BBC News with Sue Montgomery.
The Health Ministry in Gaza says 13 people were killed and many more were injured when an UN-run school was hit during a bombardment. Hundreds of Palestinians were in the building in Beit Hanoun. Condemning the incident, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said women, children and UN staff were among the dead. Our correspondent Chris Morris is in Gaza.
“The United Nations spokesman confirmed that there have been multiple casualties at the school in Beit Hanoun, both dead and injured. It appears that it was hit by shellfire and the injured had been taken to several local hospitals. The UN spokesman said the United Nations tried to coordinate with the Israeli army during the course of the day, to negotiate a window for civilians to leave the area. But the spokesman said it was never granted. The Israeli military said in a statement that it’s in the midst of combat with Hamas in Beit Hanoun. The statement said several rockets launched by Hamas had landed in the area and Israel was reviewing the incident.”
The leader of Hamas Khaled Meshaal has told the BBC that the Palestinian group wants a truce as soon as possible, but with a genuine guarantee to lift the eight year long siege of Gaza. Mr. Meshaal has said the Palestinians in Gaza want to live without a blockade, and open up to the world.
The United Nations has said that the first cross-border aid convoy has entered Syria from Turkey without Syrian government consent. Nick Bryant has the details.
“A convoy of nine trucks travelled into Syria from Turkey, the first cross-border UN humanitarian mission that sent to the country without the permission of the Assad regime. The vehicles carried food, shelter, water purification and sanitation supplies that would be delivered to rebel held areas. Up until now, almost 90% of UN aid in Syria has gone to parts of the country controlled by the government. All of it had to pass through Damascus. But last week, the Security Council agreed unanimously on a new resolution, allowing for humanitarian supplies to enter the country of four crossing points along the border with Turkey, Iraq and Jordan, without waiting for the green light from Damascus.”
The US State Department says there is evidence that Russia is firing artillery from its territory at Ukrainian military positions. Aleem Maqbool reports.
“The American State Department says its new evidence showing Russia’s firing artillery across the border at Ukrainian military positions is based on, what it called, human intelligence, but declined to give details of exactly what that meant. It also says Russia intends to deliver more powerful rocket launches to the rebels in eastern Ukraine. If that is all true, then it’s becoming clear to many that those, who thought that the limited sanctions the US and Europe have imposed will force Russia to withdraw support for separatist forces or before the shooting down of a Malaysian Airline’s passenger plane was a game changer, may have looked been mistaken.”
World News from the BBC.
The US Peace Corps is suspending its operations in Kenya and has ordered the evacuation of more than 50 of its volunteers. There is concern about attacks by the Somali militant group Al-Shabaab and local supporters. The US had earlier reduced staffing levels at its Embassy Nairobi. Meanwhile, Kenyan police say a German woman in her twenties had been shot dead by a masked gunman in the city of Mombasa. She is the second tourist killed in the area in the last month.
An Air Algerie plane with 116 people on board has crashed in northern Mali. Reports suggest wreckage has been found, but it is not clear if this is from the missing aircraft. The plane had been flying from Burkina Faso to the Algerian capital. Alex Dwarlsmi is in the Malian capital Bamako.
“What is confusing is that they are coming from different sources and giving different locations. The Malian President denounced that wreckage had been found near the town of Gao in a location called Tilamsi. That also was tweeted by Air Algerie. But there are also reports that wreckage has been found much further north, but not possible that it could be the same explosion.”
A court in the United States has thrown out a case against the US based banana company, Chikita Brands International, which 7 years ago admitted paying protection money to a paramilitary group in Columbia. More than 4,000 Columbians has sought compensation in US courts for the deaths of their relatives at the hands of the right wing group, the United Selfdefense Forces of Columbia.
In Nigeria, a man has been tested for the Ebola virus. If confirmed, this will be the first case in the country. The Liberian man, who is in his forties, arrived in Lagos through Togo on Sunday. He is in isolation and his condition is said to be stable. More than 600 people have died of Ebola in West Africa since February.