this is bbc news. the uk and germany issue a joint call for a "sustainable ceasefire" in gaza, but prime minister netanyahu insists israel will "fight to the end" to eliminate hamas. the world health organization describes the emergency department of gaza's al shifa hospital as a "bloodbath" — after delivering crucial medical supplies. former conservative peer baroness mone admits she stands to benefit from millions of pounds of profit from protective equpment sold to the government during the pandemic. i wasn't trying to pull the wool over anyone�*s eyes, and i regret, and i am sorry, for not saying straight out, yes i am involved. serbs vote in snap elections called after protests over mass shootings in the country.

i will be representing the uk at the eurovision song contest! pop star and actor olly alexander is announced as the united kingdom's entry for next year's eurovision song contest. welcome to the programme. we start with the latest on the israel—gaza war. britain and germany are calling for an urgent sustainable ceasefire in gaza. last week both countries abstained on a united nations resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. but in a change of tone, which echoes a shift in the us, the foreign ministers of both countries say too many civilians have been killed in israel's war against hamas and the sooner a truce comes the better. france meanwhile has also called for an immediate and durable ceasefire. israel's prime minister benhamin netanyahu has strongly reiterated his opposition to a ceasefire.

speaking before a cabinet meeting, he insisted they will fight till the end to eliminate hamas — which many countries consider a terror group. israel stepped up its bombardment of gaza overnight and into sunday, reportedly killing at least a0 people. these pictures, filmed on sunday morning, looking into gaza from israel, show large plumes of smoke burning, with many damaged buildings in sight. communications are down for a fourth day, making it hard to reach the wounded. but elsewhere, the kerem shalom crossing between israel and gaza has opened for aid trucks, for the first time since the war began. until now, only limited amounts of aid have been able to enter gaza from egypt. health officials say israeli forces have killed at least five palestinians in a raid on a refugee camp. the israel military says it carried out air strikes near the city after it's soldiers came under fire. city after it's soldiers came under fire.

our security correspondent frank gardner is injerusalem following developments. it is very clear that the netanyahu government is coming under pressure from two directions. over the last few days we have seen mounting pressure from the relatives of the hostages, the roughly 129 israeli hostages, the roughly 129 israeli hostages still held by hamas in gaza. they want them out. they want the man through negotiations. there are things moving in that direction. it is talks about talks, rather than hard negotiations. this has been written about by david cameron and by his german opposite number in welttag am sonntag, i think it is. they say they want a sustainable ceasefire leading to a sustainable peace. what does that actually mean? they want one that is only going to

come into being if there is a chance of peace at the end of it. a lot of this is about semantics. their french counterpart, who is in town today here in israel, is actually going a bit further, saying there needs to be a ceasefire now. because of the incredibly high number of casualties, every day there are more tales of terrible tragedy in gaza, some of which is pointing fingers at poor discipline by the idf, the israel defence forces. the newspapers here are full of yesterday's tragedies. they call it the shooting dead, or accidental, or mistaken shooting dead by of three israeli soldiers who are mistaken for gunmen. one of the newspaper says you can't entirely blame them because hamas are hiding amongst the people. but nevertheless it is prompting questions, just how disciplined are some of these troops, if they are not following rules of engagement as these three

were not. our security correspondent frank gardner. let's take it to these large pictures. large plumes of smoke in the sky. the israeli bombardment continues for another day. a team from the world health organization who have visited the al shifa hospital in north gaza have described the emergency department there as a "bloodbath". the who says it was able to deliver much needed medicines and surgical supplies to the hospital during a visit on saturday. it says only a handful of doctors and a few nurses are still working in what it's described as a "hospital in need of resuscitation". sean casey was part of that who team. he posted this video update from his visit. it's completely overwhelmed with patients. very few staff

remaining. as we've been here for the last 30 minutes, there's been a nonstop stream of injured people coming in on trolleys, on donkey carts, on stretchers being pushed down the road. there are almost no medical staff here. this largest referral hospital here in gaza has become a trauma stabilisation point. they can only provide the most basic care for people with very serious injuries and very serious illnesses. and sean casey, who you saw there, joins me now. he's the emergency medical teams coordinator at the world health organization, and has just returned from the al—shifa hospital in gaza. thank you very much forjoining us here, and what must be an incredibly busy time for you and your team. just tell us more about what you saw first hand at al—shifa hospital. thanks very much. this was our first mission to al—shifa hospital in the last three weeks and we didn't know

what we would find. we arrived and found a hospital that we won't show was functioning, that was completely overwhelmed with hundreds of patients, caregivers, thousands of people in the emergency area. very few hospital staff and we met with the hospital leadership and found that the staff had mostly left. many of them have been displaced, so previously 750 bed hospital is operating with about ten or 11 of its normal staff. ten or 11 doctors and nurses and about 70 volunteers will stop patients were streaming in every 30 to 60 seconds, with fresh injuries, and there were patients everywhere, all over the floors, on stretchers, on gurneys. it was almost difficult to walk around without stepping on somebody because there were people covering the floor. it is a hospital that is reallyjust floor. it is a hospital that is really just getting restarted floor. it is a hospital that is reallyjust getting restarted after a period of closure and it has

become a shelter. there are thousands of people sheltering on site, and it is trying desperately to resume services. but it has challenges with power, staffing and supplies. it is providing only the most minimal services at this point. what sort of injuries and medical issues did most of the people that you saw have? we issues did most of the people that you saw have?— issues did most of the people that you saw have? we saw children with 0 en you saw have? we saw children with open wounds _ you saw have? we saw children with open wounds on _ you saw have? we saw children with open wounds on their— you saw have? we saw children with open wounds on their faces. - you saw have? we saw children with open wounds on their faces. we - you saw have? we saw children with open wounds on their faces. we saw you saw have? we saw children with i open wounds on their faces. we saw a baby with jaundice. we saw many adults with injuries, from what appeared to be blast injuries, open wounds, fractures. unfortunately the hospital has such limited staffing it is unable to provide care to a lot of those people, so even basic pain management is difficult or impossible in many circumstances. we saw children holding iv fluid bags for their brothers and sisters and for their brothers and sisters and for their brothers and sisters and for their parents. we saw blood all over the floors. it looked almost

like a battlefield hospital. it is just completely overwhelmed with a constant inflow of new patients, ambulances arriving constantly, people being brought in on donkey carts, on trolleys, we even had people walking alongside our vehicles, pushing patients on stretchers. it was hard to imagine. what sort of conversations with the doctors and those nurses, who are treating the many, many injured at the hospital, having with you? the? the hospital, having with you? they said they are _ the hospital, having with you? tie: said they are overwhelmed. they the hospital, having with you? ti3:1 said they are overwhelmed. they said they need everything. we are constantly asked what the priorities are and it is a very challenging question, because they don't have fuel to run their generators, they don't have oxygen. they don't have medicines to care for the patients. they don't have staff to even clean wounds and provide basic pain management. they said that they need everything, and also, almost every single person who approached us and asked us for food and water. there

is a desperate need of everything. people are really hungry and thirsty. what the staff also said to us, which was really moving, is that they are committed to helping their people. they are going to stay, they want to reopen the hospital, they want to reopen the hospital, they want help to do it and that is why we went yesterday, to provide surgical supplies, some basic medicines, some externalfix surgical supplies, some basic medicines, some external fix caters for traumatic injuries, and we are going back in the coming days with fuel, with additional medical supplies, and hopefully with staff to help support them. h0??? supplies, and hopefully with staff to help support them.— supplies, and hopefully with staff to help support them. how much of a difference is — to help support them. how much of a difference is that _ to help support them. how much of a difference is that making? _ to help support them. how much of a difference is that making? is - to help support them. how much of a difference is that making? is that - difference is that making? is that just a drop in the ocean of their needs? 50 just a drop in the ocean of their needs? . ., ., ., , needs? so much of what we do feels like a drop in — needs? so much of what we do feels like a drop in the _ needs? so much of what we do feels like a drop in the ocean, _ needs? so much of what we do feels like a drop in the ocean, even - needs? so much of what we do feels like a drop in the ocean, even the i like a drop in the ocean, even the scale here. gaza's health system is really on its knees, as we continuously say. about 22% of hospital beds are functioning, about 20% of primary care is functioning. here in rafah where i am, there are approximately 1 here in rafah where i am, there are approximately1 million displaced approximately 1 million displaced persons. approximately1 million displaced persons. what we saw in gaza city

was enormous destruction. it is hard to imagine the scale it needs. it does, in some cases, for like a drop in the ocean, but we are only going to make progress if we move forward. we provided some supplies yesterday. we provided some supplies yesterday. we are going to provide fuel, additional supplies, we are going to keep hammering away at the situation as much as we can. what we really need, quite frankly, is a ceasefire, so people can move safely so that the injuries can stop, so people can stop being harmed, so they can access hair and health workers can get to the hospital. we need peace. short of that we are going to continue to hammer away at this, providing the hospitals with what they need to be able to care for the many patients that are coming to them every day. we many patients that are coming to them every day-— many patients that are coming to them every day. we are 'ust looking at live them every day. we are 'ust looking at the pictures * them every day. we are 'ust looking at live pictures of h them every day. we are 'ust looking at live pictures of gaza _ them every day. we are just looking at live pictures of gaza from - at live pictures of gaza from southern israel. we can see huge plumes of smoke. it is another day of conflict. how safe did you feel, going to the al—shifa hospital, and have saved your teams and did the

people who are taking shelter there feel? i people who are taking shelter there feel? ~ , people who are taking shelter there feel? ~' , ., feel? i think there is nowhere safe in gaza, feel? i think there is nowhere safe in gaza. that _ feel? i think there is nowhere safe in gaza, that is _ feel? i think there is nowhere safe in gaza, that is said _ feel? i think there is nowhere safe in gaza, that is said all— feel? i think there is nowhere safe in gaza, that is said all the - feel? i think there is nowhere safe in gaza, that is said all the time, | in gaza, that is said all the time, and it is true. there are hostilities up and down the gaza strip, and what i have seen in hospitals here in the south, and up in the north, is a constant flow of trauma, which means people are continuously getting hurt in hostilities. nowhere is really safe. i think what was clear is that people do feel a degree of safety within the hospital, and that is why there are thousands, if not tens of thousands, of displaced persons living within hospital grounds. that is the case at al schiffer, that is the case at the european gaza hospital and at the medical complex. the biggest hospitals in gaza are full of displaced persons, seeking safety and warmth and shelter. nobody is completely safe here but i think people feel a degree of safety at the hospital and they should.

hospitals need to be safe places. they should not become optimally place is full of displaced persons, they should be places of care and healing and comfort. we hope that, through this kind of support, we hope to continue it. we will make sheaffer and other hospitals work again and provide that aid and provide it to the population of gaza. ., , provide it to the population of gaza. . , , .., provide it to the population of gaza. . , , ., provide it to the population of gaza. ., , ., ., provide it to the population of gaza. , ., ., . gaza. has significant, or how much of a name gaza. has significant, or how much of a game changer, _ gaza. has significant, or how much of a game changer, is _ gaza. has significant, or how much of a game changer, is the - gaza. has significant, or how much of a game changer, is the opening| gaza. has significant, or how much i of a game changer, is the opening of the crossing between israel and gaza, in terms of getting more aid in? ., ., . in? the more aid in... well, we need a hue in? the more aid in... well, we need a huge amount _ in? the more aid in... well, we need a huge amount of— in? the more aid in... well, we need a huge amount of aid _ in? the more aid in... well, we need a huge amount of aid here, - in? the more aid in... well, we need a huge amount of aid here, as - in? the more aid in... well, we need a huge amount of aid here, as i - in? the more aid in... well, we need a huge amount of aid here, as i have| a huge amount of aid here, as i have indicated. almost everybody i speak to on the street, when i am walking to on the street, when i am walking to and from the car, outside the hospital, asks me forfood and water. there is almost no food on the market here. people are going hungry. sometimes they are not eating for days. you have people walking the streets looking for firewood to cook and to stay warm and you see people building shelters

out of tarpaulin and whatever they can find. there is an urgent need to bring in more supplies from whatever channel is possible, whatever crossing is possible. the needs are absolutely enormous. we need more trucks every day. we need trucks to bring medical supplies and medicines. we need trucks to bring food. we need trucks to bring shelter supplies. we need trucks to bring feel and all of that is required just to keep the most basic level of functionality here in gaza. people are living on the sidewalks, sleeping rough. it is cold here, it is winter, and the markets have almost nothing. people have very little money following, in many cases, multiple displacements, having to move from their home to another place, to another place, to another place, to another place, to another place, to another place, to another place, four, five or six times. the more that can complain, ijy times. the more that can complain, by far the better.— by far the better. sean casey from the who, by far the better. sean casey from the wno, who — by far the better. sean casey from the who, who has _ by far the better. sean casey from the who, who hasjust _ by far the better. sean casey from the who, who hasjust returned . by far the better. sean casey from i the who, who hasjust returned from the who, who has just returned from al schiffer, thank you very much for

telling us about your visit and bringing us your insight. here here in the uk, after years of denials, the former conservative peer, baroness mone, has admitted that she stands to benefit from tens of millions of pounds of profit made from personal protective equipment that was sold to the government during the coronavirus pandemic. the company was led by her husband, doug barrowman. she says she did help broker the deal, but claims she was made a scapegoat for the government s failings. our political correspondent, laura kuenssberg, has more. questions about the pandemic, profit and politics have followed baroness mone and her husband to southern europe. for years, they denied links to a firm that received £200 million in taxpayers' money for desperately needed masks and gowns. only now the truth — that she does stand to gain. if one day, if, god forbid, my husband passes away before me, then i am a beneficiary as well as his children and my children. so, yes, of course.

my family will benefit in due course. our family will benefit. that's what you do when you're in the privileged position of making money. a successful businesswoman and member of the lords, she didn't tell parliament she was helping broker a ppe contract. she now admits she didn't tell the truth when her links to the deal first emerged. you both denied it — why? we were simply listening to our advisers. hindsight�*s a wonderful thing. i wasn't trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes. and i regret and i'm sorry for not saying straight out, "yes, i am involved". my family have gone through hell with the media over my career and i didn't want another big hoo—ha in the press and my family to be involved in it. i don't honestly see there's a case to answer. i can't see what we've done wrong.

doug and the consortium have simply delivered a contract — a delivery contract of goods. but after everything, you can't see what you've done wrong when you've admitted today that you lied to the press? that's not a crime. essentially, you lied to the public. laura, saying to the press that i'm not involved to protect my family, can ijust make this clear? it's not a crime. the company's being taken to court by the department of health. the pairare under criminal investigation. but the government wouldn't comment on the couple who only now want to have their say. laura kuenssberg, bbc news. here in the uk we've been getting some political reaction to that interview. our political correspondent, tony bonsignore, has more. we have had comments from the deputy prime minister, oliver dowden. he

appeared on the programme with laura kuenssberg. he wouldn't comment on that specific case. as laura said there there is a criminal investigation under way with the national crime agency, but also a civil claim from the department of health. he made some broader points. they included, he said, that he completely, and the government completely, and the government completely rejected any accusations of cronyism, said they had done their best in what was a very difficult and unique situation. he said that the government had been working very, very hard to try to claw back some of that money lost. bloom at the government's intention was that we would process those claims quickly. was that we would process those claims quickly-— claims quickly. everyone had ultimately — claims quickly. everyone had ultimately the _ claims quickly. everyone had ultimately the same - claims quickly. everyone had ultimately the same tests i claims quickly. everyone had i ultimately the same tests applied claims quickly. everyone had - ultimately the same tests applied to them and _ ultimately the same tests applied to them and indeed, if it is the case where _ them and indeed, if it is the case where allegations of fraud and misconduct have occurred, there is either_ misconduct have occurred, there is either the — misconduct have occurred, there is either the civil or criminal, which you can — either the civil or criminal, which you can see _

either the civil or criminal, which you can see going on in respect of the interview you have just broadcast. in addition to that we setup _ broadcast. in addition to that we set up the — broadcast. in addition to that we set up the public sector fraud authority, ready in its first year, has recovered double its initial target — has recovered double its initial tarret. ., has recovered double its initial taret. . . has recovered double its initial taruet. . . . , , target. labour have a very different take on this- _ target. labour have a very different take on this. they _ target. labour have a very different take on this. they include - target. labour have a very different take on this. they include to - target. labour have a very different take on this. they include to them l take on this. they include to them that accuse the government of wasting billions of pounds of taxpayers' money. first, through awarding these contracts in the first place, to companies who they say were only interested in making a quick profit. also, they say, through what they call a very casual approach to getting that money back. here is the shadow secretary, wes streeting. i think the government's response has been appalling. and the extent to which they've been able to claw money back has been pathetic. and i think rishi sunak should take this personally and grip it. after all, it's his name on all of those cheques. he was the chancellor who was splashing the cash.

labour say that if they do when the next general election, they will appoint a covert corruption commission to try to claw back as much money as possible.- commission to try to claw back as much money as possible. there is [en much money as possible. there is plenty more _ much money as possible. there is plenty more on — much money as possible. there is plenty more on work _ much money as possible. there is plenty more on work on _ much money as possible. there is plenty more on work on the i much money as possible. there is plenty more on work on the bbc l much money as possible. there is i plenty more on work on the bbc news website. let's go live now to the sports centre. let's get up to speed with the latest from the premier league. a big game to come later at anfield. but we're underway, in the earlier games in london. arsenal could return to the top of the table, for the time being at least, with a win over brighton. it is currently goalless at the emirates. aston villa could take advantage of any slip ups from arsenal — with victory at brenford putting them top. goalless in that one there and goalless between west ham and wolves. later on though — attention switches to rivals liverpool against manchester united. two teams, in totally different places — liverpool top of the table coming into the day... something they can't take for granted.

if we take it all out of consideration and we just play a football game against the rival, the historical rival of liverpool fc at home at anfield, and that itself must make it a special game. that is what i want to see from us, a special game, really understand the situation. and give your all, that is all i need. when i come to any game i have a strong _ when i come to any game i have a strong belief i am going to win. i will prepare the team in that way, that we _ will prepare the team in that way, that we can — will prepare the team in that way, that we can to win. why? because it is based _ that we can to win. why? because it is based on — that we can to win. why? because it is based on our rules and principles in the _ is based on our rules and principles in the game — is based on our rules and principles in the game and it is based on my game _ in the game and it is based on my game plan — in the game and it is based on my game plan. and a strong belief in the quality of my players. nathan lyon has become just the 8th bowler to take 500 test wickets. .. with the spinner helping australia to a huge win over pakistan in the opening test in perth. lyon took two on the final day as pakistan were bowled out forjust

89, giving australia a 360—run victory. the tourists are still waiting since 1995 to win a test in the country. next up is the boxing day test in melbourne. india cruised to an eight wicket win over south africa in the first one dayer in johannesburg. arshdeep singh took 5 wickets to restrict south africa to 116 all out — their lowest odi total at home. shreyas iyet and sai sudharsan both made fifties as india eased home inside 17 overs. the second of three odis takes place in quberha on tuesday. leon edwards has retained his ufc welterweight title in las vegas beating american colby covington. edwards cruised to victory, winning by unanimous decision, after going the 5 round distance. after the fight an emotional edwards criticised covington — who'd made a crass comment about the briton's late father in the build—up, i don't get how he thought that was entertainment. i think my reaction

to it threw him off a bit. the fans turn against him in the media was like, what are you doing? he is a coward and he has always been a coward. south africa's louis oosthuizen has claimed his second win in a week with a two—shot victory at the mauritius open. a final round, three under par 69 was enough to see off the challenge of englishman laurie canter. it follows oosthuizen's win at the alfred dunhill championship last monday. and that's all the sport for now. we will be back with more later on. british teenager alex batty, who was found in france after being missing for six years, has returned to the uk. alex vanished with his mother and grandfather in 2017 while they were on holiday in spain. his mother was not his legal guardian and police are yet to decide whether there will be a criminal investigation. alex was found on wednesday by a motorist, who spotted him on a road in the foothills

of the french pyrenees. serbs are voting in snap parliamentary elections seen as a test of president aleksandar vucic and his progressive party. they have been in power since 2012, but this time, they are facing a largely united opposition of 15 parties, which formed a coalition after protests over two mass shootings earlier this year. it's one of the world's biggest tv contests. we're talking the eurovision song contest. the united kingdom has revealed that the pop star and award—winning actor olly alexander will represent the country at next year's contest in sweden. the surprise announcement was made during the final of the show strictly come dancing. i can exclusively reveal i will be representing the uk for the eurovision song contest. cheering. well, our music correspondent, mark savage, sat down with olly alexander to get his reaction to the news being made public. ifeel like it is a bit like a spiritual homecoming for me, because i love eurovision so much.

ifeel like i don't know... i feel excited to be part of it now. it's such a celebration ofjoy and fun. i love how the theatrics, the drama — there is such amazing chaos of a mixture of musical styles, all these different performers. you get so much on one night, it's so fun. and camp. the whole thing — you can get on the stage in that short amount of time. that quick turnaround. how you can wow everybody. you only have a certain amount of time, a certain amount of people. what is he going to look like, what are you going to do? so, yeah, i'm thinking more about it now. you haven't announced this song yet. is there anything you can tell us? the song... i wrote the song with danny l harle and it will be coming soon, next year. and it's really good. doesn't look excited because mac only alexander ending this half hour. i will be back after a short

break. to date's when there is a repeat performance of yesterday. for dumfries and galloway we have seen that heavy rain from north—west scotland just slip a little further southwards, so turning rather wet here for the rest of the afternoon. we have still got this very mild feed of air we have still got this very mild feed ofair coming we have still got this very mild feed of air coming in on a brisk south—westerly wind, particularly blustery across north—east england, south—east scotland and also towards irish e coast, with this constant stream of rain just feeding into western areas of scotland. the rainfall totals will really start to rack up. we have seen over 100 millimetres of rain wall. we could see another 100 millimetres added on to that by the end of today. there is a met office and the weather warning and forced to. valid until 6pm. again we could see some landslips, possibly some transport

disruption from a lot of heavy rain, and that front just tends to disruption from a lot of heavy rain, and that frontjust tends to slide it's way further southwards into northern ireland, perhaps cumbria and lancashire, by the end of the afternoon. it is a lot drier further east. windy conditions and in the high ground there will be some sunny spells. staying very mild for the time of year. as we head through this evening and overnight, again our weather front this evening and overnight, again our weatherfront slips this evening and overnight, again our weather front slips further southwards. it is starting to ease but there will be some rain for a time over the welsh hills and over the midlands and northern england. that's where it is largely dry. it is a frost free start to the day tomorrow but it is now feeling a little cooler across northern areas of scotland. here we should see lots of scotland. here we should see lots of dry weather through monday morning. we will start to see more areas of rainjust morning. we will start to see more areas of rain just approach the far north and west by the time we get to the end of the day. meanwhile weather fronts further south will bring some heavy rain across western wales and possibly into northern england as well. some sunshine across northern ireland and eastern scotland. temperatures again still very mild, 11 to 13 degrees. well

above the seasonal average. on tuesday the focus for the heavy rain is going to be across england and wales, particularly towards the south. this heavy rain will take much of the data clear. you notice more of a north—westerly wind and some showers just feeding into the north—west of scotland too. some of those showers could turn out to be wintry, particularly over the hills. here is the outlook for some of our cities as we head through the rest of the week. cold in the north but still mild in the south. by by.

this is bbc news, the headlines... ina change in a change of tone, the uk and germany havejointly in a change of tone, the uk and germany have jointly called for a sustainable ceasefire in gaza. benjamin netanyahu has reiterated his opposition to a ceasefire, saying israel will fight to the end to eliminate hamas. the world health organization describes the emergency department of gaza's al—shifa hospital as a bloodbath after a team from their village crucial supplies. former conservative mp baroness mone says she is stood to get lots of profit from equipment delivered during the covid—19 pandemic. and snap elections in serbia likely to keep the current leader's party in power, despite a united opposition.

this against a progressive party's forecast to maintain its