live from washington, this is bbc news. israeli military forces tell the bbc they're investigating the accidental killing of three hostages. israel says it misidentifyied them as a "threat". ukraine failed to land the military support it had hoped for this week. we'll hear how that's playing out on the ground. donald trump's former lawyer is ordered to pay nearly $150 million over his false election claims. rudy giuliani insists he doens�*t regret a thing. hello, i'm sumi somaskanda. there's new reaction to israel saying that is has accidentally shot dead three hostages in gaza after mistakenly identifying them as a threat. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has called the incident "an

unbearable tragedy". yotam haim, alon shamriz and samer talalka were abducted on october 7th when hamas, which is deemed a terrorist organisation by the us and uk governments, carried out its deadly attacks on israel. in tel aviv, relatives of hostages taken by hamas have been protesting the accidental killings, while also calling for a ceasefire and agreement for the release of those still held captive. more than 100 hostages remain in gaza. earlier, the bbc interviewed idf spokesman lieutenant coloneljonathan conricus, who explained what happened. they were dressed in civilian clothing and probably in a similarfashion to what clothing and probably in a similar fashion to what we have seen hamas combatants. the second thing is that before and after this tragic mistake occurred, there were clashes between israeli troops in the area and hamas combatants and that apparently was also part

of the reasons for this are very sad mistake, the misidentification by israeli soldiers. meanwhile, us national security advisorjake sullivan has been visiting both israeli and palestinian officials in the region. he told reporters that the us is pressing israel to shift to precise targeting of hamas leaders rather than widespread bombing and ground operations. mr sullivan has also said he expects the war would last more than several months. this fight against hamas, a deeply entrenched terrorist group in gaza, will take time and it will happen in phases. we have said that from the beginning. there was no contradiction between saying the fight will take months and also saying that different phases will take place at different times over those months, including the transition from the high intensity operations to a more targeted operation. mr sullivan has also visited the occupied west bank, meeting palestinian authority president mahmoud abbas in ramallah. the white house says they discussed humanitarian assistance in gaza and

the biden administration's desire for a path to a two—state solution. my colleague caitriona perry spoke with aaron david miller, a senior fellow at the carnegie endowment for international peace. we saw jake sullivan on the diplomatic mission trying to apply a little us pressure to israel in terms of the next phase of the offensive. what is that next phase look like from your viewpoint?— that next phase look like from your viewpoint? assuming that the co-ordination _ your viewpoint? assuming that the co-ordination that - your viewpoint? assuming that the co-ordination that jake - the co—ordination that jake sullivan seems to have achieved pertains, i think you could probably expect in the next several weeks, certainly by mid—january or the end of january, again, he has been reluctant to give a precise timetable for obvious reasons, a transition from artillery air strikes and more, has a ground campaign to intelligence driven specific operational efforts, to target hamas cells and leaderships. presumably to try to gain additional operational

information on the hostages, although i suspect that will be difficult. we although i suspect that will be difficult. ~ ., , difficult. we saw in real terms today the _ difficult. we saw in real terms today the risk _ difficult. we saw in real terms today the risk of _ difficult. we saw in real terms today the risk of going - difficult. we saw in real terms today the risk of going in - difficult. we saw in real terms today the risk of going in a - today the risk of going in a grand operation, looking for individuals and those three is hostages were killed. the idf describing them as looking like hamas leaders in terms of how they were dressed and where they were dressed and where they so on. given those risks, is there any realistic prospect of a further ceasefire? ha. of a further ceasefire? no. look, of a further ceasefire? no. look. a — of a further ceasefire? no. look, a ceasefire, - of a further ceasefire? no. look, a ceasefire, talking l look, a ceasefire, talking about a permanent cessation of hostilities, i don't think the us will support and i don't think the government of israel was support. talking about a ceasefire that is a quid pro quo, for example, if hamas agrees to release all the hostages in exchange for a humanitarian pause and release of an undetermined number of palestinian prisoners, perhaps, i think the government will be under great pressure if hamas says we will release them all

and he wants you to empty your jails. no, ithink and he wants you to empty your jails. no, i think a and he wants you to empty your jails. no, ithinka permanent ceasefire, that is we are discussing, and essentially wants hamas to remain in place. with sovereignty over gaza, i think it would be a defeat, not just for the israelis but by implication for the united states, i will also argue that would offer very little prospect of improving the lives of security and prosperity of the 2.3 million palestinians in gaza who are essentially living in an open air prison. now they are much more disadvantaged. no, the ceasefire without a quid pro quo seems to me simply not feasible. we quid pro quo seems to me simply not feasible.— not feasible. we also saw today missiles fired _ not feasible. we also saw today missiles fired at _ not feasible. we also saw today missiles fired at jerusalem, - missiles fired atjerusalem, they were intercepted by the in day but this is the first time we have seen that in over a

month. are we actually looking at an escalation? i month. are we actually looking at an escalation?— month. are we actually looking at an escalation? i think hamas repository _ at an escalation? i think hamas repository of— at an escalation? i think hamas repository of rockets _ at an escalation? i think hamas repository of rockets is - at an escalation? i think hamas repository of rockets is being i repository of rockets is being depleted. the fact that they have the capacity to launch rockets suggests they still have a regenerative power. i think that is their objective, to be able to say at the end of this operation, whenever she returns, if hamas are still stands, the capacity to launch rockets, i think that would be a significant defeat for anyone interested in the prospects of a solution to the israeli—palestinian problem. what do you see is the next move for the us? it has asked israel to turn down the attacks. if that doesn't happen, what is the us do next? interesting question. the us has a lot of leverage because of a close a special relationship with israel. pressure usually only ways and

has worked in the past, you see henry kissinger, carter, my former boss james baker, at specific moments, each of these individuals was able to apply pressure in pursuit of something that was positive, both for arabs and israelis. in this case, the administration certainly has leverage. it could slow walk or end direct deliveries of your munitions. i think that would be extremely harmful to the israeli war effort or they could change their posture in new york and vote for a un security council resolution. ijust don't vote for a un security council resolution. i just don't see vote for a un security council resolution. ijust don't see it coming to that. i think you will see a change in the operational tempo of the israeli ground campaign early next year and then the question of course becomes how successful will they be, with more targeted operations? their

objective, and this is a problem, they have got to figure out how to judge successful so what is victory? what are the metrics they used? killing the top three individuals, hamas responsible for the 7 october search, was only be and accomplishments are beyond that you have to wonder wenders israel declare that it has accomplished its objective? that is, indeed, the question which we cannot answer this evening but we will leave it there for the moment. thank you so much forjoining us. a few more notes on the israel—gaza war. we've learned that aljazeera journalist samer abu daqqa, was killed in khan younis, in the southern gaza strip by an israeli missile fired from a drone. one of his colleagues, wael al—dahdouh, was injured. 63 journalists and media workers have been killed due to fighting in gaza since october 7th, according to the committee to protectjournalists. and a un aid worker in rafah has told the bbc that khan younis has seen some of the heaviest bombardments by israeli defence forces yet.

the hamas—run health ministry says more than 18,700 people have been killed since the start of the war. ——18,800 people. the us senate will delay its christmas break in efforts to find common ground on funding for ukraine. republicans and democrats are split on supplying more aid, with republicans seeking tougher immigration policies at the us—mexico border in exchange for funding for ukraine. even if the senate does pass a deal, it could still be blocked by the republican—controlled house of representatives. ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky was in washington earlier this week, pushing for that very aid. he's now back in ukraine without the funding he hoped for, but now with promises of eu membership talks to come. the eu reached an agreement to start those talks on thursday. hours later, hungary blocked $55 billion usd aid package for ukraine. russia congratulated hungary on friday for that move. the accession talks will likely come as welcome news for ukrainians. but as the war gets

closer to its two—year anniversary, and battlefield gains remain limited, ukraine is left to wait for more security assistance. jessica parker is in kyiv with more on the harsh reality that people in ukraine are currently facing. a school day in ukraine can often end up here. underground, but safer from missile threats that pepper their days and nights. it is very scary when you manage sleep and you heard "boom". 13—year—old ivan dreams of being a pilot — and at peace. we need in future to build our country, and it will be very hard, but i know that we will do it. teachers�* wages are among the many things that eu aid helps pay for, but fresh funds are stuck. so is new us defence money.

we need this help very much now, don't be, you know, just a side. participate, help our children, we do our best, but with the help of other countries, we will do even more. we have been down here for more than an hour now, and of course it is highly disruptive to the children's education, they can't be taught properly down here. that being said, everyone's very calm, they are getting on with it, they are used to it. this is the reality of daily life for ukrainian children. 0n the streets of kyiv, patriotism can't disguise these difficult days, after efforts to take back territory from russia stalled. an application to join the eu did progress this week, but for elena it is the story of her home, occupied luhansk, which absorbs her. translation: it is very painful for me to watch | what is going on in our territory.

do you feel hopeful for ukraine at the moment? i believe ukraine will be free, and willjoin the eu, but i don't know when it will happen. getting on the next step of a long ladder to possible eu membership is a boost for morale here, but you also need money, and lots of it, to fight a war. if president zelensky wanted to counter narratives of wavering western support, this hasn't been the week he would have hoped for. back in the bunker, the children wait to hear when it is safe to leave. a generation raised in the exhausting realities of war. jessica parker, bbc news, in kyiv. let's look more closely now at hungary's decision to put a hold on further eu funding to ukraine, and in particular the country's relationship with kyiv. hungary's leaders say ukraine cannot win the war and should be persuaded toward a ceasefire. mr 0rban has been opposed to eu sanctions on russian

oil and gas. he met face to face with vladimir putin in october, the first western leader to do so since april 2022. hungary has however, supplied humanitarian aid to ukraine, and helped hundreds of thousands of ukrainian refugees heading to other eu countries. around 25,000 ukrainian refugees remain in hungary, and receive state support. to talk more about where hungary's move leaves eu funding for ukraine, we can go live now to kim lane scheppele, professor of sociology and international affairs at princeton university. very good to have you with us tonight. hungary has vetoed aid to ukraine. russia has now congratualted hungary on that move. what did you make of that? there is a bigger picture going on behind the scenes and i know it is tempting to think that they want to do this, but 0rban has a different agenda here, and that is that a year ago,

the eu blocked about 30 billion euros in funds to hungary because hungary is now a dictatorship and violates the rule of law. 0rban is trying to hold out and use his foes to get a ransom from the eu. this week, they gave him 10 billion of those euros in order to get his on the uk annexation. it's just that was not enough money to clear his veto and the to ukraine. i to clear his veto and the to ukraine-— to clear his veto and the to ukraine. ., ., ., . ,, ., ukraine. i want to go back to what you _ ukraine. i want to go back to what you just _ ukraine. i want to go back to what you just said, _ ukraine. i want to go back to what you just said, calling i what you just said, calling hungary a dictatorship. how do you square that with the fact that hungary is considered a democracy and is in the european union? nobody considers _ european union? nobody considers it _ european union? nobody considers it a _ european union? nobody considers it a democracy | considers it a democracy anymore. you look at the freedom, the varieties of democracy, even the european parliament passed a year solution last for the said that hungary is no longer a democracy. the country as a democracy, they can change leaders to elections and 0rban

change the election was back in 2013 and it does not matter how much the opposition has a pause, 0rban will continue to win elections. the eu knows that they are trying to figure what do with the fact that you have got a country in its midst thatis have got a country in its midst that is no longer a democracy. imagine hungary was looking to unlock the eu funds. was that a mistake by the eu? i unlock the eu funds. was that a mistake by the eu?— mistake by the eu? i think so. it has mistake by the eu? i think so. it has been — mistake by the eu? i think so. it has been a _ mistake by the eu? i think so. it has been a long _ mistake by the eu? i think so. it has been a long time - mistake by the eu? i think so. it has been a long time trying| it has been a long time trying to get the eu to hit 0rban where it matters and it is funding, the main language he understands. as long as the year you hold that funding try and compel them to change as much of a system to create an opening for democratic renewal. brother very least restore judicial independence and corruption. he kind of looked

like he was drunk but if you understand how the lord's work of the ground you realise nothing really substantial had changed. the eu took the laws, confused walls with reality and gave investment allegedly because they complied with these kind of dictates the eu had set up the thesis tangle suspicious to get the managers before the eu council meeting and that is why a lot of people are saying this was money for nothing. they got, 0rban didn't even vote for ukrainian concession.— even vote for ukrainian concession. ., ,, ., concession. he walked out. the other 26 would _ concession. he walked out. the other 26 would bow _ concession. he walked out. the other 26 would bow and - concession. he walked out. the other 26 would bow and then i concession. he walked out. the | other 26 would bow and then he would walk back in but he didn't get a lot of money which is the most crucial thing in the moment. to is the most crucial thing in the moment.— is the most crucial thing in the moment. ., ., ., the moment. to ask you about that funding. _ the moment. to ask you about that funding, next _ the moment. to ask you about that funding, next year - the moment. to ask you about that funding, next year 0rban| that funding, next year 0rban will hold the rotating presidency of the eu from june to december. if the war is still ongoing which we anticipated to be, what would that mean for ukraine? this is

really serious. _ that mean for ukraine? this is really serious. 0rban - that mean for ukraine? this is really serious. 0rban we'll- really serious. 0rban we'll hold this rotating presidency which means his country is basically in charge of setting the agenda for the council of ministers which is sort of like the upper chamber of the eu parliament so to speak. wake countries both assays and the country vertically presidency is to set an agenda for the f0 example there was a question something with ukraine, 0rban cannot put it on the agenda. it is a serious power he has the term in the second half of 2024 and that comes after the european parliament elections in which 0rban is expecting far right parties are lined with him are going to win all over europe and he is working towards that goal. it is significant.— towards that goal. it is siunificant. ~ . , ., significant. we have seen that ha en significant. we have seen that happen across _ significant. we have seen that happen across europe. - significant. we have seen that happen across europe. the i significant. we have seen that| happen across europe. the rise of further right—wing parties for the one more question, we have about a minute lap. 0rban would refute his country is a

dictatorship and he has these clashes with brussels. how does that placed at home? that clashes with brussels. how does that placed at home?— clashes with brussels. how does that placed at home? at home it is a masterful _ that placed at home? at home it is a masterfuljob _ that placed at home? at home it is a masterfuljob of— that placed at home? at home it is a masterfuljob of spinning - is a masterfuljob of spinning things. after he voted to block the funding to ukraine he gave an interview this morning saying i am preventing the money owed to us from going to ukraine. he portrayed this as a zero—sum game which it wasn't and the other thing he said recently interview this week is not an to have brussels control us. we aim to take brussels. this is his plan for 2024. this is just the opening act of something we will see a lot more of in 2024. interesting discussion, thank you for joining us tonight. thank you. a federaljury has ordered former us president donald trump's ex—lawyer rudy giuliani to pay damages to two georgia election workers in a defamation case. mr giuliani falsely accused

wandrea �*shaye' moss, a voter registration officer in georgia, and her mother ruby freeman, who was a temporary election worker, of vote tampering during the 2020 presidential election. thejury found giuliani harmed the two with his statements and ordered he pay more than $148 million dollars for defamation, emotional distress, and punitive damages. he slammed the order in comments to reporters. possibly will move for a new trial and we will appeal the absurdity of the number merely underscores the absurdity of the entire proceeding. i am quite confident when this case gets before a fair tribunal it will be reversed so quickly it will be reversed so quickly it will make your head spin. fine will make your head spin. one ofthe will make your head spin. one of the election _ will make your head spin. one of the election workers. one of the election workers who brought the case and won the damages had this to say after the ruling.

as we move forward and continue to seekjustice, our greatest wish is that no one, no election worker or a voter or school board member or anyone else ever experiences anything like what we went through. you all matter and you are all important. we hope no one ever has to fight so hard just to get your name back. 0ur north america correspondent nomia iqbal has been covering the story and has more. . ajudge had .ajudge had already decided really giuliani had spread false information about these two women. ruby freeman and seamus, motherand two women. ruby freeman and seamus, mother and daughter. during the civil trial, they both described how their lives had almost been destroyed after december three 2020 went really giuliani suggested both women, election workers, they were counting balance, but they had some uptake in part on election fraud to try and turn the election against trump in the

swing state of georgia. both women gave emotional testimony where they talked about in detail how they had received racist and threatening messages, phone calls, people turned up at their homes calling for them to be killed. and even mrs moss teenage son was targeted in such a way he could not finish his school education and had to finish it at home. in terms of what really giuliani have to say, he never actually gave evidence, never actually gave evidence, never testified but his lawyer said he should not bear responsibility for the abuse directed towards these women. whether or not you can actually pay this huge amount we don't actually know. during the actually know. during the actual civil trial, really giuliani refused to disclose exactly how much he is worried. —— worth. we have an update to the tragic passing of actor matthew perry. medical officials say the friends star's death was an accident caused

by the "acute effects of ketamine." the report summary said he had been receiving "ketamine infusion therapy for depression and anxiety". perry was found unresponsive in the hot tub of his la home in october. perry was best known for playing chanlder bing in the hit sitcom friends. he was very open about his longterm battle with addition and substance abuse in the final years of his life. the affects of air pollution on hearts and lungs are well documented , but there's now growing evidence that different pollutants also affect our brains. fossilfuels, cigarette smoke, and wildfire smoke are the primary contributors to air pollution in 2023. researchers at the american medical association found that americans who live in areas with high emmisions from agriculture have a greater risk of dementia. similarly, a study by the environmental protection agency found that fine particulate matter from wildfire smoke can reduce attention in adults within just hours of exposure. as climate change brings more intense weather each year, the consequences pose a greater threat to our health.

here's our science editor rebecca morelle. breathing in polluted air in the name of science. briony evans is a volunteer at this manchester university lab, where scientists are trying to learn about the impact of fumes on the brain. here we've got everything that we need to conduct the experiments, to expose the participants to air pollution. the team is looking at four different kinds of pollution — diesel from an engine, cleaning products, wood smoke and cooking fumes from a pork chop. the pollutants are carefully measured and piped into a giant plastic bag. are you feeling 0k? the volunteers are exposed to a different fume on every visit to see which ones have the biggest effect on the brain. you could imagine that we find that wood burning is worse than diesel, is worse than cooking, for example. this would then allow people to make lifestyle choices about their exposure

to the different pollutants. the world health organization says that almost all of the global population — 99% — are breathing in air that exceeds the who limits on common air pollutants, and the combined effects of outdoor and indoor air pollution is contributing to seven million premature deaths every year. this makes it the leading environmental cause of premature death. are you ready? begin. the participants carry out cognitive tests before and after their exposure. while we know how air quality affects the lungs and heart, less is known about the brain. the quality of the air you breathe, over the long term, is associated with increased risks of mental illness, poor cognitive development in children, and dementia. so what we're trying to do in this study is understand not the nature of the association, but why there's an association. deep breath in, and blast it out. taking part in the experiments is a big commitment,

but one that briony says is worth it. anything that can be done to find out things that cause us damage just in our normal way of life, that can be changed, seems like a really valuable thing to do. it will take several months to analyse the data, but the results could mean we think differently about how our everyday activities affect the air we breathe. rebecca morelle, bbc news. and before we go, we want to share one of the most—watched videos on our website. a family in the us state of kentucky found an extra visitor hiding in their christmas tree, an owl. the white family says they didn't even notice the bird forfour days. it was only when a carpet cleaner came to their home did he notice the branches of the tree moving. the owl was captured and released safely in the family's backyard. thank you for watching, i'm sumi somaskanda and i'll be back in 30 minutes.

hello there. it was a stunning end to the day that we had over northeast england with some amazing sunsets reported pretty widely. caused by a few gaps in the cloud opening up at the right time to allow those setting sun rays through. it was across eastern england and parts of eastern scotland we had today's lowest temperatures, six degrees in fylingdales. here it is set to get milder into the weekend. temperaturesjumping up to around 11 degrees. it is mild because it is cloudy and that cloud sheet is with us for the next few hours. damp weather moving across scotland where it is quite breezy. a few patches of drizzle around western coasts and hills and there may well be one or two mist and fog patches but no frost around. it will be a mild

start to saturday. this weekend sees a weather front that gets stuck across the north—west of scotland and it will bring very large rainfall accumulations with rain building up through the weekend. the met office have issued an amber warning for this. potentially as much as 200 millimetres of rain across the high ground in the highlands, enough to cause flooding concerns and one or two landslips as well. the weekend dominated by these mild southwesterly winds. temperatures will be reaching double figures widely. saturday, rain across the far northwest of scotland. damp weather to start the day in the west with a few patches of drizzle and a bit of mist and fog around, otherwise cloudy. a chance of a few breaks developing given there is more wind over the welsh mountains. to the east of the high ground and across the midlands, might actually start to see breaks in the crowd and a bit of sunshine otherwise staying cloudy for most of the day. similar story on sunday. a bit more in the way of rain, more extensively over scotland. some damp weather for northern ireland. at the same time, better prospect of seeing cloud breaks move up from north france.

could see a bit of sunshine across the south of england and the southern parts of wales for the second part of the weekend. monday continues with the mild flow of air. some areas of rain mainly across western areas. that east having a better chance of a few breaks and a few bright sunny spells. it is going to be a very mild day for december. beyond that, the weather does turn colder. may will be cold enough for some of these showers to start to turn wintry towards the end of the week or perhaps the following weekend.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme.