to leave gaza today via the rafah crossing into egypt. i'm tanya beckett in london. also this hour... so—called crypto king sam bankman—fried is found guilty of fraud and money laundering. more than 80 flood warnings remain in place across the uk in the aftermath of storm ciaran. hello. i'm anna foster. this is bbc news live from jerusalem. us secretary of state antony blinken is meeting the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu at the start of another round of diplomacy in israel and the rest of the region.

they are said to be going to talk about how to proceed and protect civilians. the israel defence forces say that close quarter combat has seen fighting with gunmen as they target military outposts, headquarters and other hamas infrastructure. with the fighting intensifying, there has been strongly worded criticism of the humanitarian situation emerging from the united nations. seven human rights experts have said that they believe the palestinian people in gaza are at risk of genocide, and that time is running out to prevent that. israelaccuse that time is running out to prevent that. israel accuse them of repeating hamas propaganda. people across the region are waiting to hear as well a little later from the leader of the lebanese islamist group hezbollah. hassan nasrallah's speech will be closely watched and could have huge consequences for

where this conflict goes next. we will keep you across all of those different aspects of this fast moving story throughout the day here on bbc news, but first let's get this report on the latest situation from joe inwood. israel says it has gaza city surrounded. its ground forces, supported by heavy armour, are pushing into the crowded urban centre of the strip. but no one thinks this will be quick or easy. they are on hamas�* territory. the group put out their own footage showing an attack on an israeli tank. they said they would make gaza a cursed place for israel. caught in the middle are ordinary palestinians. the un human rights office has said so many civilians have been killed and wounded in israeli air strikes, it has serious concerns that these are disproportionate attacks that could be war crimes. israel blames hamas, designated terrorists by many governments,

including the uk, saying they are using civilians as human shields. the only way out of gaza is through the rafah crossing into egypt. but that has only opened to a few dozen severely injured palestinians, and a few hundred with foreign passports. susan made it out on her fifth attempt. i'm not even excited to leave gaza because we have so many people that we love and care about, we love and care about. so right now, i'm between ice and fire. i don't know if i'm ever going to be able to see the family that i left behind, or the friends that i left behind. people are dying. for many in israel, the anger over the massacre of october the 7th is undimmed, as is the determination to get back the more than 240 hostages taken by hamas. i have uncles and sisters of my friends. we need them home now.

for now, this war is mostly confined to gaza. as israel's assault continues and the death toll rises, there are growing fears that could soon change. joe inwood, bbc news. our gaza correspondent rushdi abualouf gave us the latest from on the ground. the fighting is in five different areas in gaza city and the north, where the israeli ground operation has been expanding yesterday for a bit. and fighting is going on in the north west part of gaza, where the biggest incursion is going on about five, six kilometers. the israeli army is engaging with guns, but with gunfire and from air, sea and land with the hamas militants. the group has issued statement by statement since yesterday saying that they are fighting the israeli

army using anti—tank missiles. also, the air strikes were continue overnight, especially around the al-quds hospital in the neighborhood called tel al—hawa. it's south west of gaza city, where the israeli army keep calling the people inside. about 14,000 people who are taking the hospital as shelter. they ask them to leave the area as well as 100 patients like the hospital said eight of them were connected to the life—saving machine and they said it's impossible to move them because most of the road around the hospital is damaged. and also the area where the hospital is is now one of the five areas that has experienced heavy fighting with the hamas militants with about 500 metres away from the from the hospital. and israel is in control of both lines. the salahadin road, which the main access to gaza and the north, and the al—rasheed road, which is also known as the coastal road.

so access in and out of gaza extremely difficult. sometimes people are risking their life to leave this area to the southern area. i saw footage yesterday filmed by an ambulance driver in the area. cars were burned behind the road. buildings were collapsing. heavy gunfire in the area. real, real war in this area in the coastal side of gaza city. that is rushdi abualouf, our correspondent with the latest from gaza. as we've reported, us secretary of state antony blinken is making his second visit to israel since hamas launched a series of deadly attacks on the country on seven october and israel began it's retaliatory offensive in gaza. his trip will focus on measures to minimise harm to civilians in the gaza strip. ahead of his departure, blinken said he would seek "concrete measures" from israel to ensure that harm to palestinian civilians is reduced,

as us presidentjoe biden also called for humanitarian pauses in the conflict. blinken will also hold talks injordan. our north america correspondent anthony zurcher is travelling with the secretary of state and told us about the plans and conversations he will having today. antony blinken is in the midst of a series of meetings with israeli officials. he met with prime minister benjamin netanyahu for about an hour. that meeting concluded about 30 minutes ago. he is currently meeting with the entire israeli war cabinet, and after that he is going to have a meeting with isaac hertzog, the israeli president. i think throughout these meetings, mr blinken has told us that he is going to be stressing first of all his support for israel but also that israel needs to take responsible steps, concrete steps, to limit civilian casualties in gaza.

he is also working on ensuring that american hostages are released, and americans in gaza who want to leave can. and he says he wants to try to lay out a framework with the israelis and their partners that he is going to meet tomorrow and on sunday, a framework for a lasting and durable peace, beyond just the immediate conflict, that there has to be some sort of pathway from where we are now to a two—state solution, and insurances that this sort of violence doesn't happen again. that is our north america correspondent who is travelling with the secretary of state, antony blinken. you can see pictures of antony blinken meeting israeli promised a benjamin netanyahu ahead of talks that they will have to day, a one—on—one conversation. we know they have also been talking with the israeli cabinet, and he will also meet the israeli president isaac

hertzog later today as well. we will keep you up—to—date with everyone that comes out of that important meeting happening in israel today, and much of what is being discussed is about the humanitarian situation for civilians in gaza at the moment, and earlier my colleague tanya beckett spoke to unrwa. every hour that passes, the humanitarian crisis in gaza deepens. we are now hosting 700,000 people in our shelters. we are now hosting 700,000 people in ourshelters. our we are now hosting 700,000 people in our shelters. our shelters are overcrowded. unrwa continues to lose stuff. so far 72 of our colleagues have been killed since the war began in gaza. ~ , ., have been killed since the war began in gaza. ~ , have been killed since the war began in gaza. ~ i. , ., in gaza. when you say they are in shelters, what _ in gaza. when you say they are in shelters, what form _ in gaza. when you say they are in shelters, what form that - in gaza. when you say they are in shelters, what form that these i shelters, what form that these shelters, what form that these shelters take, and where are they? most of these shelters we were using our schools before the war began,

because unrwa is the only un agency in the world that runs a fully fledged school system. sadly since the war began we have turned these schools into shelters, and there are thousands, thousands of families in egypt, sometimes even more. the conditions in the schools are a very bad because they are overcrowded, and some areas are sharing hundreds of people in fact sharing one toilet in these shelters. find of people in fact sharing one toilet in these shelters.— in these shelters. and they are in the north of _ in these shelters. and they are in the north of gaza _ in these shelters. and they are in the north of gaza or— in these shelters. and they are in the north of gaza or the - in these shelters. and they are in the north of gaza or the south? l in these shelters. and they are in - the north of gaza or the south? they are in the gaza _ the north of gaza or the south? they are in the gaza strip, _ the north of gaza or the south? tie: are in the gaza strip, everywhere, middle areas, northern gaza strip and in the south. find middle areas, northern gaza strip and in the south.— middle areas, northern gaza strip and in the south. and what about the flow of humanitarian _ and in the south. and what about the flow of humanitarian aid? _ and in the south. and what about the flow of humanitarian aid? we - flow of humanitarian aid? we understand that that has increased across the rafah border, but that wouldn't get to the north of gaza? it is still not enough. whatever is coming in on these trucks, a number of trucks on the frequency of these convoysis of trucks on the frequency of these convoys is not at all enough. it

does not meet at all the overwhelming humanitarian needs on the ground in gaza. before the war started, and this was when there was no conflict, gaza used to get on a daily basis 500 trucks. now on average we are getting 13, 14, 15. when we say it is a drop in the ocean, we mean it.— when we say it is a drop in the ocean, we mean it. and we know that antony blinken _ ocean, we mean it. and we know that antony blinken is _ ocean, we mean it. and we know that antony blinken is the _ ocean, we mean it. and we know that antony blinken is the secretary - ocean, we mean it. and we know that antony blinken is the secretary of - antony blinken is the secretary of state, the us secretary of state talking to benjamin netanyahu. and the expectation is that he will ask for a cessation, a pause, in the violence. what might that achieve? it is overdue that there is a humanitarian ceasefire in the gaza strip. we are wondering and we are asking, how many more? how many more, and how much more suffering and pain and loss, how much more? it is absolutely time for a ceasefire

for the sake of humanity. are you in any way sympathetic to the goal of israel after the devastating attacks that we saw? are you sympathetic to its goal to remove hamas from the gaza strip? what happened in israel on the 7th of october is devastating. but violence breeds more violence, and it is time for a ceasefire for the sake of civilians everywhere. that was the director _ sake of civilians everywhere. that was the director of _ sake of civilians everywhere. that was the director of communications for unrwa, the un agency for palestinian refugees. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. you are with bbc news. the north—eastern ukrainian region of kharkiv has come under russian air attack at night time. the mayor of the main city of kharkiv said civilian infrastructure in one district had been hit and a fire had broken out. the regional governor added that the russians were carrying out

drone strikes and reported an attack on a settlement. the un says more than 25,000 people have been displaced across myanmar, by a week—long conflict between the ruling military and ethnic insurgents in the north—eastern shan state. reports suggest dozens of military outposts have fallen. the three rebel groups say their goal is to overthrow the military dictatorship. at least one person has been killed in flooding in northern italy. the tuscany region was badly hit by storm ciaran, which swept through north west europe on thursday. the storm brought strong winds and driving rain, forcing the closure of schools, airports, rail and ferry services. you're live with bbc news. iam anna i am anna foster here injerusalem. the leader of hezbollah is going to make his first statement since the war began in the next few hours. he

will be addressing followers making those public comments that have been long—awaited since the war broke out between israel and hamas. hassan nasrallah's speech is likely to indicate the group's next move as its fighters have been engaged in intense attacks on the lebanon israel border, and that has raised fears that that border could become another front in this conflict. let's talk a little about who hezbollah are and why they are important in israel and gaza. hezbollah is the largest political and military force in lebanon operating as a party as well as a militia. it opposes israel and western powers operating in the middle east, and is heavily influenced by iran, its largest benefactor. it arms and trains its fighters. hezbollah�*s leader is lebanon's hassan nasrallah who as i mentioned is

expected to break weeks of silence about israel and gaza later. for israel, hezbollah�*s stock of sophisticated missiles represents a much greater potential threat than hamas. but so at least, it doesn't appear that it has the appetite for direct conflict with israel. but of course the words of hassan nasrallah will be vital, to hear what he has to say in the next few hours, and of course reflect on it when it happens here on bbc news. in the last month or so, i've been here in israel and spent time in many parts of the country including along that northern border which has been largely evacuated now. one of the people that i met is maryam unis. she was born in lebanon but had to leave the country aged five and settled in northern israel. her late father was a commander in the southern lebanese army, fighting against hezbollah, but she says she remembers a normal childhood despite living through a conflict. i asked her if she believes things will get out of control on the northern border.

i believe that there is a reason why the countries bring here the hard army. you know, the big guns. i don't think it's for no reason. ijust don't know how it will happen and where exactly it will happen. but i do think that we are headed toward a really big change in the middle east. i'm in favour of it, to be honest, because i really want to find a solution to this not only conflict, but also as a lebanese, i wish to have peace with lebanon because i do believe that both nations want peace and can really have great connections with each other, economically, touristically and so on. so, yes, i do... i do think that something will happen. ijust not sure how, and how bad it's going to be.

is there a sense of fear, you know, from people around here, people in the north, are people worried? i don't think we are worried, really, because, again, we lived through 2006. so now it feels that as long as it's quiet, nothing will happen. i think also people understand that maybe hezbollah doesn't really want to get into a war currently. and we feel very safe with the fact that the usa is with us, the uk supporting israel. so i feel like people are still not completely worried. we'rejust on edge. i've also been speaking with our correspondent hugo bachega, who is in southern lebanon. he told me why this speech is important in this conflict. i think ithinka i think a lot of people will be

closely monitoring their speech to see any kind of sign or indication of what hezbollah is going to do next. ~ . , ., ., next. we have seen that over the last few weeks — next. we have seen that over the last few weeks those _ next. we have seen that over the | last few weeks those cross-border last few weeks those cross—border attacks between hezbollah here in lebanon and the israeli military have intensified. thousands of people have left those villages and towns along the border, not only here in lebanon but also in israel. so i think there is a lot of concern that if those attacks escalate, lebanon could be dragged into this conflict, so i think we are looking at perhaps two main possibilities here, first that hezbollah could declare war, and that this is the worst case scenario. this is unlikely to be the case. and the second possibility is that we are going to see a very strong speech by hassan nasrallah against israel, probably against the americans as well, who have been supporting israel in this war, and that would

lead to an escalation of the violence there along the border, and i think this is perhaps the most likely possibility. this is according to people who know hezbollah, who have been talking to experts, who have some contact and some knowledge about what hezbollah is planning to do. i think what is interesting, and they have launched 19 simultaneous attacks on israeli i9 simultaneous attacks on israeli targets. we haven't had confirmation of that, but if this is the case, this marks the most intense wave of attacks from hezbollah on israeli targets. so far the violence along the border has been contained to those places along the lebanon israeli order.— israeli order. and he is this totemic figure, _ israeli order. and he is this totemic figure, and - israeli order. and he is this totemic figure, and we - israeli order. and he is this| totemic figure, and we have israeli order. and he is this - totemic figure, and we have already seen the preparations taking place for hezbollah followers to witness this speech on the big screens. i

wonder how much of what hassan nasrallah says today will have been decided by him, and how much is he working at the behest of iran? i think this is the big question here, because iran is the common player, but also what is happening in syria, iraq and yemen, because iran supports the so—called axis of resistance, and hezbollah is the main player on this alliance, it is the strongest military force. but this alliance also includes president bashar al—assad in syria, the militias in iraq, the houthis in yemen, and the attacks in those countries have intensified. a lot of people say that any kind of major decision will inevitably have the blessing of iran, but i think because of the size and because of the importance of hezbollah here in

lebanon, they do have the ability to act independently, to make their own decisions, and i think again, hezbollah is not only this massive military force, it is also a very powerful military and social organisation here in lebanon. it is obvious he described as a terrorist organisation by the us, by the uk and many other countries, and don't forget that in 2006, it fought a devastating war with israel, and i think the fear here is that history could be repeating itself. that is hugo barrette and it is about two and a half hours now until that speech which we will keep a for you. israeli forces have also said in the last few hours that they have now completely encircled gaza city, but hamas has reacted defiantly, and vowed to send in their words the invaders home in body bags. so what

is israel's military strategy in gaza at the moment. joining me now is anthony king, director of the strategy and security institute at exeter university. thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. we see no israel embroiled in this urban warfare in and around gaza city. it is going to be difficult for them working on that kind of environment, isn't it? desperate. urban warfare is the most difficult, demanding and attritional form of warfare, and the prospects in gaza are very difficult, it is a densely populated area, lots of potential for hamas to fortify and defend the place, so it is an extremely challenging operation for israel, and one which will prove difficult and presumably long as well. . , , ~ difficult and presumably long as well. , . ,. well. there has been much discussion as well about — well. there has been much discussion as well about obviously _ well. there has been much discussion as well about obviously the _ well. there has been much discussion as well about obviously the civilian . as well about obviously the civilian casualties and civilian deaths, and

of course in an operation like that. is this israel's only option if it wants to eradicate hamas from gaza? this is a very difficult question. in a certain sense, the state has 1400 in a certain sense, the state has 11100 civilians massacred, and no state is going to do anything other than react in a military fashion. but the prospect of fighting in gaza is very difficult, and what they are trying to achieve is the military destruction of hamas, and it seems like a clear goal, but at some level israel is going to have to send some ground forces and clear out hamas fighters and command centres, hamas ammunition dumps in tunnels and fortified buildings and also release the hostages, so although that objective is understandable, militarily the actual operational

challenges very difficult, and it is a huge question whether israel has the forces, the capabilities, and in fact some of the expertise which is necessary to mount such a complicated operation, and without a massive civilian casualties and collateral damage, which in fact we have already seen. find collateral damage, which in fact we have already seen.— collateral damage, which in fact we have already seen. and 'ust briefly, we've not have already seen. and 'ust briefly, we got about t have already seen. and 'ust briefly, we've got about a _ have already seen. and just briefly, we've got about a minute _ have already seen. and just briefly, we've got about a minute or- have already seen. and just briefly, we've got about a minute or so - have already seen. and just briefly, we've got about a minute or so left| we've got about a minute or so left of the programme, but israel has had to split its forces as well, sending reinforcements to the northern border to protect against hezbollah attacks. so the previous discussion i think was absolutely relevant, so one of the things to be said about the announcement today, was it doing its vexing, large numbers of israeli defence force troops, so for the operation in the south, although the israeli defence force is a large force, half a million soldiers, they've probably only got maximum 100,000 to do the operation in gaza,

and probably actually a lot less. you can look at the combat size they have, and clearing out a city, even blockading a city, blockading hamas fighters, is going to be difficult operation for them. anthony kim, thank you very much for your expertise, and thank you for joining us. director of strategy and security institute at exeter university. we leave you with these live pictures of gaza that you can see at the moment. the situation there right now is that israeli military operations continue, and the us secretary of state, antony blinken, continues to meet with the israeli government. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. further bouts of rain will continue to be a concern for those areas affected by flooding in the days ahead. we also will have some dry and clearance spots as well. take today.

this is the swirl of what was left off storm ciaran, clearing away, easing off. this will bring some heavy rain to england and wales tomorrow, but in between you will notice that clearer window, which is with most of us. it won't be completely dry, there will be scattering showers but some will stay dry throughout the day. the biggest exception will be the north and north—east of scotland, a band of rainjust pushing its way westwards on what will still be fairly strong winds. the winds certainly down on those destructive ones we saw yesterday. afternoon temperatures close to where we should be at this stage in november. as we go into tonight, that cloud and rain across scotland continuing to fizzle out, and does storm ciaran, and at the same time, that bank of cloud will bring persistent rain to south wales and south—west england. by the end of the night, with strengthening winds towards the south. mild enough in the south, but chilly further north, and a bit of a north—south split tomorrow. this area of low pressure will bring strong winds to france and across spain,

still close to the channel islands, and the gales hampering the clean—up. a band of rain sweeps its way northward, followed by sunshine and some very lively showers which could cause minor flooding issues. sussex and kent particularly prone, but scotland and northern ireland a quieter day on saturday, and clear skies going into saturday night if you have any plans, but lots of cloud for england and wales, heaviest in the far south—east of england. this area of low pressure from saturday eases away into the north sea for sunday, and then it is fact that quieter window again, so drier conditions, especially across central and eastern areas, a few showers possible, showers most likely across the western half of the country through the day, some of those on the heavy and thundery side, and around the coast again there could be some locally rather large rainfall totals. that leads us into sunday night of course, bonfire night. if you do have any plans for the evening, it does look

like there will be some clearer spells, certainly compared with saturday. showers are most frequent in the west.

this is bbc news. the headlines... us secretary of state antony blinken arrives in israel to push for a �*humanitarian pause' in the fighting.

israel's military says it has surrounded gaza city and has been attacking hamas infrastructure. about a hundred british nationals are on the list of people approved to leave gaza today via the rafah crossing into egypt. so—called �*crypto king' sam bankman—fried is found guilty of fraud and money laundering. more than 80 flood warnings remain in place across the uk in the aftermath of storm ciaran. the disgraced cryptocurrency mogul sam bankman—fried, who once ran a major cryptocurrency exchange, ftx, has been found guilty of fraud and money—laundering. prosecutors said mr bankman—fried had used money stolen from ftx to prop up his investment fund and fund his lavish lifestyle. our north america business correspondent erin delmore reports from new york. he was a towering figure in crypto,

a self—made