Israel Faces Pressure on Gaza Aid

Israel came under mounting pressure to step up aid to Gaza with its military admitting a series of "grave mistakes" when a drone killed seven aid workers in the embattled territory.

Poland said it had demanded a "criminal inquiry" by Israel after what it called the "murder" of the charity workers, one of whom was Polish.

Israel said it had been targeting a "Hamas gunman" in the strike, with its military admitting a series of "grave mistakes" and violations of its own rules of engagement.

Israel had announced it would allow "temporary" aid deliveries into famine-threatened northern Gaza, hours after Washington warned of a sharp shift in its policy over Israel's war against Hamas.

"Israel will allow the temporary delivery of humanitarian aid" through the Ashdod Port and the Erez land crossing, as well as increased deliveries from Jordan at the Kerem Shalom crossing, Netanyahu's office said.

A European Commission statement said these steps "should be implemented swiftly and fully".

The bloodiest-ever Gaza war began with Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,170 Israelis and foreigners, most of them civilians.

Palestinian militants also took around 250 hostages, about 130 of whom remain in Gaza, including 34 whom the army says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 33,091 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, while the United Nations has warned of "catastrophic" hunger.

Palestinians in northern Gaza have eaten an average of just 245 calories per day -- less than a can of beans -- since January, according to Oxfam.

Charities have accused Israel of blocking aid, but Israel had defended its efforts and blamed shortages on groups' inability to distribute aid once it gets in.