Global News Podcast - Dozens of Palestinians killed in Israeli fire at aid site in Gaza

Episode Date: June 17, 2025

Gaza's health ministry says at least 51 Palestinians have been killed while waiting at a food distribution site in Gaza. Also: President Trump says he wants "a real end" to the fighting between Israel and Iran.

This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Uncle Desai and at 13 Hours GMT on Tuesday 17th June. These are our main stories. Dozens more Palestinians have been killed in Gaza near an aid distribution site. Israel says it's killed one of Iran's top military commanders Ali Shadmani. And it comes as the conflict between the two countries enters a fifth day. Also in this podcast, as Wimbledon's tennis championships approaches,

how female players are being targeted with abuse online. You really don't know if this person is on site. You really don't know if they're nearby or if they know where you live or anything like that. And I think for me personally, it makes me feel, yeah, very vulnerable. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in another deadly incident surrounding aid distribution.

Witnesses and rescuers said Israeli forces killed more than 51 people waiting for flour near a World Food Programme in Harnounis. It's been described as the deadliest day since the new aid system was launched last month. There were scenes of panic as the injured were taken on stretches to a nearby hospital. The IDF has told the BBC it is looking into the reports. Rashidi Abu Alouf, our Gaza correspondent based in Cairo, told Valerie Sanderson what we know about today's incident. The Hamas run health ministry said 51 people were killed and about 200 people were injured.

What happened is that early morning we're getting reports about thousands of people were gathered near a warehouse belonging to the WFP and near to it is a community kitchen in the place. People were gathering huge crowd as some of the people describe it to me were waiting to get the aid and suddenly they said that there was an Israeli drone attack in the area, two drone attacks in the area and followed by Israeli tank. The area is in Chanyounes. Chanyounes is the second biggest city in southern Gaza, and the place itself is about 400, 500 meters from a village called Beny Soheila, where Israelis are doing a big military operation

in the area for the last few weeks. People were heard that there is aid and flour and cooking oil in the area, so they rushed to get some of that. And they were attacked by drones, according to local journalists in the area and also to some of the witnesses and survivors who arrived to the hospital in Khan Younis. These incidents keep happening, Rushdie. Do we know why? Well, it's because, you know, the new American-backed mechanism, setting up three or four distribution centers within areas under Israeli military control, a few places in Rafah, one in the

middle, and every day huge crowds of people that turn into this area, try to get aid. And people often say that the aid in the centers is not near enough. So, for example, they have 60,000 people, and the number of parcel that they distribute every day is like 10,000. So people are pushing to, I mean, the front of the queue to guarantee that they got some aid in the area. The area is very close under Israeli security control where there is always Israeli soldiers, drones and tanks, and they open fire on the people to push them away from the military area. I have been talking this morning to a person who is in charge of coordinating for most

of the aid charity organization in Gaza. And he said Israel allowed about 1,000 trucks only since they resumed the aid into Gaza. And he said this is not near enough of what the people in Gaza need. He said we need 40,000, 50,000 trucks to come to Gaza as soon as possible to stop the starvation. And also people are also looting some of the A truck that has been allowed. And we have seen also some fighting between people who are pushing to loot some of the trucks. So very catastrophic situation. Rashidi Abu Alouf, Israel says it has killed a top Iranian commander Ali Shadmani as it of following the situation there closely, speaking to people inside the country. A correspondent

in Jerusalem, Gia Gaul, told us about the military commander Israel claims to have killed. I think Ali Shadmani is or was, we don't have a confirmation from the Iranian side, but the Israelis say they have killed him. He was one of the top commanders and he was the commander of Iranian Khatam al-Anbiya organization. Part of the IRGC is a pillar of IRGC's military industrial complex, combining military strategy, economic dominance and political power with direct link to the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Killing him is significant because his predecessor just few days ago at the beginning of Israeli attack General Rashid was killed and he was appointed and Israel says he's in fact

the chief of staff of the war. He's the person who is in charge of war against Israel and I think killing him is significant in this sense. Such a high profile general, which with the history of killing his predecessor just a few days ago, how Israeli managed to find out his whereabouts and target him, a moving target, it needs significant intelligence. And that's why many even in Iran right now, they think Israeli might have penetrated Iranian security forces in the highest level. That's why today Iranian general prosecutor ordered all the prosecutors across the country,

those people who are accused of spying for Israel being arrested and in a speedy process being tried and in fact put them behind bars and possibly execute them. I think it seems Iranian government is extremely nervous about people rise up at will because many people who criticize the government has been arrested by intelligence service for simply posting a tweet or mocking the regime for failing is in such a magnitude. So there's a lot going on in the country. I know you're talking to people there. What are you hearing about the impact of Israel's strikes on Iranian civilians?

It's so many people are worried. Just yesterday I saw a clip from a young woman in Tehran. She was crying. Her father was a political prisoner in Irvin prison, a notorious prison which housing most of the political prisoners in Iran, very close to Iranian state television. She said, Israel asking, evacuate this area, but how my father, which is a prisoner, can leave the prison. He is trapped there. Or a family who had a car accident, they said they went to hospital, they didn't accept them, there was no admission because so many people have been injured and the entire hospital facility and crews across the country has been treating the wounded from the

attacks. The US President Donald Trump, who's returned to Washington after leaving the G7 summit early, has told reporters that he's not looking for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Iran, but something better. He also warned people to evacuate Tehran. Here was his latest exchange with journalists at an airbase in Maryland. What specifically is better than a ceasefire? What are you looking for here? An end. A real end, not a ceasefire. An end. So something that will be affirmative? Yeah. Or giving up entirely. Our chief North America correspondent, Gary O'Donoghue, told us more.

Well those words do suggest a sort of toughening, a further toughening of his stance. A real end, I mean, could mean a real end to all of Iran's nuclear programs. That could mean their civilian programs as well. But he's clearly not just looking for a cessation of hostilities, as he put it there, a sort of ceasefire, but something much bigger than that. And he has talked about potentially, or there's been some suggestion that he's potentially looking at sending his vice president and the Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to the region to talk to the Iranians about that. But on the other hand, he said in that same conversation, I'm not in the

mood for negotiating. He's also said last night that people should evacuate Tehran. So that's leading a lot of people to speculate that he may be getting closer to some sort of military involvement himself. What's sending American troops? There's a thing here which is that one of these facilities that everyone's focusing on, one of these enrichment facilities is buried in a mountain 100 kilometres or so south of Tehran. The received wisdom

is that Israel can't destroy that with the munitions it has and it would take American pilots flying American stealth bombers, B2 stealth bombers to destroy that. Now whether that is the absolute military reality I'm not sure but that is certainly something that would have to be involved in a real end to their nuclear program because this facility can enrich uranium. And what about his relationship with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu? Yeah I mean they have been talking, we know that they've been talking several times we think yesterday as well. There's been some discussion about the extent to which Donald Trump managed to veto an attempt by the Israelis to kill the Ayatollah Khamenei and whether or not they stopped that from

happening. Benjamin Netanyahu seemed to accept that at one point and then revisited it again later on saying that that wasn't off the table. So the bottom line here, of course, is that the US is the only country in the world that can bring pressure to bear, real pressure to bear on Israel. And the question is how much will it do that or how much will it side with its ally in trying to perhaps even go as far as regime change? Our chief North American correspondent, Gary O'Donoghue, speaking there to Valerie Sanderson.

We often report on the warnings from scientists and international agencies about the worsening climate crisis, but how is it affecting ordinary people around the world? Afghanistan is one of the countries most exposed to climate change and it's seen increasingly severe droughts in recent years, as well as land degradation and desertification. BBC Afghan's Yama Bariz sent this report. It's a rare rainy day in Afghanistan's Helmand province. Several young children in the village of Shapoosh-Ta take turns using a manual metal pump. They are trying to get water out of a well that is about 200 meters deep. It is the only water source available for the entire village. Families fill several plastic orange and yellow water containers to carry home.

Some use wheelbarrows to maximize how much they can take. This is now a common sight in Helmand, where severe drought has displaced thousands of families. In the village of Hermes, I meet Basir, who is in his twenties. His family is one of the few who don't want to leave, despite the hardship. BASIR, Helmand. Look at the village. It's all deserted. Just a few of us are left here.

This is our father's and grandfather's land. We can't go anywhere else. Our cemetery is here. Everything we have is here. Basir removes the lid of a large metal pot to show me the little murky water he has left for the day. Afghanistan is one of the world's most exposed countries to the impacts of climate change. The villages of Helmand now look like ghost towns and walking around them feels eerie.

Mud houses left with no signs of life in sight, Mosques abandoned with only prayer mats and microphones left behind. Long stretches of land that used to be filled with green orchards just 10 years ago are now all dried up. International organizations like the UNICEF have been trying to ease the pressures on the local communities. They built a water station in Basir's village. But Zaki Mohamed, who is a supervisor there, tells me it's still not meeting the needs. ZAKI MOHAMMAD, ZAKI MOHAMMAD, ZAKI MOHAMMAD, UNICEF?

The level of underground water has gone down. Previously, the water pressure was strong, but now it is very weak. The water level is expected to go down even further. In another village not far away, 60-year-old Bibi Paindos spends her days thinking about the life she once had before drought forced her out of her home. In her small courtyard, she washes the dishes in a large, thin bowl, using as little water as possible. We were wealthy there. I had my own water well, and people used to ask me for water and other things. I feel so helpless now. These are okay, but I cannot go to sleep at night. I have no one.

The signs of fatigue are visible on Bibi Paindul's face. She tells me that even in her new home, she cannot find enough clean water. As she fights her tears, she fears she could again need to move if water remains hard to find. Yamaburis. Still to come in this podcast. Marvin Gaye's track was not copied by Ed Sheeran. A legal battle ends after 10 years. Ukraine says 14 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in a wave of strikes across the country overnight. Kiev was encircled by drones and missiles for almost nine hours. Oleksandr Mureshko is an MP and the head of Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Committee.

It was another tragic night and unfortunately we've been having such terrible nightmare nights for many days in a row. We're running out of American ammunition and it will have serious repercussions. There will be more death among civilian population. Valerie Sanderson spoke to our correspondent in Ukraine, Joel Gunter. Yeah, as you described, a wave of strikes across not just Kyiv last night but also across parts of the rest of the country. Dated figures, we now have say that 15 people died here in the capital, one person down

in the southern city of Odessa where there were also strikes. We're at the scene of one of the strikes here in Keefe, now a ballistic missile which slammed into a residential apartment building, destroying an entire section of the building. We believe that there are people here buried under the rubble that has not been officially confirmed. We spoke to residents here who said that their neighbours were crying, waiting for news of missing loved ones. A real scene of devastation here in the capital and just one strike of many that hit the city

overnight. And President Zelensky has reacted strongly, hasn't he, calling these attacks terrorism? Yeah, pure terrorism were the words he used to describe the strikes. And I think for President Zelensky, they will really underscore his calls for continued and expanded military aid from Europe, from the US, particularly air defence systems. This was a really large scale strike, the largest we believe since, or one of the largest at least, since the beginning of the full scale invasion more than three years ago. Some 27 districts of the capital hit by strikes and fires. It wasn't just the intensity of the strikes last night but also the duration, some nine hours.

And Joel, we understand that Ukraine is running out of munitions, isn't it? Is there a hope that Europe will have to step in and help? That may be the case. I mean, we were expecting for President Zelensky to have a very important bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 today with President Trump. That was a very hoped-for meeting on the Ukrainian side. They made no secret of their desire for that meeting to take place. Continued U.S. support is really essential for Ukraine in its conflict and post-conflict period. So it really is unclear at this point where the U.S. stands, where the Trump administration

stands. But as you say, it is very possible that Europe could have to step up to fill that potential gap. Families of the people who died in last week's Air India crash have been expressing frustration as they wait for information about what happened to their loved ones. All but one of the 242 people on board died and dozens more were killed on the ground when the Boeing 7878 Dreamliner came down over the city of Ahmedabad. 135 victims have been identified so far through DNA matching. Bad weather is hampering operations as we heard from the BBC's Archana Shukla at the crash site.

Absolutely, it's day six and the investigators are still picking up pieces of evidence but it is getting challenging by the day. There has been a heavy downpour since last night and that is making it difficult. It's also washing up some of the evidence on the field and making it difficult for the investigators. You know, we know for sure that the two pieces of the black box have been found and that is some of the crucial evidence that has already come in. But as far as picking up more elements from the ground is concerned, that is still ongoing.

And some families, we understand, are expressing frustration at how long this is all taking this recovery operation? Absolutely. You know, it's day six and hundreds of families are still waiting to get any news about their loved ones. You know, so far government authorities say about 124 DNA samples have been matched and 94 mortal remains have been handed over to the families. But the remaining are the ones who are really, you know, waiting in anguish and frustration. The BBC has spoken to a British family who lost three members in the plane crash and they say that there isn't enough information coming in on what is the status. It has been three days since they gave the DNA sample and that there isn't enough support on ground as well for them.

And this is something reflective of families across who've been waiting for more information and also, you know, it's a painful process, you know, to wait to get mortal remains of somebody who died in a deadly and a tragic air crash like that. And lots of theories about what may have caused this ashram. We're hearing now it may have been due to a rare dual engine failure. Is that so? There is no confirmation as yet on what was the reason for the crash. The government authorities, the investigating agencies both from the US, UK, the Indian ones and the Boeing, they're all putting their heads together looking at the pieces of evidence to figure out and they're

looking at all sorts of theories, whether it was an engine failure, whether the flap didn't work, what was the reason why the wheel didn't go back. So all theories are something that the authorities are looking at. The black box here will be a very crucial piece of evidence to find out what happened in the last few moments of the flight and can help them get some answers. But nothing is confirmed as of now. Archana Shukla speaking there to Valerie Sanderson.

The countdown to the Wimbledon tennis championships is underway. But for many female players, an increasing problem is becoming the target of online abuse. Data shared exclusively with the BBC suggests 40% of these abusive messages are from people angry about bets they've lost involving the game. Now the British number two, Katie Bolter, is campaigning to raise awareness of the issue. A warning, this report from our sports news correspondent Laura Scott contains distressing language. You can get hundreds of messages after games,

after points, after sets and after matches. It's something that has now become the norm. And she does it. Katie Balter. Katie Balter loves playing tennis. And she wins ugly. But she hates the abuse that comes with it. The British number two gave us an exclusive look at some of the social media messages

she receives. This one is pretty bleak. It says, I hope you get cancer. What does that message make you feel? I just wonder who the person is. I just wonder if they're in that tough of a place. I don't think it's something that I would ever say to my worst enemy, let alone to anyone at all or even think it.

It's just an awful, awful thing to say to anyone." There is abuse from people gambling on her too, which comes after victories as well as defeats. And it gets worse. "...Katy Balter moves into round two, a first..." Threats to her loved ones, which came minutes after she lost a tie break during her first round in Paris last month. And if I may show you this one, this talks about your family and coffins.

I think it just shows how vulnerable we are. You really don't know if this person is on site, you really don't know if they're nearby or if they know where you live or anything like that. And I think for me personally, it makes me feel, yeah, very vulnerable." She's not alone, as statistics shared exclusively with the BBC from data science firms signify the International Tennis Federation and the Women's Tennis Association showed. During 2024, 458 tennis players received thousands of abusive public messages, with more than a quarter of all the abuse targeted at just five players, all of whom were women. A group categorised as angry gamblers were responsible for 40% of all detected abuse.

So what are tennis authorities doing about abuse that's coming straight to players' phones? They've been using an artificial intelligence-led system to detect public abuse, escalating the worst of it to social media platforms and law enforcement. There's also support on offer for private abuse, but they're now calling on the gambling industry to do more, given it's a problem the players say is on the rise. It increases in numbers and it also increases in the level of things that people say. I don't think there's anything off the cards now. The Betting and Gaming Council said its members do not tolerate abuse and that social media

companies need to take swift action against users and remove offensive content. One of the things that when we've spoken to sportswomen in the past, they say that another aspect of the abuse that they get or unwanted messages are explicit pictures. I wonder if that's something you've encountered. Yeah, I mean I've had quite a few of those sorts of things. As Wimbledon approaches, the prospect of huge crowds and home turf should conjure pure excitement for one of Britain's best players. But she says it will bring astronomical levels of abuse, which taints the victories and makes

the defeats even harder to bear. Now to the end of an almost decade long legal battle over a song. Beneficiaries of the track Let's Get It On and Ed Sheeran have been going back and forth via lawyers after the UK artist and his co-writer were accused of copying the Marvin Gaye track when they made Thinking Out Loud, the award winning song which was top 10 in more than 20 countries. Now the matter has finally been resolved, Stephanie Prentice has this report. Ed Sheeran's romantic ballad quickly became a modern classic, with more than 15 million copies sold around the world.

But some people didn't embrace it, with three lawsuits filed by people connected to another classic, Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On, claiming the melody, harmony and rhythm were copied. Mr. Sheeran won one legal battle in 2023. Now the US Supreme Court has rejected a claim for damages from the others and sided with Mr. Sheeran, who said he'd quit music if found guilty. His co-writer Amy Wodge says she's relieved but the matter has haunted her for 10 years. It felt like the walls were surrounding and so it was incredibly frightening and there was a personal element but there was also this huge sort of existential threat of what it actually meant for the world of songwriting

and for songwriters in general and I always felt the weight of that. It all took so long because it touched on copyright law, involved multiple parties and needed extensive expert analysis. And followed one of the most famous copyright infringement lawsuits in recent music history. infringement lawsuits in recent music history. Robin Thicke and Pharrell had to pay Marvin Gaye's estate five million dollars after being accused of copying the feel and vibe of Got to Give It Up. Now, judges say anyone challenging thinking out loud has got to give it up for good, saying the chord progressions and rhythmic patterns are too common to warrant protection.

Stephanie Prentice reporting. And that's all from us for now, but there will be a new edition of the Global News Podcast Stephanie Prentice reporting. formerly known as Twitter, if you search for the handle at BBC World Service and you can use the hashtag global news pod. This edition was mixed by Daniela Varela Hernandez and the producers were Charles Sanctuary and Stephanie Tillerson and the editor is Karen Martin. I'm Uncle Desai, until next time, goodbye.