he is expected to apologise for some mistakes during the handling of the pandemic. and us presidentjoe biden stirs controversy as he says he's not sure he'd run for re—election if donald trump was not running, too. hello, i'm sally bundock. the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has pushed back against those he says are trying to pressure israel's tactics in gaza. he said the only way to finish the job was to use crushing force against hamas. the remarks come as american officials are voicing disquiet about israel's methods. earlier, mr netanyahu is reported to have told

recently released hamas hostages and the families of those still being held that currently it was not possible to bring all the captive israelis back. meanwhile, more details are emerging of the 7 october attack. the bbc has been hearing evidence that women in israel were sexually assaulted, raped and mutilated by hamas. israeli investigators have gathered more than a thousand testimonies from witnesses and those who handled the bodies of victims after the attack. our middle east correspondent lucy williamson has more from jerusalem. a warning, her report contains some distressing details. out of the chaos and mass trauma of the hamas attacks, new stories are starting to emerge — of rape and sexual assault, including graphic testimony from an eye witness interviewed by police. i realised they were

raping her one by one. then she was passed to another man in uniform. she was still alive when she was being raped. the scale of sexual violence here is not clear — bodies were mutilated and survivors few. police admit they are facing a lack of forensic evidence from the site. you can still hear the israeli bombardment of gaza and see vast clouds of black smoke hanging over the gaza strip. but in the days following the attacks, this site was an active combat zone. it was a big enough challenge to collect the bodies, let alone early forensic evidence of sexual crimes. videos shot by hamas during the attacks, an early warning — a large bloodstain on the trousers of one woman captive, female bodies piled on trucks, naked or semi—clothed. body collectors describe

piles of women's bodies, naked from the waist—down, some photographed with their legs splayed. those who witnessed sexual attacks have struggled with what they saw. i spoke with girls that are now, at least three girls, that are now hospitalised for very hard psychiatric situation because of the rapes they watched. they pretended to be dead and they watched it and they heard everything from the side. some of them want to kill themselves. some can't deal with it. crucial evidence has come from the makeshift identification unit at shura army base. teams here describe assault, including pelvises broken from sustained rape. but the scale of sexual abuse during these attacks may never be fully known. it's definitely multiple. it's hard to tell. i have also dealt with more than a few burnt bodies, and those, i have no idea what they went through beforehand. bodies that are missing the bottom half, i also don't

know if they were raped. staff here told me there were patterns in the violence visited on women's bodies, according to location. investigators say these attacks were systematic and premeditated, but piecing together even one single story is slow and difficult work. the wider story of sexual violence in these attacks is onlyjust beginning. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. the israeli military says it's been engaged in the heaviest day of fighting since the start of its offensive in gaza. in the south, israeli forces have entered the city of khan younis. and in the north, israeli forces are surrounding the jabalia refugee camp, which israel says is being used as a base by hamas. and according to the head of the norwegian refugee council, the "pulverising" of gaza ranks "among the worst assaults on any civilian population "in our time and age".

our diplomatic correspondent, paul adams, reports from jerusalem. israeli leaders are saying tonight that the battle for the southern gaza strip is now well under way. the defence minister speaking at a press conference said that israel would do to khan younis, the largest city in the strip, what you had already done to gaza city. benjamin netanyahu answering benjamin neta nyahu answering critics benjamin netanyahu answering critics who he said were trying to pressure israel had these words. the weight to finish the job quickly is to use crushing force against hamas. that approach is already killing large numbers of civilians in the south and starting to trigger quite significant movements of civilians as they try to flee out of harm's way. these are precisely the things that the us secretary of state antony blinken warned israel to

try to avoid when he was here last week to try to avoid doing any southern gaza strip what israel has already done in the north. these are still early days, this phase of the war has onlyjust begun, there are worrying signs that it may be a repeat of what we saw in the north. israel is as a recognises the hardship is actions are having on the population of the south. benjamin netanyahu said tonight that israel was going to release another 180,000 litres of fuel to try to allow the aid agencies to better organise their relief effort in a part of the gaza strip that is now absolutely overwhelmed with huge numbers of people who have been forced to flee during the two months of this campaign. the agencies are sounding more and more desperate. here is the comments of the head of the norwegian refugee council, who

said, and i quote, the pulverising of gaza now ranks among the was the sultan any civilian population in our time and age. dye your words from those aid agencies trying to deal with a crisis that they frankly think is getting further and further out of their ability to control. the un says the humanitarian situation in gaza is getting worse by the hour. live now to professor ben saul, united nations special rapporteur on human rights and counter terrorism. good to speak with you. talk us through in a situation that we are reading. we are hearing from both sides this morning. 0ur correspondent was speaking about the horrors from october the seventh and of course what is unfolding in gaza. how does the un monitor or keep across what is going on? the the un monitor or keep across what is going on?— what is going on? the un is made up — what is going on? the un is made up of _ what is going on? the un is made up of lots _ what is going on? the un is made up of lots of - what is going on? the un is made up of lots of different| made up of lots of different parts. 0bviously their agencies on the ground in gaza, like the

united nations relief work for palestine, the refugee agency, unicef, the children's organisation, the world health organization and the world food programme and all of these are in constant contact with palestinians and others on the ground in gaza every day. we are getting first—hand information, direct evidence of the impact in gaza. in addition there are a bunch of other special procedures, a commission of enquiry into israel and palestine at the moment which is gathering evidence from all sources, special labradors, the human rights office, they were all open to complaints or evidence presented to them by ngo and civil society, victims, governments, so all of that information is being collected as well. states of course can provide the un with information, whether that is intelligence information or other open source information. what information are you

getting from israel as to what happened on october 7? lucy talked about the situation in her report were the sides was an active combat zone for several days after the initial attack on october 7, meaning it was very difficult to gain forensic evidence and it meant of course you were an independent investigators could not be there, etc, and yet we have all of these are stories of what happens to women. i think it underscores the importance of having independent, impartial investigations which are properly resourced to precisely get to the bottom of what happened and ensure that those responsible are held accountable and that the victims can get remedies for those atrocities.— those atrocities. sorry to interrupt. _ those atrocities. sorry to interrupt, but _ those atrocities. sorry to interrupt, but will- those atrocities. sorry to interrupt, but will you, l those atrocities. sorry to | interrupt, but will you, in that case, you say precisely get to the bottom of what happens but is that possible? given the circumstances of the

attack? . , .,, ., attack? certainly most of the evidence is — attack? certainly most of the evidence is in _ attack? certainly most of the evidence is in the _ attack? certainly most of the evidence is in the hands - attack? certainly most of the evidence is in the hands of. evidence is in the hands of israel. it is the state party, the crimes committed were committed on its territory, so it obviously has police and law enforcement authorities, military officials, who have all been involved in the process of collecting evidence and lately we have seen the latest piece of this with the reports of sexual violence getting more investigation as they should. 0n the hamas side, they should. 0n the hamas side, they are a party of armed conflict and also have an obligation to respect international humanitarian law and to investigate crimes by its forces. unfortunately it has not been doing that and thatis has not been doing that and that is why it is also important for the international community to step up and try to hold hamas and israel accountable from institutions like the international criminal court, the human rights council is commission of enquiry as well as other states who have a law enforcement capacity to

assist israel and the palestinians to get to the bottom of any crimes. we have mentioned _ bottom of any crimes. we have mentioned benjamin _ bottom of any crimes. we have | mentioned benjamin netanyahu was pushing back on the pressure it is receiving from washington about its tactics in a gaza at the moment. talk us through the un's role in this and its response? the un has been very vocal certainly about the humanitarian crisis that has emerged in gaza which is getting even more acute now that the south of gaza is under attack. . , ., attack. certainly a humanitarian - attack. certainly a - humanitarian catastrophe. attack. certainly a _ humanitarian catastrophe. so much of the civilian infrastructure including housing and medical installations and schools have been obliterated by the israeli assault. of course israel has a right to protect its people from the violence threatened by hamas. the violence which is

continuing with continuing indiscriminate rocket strikes directed towards israel and israeli civilians. israel has to do it in a way which is proportionate and which does not inflect excessive civilian casualties on the people of gaza. that includes loss of life and also includes destruction of property and infrastructure. israel has been denying safe access of humanitarian relief into gaza, which is aggravating the humanitarian catastrophe inflicted by the hostilities themselves. there is not enough food, safe water, sanitation, medicine, medical care getting into gaza because it is just say for that to happen. civilians meanwhile cannot find safety because of the intensity and pace of the hostilities. they are being ordered to evacuate all over the place, including multiple evacuations and in many cases, all in the

midst of active hostilities and we know that about 85% of palestinians in gaza have now been displaced from their homes. that is almost 2 million people. homes. that is almost 2 million --eole. . ~' ,. here, the former prime minister borisjohnson will give evidence to the covid inquiry today and face two days of questions about his time leading the uk during the pandemic. he's expected to apologise to people who lost loved ones, but claim that he and his government got the big decisions right. 0ur correspondent ellie price has the story. from this evening, i must give the british people a simple instruction. you must stay at home. in instruction. you must stay at home. ., , , home. in the end, it was his call. home. in the end, it was his call- he _ home. in the end, it was his call. he was _ home. in the end, it was his call. he was responsible - home. in the end, it was his call. he was responsible for| call. he was responsible for the biggest decisions made during the pandemic. that is why peeple _ during the pandemic. that is why peeple will _ during the pandemic. that is

why people will only - during the pandemic. that is why people will only be - during the pandemic. that is i why people will only be allowed to live their home... but why people will only be allowed to live their home. . ._ to live their home... but how we came _ to live their home... but how we came to _ to live their home... but how we came to make _ to live their home... but how we came to make those - to live their home... but how - we came to make those decisions will be at the heart of questions he faces today. the enquiry has heard from scientists and senior politicians at the first and second lockdowns should have come earlier. we second lockdowns should have come earlier.— come earlier. we will follow the science. _ come earlier. we will follow the science. be _ come earlier. we will follow the science. be guided - come earlier. we will follow the science. be guided by l come earlier. we will follow i the science. be guided by the science. we _ the science. be guided by the science. we are _ the science. be guided by the science. we are following - the science. be guided by the science. we are following the j science. we are following the scientific advice. _ science. we are following the scientific advice. we - science. we are following the scientific advice. we also - science. we are following the scientific advice. we also had j scientific advice. we also had boris johnson _ scientific advice. we also had boris johnson had _ scientific advice. we also had boris johnson had a - boris johnson had a questionable borisjohnson had a questionable grasp of the science. . , ., science. the parameters at the time gave _ science. the parameters at the time gave un — science. the parameters at the time gave up sides _ science. the parameters at the time gave up sides and - science. the parameters at the time gave up sides and he - science. the parameters at the time gave up sides and he was| time gave up sides and he was 15 and i think it would be the first to admit it was not his forte. . , , , forte. there have been plenty of concerns _ forte. there have been plenty of concerns about _ forte. there have been plenty of concerns about his - of concerns about his decision—making process. it of concerns about his decision-making process. it was the wrong _ decision-making process. it was the wrong crisis _ decision-making process. it was the wrong crisis for _ decision-making process. it was the wrong crisis for this - decision-making process. it was the wrong crisis for this prime . the wrong crisis for this prime minister's skill set. it is different than not potentially being good at the job of being prime minister. being good at the “0b of being prime minister._ being good at the “0b of being prime minister. then there was partvgate- _ prime minister. then there was partvgate- i _ prime minister. then there was partygate. i take _ prime minister. then there was partygate. i take full— partygate. i take full responsibility - partygate. i take full responsibility for - partygate. i take full- responsibility for everything that took place on my watch. the prime minister and numerous seniorfigures including the prime minister and numerous senior figures including the

now prime minister rishi sunak were fined for parties they went to at a time and the rest of us are expected to follow lockdown rules. i of us are expected to follow lockdown rules.— of us are expected to follow lockdown rules. i would find it hard to pick — lockdown rules. i would find it hard to pick a _ lockdown rules. i would find it hard to pick a one _ lockdown rules. i would find it hard to pick a one day - lockdown rules. i would find it hard to pick a one day when . lockdown rules. i would find it i hard to pick a one day when the regulations are followed properly inside the building. how was your eyesight? the ennui how was your eyesight? the enquiry has _ how was your eyesight? the enquiry has her _ how was your eyesight? iie: enquiry has hertime how was your eyesight? tie: enquiry has her time and how was your eyesight? ti9 enquiry has her time and again about the toxic working environment in a downing street and him, borisjohnson, the closes adviser, dominic cummings. closes adviser, dominic cummings-_ closes adviser, dominic cumminus. ., ., , , cummings. you call administers useless beer. _ cummings. you call administers useless beer. morons. - cummings. you call administers useless beer. morons. my - useless beer. morons. my appalling _ useless beer. morons. my appalling languages obviously my own. appalling languages obviously m own. : :, appalling languages obviously m own. . . ., my own. the chair has a reason she was a _ my own. the chair has a reason she was a movie _ my own. the chair has a reason she was a movie beyond - my own. the chair has a reason she was a movie beyond the . she was a movie beyond the swearing in the tittle tattle to work out how that affected decision—making. to work out how that affected decision-making.— to work out how that affected decision-making. where are you feelinu decision-making. where are you feeling better— decision-making. where are you feeling better and _ decision-making. where are you feeling better and i _ decision-making. where are you feeling better and i my - decision-making. where are you feeling better and i my seven . feeling better and i my seven days of isolation, alas i still have... �* days of isolation, alas i still have... ., days of isolation, alas i still have... :, :, have... don't forget, he found himself in _ have... don't forget, he found himself in intensive _ have... don't forget, he found himself in intensive care - have... don't forget, he found himself in intensive care after| himself in intensive care after catching covid just a few weeks into the last lockdown. there are flipper comments reported he has made locale covid is natures way of dealing with old

people. it will no doubt come under scrutiny. people. it will no doubt come underscrutiny. his people. it will no doubt come under scrutiny. his opening gambit at the enquiry is likely to be sorry and he is expected to be sorry and he is expected to expect they were think the government got wrong. was the first country in the world to offerjabs to its citizens. world to offer 'abs to its citizens._ world to offer 'abs to its citizens. , ., ., ., citizens. there is a lot to get throu . h citizens. there is a lot to get through today _ citizens. there is a lot to get through today which - citizens. there is a lot to get through today which is - citizens. there is a lot to get through today which is why l citizens. there is a lot to get. through today which is why he will be back tomorrow as well. president biden has said he's not sure he'd run for president if donald trump wasn't running too. he made the comments at a campaign funding event near boston, saying that his predecessor posed a threat to democracy. his remarks come as some opinion polls suggest he's trailing behind mr trump in the 2024 presidential race. the 2024 primary season will kick off next month, and there's another republican debate later today. 0ur north america correspondent

peter bowes sent this update. it has surprised a lot of people here, there will be strategists on both sides republicans and democrats trying to figure out what is going through the mind ofjoe biden. it is not certain donald trump will be the republican candidate, he is significantly ahead of the other contenders for that nomination but as we all know donald trump is facing huge legal issues with criminal trials coming up next year, there is the possibility that one of the other contenders, nikki haley, the former un representative under trunk, she is doing quite well. in some people are suggesting perhaps she could be the republican candidate. are we seeing joe biden here perhaps considering if donald trump is not the candidate,

he will not be the candidate either and stepping aside for another democrat? i think these are questions you probably cannot answer at the moment but it is thrown the cat amongst the pigeons to use the phrase, in terms of the race at this stage. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. a 28—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a woman was stabbed in south wales. schools in the village of aberfan were locked down while armed police searched for the suspect. a 29—year—old woman is currently being treated in hospital. tributes have been paid to denny laine, the founder and lead singer of the legendary �*60s band the moody blues, who died at the age of 79. he also started the group wings with sir paul mccartney, co—writing mull of kintyre, which famously outsold any beatles single in the uk. more than 200,000 pensioners have been left out of pocket by £1.3 billion in the past year, a report from the public accounts committee has found.

the watchdog said the department or work and pensions has been �*asleep at the switch' when it comes to the issue of underpayments. you're live with bbc news. a woman has been killed and two people have been injured in a shooting in hackney in east london. a 41—year—old woman died at the scene. a 20—year—old man and a 16—year—old boy are being treated in hospital. no—one has been arrested. nickjohnson reports from the scene. officers were called to reports of a shooting on this residential estate in hackney at half past six yesterday evening. a 42—year—old woman died at the scene and a 20—year—old man and a 16—year—old boy had both been taken to hospital with gunshot

wounds. a white police tent has been put up through the front door of a house, forensic teams focusing their attention on a car parked on the road as well as scouring the surrounding par. the policing team in hackney say their thoughts are with the family of the woman who has been killed as well as the two people taken to hospital. they say specially detect this on the scene trying to work out what happened here, officers it says will remain in the media area over the coming days. in the same evening a 17 old boy was stabbed to death near sutton station in south london, please say they're still trying to trace his family. in hackney, despite launching a murder investigation, officers have not yet made any arrests. detective superintendent vicki tunstall detective superintendent vicki tu nstall says come detective superintendent vicki tunstall says come crime has no place on the streets of london and we will do everything we can for this despicable crime tojustice.

nickjohnson, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news now. venezuela's president, nicolas maduro, has ordered the state oil company to issue extraction licences in the oil—rich region of essequibo. he's proposed incorporating it into venezuela. but neighbouring guyana says it will ask the un security council to intervene. the uk government has signed a new treaty with rwanda to overcome concerns that blocked the original asylum scheme in the supreme court. it comes after the home secretary, james cleverly, vowed to tighten up laws on legal migration and insisted that rwanda had made "a clear and unambiguous commitment to the safety of people who come here". members of the screen actors guild in the united states have formally ended their long strike that widely crippled the tv and movie industry. they've backed their union's deal on better pay and conditions that were agreed with major studios last month. the yes vote was expected, but it was far from unanimous, with some actors still expressing concern over the use

of artificial intelligence in film and tv production. for weeks, boats carrying hundreds of refugees have been making a hazardous journey from bangladesh to aceh in indonesia. on board are rohingya muslims — many of whom fled from a military crackdown in myanmar. they say the refugee camps in bangladesh are dangerous, but the local population in aceh is often opposed to their arrival. we should warn you, this report from hannah samosir contains material which you may find upsetting. after almost two weeks of sailing, these rohingya refugees have finally reached land. but the refugees who arrived from bangladesh have not received a warm welcome in aceh, indonesia. local people have tried to push them back to sea. "don't make us hit you", one man shouts.

"you can't dock here". many of them are women and children who desperately need help. some of the recently arrived refugees are now being housed by local authorities. yasmin said four babies died on the boat she was on. one of them was her daughter. translation: when i first arrived in indonesia, i had two children. but when they put away our boat, one of my children died because she was sick and we didn't have any food. i had to throw her body into the sea. yasmin and more than 1,200 other refugees are being housed by local authorities in temporary shelters like this. she says she fled bangladesh after her husband died and her brother was killed in the gang violence that stalks refugee camps there. they might be safer in indonesia, but the conditions are very difficult.

here, tents of people are squeezed into one room. some of them are sick, but they have no choice. and the refugees are still arriving in aceh. over 1000 came in recent weeks, and more boats are on their way. but locals say the influx is already out of control and needs to stop. translation: they are | unsettling and ungrateful. some of them ran away from the shelters. to help deal with the new arrivals, the indonesian government has set up a new task force. but many refugees find themselves trapped in a kind of limbo. zahara says her camp in bangladesh burnt down and she fled to protect her children. she dreams of being reunited with her husband, who is stuck in malaysia. but for now, a video call is the only way these children can talk to their father. they are closer, but still too far away. hannah samosir, bbc news, aceh.

stay with us here on bbc news. we have got all the top stories here from business next. and we are covering the latest when what is happening in israel. we have the bbc live page which is updating all the time with a from our reporters in jerusalem. stay with us on bbc news. i'll will be back injust a moment stop. hello again. temperatures have dropped away quite sharply through the night. and as we start on wednesday morning, there will be a hard and a widespread frost, particularly across northern areas of scotland. on top of that, some fog patches around as well.

but there will be some sunny spells, certainly a quieter spell of weather for many of us throughout wednesday compared to the last few days. that area of low pressure bringing the rain, clearing away to the east. we've got further weather systems waiting out in the atlantic that will become more of a feature of the weather over the next few days. but a cold start to the day for many of us. temperatures potentially down to —10 degrees in northern areas of scotland, and some freezing fog in the east of wales through parts of the midlands and southern areas of england. that could be quite stubborn to clear away, but elsewhere the fog should tend to lift and there'll be some sunshine across many areas before the cloud increases from the west, and with that some outbreaks of rain. but if you're stuck beneath the area of fog, temperatures may only be around about one degree celsius. so feeling particularly cold, but elsewhere we'll see temperatures 4—6 celsius. but in the west, you notice nine, 11 degrees there in plymouth, signs of the less cold air moving in. and as we go through wednesday night, that rain will continue to spread north and eastward. as it bumps into colder air,

temporarily, there could be some snow over the higher ground of northern england and across scotland, but that will become increasingly confined to higher ground as we go through thursday because that less cold air, the milder conditions, will spread in from the southwest, moving to pretty much most areas throughout thursday. a strengthening wind to come with that as well. but it means actually where we'll have a bit of snow for the time of a higher ground of scotland, heavy rain is going to spread through and that's going to bring the risk of some localised flooding, especially in areas where we've seen a bit of flooding over the last couple of days or so, eventually clearing from southern and western areas. temperatures here 10—11 degrees celsius, still perhaps just a little bit chilly beneath the cloud and the rain across eastern areas, 6—7 degrees. now, while that heavy rain does clear away to the northeast, we've got low pressure moving in from the atlantic, strengthening winds around the irish sea coasts and further outbreaks of rain. so certainly rain is going to become more of a feature of the weather over the coming days. there'll be some strong winds at times as well. but we will lose the frosty the icy conditions with

temperatures in double figures. bye— bye.

live from london, this is bbc news. policing ai. the eu reaches the final stage of agreeing on regulation of artificial intelligence in what could be a world first. a critical breakthrough

for the european car industry. brussels is expected to propose a three—year delay to tarrifs that were set to hit ev sales in january. and the mediterranean diet under threat. we report on how climate change is affecting a healthy kitchen staple — olive oil. a warm welcome. we are now looking at the top business stories. we begin in brussels, where there is a lot going on today. first up discussions are taking place at the so—called policing artificial intelligence. the political trilogue — that's the eu commission, council, and parliament.

they are expected to iron out the final details on the eu's