BRUSSELS, May 11 (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers reached an agreement on Monday on new sanctions targeting violent Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, as well as leading Hamas figures, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.

The sanctions package, which targets three settlers and four settler organisations whose identities have yet to be publicly disclosed, had been blocked for months by the previous Hungarian government which lost an election last month.

Tens of millions of people could face hunger and starvation if fertilisers are not soon allowed through the Strait of Hormuz, the head of a UN task force aimed at averting a looming humanitarian crisis told AFP on Monday.

Iran has had the strategic waterway -- through which a third of the world's fertilisers normally pass -- in a chokehold for months in retaliation for the war launched by the United States and Israel on February 28, disrupting a trade critical for farmers around the world in a race against the end of planting seasons.

By Antoni Slodkowski and Mei Mei Chu

BEIJING, May 11 (Reuters) - The Iran war has strained U.S.–Chinese ties further and looks set to dominate the May 14 to 15 summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart and host Xi Jinping in Beijing.

Below are the key issues at stake for Washington and Beijing as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran reshapes calculations in their broader relationship:

IRAN CEASEFIRE TALKS

ISLAMABAD, May 11 (Reuters) - Pakistan blames Afghanistan-based militants for the attack on a police post that killed 15 personnel over the weekend, Pakistan's foreign ministry said on Monday, signaling fresh tension between the neighbours whose militaries have clashed over the issue this year.

The police personnel were killed in a car bombing at a police post in the northwestern part of Pakistan on Saturday,followed by an ambush on forces rushing to the scene, Pakistani police said.

TEL AVIV, May 11 (Reuters) - Israel's Iron Dome has been nearly 99% effective against missiles from Hamas and Hezbollah militants and has knocked out most missiles from Iran, the chairman of state-owned Iron Dome maker Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd said on Monday.

Rafael's Yuval Steinitz told a conference of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs that since the October 2023 Hamas raid on Israel, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon combined have fired some 40,000 rockets at Israel.

KYIV, May 11 (Reuters) - Nearly 20 countries are interested in drone deals with Ukraine and four agreements have already been signed, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday.

Since the outbreak of the Iran war in late February, Zelenskiy has managed to leverage Ukraine's expertise in drone warfare into a series of successful diplomatic deals during visits to the Middle East and Europe.

ANKARA, May 11 (Reuters) - Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will visit Qatar on Tuesday for talks on the Iran war, its impact on the Gulf and efforts to ensure navigational safety in the Strait of Hormuz, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Monday.

NATO member Turkey, which neighbours Iran, has been in close contact with the United States, Iran and mediator Pakistan since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. It has called for an end to the conflict, while condemning attacks on Iran and criticising Tehran's strikes on Gulf states as unacceptable.

President Donald Trump warned the ceasefire in the Middle East war was on "life support" Monday after rejecting the latest counteroffer from Iran, which said its military stood ready to respond to any act of aggression.

The president's angry reaction to Iran's position -- delivered in response to a US proposal -- sparked a spike in oil prices and dashed hopes that a deal could be quickly negotiated to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping.

Iranian authorities on Monday hanged a post-graduate student from an elite Tehran university on charges of espionage, the latest in a spate of executions against the backdrop of the war against the United States and Israel.

Erfan Shakourzadeh, 29, was hanged after being convicted for collaborating with the CIA and Mossad, the Iranian judiciary's Mizan Online website said.

BEIJING, May 11 (Reuters) - China voiced strong opposition on Monday to U.S. sanctions for three China-based companies that Washington claimed enabled Iran's military operations, calling the curbs illegal and unilateral.

"We have always required Chinese enterprises to conduct business in accordance with laws and regulations, and will firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises," spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a regular press briefing.