The UK has summoned Israel’s ambassador in London to hear its “unequivocal condemnation” of the killing of three British and four other staff of a food charity in a Gaza missile strike, AFP reports.

The summons, which the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office said the Israeli ambassador attended, came as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called on Israel for answers about the “tragic incident”.

The British leader added it must “take immediate steps to protect aid workers and facilitate vital humanitarian operations in Gaza”.

Meanwhile, junior UK foreign minister Andrew Mitchell said after the summons that he had requested “a quick and transparent investigation, shared with the international community, and full accountability”.

“I reiterated the need for Israel to put in place an effective deconfliction mechanism immediately and urgently to scale up humanitarian access,” Mitchell added.

“We need to see an immediate humanitarian pause, to get aid in and the hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable ceasefire.”