live from london. this is bbc news. the us's national security advisor is due to visit palestinian authority leaders in the west bank, having urged israel to wind down the war. prince harry will find out later whether he's won his hacking case against mirror group newspapers. this is the scene live in central london. british teenager alex batty is getting ready to fly back to the uk from france, six years after he went missing hello. i'm gareth barlow. the us says its talks with israel

about moving to what it describes as a more precise phase of military operations have been constructive, with further diplomatic efforts due to take place today. president biden spoke by phone to israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu and his national security advisorjake sullivan held face—to—face talks with him. it's understood the american leadership discussed a scaling back of israel's high—intensity military operations in gaza but with no specific timetable. mr biden said he didn't want israel to stop going after hamas, but he also wanted it to be focused on how to save civilian lives. mr sullivan is due to meet officials from the palestinian authority in the west bank in the coming hours. meanwhile, israel has continued its heavy bombardment of gaza overnight. this was the scene in northern gaza, as seen from southern israel on friday morning. palestinian sources are reporting air strikes on khan younis and rafah in the south of gaza, with children reported to be among the casualties. also developing this morning,

the israeli military say their special forces have recovered the body of a 28—year—old hostage who had been held by hamas in gaza since the october 7th attacks on southern israel. elia toledano was among a number of people to be seized from the supernova music festival close to the border with gaza. live now to tel aviv where jake sullivan is giving an update. sorry, injerusalem. full sullivan is giving an update. sorry, injerusalem-_ in jerusalem. full humanitarian access needs _ in jerusalem. full humanitarian access needs to _ in jerusalem. full humanitarian access needs to happen, - in jerusalem. full humanitarian i access needs to happen, hostages need to be liberated and there needs to be a cease of hostilities. how do we get there? dealt with through diplomacy or not does require launching... it requires notjust diplomacy but deterrence as well because we need to send a clear message we will not tolerate the kinds of threats and terrorist activity we have seen from hezbollah

and the territory of lebanon. in our view, and i reaffirmed this yesterday, the best way to do this is to come up with a negotiated outcome in which those israeli citizens in those communities on the northern border can know they will not be subject to an attack that would take their lives or destroy their communities, we will continue to work that and i believe we can accomplish it. it will be a significant priority for the united states. when it comes to the palestinian authority, i will not characterise personalities. what i will say is a basic level we do believe that the palestinian authority needs to be revamped and revitalised, updated in terms of its method of governance, its representation of the palestinian people. it will require a lot of work by everyone who is engaged in the palestinian authority, starting with the president, mahmoud abbas,

who i will see. ultimately it will be up to the palestinian people to work through their representation and it will be up to those leaders of the palestinian authority to work through the types of steps they need to take to reform and update the authority for the situation we face today. the united states will be a partner in that with them respectfully and we will be there to try to support their efforts to ultimately deliver a vision in which israelis and palestinians live side by side in peace and security. hello. what is the intense phase of war continued for months if not four weeks _ war continued for months if not four weeks as— war continued for months if not four weeks as you hope, what will the united _ weeks as you hope, what will the united states due to save the lives of palestinian women and children? | of palestinian women and children? fielded a of palestinian women and children? i fielded a very similar question from idf radio, the what if question down the road, i said before i will not entertain the hypotheticals because

myjob here is not to go out into the future and say, f x, y, it is to say, here is how the us sees the situation, here is the way in which we believe israel can best ensure hamas never represents a threat to israel again and protect the civilians of gaza and enable them to have a future, a vision of a future, where they can live in peace and security as well. i am doing today, president biden does it every time he speaks with president netanyahu and we are not engaging in a hypothetical conversation about what could come, we are laying out what we believe is the best course forward. we are doing that behind closed doors because we think it is the best way to achieve convergence around an approach that satisfies the objectives i have laid out.

obviously, we will see how things unfold and make decisions accordingly. the president will look at the situation at every point along the way and judge how the us should react and respond to that and i will leave it at that for now, rather than try to answer hypothetical questions. britain, from abc? ., hypothetical questions. britain, from abc?— hypothetical questions. britain, fromabc? ., ~ ,, ., from abc? hello, mr sullivan, you mentioned — from abc? hello, mr sullivan, you mentioned israel's _ from abc? hello, mr sullivan, you mentioned israel's right _ from abc? hello, mr sullivan, you mentioned israel's right to - mentioned israel's right to self—defence, does the right to self—defence, does the right to self—defence justified the level of human— self—defence justified the level of human suffering we are seeing in right— human suffering we are seeing in right now? — human suffering we are seeing in riaht now? ., ., ~' human suffering we are seeing in right now?— human suffering we are seeing in riaht now? ., ., ~ ., ., ., ~ ., right now? look, we have to take a ste back right now? look, we have to take a step back and _ right now? look, we have to take a step back and put _ right now? look, we have to take a step back and put in _ right now? look, we have to take a step back and put in context - right now? look, we have to take a step back and put in context what l step back and put in context what has happened since october seven. october seven, you had a terrorist group, hamas, come across the border from gaza into israel and massacre 1200 people in a brutal and savage way. they turned around and went back into gaza and they hid behind a

civilian population, using them as human shields, using protected sites like hospitals and schools for military purposes, embedding themselves among the innocent palestinian people, and continuing to fire rockets at israeli cities and continuing to go out on the airwaves and say, we will commit october seven again and again and go out and state, we are in a permanent state of war with israel, we would like to see israel's right to exist eliminated. that is the reality the idf is contending with when it goes on. it does not have the opportunity to meet hamas on a field of battle in a way in which civilians are off to one side and the terrorists are on the other side. the terrorists chose to embed themselves among civilians. that creates an incredible burden on the idf, a burden that is unusual for a

military into des's day and age. the burden does not lessen the idf�*s responsibility to act in a way that distinguishes between terrorist targets and innocent people and to take every precaution to protect civilians and minimise loss of life. it also doesn't lessen the burden by the way to ensure humanitarian assistance flows in sufficient quantity is the palestinian people have access to food, water, medicine, sanitation that they do not just medicine, sanitation that they do notjust need but to serve as a basic matter of dignity, of human beings. those messages we have conveyed clearly to the israeli people. but what i think has been lost a little bit in the debate is the responsibility that sits with hamas who not only is doing all the things ijust described to put the palestinian people in a terrible position but it is also holding more than 100 hostages still to this day,

men, women, children, in tunnels, in circumstances that are dire and deteriorating. so, our position from the first day of this conflict has been israel has the right to go after hamas in these difficult circumstances and also has the responsibility to do so in a way that comports with our values, international humanitarian law, and with the strategic necessity to see the fundamental difference between a distant palestinian people and the evil terrace of hamas —— between innocent palestinian people. this is a message we drive or annually in private and we will continue to do so as we go forward. one last question from roy.— so as we go forward. one last question from roy. thank you very much. question from roy. thank you very much- two — question from roy. thank you very much. two questions, _ question from roy. thank you very much. two questions, i— question from roy. thank you very much. two questions, i would - question from roy. thank you very much. two questions, i would like| question from roy. thank you very i much. two questions, i would like to follow_ much. two questions, i would like to follow up _ much. two questions, i would like to follow up about the hostages, israel. — follow up about the hostages, israel, the idf, they have recovered three _

israel, the idf, they have recovered three bodies only today of people who went — three bodies only today of people who went hostage in gaza, do you think— who went hostage in gaza, do you think israeli officials understand the necessity and urgency to bring everyone — the necessity and urgency to bring everyone home as soon as possible? you have _ everyone home as soon as possible? you have mentioned beside qatar and egypt. _ you have mentioned beside qatar and egypt, other mediators, is germany one of— egypt, other mediators, is germany one of them because it has been reported — one of them because it has been reported earlier today german intelligence would like to be involved? i would like to ask also atrout— involved? i would like to ask also about another incident in the morning. _ about another incident in the morning, one yesterday, why we are not seeing _ morning, one yesterday, why we are not seeing any aggressive response by the _ not seeing any aggressive response by the us— not seeing any aggressive response by the us against iran, when you know— by the us against iran, when you know it _ by the us against iran, when you know it is — by the us against iran, when you know it is on a daily basis and you have _ know it is on a daily basis and you have firepower in the region? as know it is on a daily basis and you have firepower in the region? a51 have firepower in the region? as i said last night. — have firepower in the region? " i said last night, and i think on your network, the houthis represent a material threat to freedom of navigation, commercialshipping, lawful commerce, they are doing some of the vital artery and into the red

sea and the united states is working with the international community with the international community with partners from the region and all over the world to deal with this threat. we are building a coalition, we are working to ensure and rally the nations of the world, all of whom have an interest in seeing it stop, it is not about the us and israel, it is about the entire international community. we will continue to take every step we deem necessary and appropriate to deal with the threat houthis pose. to deal with your question and also the fact that houthis are pulling the trigger, so to speak, they are being handed the gun by iran and iran has a responsibility to take steps themselves to cease the attacks because the attacks, as i said before, are a fundamental threat to

international law and peace and security. we will continue to consult about the best way forward, the best means of response. secretary austen will be in a region in a couple of days to continue to work on what the most appropriate response is. the response in our view should notjust be the us, it should be a broader coalition of countries working together in concert and that is what we intend. with respect to the hostages, i cannot speak specifically to german intelligence and their role, what i will say is, from our perspective, the more ideas, energy and efforts that can be pursued, including with good partners like germany, bring it on. it would be good to be able to work with them in all of this. but the main effort to date in terms of the main effort to date in terms of the first round of hostage releases and the continuing discussions

involve israel, the us, qatar, egypt, and we will look to other partners for ideas and thoughts on this as we go forward. i think you asked another question but i may have forgotten. maybe that is it. inaudible yes... i believe it is a priority in the government to bring everyone home, i heard that in stereo yesterday in my conversations. it is a paramount priority of the united states for our citizens but also for all of the rest of the hostages and i found all of the rest of the hostages and ifound it all of the rest of the hostages and i found it to all of the rest of the hostages and ifound it to be all of the rest of the hostages and i found it to be a all of the rest of the hostages and ifound it to be a priority all of the rest of the hostages and i found it to be a priority for every member of the government. as i said, something that the director of mossad is working intensively at the direction of the government in a way that frankly i find admirable. his personal efforts. we will continue our work on this and we will continue to work closely with the

israeli government. thank you, guys. that was the us national security adviser, jake sullivan, speaking to reporters at the us embassy in israel. he touched on two key areas in the accepts, first of all, with regards to the palestinian authority, the representation of the palestinian people, he said he would meet the palestinian authority mahmoud abbas and sat on a basic level the palestinian authority in his words needed to be rebuilt and with regards to the governance of the palestinian authority and also the palestinian authority and also the representation of the people as well. he said the united states supported efforts for the israeli and palestinians to live side by side. he went on to talk about israel and also with regards to hamas, he referenced the october seven attacks in which 1200 people were killed by hamas fighters when they crossed into israel, taking several hundred people hostage, he said hamas hid behind the civilian

population and hamas threatened the international law and peace and security. let us get more on israel's military strategy with regards to all of this, two months after the war started. ten, our guest, tim ripley, joining us from lancaster. talk to us about reports pressure increasingly applied to israel with regards to the us, increasing precision on reducing the civilian casualties. how does israel go about achieving goals and aims and also trying to minimise the number of deaths on the ground? by, number of deaths on the ground? very difficult situation. you have a territory with almost 2 million people closely packed together and you are applying massive amounts of firepower in a very small space. the results are what we see. the images of whole districts of gaza flattened. it is pretty obvious large numbers of civilians,

noncombatants, will be caught up in that bombardment. we have seen that. but it is how it goes forward. we are seeing a subtle change and what the israelis are doing. from satellite images, israeli bases in gaza, video images from social media, what the israeli army is doing, moving into gaza and they are occupying it, setting up really small bases in every neighbourhood of gaza that they control, and they are rounding up every fighting age male they can find, shipping them out, processing them, trying to filter out who they believe is a hamas fighter, who is a civilian, systematically doing that in every neighbourhood of gaza. that is why the israeli defence minister talks about this taking months. to do that for a population of 2 million people, it is a big operation. they have set themselves the objective of

eliminating hamas. they have got to... they see it as their objective, to go through the entire population and filter out who is hamas and who is not, in their eyes anyway. hamas and who is not, in their eyes an a . ., , ., hamas and who is not, in their eyes an a. ., hamas and who is not, in their eyes an a. , anyway. there was a report a couple of da s anyway. there was a report a couple of days ago — anyway. there was a report a couple of days ago hamas _ anyway. there was a report a couple of days ago hamas was _ anyway. there was a report a couple of days ago hamas was fighting - of days ago hamas was fighting centimetres by centimetre across gaza, just give us an insight if you can as to how hardtalk we are seeing pictures of the landscape, close quarters in the dense buildings, narrow streets —— as to how hard... how difficult is it to fight street by street in these conditions and how does israel go about setting up bases, detaining fighting age males, working through them to see who might be a hamas fighter, but there will be people embedded in the population who can pop up from nowhere and attack israeli forces, surely? nowhere and attack israeli forces, surel ? ~ . nowhere and attack israeli forces, surel ? . ., ., , , surely? what we are seeing is

classic guerilla _ surely? what we are seeing is classic guerilla hit-and-run i surely? what we are seeing is - classic guerilla hit-and-run tactics classic guerilla hit—and—run tactics by hamas. they are not fighting every street to defend every street to try to hold back the israeli tanks, the israeli tanks can drive wherever they want in gaza. what hamas are doing is waiting for the israelis to dismount from the tanks and start searching buildings and properties and then they ambushed them with improvised explosive device is, the type of things the british army faced in afghanistan. only this week we saw nine israeli soldiers including a brigade commander, very senior officer, killed in an ambush. the israeli troops tried to such a building, set off an ied, killed a small group of israelis. another group went to try and provide medical aid and rescue the wounded, they got killed and another ambush, then the brigade commander turned up to try to oversee the mass, and he got killed as well. it is a systematic attempt to entice the israelis into more and

more ambitious, more and more hit—and—run attacks to try to reduce their will to fight. the same thing we saw in lebanon in 1982 to 1990, israelis have overwhelming supremacy, they contrive the tanks were ever, but they are vulnerable to ambitious. the drip, drip of casualties, over 100 israeli soldiers killed since the troops went in. that is the thing hamas see as the way to undermine the israeli will to fight. tim as the way to undermine the israeli will to fight-— will to fight. tim ripley, thank you for our will to fight. tim ripley, thank you for your time _ will to fight. tim ripley, thank you for your time and _ will to fight. tim ripley, thank you for your time and thoughts, - will to fight. tim ripley, thank you for your time and thoughts, we - for your time and thoughts, we appreciate it. moving to ramallah now to speak to bushra khalidi from oxfam. what we have been hearing from jake sullivan and increasing concern of the humanitarian situation, to what degree do you think us attention on this issue might change israeli policy when it comes to how it operates in gaza? brute

comes to how it operates in gaza? we know comes to how it operates in gaza? - know the us has immense influence and very tight alliance with israel, and very tight alliance with israel, and has had for many decades, and they have a financial relationship and a political relationship and a military relationship. of course, it is of most important lessons for the us to use that influence to make this stop and for a permanent and immediate ceasefire, and we still have not heard those words uttered from the us administration and i urge them to do so of course. we have of course noted and welcomed the shift in the discourse and the narrative and their influence on ensuring that israel winds up the war that has absolutely caused an unprecedented amount of damage and

destruction and trauma for an entire population that is trapped in a very, very small geographical place and have been collectively punished by israel and prevented from accessing water and electricity and telecoms and food and aid in a matter that would sustain their survival. it is disappointing that we are almost at 68 days now and the problem is so much of the damage has been done already and yet we are still talking and it is becoming increasingly frustrated for us as organisations that not only have been heeding the call for a ceasefire from the first couple of days of this war but also who want to operate and work and also we want to operate and work and also we want to help our teams. our teams feel abandoned because we are unable to reach them. they are unable to work,

unable to deliver the work they would usually do in these circumstances. but they are having to survive. and try to find food and water and shelter for their own children. , ., , , ., ., ., children. obviously, a huge amount of focus on — children. obviously, a huge amount of focus on gaza, _ children. obviously, a huge amount of focus on gaza, to _ children. obviously, a huge amount of focus on gaza, to what _ children. obviously, a huge amount of focus on gaza, to what degree i children. obviously, a huge amountl of focus on gaza, to what degree are you also concerned with the situation in the west bank as well? i am happy you mentioned that and thank you for reminding this is not an isolated... what has happened on the 7th of october, not happening in a vacuum. it is a daily reality for palestinians and i live in ramallah under military occupation and what it means is there are checkpoints at every entry and exit of every town, village and city across the west bank, 640 military checkpoints where we are stopped and asked sometimes to step out of the car and our car checked and our id checked and we have photographed. this is a daily reality for palestinians, especially those who have to travel between

cities to visit family or have businesses and our driving trucks from one city to another across the west bank. notjust that, we are afraid of leaving our towns because of the settler violence that is skyrocketing to a point where not only are they acting with complete impunity with harassment and assault and even sometimes killing palestinians, but the israeli military is always there and does not intervene. we have seen several videos and evidence that the israeli army is not intervening when these assaults and these harassments happen. there has been every single day a military incursion in terms in the west bank, including ramallah. and also besieged asjenin where we are seeing tanks and shelling and a level of destruction that looks almost very similar to gaza. bushra

khalidi, policy _ almost very similar to gaza. bushra khalidi, policy lead _ almost very similar to gaza. bushra khalidi, policy lead for _ almost very similar to gaza. bushra khalidi, policy lead for oxfam, - khalidi, policy lead for oxfam, thank you. here in the uk, prince harry will find out today whether he has won his phone—hacking lawsuit against mirror group newspapers. the duke of sussex became the first senior british royal for 130 years to appear as a witness in court this summer, after he sued the publisher for damages. live now to tom symonds in central london. what are we expecting from today? this is quite a rare thing, a judgment from a judge after a trial in this long saga of phone hacking that has been a feature of the debate about press freedom and privacy for individuals in prominent roles in the uk for many years now. prince harry claims 140 and more articles published by these newspapers breached his privacy because they were based on information where his phones were hacked and his personal data was stolen. 33 articles were considered as part of this and what really the

question is, what constitutes a win or a loss? if he gets 20 articles thejudge says or a loss? if he gets 20 articles the judge says breached or a loss? if he gets 20 articles thejudge says breached his privacy, that will be a major win, his team will be really pleased. any articles will be really pleased. any articles will be really pleased. any articles will be a when for the duke of sussex in what is a personal battle for him against the british newspapers. not the only person taking the newspapers to court but he has turned up here personally to give evidence notjust in this case but also in cases against other newspapers too. the judgment is expected at 10:30am, prince harry is not here but we are told he is likely to die alone on a video link from the us. what he will hear will be a major issue for him —— he is likely to dial in. we be a major issue for him -- he is likely to dial in.— be a major issue for him -- he is likely to dial in. we will of course have the ruling _ likely to dial in. we will of course have the ruling on _ likely to dial in. we will of course have the ruling on the _ likely to dial in. we will of course have the ruling on the case - likely to dial in. we will of course have the ruling on the case after| have the ruling on the case after 10am gmt on bbc news. there will also be a live page on the website

and bbc news app, you can download it on your smartphone or tablet. stay with us. i am gareth barlow. thanks for watching. milder weather is set to develop across many parts of the uk over the next couple of days. the mild air spreading from the west, a lot of cloud with it. some sunshine but often cloudy. further north and west, particularly north—west of scotland, strong winds and heavy rain. friday, high—pressure dominating to the south. keeping things mostly dry. the warm front introducing more cloud. cloud through the morning in northern ireland and cloud working its way up into a good part of scotland, parts of north—west england, wales and the south—west, the odd spot of rain and drizzle for the coasts and hills. central and eastern parts of england, holding onto some spells of sunshine. not especially windy in

the south—east. the wins will be picking up in the north—west of scotland. temperatures, eight, 9 degrees and eastern parts. 12, 13 in the west. the mild air in the west for east on friday night, with its extensive cloud cover, spots of rain and drizzle particularly across the hills in western scotland. very windy in the north of scotland as well. a milder night in prospect. the feet of mild air coming from the south—west and it will be wafting across all parts of the uk through the weekend —— the feed. saturday, a lot of cloud, spots of rain and drizzle. things may brighten up to the south with sunshine. equally the front will bring heavy and persistent rain in the north—west of scotland and the temperatures, 12-13, scotland and the temperatures, 12—13, maybe 14, very windy.

watching bbc news. taking you to manchester where police officers are giving a press conference following the discovery of the british teenager who disappeared after travelling to spain. bile}. teenager who disappeared after travelling to spain.— travelling to spain. alex went missin: travelling to spain. alex went missing on — travelling to spain. alex went missing on holiday _ travelling to spain. alex went missing on holiday in - travelling to spain. alex went missing on holiday in 2017 - travelling to spain. alex went i missing on holiday in 2017 when travelling to spain. alex went - missing on holiday in 2017 when he was just 11 years old. on wednesday a member of the public reported a potential cycling in the toulouse area of france —— a potential cycling. the young man was taken to a french police station. the young man and alex's, the spoke on a video call last night and while she is content this is indeed alex, we obviously have further checks to do when he returns to the uk. our main priority now is to see alex returned home to the uk to his family and the

investigation team are working around the clock with partner agencies and the french authorities to ensure they are fully supported. alex and his family remain our focus and we still have some work to do in establishing the full circumstances surrounding his disappearance and where he has been in all of those years. i can only imagine the emotions they have experienced as a family throughout the ordeal. i would ask they be granted privacy as they come to terms with what has happened and they try to find a way to move together as a family with their lives going forward. thank you. we will take a couple of questions now _ we will take a couple of questions now as _ we will take a couple of questions now as i — we will take a couple of questions now. as i have said a couple of times, — now. as i have said a couple of times, we _ now. as i have said a couple of times, we have said everything we know— times, we have said everything we know in— times, we have said everything we know in the — times, we have said everything we know in the statement, if you ask

other— know in the statement, if you ask other questions, we will have to get back to _ other questions, we will have to get back to you — other questions, we will have to get back to you when we know the answer, likely when _ back to you when we know the answer, likely when alex is back in the country and when officers have a chance _ country and when officers have a chance to — country and when officers have a chance to speak to him and have a full debrief — chance to speak to him and have a full debrief with the french authorities. i will come to you one by onem — a live press conference following the discovery of alex batty, a 17—year—old boy who disappeared in spain about six years ago. he was taken there by his mother and grandfather. they were not his legal guardians. his grandmother was. grandfather. they were not his legal guardians. his grandmotherwas. she was back in the uk. he was taken on a week long holiday and he disappeared for several years. it is thought his family were somewhere in either morocco, spain, or france. he was discovered in the pyrenees. he was discovered in the pyrenees. he was picked up by a lorry driver after walking for several days. he took him to the french authorities. we are following the developments as he is due to return to the uk