine was three when she vanished from an apartment complex in Praia da Luz in the Algarve on 3 May 2007, sparking a Europe-wide police investigation that has become one of the highest-profile missing persons cases. Portuguese police said on Monday they were carrying out warrants from German prosecutors to search 21 plots of land between where Madeleine went missing and where the German investigators' prime suspect had been staying at the time. Tuesday's search appears to have focused on an abandoned building, where officers were seen digging and clearing rocks.

Timeline: Madeleine McCann disappearance The search - which covers the municipality of Lagos, near Praia da Luz - is due to continue until Friday. On Tuesday morning, a Portuguese fire engine and four vehicles carrying German police arrived at the search site - located around 3.5 miles from the Ocean Club resort, where Madeleine and her family had been staying. Roads leading up to the site - which is large and mostly scrubland - have been closed since Monday, where the team has been clearing grass and vegetation. The day's efforts appear to centre on disused buildings near the coast. The team has also examined wells, while firefighters have drained one particular well. Around 30 German officers are expected to take part in the search. Charlie Hedges, the former missing children chief at the National Crime Agency (NCA), who has worked on some of the UK's highest-profile cases, said it appeared investigators were "casting the net a bit wider" with the latest search. "It seems a bit widespread to be [that] they're looking for something particular," he told the BBC. "If it was a firm lead, you'd have thought it would be defined and towards one place." However, he said they must have had enough justification to acquire the search warrants. "They'd need to get approval for funding from Germany, and it should be quite a considerable cost with the number of resources and working abroad and the rest of it."

PA Media Madeleine was three years old when she disappeared

Madeleine's case was initially handled by the Portuguese authorities with the aid of the Metropolitan Police. German investigators have taken a lead since 2020, when they identified German national Christian Brückner as their prime suspect. The 48-year-old is currently serving a sentence in Germany for the rape of a 72-year-old American tourist in Portugal in 2005. He was due to be released in September, but that could be pushed back to early 2026 if he does not pay a fine he owes. German authorities fear that if Brückner is not charged with anything, he will disappear following his release. German police suspect him of murder. British police continue to treat the case as a missing persons investigation. Brückner has repeatedly denied any involvement and no charges have been brought against him relating to her disappearance.

PA Media Tuesday's efforts appear to centre around disused buildings near the coast

Portuguese authorities have also named Brückner as a formal suspect, or "arguido". They said they will hand over any evidence seized in the latest search to German authorities. The Met Police, which said this week that it was aware of the searches being carried out by German police in Portugal, continues its investigation into Madeleine's disappearance. The case, known as Operation Grange, has been ongoing since 2011 and has cost around £13.3m to date. Officials have not disclosed if they are conducting this latest search in Portugal based on any new information, making it appear as if they are taking one last look in places where evidence or a body could have been hidden. German police have a European warrant, which has been approved by Portuguese prosecutors, to allow them to conduct searches on private land.

Ukraine says it hit Crimea bridge with underwater explosives

Ukraine uses underwater explosive on Crimean bridge

However, later in the day, local authorities warned the bridge was temporarily closed again.

Russian media initially said the bridge was briefly closed to traffic but that it had reopened by 10:00 local time (08:00 GMT).

The "first explosive device" was detonated "without any civilian casualties", the SBU added. The information shared by the SBU could not be immediately verified.

The SBU said it had "mined the supports" of the bridge with explosives equivalent to 1,100kg of TNT, which "severely damaged" the bottom level of the supports.

Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) said it targeted the Crimea bridge with underwater explosives on Tuesday following an operation lasting "several months".

Unconfirmed reports on social media said more explosions had occurred around the structure.

The official Telegram channel sharing operational updates about the bridge said: "We ask those on the bridge and in the inspection zone to remain calm and follow the instructions of the transport security officers."

Russia has not yet commented on Tuesday morning's attack but Russian military bloggers speculated that an underwater drone, rather than explosive, had hit a protective barrier.

The SBU said its director, Lieutenant General Vasyl Malyuk, personally supervised the operation and coordinated its planning.

In a Telegram post, it quoted Malyuk as saying Ukraine had hit the Crimea bridge in 2022 and 2023 and was therefore "continuing this tradition under water."

"No illegal Russian facilities have a place on the territory of our state," Malyuk said.

"Therefore, the Crimean Bridge is an absolutely legitimate target, especially considering that the enemy used it as a logistical artery to supply its troops."

The bridge - also known as Kerch Bridge - was built by Russia after it invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. It was inaugurated by Russian President Vladimir Putin to great fanfare in 2018.

In Ukraine, the bridge is a hated symbol of Russian occupation. Moscow guards it carefully - which makes any attack on it, whether with underwater drones or explosives, a remarkable achievement.

Tuesday's strike on the bridge comes barely 48 hours after Ukraine hit several targets across Russia as part of an operation dubbed 'Spider Web'.

Kyiv said it smuggled more than 100 drones into Russia and managed to get them delivered near air bases by unsuspecting lorry drivers.

The drones then flew out of the lorries and attacked Russia's prized strategic bombers in locations across the country.

Has good weather helped to fuel record small boat crossings?

5 hours ago Share Save Tom Edgington and Rob England BBC Verify Share Save

BBC

Good weather and the willingness of people smugglers to cram more people onto small boats have been highlighted by the government as factors driving the level of migrant Channel crossings. The Home Office has released figures showing that the number of "red days" - when conditions are considered favourable for small boat crossings - peaked in 2024-25. The figures also show a rise in "severely overcrowded boats" in the same period. The Conservatives and Reform have accused the government of "blaming the weather" for the record crossings so far this year. The government has said it is working to fix "a broken asylum system" left by the Tories.

Rising numbers

The Home Office figures reveal there were 190 red days in the 12 months to April 2025 - an 80% increase on the previous year and the highest number since records began. Red days are defined as days which the Met Office has assessed as "likely" or "highly likely" to see small boat crossings, based on things like the height of waves, wind speed and rainfall.

By publishing the red day figures, the first official release of this kind, the government is suggesting a link between good weather conditions and the level of migrant crossings. So far this year, 14,812 people have arrived in small boats - up about 40% on the same period last year. Almost 1,200 people arrived on Saturday alone.

BBC Verify asked Peter Walsh from the Migration Observatory, based at the University of Oxford, exactly what impact the weather has on Channel crossings. He said it was a factor but other issues, such as the effectiveness of smuggling gangs and the number of people wanting to reach the UK are likely to be more important. "A migrant's decision to come to the UK by small boat is important and life-changing for them: will they casually drop their plans and decide not to migrate because of a few consecutive days of bad weather? Or will they just wait until the next safe-weather day," he told BBC Verify. While acknowledging that gangs have exploited periods of good weather to increase crossings, a Home Office spokesperson insisted the government is "restoring grip to the broken asylum system it inherited". "That's why we are giving counter-terror style powers to law enforcement, launching an unprecedented international crackdown on immigration crime and have prevented 9,000 crossings from the French coastline this year alone", the spokesperson said.

Responding to the red day figures, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp, said: "Blaming the weather for the highest ever crossing numbers so far this year is the border security equivalent of a lazy student claiming 'the dog ate my homework'." Reform MP Lee Anderson said: "This Labour government blaming small boat crossings on the weather is like blaming the housing crisis on homebuilders - it's pathetic."

More people per boat

The figures also show a rise in what the Home Office has called "severely overcrowded small boats". In the year to April 2025, there were 33 boats which carried 80 or more people on board. The year before, there were only 11 boats with 80 or more people and there was just one of these boats recorded in the year to April 2023.

Musk calls Trump's tax bill a 'disgusting abomination'

Elon Musk's criticisms are reflective over wider tensions within the Republican Party over Trump's 'big, beautiful' bill.

The tech billionaire left the administration abruptly last week after 129 days working to cut costs with his team, known as Doge.

"Shame on those who voted for it," Musk said in a post on X on Tuesday.

The bill - which includes multi-trillion dollar tax breaks and more defence spending while also allowing the US government to borrow more money - was passed by the House of Representatives in May.

Elon Musk has hit out at President Donald Trump's signature tax and spending bill, saying he "can't stand" the legislation and describing it as a "disgusting abomination".

In American politics "pork" refers to spending measures that lawmakers tack onto legislation to narrowly benefit their constituencies.

In a series of posts on X on Tuesday, Musk said that the "outrageous, pork-filled" spending bill will "massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden America [sic] citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt."

In its current form, the bill - which Trump refers to as the "big beautiful bill" - has been estimated to increase the budget deficit - the difference between what the government spends and the revenue it receives - by approximately $600bn (£444bn) in the next fiscal year.

The South African-born tech billionaire's time in the Trump administration came to an end on 31 May, although Trump said that "he will, always, be with us, helping all the way".

The comments mark his first public disagreement with Trump since leaving government, after having previously called the plan "disappointing".

Last week: A black eye and a gold key - Musk's last day at Doge

Asked about Musk's comments soon after the first post, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that "the President already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill".

"This is one, big, beautiful bill," she added. "And he's sticking to it."

The legislation also pledges to extend soon-to-expire tax cuts passed during the first Trump administration in 2017, as well as an influx of funds for defence spending and to fund the administration's mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.

Additionally, it proposes lifting the limit on the amount of money the government can borrow, known as the debt ceiling, to $4tn.

The comments from Musk reflect wider tensions among Republicans over the plan, which faced stiff opposition from different wings of the party as it worked its way through the House. The Senate has now taken it up, and divisions are already emerging in the Republican-controlled chamber.

Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, over the last few days has said he will not support the bill if it includes the provision to raise the debt ceiling.

"The GOP [the Republican Party] will own the debt once they vote for this," he told CBS News, the BBC's US partner, over the weekend.

Trump responded to Sen Paul with a series of angry social media posts, accusing him of having "very little understanding of the bill" and saying that the "people of Kentucky can't stand him".

"His ideas are actually crazy," Trump wrote.

Republican lawmakers pushed back on Musk's comments, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune telling reporters the party plans to "proceed full speed ahead" despite "a difference of opinion".

"We have an agenda that everybody campaigned on, most notably the president," he said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson - a Republican who has been credited with ushering the legislation through the House - told reporters on Capitol Hill that "my friend Elon is terribly wrong".

"It's a very important first start. Elon is missing it," Johnson said.

Johnson said he held a 20-minute long phone call with Musk regarding the bill on Monday, adding that the bill's phasing out of tax credits could "have an effect" on Tesla, Musk's electric vehicle firm.

"I lament that," Johnson said, expressing surprise that Musk criticised the bill despite their call. "I just deeply regret he's made this mistake.”

Some Democrats, on the other hand, welcomed Musk’s comments despite their previous criticism of him and the work of Doge.

"Even Elon Musk, who's been part of the whole process, and is one of Trump's buddies, said the bill is bad," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said. "We can imagine how bad this bill is."

Trump and Republicans in Congress have set a deadline of 4 July to get the bill passed and signed into law.

Musk's posts on the platform suggest a rift with Trump, who he supported in last year's November election with donations of more than $250m.

To make peace with spending hawks, Trump is also asking Congress to pass a plan that would reduce current spending by $9bn and which is reportedly based on Doge's work.

Brits could face death over Bali drugs plot

11 hours ago Share Save Zac Sherratt BBC News, South East Share Save

EPA Phineas Float, Jon Collyer and Lisa Stocker (left to right) are accused of drug offences in Bali

A trial has begun of three British nationals alleged to have been involved with smuggling cocaine disguised as packets of Angel Delight into Indonesia. Jon Collyer, 38, and Lisa Stocker, 39, were arrested at Bali's international airport in February after being caught with 994g of cocaine, according to Balinese authorities. The pair appeared in court alongside Phineas Float, 31, who was allegedly due to receive the packages and was arrested a few days later. All three defendants, who are from Hastings and St Leonards in East Sussex, could face the death penalty – the heaviest punishment for taking part in a drug transaction under Indonesian law.

It is alleged that Mr Collyer and Ms Stocker were caught with 17 packages of cocaine, with a value of roughly £300,000. The BBC's US partner CBS has quoted the AFP news agency as saying Balinese authorities believe the cocaine was hidden in packets of Angel Delight, a powdered dessert mixture.

The trio were previously paraded before the media in Indonesia

A journalist from the news agency at the court in Bali said a verdict was not expected until a later date. The British embassy in Jakarta did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Indonesia hands out severe punishments for drug smuggling and has previously executed foreigners, but has upheld a temporary halt on the death sentence since 2017. Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto's administration has moved in recent months to repatriate several high-profile inmates, all sentenced for drug offences, back to their home countries.

Lawyer Sheiny Pangkahila has been working with the defendants since February

Frenchman Serge Atlaoui returned to France in February after Jakarta and Paris agreed a deal to repatriate him on "humanitarian grounds" because he was ill. In December, Indonesia also took Mary Jane Veloso off death row and returned her to the Philippines. It also sent the five remaining members of the "Bali Nine" drug ring, who were serving heavy prison sentences, back to Australia. According to Indonesia's Ministry of Immigration and Corrections, 96 foreigners were on death row, all on drug charges, before Veloso's release. Speaking exclusively to BBC South East in February, Sheiny Pangkahila, the lawyer representing Mr Collyer, Ms Stocker and Mr Float, said, if convicted, they could each face between 15-20 years in an Indonesian prison. In a statement, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it was "providing consular support to three British nationals detained in Indonesia and are in contact with the local authorities". "The British government's policy on the death penalty is clear: we oppose it in all circumstances as a matter of principal." The trial continues.

Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.

South Korean opposition wins presidency after months of political chaos

4 hours ago Share Save Yvette Tan BBC News Reporting from Seoul Woongbee Lee Editor, BBC Korean Reporting from Seoul Share Save

EPA-EFE

South Korea has handed a decisive victory to opposition candidate Lee Jae-myung six months after his predecessor's martial law bid failed. The brief yet disastrous move set off huge protests and ended former president Yoon Suk Yeol's career: impeached and removed from office, he still faces criminal charges for abusing his power. But the political chaos that followed means victorious Lee's biggest challenge is still ahead of him. He must unite a polarised country that is still reeling from it all. He also faces challenges abroad - crucially, negotiating a trade deal with US President Donald Trump to soften the blow of tariffs from South Korea's closest ally.

His main rival was the ruling party candidate and a former member of Yoon's cabinet, Kim Moon-soo. He had been trailing Lee for weeks in polls and in the early hours of Wednesday, he conceded defeat, congratulating Lee "on his victory". In an earlier speech, Lee had hinted at the win but stopped short of declaring it. He said "recovering" South Korea's democracy would be his first priority. The snap election comes just three years after the 61-year-old lost his last presidential bid by a razor-thin margin to Yoon. It's a remarkable comeback for a man who has been caught in several political scandals, from investigations over alleged corruption to family feuds. Analysts say Lee's win is also a rejection of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), which was tarred by Yoon's martial law order. "Voters weren't necessarily expressing strong support for Lee's agenda, rather they were responding to what they saw as a breakdown of democracy," Park Sung-min, president of Min Consulting, told the BBC. "The election became a vehicle for expressing outrage... [and] was a clear rebuke of the ruling party, which had been complicit in or directly responsible for the martial law measures." Lee's win, he adds, shows that voters had put South Korea's democracy "above all else".

Watch: BBC on the ground in Seoul as new president is announced

What lies ahead

Yoon's departure also left his former party divided and in disarray, with infighting delaying the announcement of a presidential candidate until early May. The chaos in the PPP went beyond just Yoon, as two acting presidents who followed were also impeached, before one of them was reinstated - a sign of how contentious South Korean politics had become. All of this certainly helped the opposition Democratic Party and its candidate Lee, who signalled more stability. But while he has won the election, his challenges are far from over.

He faces a trial in the Supreme Court over charges of violating the election law. The court postponed the trial until after the election to avoid interference because a conviction could have barred him from contesting. But it's not clear what happens if Lee is now found guilty, though the law says sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted for criminal offences, with the exception of insurrection or treason. Lee has had a controversial career in which he has built a loyal base but he has also drawn disapproval and ire for what some have called an abrasive style. He has spoken openly of a tough childhood in a working class family, before he went to college and became a human rights lawyer. He then switched to a political career, making his way up the DP until - in 2022 - he became their presidential candidate. He campaigned on a more liberal platform, promising to address gender inequality, for instance. But after he lost the vote, he pivoted, opting this time to move more toward the centre and play it safer with his policies.

Getty Images Former president Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached and removed from office - but his legacy loomed over this election

In office, he will also need to reach across the aisle and work with the PPP, a party he battled regularly during Yoon's term. But he may need some of them to work with him to rebuild public trust and mend a fractured country. "Years of escalating polarisation under both the [previous] Moon and Yoon administrations have left South Korea's political landscape bitterly divided," Mr Park said. "Lee may speak of national unity, but he faces a profound dilemma: how to pursue accountability for what many view as an attempted insurrection without deepening the very divisions he seeks to heal." Despite the PPP's loss, Yoon still has a considerably strong and vocal support base - and they are unlikely to go away anytime soon. His supporters, mainly young male voters and the elderly, often echo strong right-wing narratives and many of them believe his declaration of martial law was necessary to protect the country. Many also peddle conspiracy theories, believing Yoon's party was a victim of election fraud. Thousands protested against his impeachment and in January, shortly after his arrest, a pro-Yoon crowd stormed a courthouse and assaulted police officers. With Yoon gone, there are questions about who might fill that vacuum for his base.

Getty Images Lee Jun Seok, who ranked third in polls, has been popular among young men

A village primary school in east London has ordered pupils to stay inside due to a dive-bombing buzzard taking up residence in its playground. There are concerns the bird is guarding its nest and may attack children at Dame Tipping Primary School in Havering-atte-Bower after reports it had swooped on village residents.

More on this story.

What we know about killings near US-Israeli backed Gaza aid site

5 hours ago Share Save BBC Verify Share Save

Reuters

Over the past three days, there have been a series of deadly incidents on the route to an aid distribution site in Gaza run by a controversial group backed by the US and Israel. The three incidents took place on roads approaching one of the new sites in the extreme south-west of Gaza, which is under full Israeli military control. The facility is being operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The first incident took place early on Sunday morning when 31 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, according to the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency. Another three people were killed by gunfire on Monday morning, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Meanwhile, a further 27 people were killed by Israeli fire near the site on Tuesday morning, according to health officials. Israel has denounced what it called "false reports" that its troops fired on civilians at or near the sites. It said that some soldiers fired warning shots on Sunday 1km away, and that they also opened fire after identifying "several suspects" on Monday and Tuesday. Very few videos have emerged from Gaza that show the incidents themselves, but BBC Verify has examined footage has surfaced and attempted to map how they unfolded.

Where have the incidents taken place?

All three are reported to have taken place near an aid distribution centre in the south-west of Gaza, in the Tal al-Sultan area. The site, named Safe Distribution Site 1 (SDS 1) by the GHF, opened on the 26 May. It is one of four such facilities, three of which are based in southern Gaza. The facilities are part of a new aid system - widely condemned by humanitarian groups - aiming to bypass the UN, which Israel has accused of failing to prevent Hamas diverting aid to its fighters. The UN says that has not been a big problem and that the GHF's system is unworkable and unethical. However, only SDS 1 has been open and operational since Friday, according to official GHF posts online. It follows a chaotic opening week which saw the site overrun by desperate civilians, and projectiles being thrown towards Gazans at another facility at the GHF's northern site near Nuseirat on Thursday. A spokesperson for the foundation did not respond to messages asking why the other facilities have been closed for several days. The GHF has also encouraged civilians to follow a set route when approaching SDS 1, directing them along a coastal road called al-Rashid Street.

The instructions have been issued on the foundation's official Facebook page. Chris Newton, a senior analyst at the Brussels-based think tank Crisis Group, said the route was neither "safe nor effective". He added that directing civilians down a single route towards the site was "a very far cry from what was possible" under the UN-based system, which saw 400 distribution points scattered across the strip. "This all looks designed to fail," he said of the new aid system.

How Sunday's incident unfolded

According to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, some 31 people were killed by gunfire on Sunday. The GHF posted on its official Facebook page early on Sunday, telling civilians that SDS 1 would be open from 05:00 local time. However, just an hour later it posted again saying that the site was closed. By this time many Gazans had gathered at the Al-Alam roundabout as they waited to be granted access to the site, Mohammed Ghareeb, a journalist based in Rafah, told the BBC. We have seen a limited amount of video that is claimed to relate to the shootings. In one video filmed on the route to the aid site, purportedly on Sunday, people lie on the ground and an explosion is heard which could be tank or artillery fire. An audio recording provided to the BBC by international staff at the UK-Med field hospital about 3km away from the site captured two apparent explosions and protracted gunfire for over five minutes.

Video footage posted at 06:08 showed dozens of people lying prone on sand, with automatic gunfire audible. BBC Verify could not definitively geolocate the footage. Another clip reviewed by BBC Verify, which claimed to be from the aftermath of the incident, showed a number of bodies lying on a beach on Gaza's coast. As the video progresses, several of the bodies were covered by white bags. One of those lying on the beach appeared to be a young woman. We cannot definitively geolocate the footage. However, lights seen in the distance suggest that the footage may have been filmed in an area about 1km from SDS 1. Images - provided to the BBC by doctors - of bullets recovered from those killed and wounded in the incidents showed that both 5.56mm and 7.62mm rounds were used. But Benedict Manzin - an analyst with the risk consultancy Sibylline - said that the source of the rounds was unclear, noting that both the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Palestinian armed groups "will have access to weapons that fire 5.56mm and 7.62mm rounds". The IDF denied its troops fired at civilians "near or within" the site and said reports to this effect were false. But an Israeli military source later said warning shots were fired approximately 1km (0.6 miles) away from the site "to prevent suspects from approaching the troops". The GHF said in a statement: "There were no injuries, fatalities or incidents during our operations yesterday. Period. We have yet to see any evidence that there was an attack at or near our facility."

What happened in the later incidents?

Holidaymakers 'frightened' in surreal gang shooting aftermath

6 hours ago Share Save David Cowan BBC Scotland Home Affairs Correspondent Reporting from Fuengirola, Spain Share Save

BBC Scotland's David Cowan reports from the scene of the gangland shootings in Spain

It's less than 36 hours after a gangland double murder in a busy bar on the Costa Del Sol, and there is no sign of the Spanish police - apart from an occasional patrol car gliding by. No cordon, no tape, no forensics in white suits, no officer guarding the front door of Monaghans Bar in Fuengirola. According to a local cameraman, it was the same on Sunday afternoon - the day after Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jnr were gunned down. In the homeland of the two men who had been shot dead, the case would be classed as a top level "category A" homicide with the bar sealed off and turned upside down for days afterwards.

Spanish police are working on the case - though there is no presence at the scene of the crime

This is Spain, not Scotland. But it must surely be wrong to assume the lack of a visible presence means a lack of interest from the Spanish National Police. This part of the country is no stranger to violence linked to organised crime and this was the murder of two men in a public place. They were shot dead in cold blood in a busy bar and bystanders could easily have been injured or killed. The mayor of Fuengirola, Ana Mula, has been quoted as saying the police need more resources to deal with the shootings and the general threat of drug-related organised crime.

Getty Images Eddie Lyons Jnr and Ross Monaghan pictured together outside Glasgow Sheriff Court

When I arrived late on Monday morning, Mongahans was the only place not open for business in the long strip of pubs and restaurants along the beachfront, where holidaymakers basked in the sun and swam in the sparkling sea. Staff were inside but made it clear they didn't want to talk about what had happened. The owners of neighbouring businesses felt the same way. British tourists who'd been in Monaghans before the shooting described it as a friendly bar.

They said a group of Scottish men were watching the Champion's League final in the pub before the shooting. They were boisterous but not behaving badly and Eddie Lyons Jnr and Ross Monaghan were with them. Those men would have witnessed the horrifying murders of their friends. A video filmed afterwards showed a Scottish man on the phone, saying "Someone's got shot in the head." David Meddicks from Glasgow had left the bar with his wife a couple of hours before.

David Meddicks had been in Monaghans bar just hours before the shooting

He recalled: "We went back to our hotel for food and later on at the reception of the hotel, two wee Spanish women ran in, shouting "bang, bang, bang, bang." "We looked and we could see the police and all the blue lights. We had been thinking of going back down for another drink and decided not to bother. So I'm quite glad I didn't." An Englishman who been in the pub said: "We were there an hour before and walked back later and found out what happened. "It made us want to go home, to be quite honest. You go away on holiday and you don't expect this. Really frightening." Another tourist, Robert Sorman from Bathgate, said: "You've heard of the Costa Del Crime but you never expect it to happen when you're here."

Robert Sorman is also on holiday in Costa del Sol

An elite Costa Del Sol-based anti-drug and organised crime unit is heading the investigation, reporting to a local magistrate who is in charge of the inquiry overall. The Spanish police have said very little in public so far and there has been no official confirmation of the identity of the two victims. Reporters with experience of investigations in Spain say that's not unusual and to be fair, police in Scotland rarely speak about ongoing inquiries into organised crime unless they absolutely have to. The Spanish will be seeking the assistance of Police Scotland to get intelligence on the background of the two men, and it's likely that Scottish detectives will be travelling to the Costa Del Sol at some point. The UK's National Crime Agency has full-time staff in Spain who will be facilitating such co-operation.

'This won't go unavenged'

Family of Boulder suspect detained by immigration officers

3 hours ago Share Save Mike Wendling BBC News Share Save

Boulder Police Department Mr Soliman allegedly told police that he wanted to kill all Zionists and targeted the group

Immigration authorities have in custody the wife and five children of the man suspected of carrying out Sunday's incendiary attack on Jewish demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said. Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, has been charged with attempted murder, assault and possession of an incendiary device after a dozen people were injured at a march calling for the release of Israeli hostages. He also faces a federal hate crime charge. "We are investigating to what extent his family knew about this heinous attack, if they had knowledge of it, or if they provided support to it," Noem posted on X. Officials say the suspect shouted "Free Palestine" as he threw two petrol bombs into the crowd.

The White House said in a post on X: "The wife and five children of illegal alien Mohamed Soliman - the suspect in the antisemitic firebombing of Jewish Americans- have been captured and are now in ICE custody for expedited removal." It added in all capital letters that the family could be deported as soon as Tuesday night. Homeland security is responsible for enforcing immigration laws, but the FBI, justice department and local police typically carry out investigations into possible criminal activity. Twelve people, including four men and four women between the ages of 52 and 88, were taken to hospital, with injuries ranging from minor to serious. The eldest of the victims is a Holocaust survivor, Rabbi Israel Wilhelm, the Chabad director at the University of Colorado Boulder, told the BBC's US partner CBS News. In an affidavit, police said Mr Soliman had admitted carrying out the attack and that he had been planning it for a year. What we know about the attack in Colorado Homeland security officials have said that Mr Soliman arrived in the US on a tourist visa in August 2022. That visa expired the following year, but he made an asylum claim in September 2022. According to police documents, the suspect told officials that he "never talked to his wife or his family" about his plans, and that he had left a phone in a desk drawer with messages to his wife and children. His wife turned the phone in to authorities.

Watch: How the Boulder attack unfolded using Molotov cocktails

Intruder arrested in Windsor Castle grounds

An intruder has been arrested close to the home of the Prince and Princess of Wales

An intruder has been arrested for breaking into restricted grounds at Windsor Castle, police have said.

Thames Valley Police said the man allegedly entered "restricted grounds" at the royal residence at just after 13:00 BST on Sunday.

The force said he was "quickly challenged" by Metropolitan Police officers and did not enter the inner grounds of the castle.

The Met said the man, aged in his 30s, was arrested on suspicion of trespass on a protected site and possession of class A drugs.

Debt and trade issues weaken UK growth, OECD says

4 hours ago Share Save Dearbail Jordan and Mitchell Labiak Business reporters, BBC News Share Save

Getty Images

UK economic growth will suffer because of US tariff barriers and high interest payments on government debt, an influential global policy group has said. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) cut its expectations for UK growth this year to 1.3% from the 1.4% it had predicted in March. The think tank has cut forecasts globally due to trade tensions, but said the UK faced particular issues due to its "very thin" buffer in public finances, calling on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to boost tax take and cut spending. In response to the OECD's comments, Reeves said she was "determined to go further and faster to put more money in people's pockets through our plan for change".

Next week, Reeves will set out her Spending Review where she faces tough choices on allocating departmental budgets. The government has already committed billions of pounds to defence, while the NHS is also expected to be a focus amid Labour's pledge to reduce waiting lists. In March, Reeves was forced to announce £14bn in measures, including £4.8bn in welfare cuts, to restore headroom against her self-imposed fiscal rules. While the OECD highlighted better-than-expected UK economic growth, which strengthened to 0.7% between January and March, it cautioned that "momentum is weakening" due to "deteriorating" business sentiment. It forecast the UK economy would expand by 1% in 2026, compared to the 1.2% it pencilled in a few months ago. "The state of the public finances is a significant downside risk to the outlook if the fiscal rules are to be met," the OECD said. It suggested that Reeves should adopt a "balanced approach" of "targeted spending cuts" and tax increases to improve the UK's public finances. "Strengthening the public finances remains a priority... including through the upcoming Spending Review," the OECD said. It suggested closing tax loopholes and re-evaluating council tax bands based on updated property values. Under the current system, council tax in England is calculated based on the price the property would have sold for in April 1991. For Wales, it is evaluated on property prices in April 2003.

'Modest' global growth

UK temporarily spared from Trump's 50% metal tariffs

The UK government said it is "committed to protecting British business and jobs", but the Conservatives said the order was a "fresh tariff blow".

The order depends on the UK and US tariff pact signed in May , which would axe steel and aluminium tariffs but has yet to come into force, meaning UK steel exporters will face tariffs until then and could face the 50% tariff if the pact falters.

The order signed by Trump on Tuesday evening raises import taxes for US firms buying from other countries from Wednesday - but the levy remains at 25% for the UK.

The UK has been temporarily spared from US President Donald Trump's executive order doubling steel and aluminium tariffs from 25% to 50%.

The UK government spokesperson added that it will "continue to work with the US to implement our agreement, which will see the [tariffs] removed", with the legislation implementing the deal to be presented in Parliament "in due course".

Trump said in the order that the UK needed "different treatment" because of the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal (ECD) signed on 8 May 2025.

However, Trump later added that the US might increase the tariff on the UK "on or after July 9 2025" if it "determines that the United Kingdom has not complied with relevant aspects of the EPD".

The UK's carve-out in the executive order comes after Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds met with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Paris on Wednesday.

The US is the destination for about 7% of UK steel exports, meaning any tariffs have a big impact on the industry.

Director general of UK Steel Gareth Stace said the UK's exemption from the 50% tariff was "a welcome pause", but added that "uncertainty remains over timings and final tariff rates, and now US customers will be dubious over whether they should even risk making UK orders".

"The US and UK must urgently turn the May deal into reality to remove the tariffs completely," he said.

Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith said: "Labour's botched negotiations have left businesses in limbo and this country simply cannot afford their continuing failure."

More than 100 of Britain's most renowned athletes have written an open letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer urging the government to back London's bid to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships.

Sir Mo Farah, Keely Hodgkinson, Dame Kelly Holmes, Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Daley Thompson are among the athletes, past and present, to sign the letter.

The bid proposal, if successful, would see the World Championships held at London Stadium, and require a "one-off injection of public funding in 2028" with the promise of "£400m in national economic impact".

"Hosting in 2029 would bring the world's best athletes back to British soil but more importantly, it would inspire a new generation to get involved in the most diverse and inclusive sport there is," the letter read.

"Some of us were lucky enough to experience a home crowd at London 2012 and 2017. Some of us volunteered, others were in the stands. All of us were inspired.

"That spark set many of us on our journeys, just as it did for so many thousands of other young people who've gone on to join clubs, coach, officiate, or simply fall in love with athletics."

The 2029 bid process is due to begin this summer, with organisers urging ministers to commit to securing the World Championships for the UK in the coming weeks.

London also hosted the Championships when they were last held in the UK in 2017.

House fire victims include former death row inmate

6 hours ago Share Save Eimear Flanagan BBC News NI Share Save

BBC Sonia 'Sunny' Jacobs took part in a BBC Radio Ulster documentary called Exonerated in 2017

A US woman who spent years on death row for murders she did not commit was among two people found dead after a house fire in the Republic of Ireland. Sonia 'Sunny' Jacobs died alongside County Galway man Kevin Kelly after a blaze at a house in rural County Galway on Tuesday morning. Ms Jacobs, who was in her 70s, spent 17 years in prison in the US after she was accused of killing two police officers in Florida in 1976. She was sentenced to the electric chair but it was later commuted to a life sentence. On her release she campaigned against the death penalty.

The house fire broke out at a rural house in Gleann Mhic Mhuireann, near the village of Casla in Connemara. Firefighters and gardaí (Irish police) were alerted to the blaze at about 06:20 local time on Tuesday. Photographs from the scene show a garda cordon blocking access to a property up a small county lane. The bodies of Ms Jacobs and Mr Kelly, who was in his early 30s, were recovered from the property by firefighters. The cause of the fire is under examination but Irish broadcaster RTÉ has reported that at this stage foul play is not suspected.

RTÉ The house is situated on a narrow country road outside the village of Casla

Nearly 50 years earlier, Ms Jacobs's life changed dramatically when two policemen approached the car she was in at an interstate rest stop in Florida. She was in the vehicle with her partner Jesse Tafero, her two young children and her partner's friend after the couple's car broke down. The friend - Walter Rhodes - claimed to prosecutors that Ms Jacobs and Mr Tafero fired the shots and the pair were sentenced to death. Mr Tafero died in a botched execution in 1990 while Ms Jacobs spent five years on death row. The case against the couple was later called into doubt when Rhodes confessed to the killings, but he changed his story several times. After her release from prison, Ms Jacobs married an Irishman and moved to County Galway. Her husband, Peter Pringle, had also been wrongly convicted of a double murder. He was sentenced to death after being accused of killing two police officers during a bank robbery in rural Ireland in 1980. Mr Pringle was one of the last people to be sentenced to death before capital punishment was abolished in the Republic of Ireland. He served almost 15 years in jail before being acquitted. The couple, who met while she was giving a talk about her death row experience, later married in her native New York in 2011. They worked to help others who had been wrongfully convicted to adjust to life after release from prison, with Ms Jacobs running a retreat for ex-inmates. The couple took part in a BBC Radio Ulster documentary called Exonerated in 2017.

Major New Search For Madeleine McCann Major New Search For Madeleine McCann

England attacking midfielder Fran Kirby has announced her retirement from international football with immediate effect before the European Championships.

In an exclusive interview with BBC Sport, Kirby says she is leaving the international scene with her "head held high".

The Brighton player, who scored 19 goals in 77 caps for the Lionesses, has been a key figure for England for more than a decade.

Kirby was named in Sarina Wiegman's squad for the Uefa Nations League matches against Portugal and Spain but was informed she would not be selected for the Euros starting on 2 July.

In her first interview after announcing her retirement, Kirby said: "It is something I have been thinking about for over a year. I knew this was going to be my last major tournament.

"The plan was to retire after the Euros but after speaking to Sarina I'm not going to make the squad.

"It was like a dagger to my heart but also a weight off my shoulders all at the same time. It was emotional for both of us but we both respected what each person was saying."

Speaking after England's 2-1 defeat by Spain, Wiegman said she "loved" working with Kirby, calling her "an amazing player and an incredible person too".

"She did everything to make the squad," added Wiegman. "She has always been ready to play and to perform, helping others and doing whatever I asked her to do.

"I said to her she most likely would not make the squad, even though things could change quickly."

But in reality, despite regular 50-over openers Will Jacks or Tom Banton looking the frontrunners in the squad beforehand, Smith was always the obvious candidate - he is, after all, Bazball's favourite son.

Ben Foakes did little wrong in India in 2024 but by England's next Test, Smith had replaced him.

After 70 on debut and 95 in his third Test, the talk around Smith was glowing.

When he made his maiden Test century a match later against Sri Lanka there were already suggestions he should take a job proving as troublesome to fill as the manager's role at Old Trafford - England's Test number three.

Jacob Bethell's emergence has put that one on the backburner but when McCullum took over as England's white-ball coach last September it was no coincidence Smith was recalled to the set-up for the next series.

Captain Harry Brook revealed last week McCullum was talking about the possibility of Smith opening at the Champions Trophy in Pakistan - before incumbent Phil Salt had been shown the door.

"Me and Baz think Smudge could be an unbelievable white-ball opener," Brook said before the series.

It is no criticism but Brook has begun to sound like a jammed cassette when outlining his ideal batter since taking the job.

From Leeds to London, "we want batters that can put their best balls under pressure" he has said again and again - and again.

Smith could have hardly have done that better than he did in the third ODI.

The Surrey academy product received nine balls on a 'good length' under the lights at his cricketing home and scored 20 runs at a strike-rate north of 200. Across the match, his batting contemporaries managed 56 runs off 71 balls against such deliveries.

England's fascination with Smith comes with all of the caveats of his international career being only 24 matches old but with the knowledge that at his best he can seemingly do it all.

On this very ground against Sri Lanka last year he scored 15 from his first 31 deliveries in a Test before crashing 52 off his next 18.

Manager Wiegman had her hands full going into the camp after goalkeeper Mary Earps announced her shock international retirement and key defender Millie Bright withdrew from the squad to focus on her mental and physical wellbeing.

Paris St-Germain stopper Earps had fallen down the pecking order, with Hannah Hampton increasingly looking more likely to secure the number one spot.

But Wiegman admitted Earps would have been a valuable member of the Euros squad - and it had been "hard" to deal with her decision.

That news was a major distraction as England prepared to face Portugal, piling pressure on Hampton and raising questions about the morale in the squad.

The response was emphatic and admirable as they produced an immense display, thrashing Portugal in front of an entertained crowd at Wembley.

Aggie Beever-Jones demonstrated England's attacking depth with a brilliant hat-trick, while Lauren Hemp, Alex Greenwood and Georgia Stanway all got minutes after returning from knee surgeries.

Those positive signs cannot be forgotten, although their week did not end on a high as an elite Spain side fought back in style for a 2-1 success that took them into the Nations League semi-finals.

Former England defender Anita Asante told ITV: "The most important thing is the right players are getting the right minutes to feel prepared going into the Euros."

Karen Carney, a former Lionesses midfielder, added: "It's great we got fitness for Lauren Hemp and Alex Greenwood.

"If we get them back fighting - it's a good position for them. I'm confident for England going into the group stages."

Carney admitted England had to "suffer" against Spain because they rotated in the second half as Wiegman looked to expose some of her fringe players to the experience against world-class opponents.

She names her Euros squad on Thursday and handed a senior debut to Missy Bo Kearns, just hours before midfielder Fran Kirby announced her international retirement, capping off a rollercoaster week for the Dutchwoman.

"Sometimes you have to go through these moments because the bigger picture for the summer is giving players the minutes that they need," added Carney.

"The changes in the second half really hampered England and we felt disconnected. It is a positive because Wiegman has got a lot to learn."

The England boss echoed that sentiment, saying she was not concerned and could use the Spain loss as another "learning moment".

"We had a very good week - players coming back from injuries, players fighting for positions, or minutes, or selection, and that is very positive."

Khelif had been set to make a competitive comeback in Eindhoven from 5-10 June.

But on Friday, World Boxing said mandatory sex testing would be introduced next month "to ensure the safety of all participants and deliver a competitive level playing field for men and women."

It added: "In light of plans to introduce this policy and the particular circumstances surrounding some boxers that competed at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, World Boxing has written to the Algerian Boxing Federation to inform it that Imane Khelif will not be allowed to participate in the female category at the Eindhoven Box Cup or any World Boxing event until Imane Khelif undergoes sex testing.

"This decision reflects concerns over the safety and wellbeing of all boxers, including Imane Khelif, and aims to protect the mental and physical health of all participants in light of some of the reactions that have been expressed in relation to the boxer's potential participation at the Eindhoven Box Cup."

World Boxing also published a letter it had sent to both Khelif and the Algerian Boxing Federation, claiming that the new eligibility rules were developed "with the express purpose of safeguarding athletes in combat sports" given the "physical risks associated with Olympic-style boxing".

It also said in the letter that in "the event the athlete's sex certification is challenged by the athlete's federation or by World Boxing" the athlete shall be "ineligible to compete until the dispute is resolved".

World Boxing was granted provisional recognition as the sport's international governing federation by the IOC in February 2025, and the Algerian Boxing Federation joined it in September.

Khelif has always competed in the women's division and there is no suggestion the fighter identifies as anything other than a woman.

Some reports took the IBA stating that Khelif has XY chromosomes to speculate that the fighter might have differences of sexual development (DSD), like runner Caster Semenya.

However, the BBC has not been able to confirm whether this is or is not the case.

The IOC made it clear last year this is "not a transgender case".

In a statement on Tuesday, the IOC said it "has always made it clear that eligibility criteria are the responsibility of the respective International Federation. The factors that matter to sports performance are unique to each sport, discipline, and/or event.

"We await the full details of how sex testing will be implemented in a safe, fair and legally enforceable way."

World Boxing has said that its new policy is in the final stages of development, and will mean that "all athletes over the age of 18 that want to participate in a World Boxing owned or sanctioned competition will need to undergo a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) genetic test to determine their sex at birth and their eligibility to compete."

Watch as an emphatic England seal a 3-0 series win against West Indies in a rain-interrupted third One Day International at The Oval.

READ MORE: England thrash Windies to seal 3-0 series win

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