and a texas woman with a risky pregnancy is granted permission to have an emergency abortion, despite the state's ban on the procedure. i'm helena humphrey. good to have you with us. we begin with the latest on the conflict in israel and gaza and these images from gaza which appear to show dozens of palestinian men stripped to their underwear with their hands tied behind their back, being held by israeli defense forces. it's not clear if they have surrendered or if they have been taken by the military. israel has not said who the men are but it has confirmed that israeli forces are making arrests in gaza. the new images come as tens of thousands of palestinians are streaming into rafah city, near the gaza strip�*s southern border with egypt, trying to escape intense fighting elsewhere. the head of humanitarian affairs for the united nations says there is no longer any humanitarian operation worthy of that name

in the south of gaza. meanwhile, aid agencies estimate nearly 2 million people have already been displaced — that's almost 80 % of gaza's population. thousands have tried to go to un schools to find shelter but have had to sleep in front of buildings as there is no room for them and most of those are struggling to find safe water and food, deepening the humanitarian crisis as israel's military operation against hamas grinds on. for more on the aid situation, here's our diplomatic correspondent paul adams in jerusalem. the israeli army is fighting intense street battle with three parts of the gaza strip, two in the north, in the jabalya refugee camp and gaza city known as schedule year. both areas the israelis have described as hamas strongholds. also in the southern city of khan younis, the largest in the southern gaza strip. and there, the fighting in the south is moving so quickly that the aid agencies, frankly, are not able

to keep up. remember, this is an area where huge numbers of palestinians are sheltering, having been displaced from their homes elsewhere. we think that the bulk of the population of the entire gaza strip is huddled in the south with as many as 80%, according to the un, 80% of gaza's population displaced by the fighting. this is creating a dire humanitarian situation, the aid agencies finding it difficult to get aids to where it is needed and there is frankly not enough aid. it's leading martin griffiths, the un cosmic humanitarian chief, to conclude it really isn't an effective operation, humanitarian operation, humanitarian operation, at least one worth its name in the southern gaza strip —— un's. there are negotiations going on with israelis to try and add another facility to the processing of the aid trucks around 200 can be processed a day, not merely that many are getting in but if

the process is to ramp up they will need additional facilities and the israelis have said the current shalom crossing could be used not for aid going into gaza but for a place to process the trucks that then go in via the trucks that then go in via the rafah crossing which could make a difference and we are seeing people like the british defence secretary grant shapps who is here in the region talking about using royal navy ships to bring in aid by sea so a lot of people are talking about how to relieve the situation but at the moment, there is no sign of any of these plans coming together in any remotely coherent way. paul adams reporting. the egyptian red crescent says they're overcoming "enormous "logistical efforts" to get aid into gaza. here's the spokesperson for the international federation of red cross and red crescent societies, tommaso della longa, talking to my colleague sumi somaskanda a little earlier. the head of the un aid operation�*s martin griffiths

said there is no longer a humanitarian operation in gaza that can be called by that name. do you agree with that assessment?— assessment? well, i can “ust echo assessment? well, i can 'ust echo his words. i assessment? well, i can 'ust echo his words. we've h assessment? well, i canjust echo his words. we've been l echo his words. we've been saying this in the last weeks. of course, a red crescent colleagues are doing their utmost to support people in the whole gaza strip but the reality is the more the conflict goes on, the more the needs are growing and the less we are able to deliver because the capacity is very limited, access is a big issue, continuous flow of humanitarian aid is not there so, yeah, he humanitarian operation is very complicated and it is a great challenge at the moment. we know tens _ challenge at the moment. we know tens of _ challenge at the moment. we know tens of thousands of palestinians right now are streaming into rafah to escape the fighting. can you give us an idea of what the situation is like there now? the situation, _ is like there now? the situation, the - is like there now? the situation, the reality l is like there now? the i situation, the reality that is like there now? tue: situation, the reality that the people in gaza are living a desperate situation. i would

say the worst nightmare. mainly, there is no safe space in the entire gaza strip and, of course, even if they want—i mean, you can say people want to go out from the rafah border, orat least to go out from the rafah border, or at least very nearby the border so to use the first occasion possible to go out, it's impossible to go out so it's impossible to go out so it's really the kind of sealed inside the gaza strip in a situation where there is no safety but even worse, there is no shelter, lack of food, lack of water, lack of assets as well. as a desperate situation and we do hope and we call on the parties, has been the same since the beginning, immediate access continues for humanitarian aid and of course respect the civilians.— respect the civilians. your organisation _ respect the civilians. your organisation has - respect the civilians. your organisation has been - organisation has been co—ordinating aid, you have been co—ordinating it from cairo. can you give us an idea how difficult it has been to deliver that aid? qt how difficult it has been to deliver that aid? of course, it's an enormous _

deliver that aid? of course, it's an enormous logistical. it's an enormous logistical challenge but i have to admit i'm just back from egypt and i was really inspired by the efforts of the colleagues of the egyptian red crescent. as you know, it's a leading agency bringing the entire humanitarian aid from egypt to gaza. at the moment, the rafah border is the only lifeline for the people in gaza and of course, the big challenge, it's firstly to be able to bring all of the aid entering in different areas of egypt to the border then, the second challenge is also how to prepare for this kind of operation because we never know if one day we will be able to enter with trucks. the next day 200 trucks and the third probably with 20. and, of course, i told roar red crescent colleagues on the gaza side, so it's really an incredible effort. the main problem is we cannot plan because in this kind of situation it's impossible

planning and even worse is impossible planning when we will be able to reach the people in gaza.- people in gaza. israel is sa in: people in gaza. israel is saying now _ people in gaza. israel is saying now it _ people in gaza. israel is saying now it will- people in gaza. israel is| saying now it will reopen people in gaza. israel is i saying now it will reopen in the coming days another crossing to gaza to inspect aid trucks, the kerem shalom crossing. do you think it will help provide relief? qt crossing. do you think it will help provide relief? of course it will be a — help provide relief? of course it will be a very _ help provide relief? of course it will be a very important - it will be a very important step. also this one we have been saying since the beginning. the problem here is to make sure there will be a continuous entrance of humanitarian flow and all humanitarian flow and all humanitarian aid and then the more that we can get humanitarian aid inside gaza, the better it is. then i have to say there is not enough to open the door or a gate or a border. then we need also to create, together with the parties, a safe humanitarian space where we can operate but the civilians feel safe but to get the aid that they need. thank you for sharing your perspective with us, appreciated.- perspective with us, appreciated. in israel, thousands of young people who survived the 7th of october hamas attack

on the nova music festival are facing significant mental health challenges. more than 360 people were murdered there and another a0 taken hostage. there's concern that the scale of the psychological support needed is greater than the state can provide. now, trained volunteers are setting up their own centres to offer that help. 0ur correspondent anna foster went to visit one in rishpon, just north of tel aviv, where she met the psychologist who founded the project. their eyes were hollow. they didn't look alive. they couldn't look at us. they could — they would shake. they couldn't eat. they couldn't drink. the evil that these people met is incomprehensible. and i told them early on, as dark — the darkness you saw, we're going to bring the light. we're going to help you believe in yourselves and in others again. let me show you exactly what people come here for because there's

a whole section — you can see on these beanbags — people, they come out and, sometimes, they talk or they can use it as a quiet space if they want to. there are different workshops that people do. again, they don't always need to be talking about what happened to them that day or what they feel. sometimes, it's just a way to focus on something to keep your hands busy or to keep your brain busy. and it's a place where people can talk. they can get therapy sessions. they can really have an opportunity in this space surrounded by people who went through the same thing as them to work through some of the trauma of that day. i'm lior gelbaum. i'm 2a, from petah tikva. and i survived the massacre that happened at the nova festival. at 6:30 in the morning, we started hearing rockets flying above our heads. started running towards the open field. we didn't know where we're going. we didn't know what's happening. we just heard automatic

gunshots all around us. and then, we managed to get inside yehuda and galit�*s car. they had a big car and they were also running away from the massacre. and they basically saved us. they got us to safety, and that's what happened to me. and that's a lot for anybody to go through. and so, you come here, and how does being here help you process all of that? it's been a hard time for me listening to music since then —— the nova festival and since, like, it's almost been two months, and i only feel comfortable hearing music with the concerts and with the, the artists that come here. and i really feel that the therapists are here to help and to listen and to be here with us. itamar cohen is a clinical psychologist. he lives in london but flew here as soon

as he could to help. what kind of stories are people telling you about what they saw and they lived through that day? people here have seen a tremendous amount of pain. some of them were extremely close to not being here. really, people that have been chased, that needed to run through, you know, if you would say, a minefield, they didn't know where it comes from. and what about you? how are you? because obviously, these stories that you're hearing — and i know this is yourjob — but they are really distressing stories. here, all the therapists are working together. we have time to see, to process, to speak about the challenges, to bring ourself in, our vulnerabilities, our fears.

so, we have a space to to work that through and to strengthen each other. and that's quite a lot in these times. so, it helps you as well? 0h, tremendously. thursday evening marked the start of hanukkah. also known as the festival of lights. but not all of those who celebrate feel safe doing so. anti—semitic incidents across the globe have been on the rise, particularly since the start of the current conflict between israel and hamas. here in washington, it was the second gentleman doug emhoff who was on hand to light the national menorah. it's an annual tradition the white house has kept since 1979. and in a show of support for germany's jewish population, chancellor 0laf scholz lit the first candle of a giant menorah at berlin's brandenburg gate. this is the first time a german chancellor has attended such an event. 0ur correspondent damian mcguinness sent this report from berlin.

german chan, 0laf scholzjust spent a good couple of minutes talking about hamas's attacks on israel and the atrocities and together with relatives of hamas hostages on the stage here, he started the whole process of lighting the candle. he also talked about how important it was for germany to protectjewish communities here protect jewish communities here because protectjewish communities here because a lot ofjews are feeling very nervous. there's a big rise in anti—semitic attacks and incidents. that can range from physical attacks right through to anti—semitic graffiti and hate speech. germany has come down hard on this, saying this is not allowed but the problem is there are many people who say germany is not expressing enough solidarity for palestinians in gaza. this is a difficult debate for the german government because one of the reasons for germany's strong support of israel is historical guilt for the holocaust. it makes a very difficult for the

german government to express criticism of the israeli government, and that does disturb many people here. however, today was more about looking forward and everyone said this was about an expression of hope for peace in the future and expression of light in these dark times —— and 0laf scholz said that this was an expression of hope. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some of the stories making news in the uk. prime minister rishi sunak has urged mps to back his rwanda plan after growing criticism from within his own party. mr sunak said his new legislation was the "toughest immigration law ever", would prevent legal challenges and finally allow deportation flights carrying illegal migrants to take off for east africa. borisjohnson told the uk covid inquiry that claims he didn't care about the suffering being inflicted on the country and wanted to let covid rip were simply not right. appearing for a second day, the former prime minister said he had experienced at

first—hand, during his time in intensive care, how appalling covid could be. mrjohnson was forced from office in disgrace last year over a series of scandals including being found to have broken his own covid lockdown rules. and tributes are flowing for benjamin zephaniah, one of britain's leading poets, who's died at the age of 65. he was diagnosed with a brain tumourjust two months ago. he's been described as a once in a generation poet, writer, musician, and activist. you're live with bbc news. the united states has announced joint military flight drills in guyana, after venezuela said it planned to take over an oil—rich region that covers two—thirds of guyana's territory. the us embassy in guyana says the flights are "part of routine engagement and operations to enhance security partnership" between the us and guyana and "to strengthen regional cooperation." neighbouring brazil also expressed concern and says it is deploying troops along its border with venezuela to monitor the situation. essequibo is a densely—forested region controlled by guyana, with large oil deposits offshore.

venezuelan president nicolas maduro says that the border between the nations was wrongly agreed by colonial powers more than a century ago and he claims all of the territory to the north and west of the essequibo river. here in washington, national security council spokesmanjohn kirby expressed the us�*s unwavering support for guyanese sovereignty. we obviously support the peaceful resolution of the border dispute between venezuela and guyana and we absolutely stand by our unwavering support for guyana's unwavering support for guya na's sovereignty. unwavering support for guyana's sovereignty. the 1899 award determine the land boundary between the two countries should be respect did unless or until the parties themselves reach a new agreement or a competent legal body decides otherwise and that hasn't happened. so we're going to

urge venezuela and guyana to seek a peaceful resolution of this dispute, including by the international court ofjustice. 0ur south america correspondent katy watson has the latest from brazil. clearly tensions arising, not just here in south america but further afield, so the us as announced joint military drills with dayana, saying it is part of a security enhancement and the us embassy in georgetown has also said it will remain a trusted partner, security partner with guyana. here in brazil president lula da silva has expressed concern over what is going on, he has said that south america doesn't need a war. they have bolstered the number of troops in the border state as well as brought an increase of armoured vehicles because of this growing concern. i was speaking to a journalist in guyana earlier who said the villages on the border of venezuela are especially worried. they are

villages that actually work and live closely with the venezuelan side but certainly in the last few days, a few months, even, there has been an increased tension over venezuela's plans. now, nicolas maduro has been taking an increasingly belligerent approach. he has now said there is a new map that has been drawn up and is to be distributed to schools. he has asked the national state oil company to start issuing licenses in the region in question in, in essequibo, and just that increased concern certainly across the region. turning to ukraine now, and after almost two years of fighting, further us security aid for the country appears uncertain. speaking to a virtual meeting of the g7 leaders on wednesday, president volodymyr zelensky said ukraine risks losing against russia without further us support — warning that russia is waiting for the west to show weakness. his plea comes after senate republicans blocked an emergency aid package to ukraine and israel after failing to secure border compromises they sought in exchange. presidentjoe biden had urged congress to do the right thing

in pushing for more aid to ukraine. on thursday, the white house said the president is open to negotiating with republicans about funding, but will not be dictated to by extremist factions within the party. diplomatic efforts continue in washington to convince congress to approve the bill. the british foreign secretary, david cameron, met with us house speaker mikejohnson on thursday in an attempt to get funding for ukraine and israel moving. lord cameron spoke to reporters, alongside his us counterpart, secretary antony blinken. 0ur north america correspondent nomia iqbal was there. this was david cameron, the uk foreign secretary's first visit to dc since becoming the foreign secretary and he was here to meet with his counterpart, the secretary of state, to talk about all kinds

of issues. the conflict in israel, of course, as well as what is happening in ukraine and, of course, what is happening in gaza. i asked and, of course, what is happening in gaza. iasked him a couple of questions. i've talked to him about ukraine. you know, ukraine's spring offensive has failed to gain significant ground, we know the us senate is blocking funding for kiah, daoust mr cameron and the secretary of state, is the war slipping away from ukraine? and they also specifically asked mr cameron about interference and how there are polls that suggest nearly half of americans want the water and quickly because, of course, this is notjust a foreign policy issue, but it is a domestic one. and was the interference, was he trying to influence domestic policy. so our simm about ukraine. have a listen. t our simm about ukraine. have a listen. ., , ._ our simm about ukraine. have a listen. ., , ., our simm about ukraine. have a listen. ., , listen. i hope may have been very careful _ listen. i hope may have been very careful to _ listen. i hope may have been very careful to say, - listen. i hope may have been very careful to say, you - listen. i hope may have beenl very careful to say, you know, i'm not— very careful to say, you know, i'm not telling you how to do this— i'm not telling you how to do this vote _ i'm not telling you how to do this vote and how to run your life or— this vote and how to run your life or anything else, have

just— life or anything else, have just come as a friend of america, as a friend of ukraine, _ america, as a friend of ukraine, and made some arguments that i think are very relevant — arguments that i think are very relevant about why this is absolutely the right thing to do. absolutely the right thing to do, ,, ., , absolutely the right thing to do, , ., do. so he is not interfering. i thinki do. so he is not interfering. i think i did — do. so he is not interfering. i think i did hear _ do. so he is not interfering. i think i did hear the _ do. so he is not interfering. i think i did hear the phrase i think i did hear the phrase special relationship used a few times there. just to also asked both men about the ongoing conflict in the middle east and they talked a lot about, you know, listening to local voices in gaza and the postwar efforts, and they asked them about what about holding elections to give the — and administration at the same mandate that the uk and us governments enjoy and they worry palestinians might reject the palestinian authority, who we know they value —— both quantity revitalised but many locals has very little credibility. i asked them if they would be worried if it could be a win for hamas postal vote. the uk foreign secretary said that he didn't believe there was any rush for

elections just yet. the secular state, antony blinken, did not answer the question, however. for more on the reaction in ukraine, here's our correspondent jessica parker is in kyiv. the failure of this senate vote to pass hasn't come as a surprise. it was widely expected to happen so people aren't exactly reeling with shock here in kyiv. that being said, because there is deep concern that this defence a package has become tied up in domestic us politics about america's southern border. so the lobbying work goes on, representatives from the ukrainian government have been in washington, dc, ukraine's ambassadorto in washington, dc, ukraine's ambassador to the us has talked about how she still hopes that about how she still hopes that a package of support can be agreed by christmas. i think it's pretty difficult for ukraine to envisage a world where us support could start to dry out, so crucial hazard being to the wider war effort. and some people expect to as well, they say, well, western

allies have said they will be with ukraine for as long as it takes and we're not even two years into the full—scale russian invasion. there has been a bit more of an emphasis recently on domestic arms production, but there is still very much hope that some kind of breakthrough can be reached in washington, dc over the coming week. here in the us. a texas woman with a high risk pregnancy was granted permission to get an abortion by a texas judge on thursday — despite the state's ban on the procedure. but the state's attorney general says the order would not excuse any hospitals or doctors from legal action. 31—year—old kate cox brought the lawsuit after finding out her fetus has a lethal abnormality that is almost always fatal at birth. ms cox's doctors told her continuing with the pregnancy posed a risk to her health and, potentially, her ability to carry another child. this is the first lawsuit of its kind since texas banned nearly all abortions last year. this is the moment whenjudge maya guerra gamble granted ms cox's request.

iam going i am going to grant the temporary restraining order for ms scott, mr cox, and doc to carson. the idea that ms kopp wants desperately to be a parent and this law might actually cause her to lose that ability is shocking and would be a genuine miscarriage of justice. the texas attorney general ken paxton responded to the order saying it "will not insulate hospitals, doctors, or anyone else, "from civil and criminal liability for violating "texas's abortion laws. "this includes first degree felony prosecutions." one more story before we leave you. a woman convicted of assault for throwing a burrito bowl at a fast food worker has been offered an unusual way to reduce her prison time.

39—year—old rosemary hayne assaulted a chipotle employee in september and video of the incident went viral online. she was sentenced to 180 days in prison but thejudge offered to reduce her sentence by two months if ms hayne agreed to work at a fast food restaurant for at least 20 hours a week for eight weeks. the judge hoping that sentence might provide some food for thought perhaps. you are watching bbc news. i'm helena humphrey. join me again at the top of the hour. goodbye for now. hello there. thursday's weather was pretty wet for many of us, and we're going to see further bouts of heavy rain moving their way in over the next few days. but i think for many there'll be a brief respite in the really wet conditions on friday with some sunnier spells. but we've still got this area of low pressure into friday, and that's going to keep things pretty unsettled. but the bulk of the rain

that we had on thursday has cleared away to the north and the east. and as we start off on friday, temperatures for many of us positive, so about 6—8 degrees celsius. still quite wet and windy in the northern isles throughout the day, and we'll see these showers moving their way in from the west. but there will at least be some sunny spells, particularly towards eastern and south—eastern areas for much of the day. one or two showers eventually moving in, and temperatures probably getting into double figures for many of us. about 6—8 celsius across scotland. now, the winds will strengthen for a time around the irish sea and the north channel coasts. with that, some further heavy rain spreading through, and then into saturday morning, another band of very heavy rain will slowly move its way in, making it a very wet start to saturday morning. but again, overnight temperatures into saturday staying up into positive figures. now, for the weekend, it will stay unsettled. there'll be rain at times, but it's not going to be a complete wash—out. there'll be some sunshine around for a time as well.

but a very wet start, as i mentioned, for many on saturday. some pulses of heavy rain spreading its way north and eastward. by lunchtime, spreading into central parts of scotland, northern ireland. for england and wales, there'll be a few showers towards northern and western areas. 0therwise, though, a drier afternoon with some sunny spells. and again temperatures 11—13 degrees in the south, 7—8 degrees further north. that area of rain will continue to move to the north with that area of low pressure, and then another area of low pressure develops as we head into sunday. that's one to watch. we could see some pretty strong winds linked in with that, with again rain spreading its way in from the south—west, pushing north and eastwards. so, yes, a spell of rain for a time before it clears, and there'll be something a bit brighter towards england and wales into the afternoon. just eastern areas staying on the wet side, and temperatures once again about 6—12 degrees celsius. into next week, it starts to calm down a little bit from mid—week onward with something a bit drier. bye— bye.

tech stocks soar in the us but all eyes are on a keyjobs report out later on friday: will it lead to an interest rate cut? and a controversial video game tries to attract a younger audience with a pivotal partnership.

hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm arunoday mukharji. we begin in the us, where the tech—heavy nasdaq ended the trading session sharply higher. you can see it's1.37% up. google parent alphabet and advanced micro devices, or amd, also leading the rally. shares of alphabetjumped more than 5% with optimism over its newest ai model, gemini. and amd soared nearly 10% after the chip maker released a new ai chip to rival nvidia's. meanwhile, data showed that the number of americans filing forjobless benefits increased less than expected last week. a labour departmentjobs report out later on friday could sway whether the us central bank starts cutting those high interest rates. from new york, michelle fleury has more. we should get further evidence that there's a real slowdown

happening in thejobs market.