welcome to bbc news. a senior un official has warned that half of the population of gaza are now starving — as israel continues its assault on the territory. the world food programme's deputy director, carl skau, says 9 out of 10 people are not eating every day. israeli tanks are reported to be slowly advancing towards the centre of khan younis, as intense battles continue in southern gaza. there are reports of house—to—house fighting in the city. there's also fighting in the north. these are the latest pictures from the israel defense forces, showing gun battles in the jabalia refugee camp, which remains surrounded by israeli tanks. people there say they've been without food and clean water for several days.

the hamas—run health ministry in gaza says the death toll since the conflict began is 17,700. from jerusalem, our middle east correspondent, lucy williamson, reports. buried by the war, but still alive, dug from the rubble of their homes in deir al—balah after an israeli strike this morning. more than 20 members of the salman family and their neighbours. their faces, like their lives, made unrecognisable. six others were killed, they say. the frantic race to hospitals is gaza's new daily routine. health care in the north has collapsed. here, further south, doctors say the situation is catastrophic. there aren't the resources to treat all the wounded, much less to comfort them. this boy praying quietly to himself.

the girl beside him calling for her mother. gunfire in the north of gaza israeli forces say they're targeting palestinian fighters in jabalia camp. one of those inside a un shelter there told the bbc they were encircled and had now been without food or water for five days. the army says it was targeted by fighters from a un school and a mosque yesterday. these weapons, it said, were found inside a classroom. israel's ground campaign is now focused on khan younis, gaza's southern capital. fighting, it says, house to house and tunnel to tunnel. israel's aim of destroying hamas infrastructure here is also destroying lives. the city's nasser hospital reported more than 60 dead this morning, around 100 injured.

others are said to still be trapped under the rubble of an attack four days ago. translation: we beg the world. what you waiting for? are you waiting for us to die here in gaza? don't worry. we are going to die here. today, we buried six relatives. tomorrow, and in the days to come, we fear we will all face the same fate. allahu akbar. funerals here have shifted from the mosque to the morgue. faith in hospitals and their power to protect still something to cling to even when the chance to save a life has gone. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. 0ur diplomatic correspondent, paul adams, told me what israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has been saying today. he made a short statement a short time ago essentially welcoming he made a short statement a short time ago essentially welcoming the

decision taken by the united states last night in vetoing that un resolution. i don't think there was ever any doubt in israeli mind that the us would do this. the us, like israel, believes that this war cannot end until hamas has been militarily defeated. in the eyes of the israelis and the americans, to call for a ceasefire without that objective having been realised we are simply going to sow the seeds for a future conflict. edmund netanyahu, at the end of the jewish sabbath, wanted to say thank you to the principal ally for having his back once again. —— prime minister netanyahu. it was the uae that brought the resolution to the security council. how fine a balance or tight rope are the arab nations having to walk on this? because there have been

reports that it has widened the gap between many arab leaders and their people, the conflict, in general. there is certainly a great deal of strong feeling reverberating around the middle east. although we hadn't seen huge street protests that one might have expected to see. it's not quite clear why that has been. maybe because people are conscious that the hamas attacks that triggered these events were so gruesome and so grotesque. but for the arabs, many of whom either had already or are contemplating improving their relations with israel, a country they want to do business with as the most successful economy in the region. this obviously is a major setback and that has put all of that kind of sense of rapprochement on hold. certainly the saudi arabians, who were thought to be on the verge

of signing some sort of agreement with israel on relations, is now very much in the forefront of saying, condemning what israel is doing. also condemning the decision of the us to veto that resolution. in the view of the arabs, the united states has squandered the leveraged it undoubtedly has over israel to make it change the way it approaches the conflict in gaza. there has also been cross—border fighting between israel and his it hasn't escalated. it has bubbled along ever since this crisis began more than two months ago. every now and again israeli leaders give warnings not to get properly involved in this conflict. a warning that says we can do to beirut what we are doing already in the gaza

strip. it is a situation they continue to watch but it isn't one anybody feels, at the moment, is in danger of escalating further. i can bring you some good news from gaza now — a merseyside woman's emotional reunion with her two children after fleeing the fighting. islam alashi returned home on wednesday after being stuck in gaza for weeks. she'd travelled there in september to visit her father before fighting broke out. islam managed to make her way to egypt before eventually returning home to the uk earlier this week. upon her return she surprised her two children at their school — describing it as the best moment of her life. i spoke to islam earlier and asked her about her time in gaza. it is really bad, the atmosphere and circumstances were very bad. till now, i was calling my family

out there and they are still in bad conditions, living in tents there. i lived the worst days of my life during the two months, the last two months. we witnessed the war, i witnessed the war. we are just seeing images there of you surprising your children at school. what was that moment like? yeah, it was my best moment of my life, to be honest, because i did not expect that i would come back again to england anymore. i lost hope at that time, that i will never meet my family again, i will never meet my husband, my kids again. that moment when i hugged them in my lap in the school, without any notice, they didn't know that i am coming, ifelt... i felt my heart, it is just very happy. how is your heart feeling regarding the fact that, like you said, you have still got

family left in gaza, you travelled out there to see your father. how is he? and what are your reflections on the family that you have left behind? yes. to be honest, my father, my sister tried to come to the border with me in order to be able to cross but they refute them —— to the border with me in order to be able to cross but they refused them to cross so they went back to the war, and they only accepted me to get into egypt because my name was published on the list at the borders, only my name. so, now they went to rafah again, living in the same tent where i left them. and they are still suffering from a lot of illnesses. my dad suffers from diabetes, from chronic diseases and from a lot of things, he is 70 years old, he cannot take care of himself any more. my sister is holding a yemeni passport with my niece, with her daughter, she is one and a half years old, she is suffering from a lot of illnesses right now. you know, there is no hygienic means, there is nothing,

there is no clean water, there is no food, only tinned food. there is not enough food as well, so they are living in bad, bad circumstances till now. sometimes, the israeli military is cutting the connection from gaza at all from the world so i cannot get in touch with them. so i feel very worried, i feel very sad and upset because i left my family there. sometimes i feel guilty because i left them but i did not have any option, i have to come back to my kids, as you know. ukraine's first lady has warned that ukrainians will be left to die if the west doesn't continue its support for the country. speaking exclusively to the bbc, after the us senate blocked an aid bill for ukraine worth more than $60 billion — 0lena zelenska insisted a lack of help would pose a mortal danger. laura kuenssberg reports.

explosion. war in winter, ukrainian forces on the front line in eastern ukraine. weapons, tanks paid for in part by billions of pounds, dollars and euros from western taxpayers like you and me. but as the war edges to two years old political arguments in washington have put payments on ice. in kyiv the zielinski hq, the first lady told me her fears if the money runs out. translation: we do need aid desperately. in simple terms. we cannot get tired of the situation because otherwise we will die. and if the world gets tired they will simply let us die. the us remains the largest military donor to ukraine providing more than $46 billion in weapons and assistance since the war began. germany and the uk come next in the top ten donor countries. billions have been given. yet us support has been

on the decline in recent months. new assistance for ukraine has been blocked by republicans in the senate. yet the threat hasn't gone even though more money isn't there. speaking to me just hours after the latest strikes, 0lena zelensky urged the world not to forget. translation: | think i today there is a problem with the world in general. we are used to the world appearing calm. in fact, and that's what we have been saying for the past two years now, is that the aggression, if not stopped, spreads like a virus. explosion. while there are doubts about america's resolve to keep paying, russia's brute force on the front line shows little sign of fading, leaving ukraine with a sense of foreboding. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, kyiv. earlier, i spoke to peter dickinson, the editor of the �*ukrainealert blog' at the atlantic council s eurasia center.

i asked him for his thoughts on the warning of �*mortal danger�* described by 0lena zelenska. i think 0lena zelenska's comments reflect the mood in ukraine today. people are increasingly alarmed by the delays over the confirmation or further aid from the united states and in general a decline in military aid, which we have seen across—the—board in recent months. there is a sense in ukraine that the country is in grave danger. they have been fighting for almost two years now and ukrainians viewed this war not only as a war of independence but award to defend their right to exist as a nation. —— this war not only as a war of independence but a war to defend their right to exist as a nation. they are very clear that if they are unable to defend themselves, if they do not receive the military aid they require to defend themselves,

putin and his forces will simply wipe ukraine off the map and pick up the pieces, as it were. so, for ukrainians, the stakes could not be higher. and they are well aware that without continued western military aid, it is unlikely that they will be able to sustain a long—term military resistance. and what is at stake for nato in all of this if that happens? well, one would have to assume that if putin were successful in his quest to take over ukraine, to subjugate ukraine, and to bring the country back into the kremlin orbit, to essentially erase ukraine from that map, he would certainly go further. he has created a military dictatorship in russia which is driven by a very clear and clearly, clearly has a spoken of an anti—western agenda, he is forming an alliance with other autocratic powers, china, iran, north korea in particular, he has re—orientated his economy away from europe, away

from the west, and put the entire russian society on a war footing. so the idea that he would succeed in taking over ukraine and then simply stop seems rather far—fetched. 0n the contrary, all the indications are that he would go further and he would look to test nato. at that point, of course, then the question for western leaders will not be providing funding but will be sending soldiers and that would be a far more difficult political issue for them to deal with if it comes to that. now it's time for a look at today's sport with carthy. hello from the bbc sport centre. it's been a dramatic day for clubs at the top of the premier league with arsenal losing to third placed aston villa in the late game this evening. that means arsenal, who started the day as league leaders, drop to second place, and villa's1—0 win takes them to just two points off the top spot. it's been an excellent week for unai emery�*s side who have defeated both the champions,

manchester city and arsenal in the same week and have now won a a club record 15th straight home league win. arsenal dominated the whole match. we started really well. amazing goal from mcginn. you cannot control every game at home. they put us in our own half. but we are strong defensively, dealing with crosses, through balls, shots. sometimes against the best teams you have to do that. lam i am proud with the way the team played _ i am proud with the way the team played in — i am proud with the way the team played in this stadium against this team _ played in this stadium against this team we — played in this stadium against this team. we had to win this game. you have to _ team. we had to win this game. you have to be _ team. we had to win this game. you have to be better in the boxes. things— have to be better in the boxes. things have to go your way, as well. earlier in the day, liverpool jumped above arsenal to go top of the league after beating crystal palace 2—1. liverpool didn't make things easy for themselves, falling behind

to a jean—philippe mateta penalty, after the frenchman had been fouled. mo salah then levelled with his 200th goal for liverpool in all competitions before substitute harvey elliott struck the winner in the 91st minute. it was a terrible afternoon in the premier league for manchester united with some of their supporters booing as the team left the field after they suffered a 3—0 defeat at home to bournemouth. dominik solanke scored bournemouth�*s first goal in what was their first ever win at old trafford. but it was another difficult afternoon for the united manager, erik ten haag, who was left frustrated saying that his side is not good enough to be consistent and that his players were not focussed from the start of the game. here's what captain bruno fernandes had to say. the fans of manchester united, they aren't used to this. they don't want to be in the situation. we don't want to be in this situation, either. we understand that. we understand their frustrations. they have been behind us all the time. it

is normal that they boo when they see something they don't like. that is normal. we didn't like, either, what we did, and they have been so supportive, so we cannot say anything bad about them. in the bundesliga, champions bayern munich had a shock 5—1 defeat to eintracht fra nfu rt. bayern had been aiming for a win that would have put them top of the table but they are in second place behind bayer leverkusen. and fifa have confirmed three bids to host the women's world cup in 2027. germany, belgium and the netherlands have submitted a joint european bid, while mexico and the united states have also teamed up. brazil is the only country with a solo bid. the final decision will be made through an open vote at the next fifa congress in may. south africa also had hopes of hosting the tournament but withdrew their bid last month. cricket, and england's women have beaten india by four wickets in the second t20 international. the home side were dismissed for a below par 80 all out, with only two players making double figures. in response, england stumbled as they lost six wickets on the way to chasing down the runs,

alice capsey top scoring with 25. the final game of the series is played tomorrow, with england already with an unassailable 2—0 series lead. and england's men are currently playing a deciding one day international aginst the west indies in antigua. england have had a terrible start, currently 49—5 after ten overs. you can get more on that by going to our website for the latest. that's bbc.com.sport. and that's all the sport for now. thanks very much. president macron is at the centre of a row over france's secular ideals, after appearing to take part in a religious ceremony at the elysee palace. footage of the event was posted online on thursday — and the president has since faced a wave of criticism. from the newsroom, our reporter, tom brada, has the details. this video has dragged president macron into the eye of a political storm.

he's seen standing alongside the chief rabbi of france who is lighting the very first candle on the menorah as part of the jewish festival hanukkah. 0n the surface, there is nothing controversial going on, but the issue here is the location. the ceremony took place at the official residence of the president, the elysee palace. and for many people, that is completely at odds with the country's commitment to secularism. now, secularism is the idea that there should be a separation between religious institutions and the state, and many people from across the political spectrum are not happy. these are the thoughts of the right wing mayor of cannes who wrote that... as far as i know, this is the first time this has ever happened. it is a breach of secularism. and these were the thoughts of a prominent socialist leader who wrote that... for his part, president macron defended what took place. translation: if the president - of the republic had made a gesture

of worship or taken part in a ceremony, this would not be respectful of secularism. that's not what happened. there's even been criticism from some members of the jewish community. this was the head of the representative council of frenchjewish institutions. he said that frenchjews have always considered secularism as a law of protection and of freedom, and that this is something that shouldn't be allowed to happen again. so when did secularism become such an important part of french identity? well, in 1905 it was officially enshrined into law with the separation of the church and state, and all religious symbols were removed from public buildings. the law ensures strict neutrality of all religions, but it frequently creates controversy, particularly recently with tensions over school dress codes and islamic traditions. and this recent incident at the elysee has brought the republic's relationship

with religion back into sharp focus. trade union leaders in the uk say they'll build a �*mass opposition�* to a new law that would enforce a minimum level of service during strikes. members of the �*trade union congress�* have been meeting today at a special conference to discuss the legislation. the first regulations under the law cover the railways, border force and ambulance services — they came into force on friday. daniel kebede is the general secretary of the national education union and was at the meeting today. i asked him what union leaders agreed on. today at conference, tuc congress collectively agreed a resolution to vigorously defend any workers who fall foul of this legislation and to rigorously oppose it and put pressure on this government to repeal the legislation and indeed any incoming government to repeal the legislation.

and any incoming government to repeal the legislation. so, what are the current rules? i wonder if you could take us just a step back. so, we understand that the new law would enforce a minimum level of service during strikes. what is the current status quo? so, i represent teachers up and down the country, support staff and school leaders also, and we are being consulted on minimum service levels in education at the moment, and the government�*s proposals are that 74% of children should be in school on a strike day. so you are looking at any child in an exam year, so that is years 10, 11, 12, and 13, any child with an ehcp, any child of a key worker, and any all primary children. now, that would mean that literally all strikes in education are outlawed, so this is quite a draconian attack on our democratic freedoms. ok, so i wonder if you could take as to how it is set to be implemented. so, in education, there was a consultation going on until the 13th of january,

and then regulations will be laid. but i mean there is a real problem here. this government are seeking to outlaw strike action in areas of health, education, in transport and so on, but really what underpins that is their desire to continue to underfunded. —— to continue to underfund it. they say they are protecting services but what they really want is free rein to continue to underfund them and they want to restrict trade unions and the workers to make them up, to push back. do you think the public will be onside with this? i think so. anybody who is decent and believes in democratic freedoms would absolutely oppose minimum service levels. this is a hard—won, hard—fought win that we have a right to withdraw labour. and we have to remember that it is an absolutely last resort — no teacher

wants to go on strike. an image of the aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, taken in wales, has been named as a winner in the 2023 northern lights photographer of the year awards. matthew browne has travelled to iceland to see the northern lights, but it was his picture taken ten minutes from his west wales home that won him the award — something he�*s described as bonkers. hello. quite a stormy evening for some of us, particularly around the irish sea. very windy inland, too. and this is the outlook for the next few days — further spells of wind and rain on the way, but at least it�*s going to stay relatively mild, as you�*d expect in this sort of weather. here�*s the satellite picture, and a powerfuljet stream is propelling these areas of low pressure. one of them is moving over us right now, that is storm ellen, named by the irish met service.

here it is here. and then behind it, we have another developing storm, storm fergus, which is going to sweep across our island during the course of sunday. back to the here and now, so through this evening, the strongest gusts around the irish sea, but very windy inland, too, across parts of wales, northern england, the midlands. you can see where the rain is, a little bit further north. actually further south, we�*ve got some clear spells through this evening and overnight. and then later in the night, through the early hours, actually, the winds fall light across many parts of the country as that decaying storm pulls away. not cold, between 3—6 celsius. and here�*s the next low pressure heading our way. so early in the morning, rain spreading into northern ireland, the irish sea through wales, central southern england. and i think most of us will get at least some rain at some point during the course of sunday. the strongest of the winds will be across ireland linked to storm fergus here on sunday. and the temperatures around 12—13 celsius in the south, maybe 1a celsius in plymouth. colder with rain there in glasgow and edinburgh, around 7 celsius,

similarfor newcastle. and then the outlook as we head through the first part of the week, so monday, we�*re actually in between weather systems. so as one area of low pressure pulls away, another one tries to come in. we�*re just in that slither of bright weather, dry weather on monday. so perhaps a decent day, i think 12 celsus in london, —— so perhaps a decent day, i think 12 celsius in london, seven celsius in glasgow. certainly a greater chance of catching some sunshine on monday. but then into tuesday, we�*re back underneath an area of low pressure. this high, though, is trying to build in. that might be a hint of things to come later in the week, things could start to settle down. but you can see later on wednesday, even that low pressure starts to pull away. so let�*s have a look at the outlook then, a summary for the week ahead. temperatures dropping a little bit through the middle part of the week, and from the weather icons, well, there�*s a bit of everything on the way this week. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines... a senior un official has warned half the population of gaza are now starving, as israel continues its assault. israel has been moving its tanks towards the centre of khan younis in the south of gaza. most of the population has now fled to coastal areas or towards rafah, further south. 0pec, the oil producers�* organisation, has been heavily criticised at the un climate summit negotiations in dubai.

a letter has been leaked from the head of 0pec calling on members to resist any reference to phasing out fossilfuels. ukraine�*s first lady, 0lena zelenska, tells the bbc that ukrainians will be left to die if western countries don�*t continue their support for the country. now on bbc news, the travel show — costa rica: guarding the green revolution. i�*m in a wild country! a place bursting with life and stunning landscapes. this is costa rica. over the past couple of decades, this small central american country has been transformed into the eco—tourism beacon of the world.