christmas celebrations are called off in bethlehem — the usual christmas tree is replaced by a nativity scene in the rubble. the uk home secretary james cleverly has apologised afterjoking about spiking his wife's drink with a date rape drug. and the missing carol discovered after 90 years in yorkshire. hello and welcome to bbc news. we start with the war in gaza, where israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has dismissed reports that the us had convinced israel not to expand its military activity. he was speaking during a weekly cabinet meeting. on saturday, the wall streetjournal

reported that president biden had "urged the israeli prime minister to halt a pre—emptive strike against his brother forces in lebanon, days after hamas militants october 7th assault on southern israel, warning that such an attack could spark a wider regional war." further north, this is the view across the israel—lebanon border. in the past couple of hours, we've seen a thick plume of black smoke in the sky there. in our continued hostilities in that border area. in our continued hostilities in that borderarea. —— in our continued hostilities in that border area. —— there are continued hostilities. we've been hearing from the israeli prime minister today — here's a little of that. translation: last night, - i talked again with president biden. i do appreciate us' steadfast position at the security council — a position which backs our war effort. yesterday, i told president biden that we will fight until total victory, as long as it takes. the us understands this. i saw false reports that claimed

the united states has prevented us from operational activities in the region. this is not true. israel is a sovereign country. our war decisions are based on our operational considerations. we will talk to an israeli government spokesperson in a moment. this is the live scene over the israel—gaza border, where we've seen continued bombardement this weekend. an israel military spokesman says it's expanding its ground operations in the southern and northern parts of the strip. and these are live pictures from outside nasser hospital in khan younis. we've seen more injured arriving there in the past few hours. reuters is reporting that at least 166 palestinians hae been killed in gaza in the past 2a hours — they're citing the hamas—run health ministry. it says total deaths in gaza since october seven are now more than 20,400.

we've been hearing more about the deteriorating conditions there this morning. earlier i spoke to jason lee — he's a country director with save the children. the situation for children is deteriorating rapidly. there are many instances of children so traumatised that they are almost in a catatonic state of shock. we have seen countless times the lack of aid, the lack of any protection for children, the lack of access for them to support, to food, water, and most critically, medical care. there's not a single functional hospital left in the north of gaza, yet there's hundreds of thousands of civilians that are trapped there still, and with ongoing and escalating fighting, the death toll and casualty rate, especially amongst children, will increase. and children are more susceptible to the explosive weapons that are used. their bodies are smaller, their bones break easier, they have less blood,

which means they bleed out quicker. this is why it is imperative that there must... ..there must be a ceasefire. it is the only way to protect civilians, especially children. jason lee, the country director for save the children. let's go live to tel aviv, we can speak to israeli government spokesperson eylon levy. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. the israeli prime minister dismissing reports that the united states had convinced him not to expand its military activity. are you saying that request was never actually made by the us? we you saying that request was never actually made by the us?- actually made by the us? we are sa in: actually made by the us? we are saying that _ actually made by the us? we are saying that the — actually made by the us? we are saying that the prime _ actually made by the us? we are saying that the prime minister i saying that the prime minister decided in the aftermath of the october seven massacre that we are going to focus first on destroying the monsters who perpetrated that massacre. we are going to focus on a policy of destroying her mass in response to the massacre and aggressive deterrence against anyone else thinking of entering that conflict. that is the policy adopted by the security cabinet in the

immediate aftermath of the massacre. was israel considering a pre—emptive strike against hezbollah and had to be dissuaded byjoe biden�*s intervention? be dissuaded by joe biden's intervention?— be dissuaded by joe biden's intervention? ~ , intervention? the prime minister announced _ intervention? the prime minister announced immediately - intervention? the prime minister announced immediately after- intervention? the prime minister announced immediately after the october the 7th massacre, we are focusing on destroying the monsters who perpetrated that massacre. we don't want to fight on two fronts and have been warning from the beginning that we do not want to fight on two fronts but the situation in the north now is escalating, as hezbollah appears hell—bent on driving lebanon into a needless war. we are warning the un security council resolution 1701 must be implemented which is supposed to keep the peace by keeping the iran backed hezbollah militias away from the northern border. unfortunately, they have been stepping up more terror attacks that have been destroying houses in a village on the israel lebanon

border. �* , ., a village on the israel lebanon border. , ., border. are you considering action auainst border. are you considering action against hezbollah? _ border. are you considering action against hezbollah? we _ border. are you considering action against hezbollah? we are - border. are you considering action against hezbollah? we are saying | border. are you considering action i against hezbollah? we are saying the situation in the _ against hezbollah? we are saying the situation in the north _ against hezbollah? we are saying the situation in the north of— against hezbollah? we are saying the situation in the north of 80,000 - situation in the north of 80,000 displaced israelis is intolerable. we are trying to deter hezbollah from dragging us into a war but until a diplomatic silt del —— until a diplomatic situation is found, we will continue to repel this threat from our northern border. with; will continue to repel this threat from our northern border. why do you thinkjoe biden _ from our northern border. why do you thinkjoe biden had _ from our northern border. why do you thinkjoe biden had to _ from our northern border. why do you thinkjoe biden had to remind - from our northern border. why do you thinkjoe biden had to remind israel. thinkjoe biden had to remind israel of the critical need to protect civilians? , of the critical need to protect civilians?— of the critical need to protect civilians? , �* ., , , civilians? president biden has been a stalwart supporter _ civilians? president biden has been a stalwart supporter from - civilians? president biden has been a stalwart supporter from day - civilians? president biden has been a stalwart supporter from day one i a stalwart supporter from day one when he said that if the united states had faced the sort of massacre that we had on october the 7th, its response would be swift, decisive... 7th, its response would be swift, decisive- - -_ 7th, its response would be swift, decisive... . �* , ., , ., decisive... that's not the question i asked yon _ decisive... that's not the question i asked yom why _ decisive... that's not the question i asked you. why has _ decisive... that's not the question i asked you. why has america, - decisive... that's not the question | i asked you. why has america, the president, had to remind you to protect civilians?—

president, had to remind you to protect civilians? we've told the americans _ protect civilians? we've told the americans through _ protect civilians? we've told the americans through the - protect civilians? we've told the americans through the rigorous | protect civilians? we've told the - americans through the rigorous steps we take in selecting targets and showing them how we are going after the monsters who perpetrated the probe the seventh massacre. unfortunately in the gaza strip, hamas is playing a cynical and evil game, it has spent 16 years embedding itself under schools and homes and hospitals in a deliberate strategy to hide behind civilians and evadejustice, making it impossible to apprehend them after they attacked our people. we are trying to get civilians out of harm's way so we can go after the monsters who perpetrated the october the 7th massacre.— the 7th massacre. you're saying you are doinu the 7th massacre. you're saying you are doing everything _ the 7th massacre. you're saying you are doing everything you _ the 7th massacre. you're saying you are doing everything you can - the 7th massacre. you're saying you are doing everything you can but. the 7th massacre. you're saying you are doing everything you can but we i are doing everything you can but we have 20,000 plus palestinians killed since october the 7th, your own estimates suggest between 5,000 and 6,000 hamas fighters included in that number. that's a terrible ratio of four to one civilians.— of four to one civilians. according to our of four to one civilians. according to your numbers _ of four to one civilians. according to your numbers it _

of four to one civilians. according to your numbers it would - of four to one civilians. according to your numbers it would be - of four to one civilians. according | to your numbers it would be three of four to one civilians. according . to your numbers it would be three to one and when you compare that to other western counterterrorism campaigns, the uk and us in afghanistan, iraq and isis, the ratio shows that the extent that israel is going to protect civilians. you asked me why the americans have to keep reminding people. senator antony blinken says this work an end tomorrow if hamas surrenders and lays down its arms and we think anyone who is concerned for civilians and gaza should be demanding that the monsters who burned, beheaded and raped innocent israelis surrender and no one else needs to be hurt. the israelis surrender and no one else needs to be hurt.— needs to be hurt. the washington post found that _ needs to be hurt. the washington post found that more _ needs to be hurt. the washington post found that more buildings i needs to be hurt. the washington | post found that more buildings had been destroyed in the first seven weeks of this war than aleppo in three years. your destroying infrastructure. your destroying gaza, not just

infrastructure. your destroying gaza, notjust hamas. it is infrastructure. your destroying gaza, notjust hamas. gaza, not 'ust hamas. it is tragic that gaza, notjust hamas. it is tragic that hamas _ gaza, notjust hamas. it is tragic that hamas spent _ gaza, notjust hamas. it is tragic that hamas spent 16 _ gaza, notjust hamas. it is tragic that hamas spent 16 years i gaza, notjust hamas. it is tragic that hamas spent 16 years in i gaza, notjust hamas. it is tragic l that hamas spent 16 years in which it governed gaza instead of trying to serve the people of gaza, building bunkers and tunnels underneath schools. i’m building bunkers and tunnels underneath schools. i'm talking about what _ underneath schools. i'm talking about what your _ underneath schools. i'm talking about what your doing. - underneath schools. i'm talking about what your doing. there . underneath schools. i'm talking l about what your doing. there was underneath schools. i'm talking i about what your doing. there was a peace in israel couple of days ago —— there was a news piece which said you were putting lipstick on nonsense. you were putting lipstick on nonsense-— you were putting lipstick on nonsense. , ., , , nonsense. the people putting li stick nonsense. the people putting lipstick on _ nonsense. the people putting lipstick on nonsense - nonsense. the people putting lipstick on nonsense are i nonsense. the people putting lipstick on nonsense are the l nonsense. the people putting i lipstick on nonsense are the people trying to cover up for a mass embedding itself under civilian areas. hamas has a strategy of using human shields. it builds command centres under hospitals, stores rockets and mosques and when israel goes after these legitimate targets, people complain that israel shouldn't be attacking them as if terrorists should be given immunity because they choose to hide under

civilian infrastructure. ida because they choose to hide under civilian infrastructure.— civilian infrastructure. no one is sa in: civilian infrastructure. no one is saying that. _ civilian infrastructure. no one is saying that. they _ civilian infrastructure. no one is saying that, they are _ civilian infrastructure. no one is saying that, they are just i saying that, they are just questioning your basic tactics. benjamin netanyahu has sent a message to hamas saying, you either surrender or die. how do you think that helps in terms of hostage releases? we that helps in terms of hostage releases? ~ ~ that helps in terms of hostage releases? ~ “ ., , that helps in terms of hostage releases? ~ ~ ., , ., ., releases? we think the only action a un security — releases? we think the only action a un security council _ releases? we think the only action a un security council should _ releases? we think the only action a un security council should have i un security council should have taken after the deadliest terror attack since september 11 is for the perpetrators to surrendered immediately, lay down their arms, turn themselves over for a war crime tribunal. �* , , , ., ,~ turn themselves over for a war crime tribunal. �* , , , ., ., tribunal. i'm simply asking about what our tribunal. i'm simply asking about what your prime _ tribunal. i'm simply asking about what your prime minister- tribunal. i'm simply asking about what your prime minister said, i what your prime minister said, surrender or die, how does that help in terms of reaching that objective of hostage releases? our in terms of reaching that ob'ective of hostage releases?i of hostage releases? our policy is to ut of hostage releases? our policy is to put unrelenting _ of hostage releases? our policy is to put unrelenting military - of hostage releases? our policy is i to put unrelenting military pressure on hamas to release those hostages and that strategy vindicated itself with the last hostage release because in exchange for hostages, hamas wanted a breather, it wanted a few days of a pause in the fighting and on december the 1st, hamas

decided to violate the framework we had in place, stop releasing all of the women and children still trapped in its dungeons and resume its rocket attacks against israel. our policy now is to continue putting unrelenting military pressure on hamas because standing by the sidelines was never an option. we are the conditions for hamas to be willing to release the hostages it has brutally abducted and is holding without any access to the red cross in flagrant violation of humanitarian law and any law of humanitarian law and any law of human decency for those hostages trapped in those terror dungeons. let me ask you about advice to civilians because 150,000 people are being told to evacuate central gaza. many have been displaced several times and the israeli army is just ordering people to move into areas where there are ongoing air strikes, nowhere is safe, there is nowhere to

go. that's the basic predicament for civilians, not hamas but civilians caught up in this conflict, isn't it? ., , ., ., , caught up in this conflict, isn't it? ., , ., , it? no, israel has been urging civilians from _ it? no, israel has been urging civilians from the _ it? no, israel has been urging civilians from the beginning i it? no, israel has been urgingj civilians from the beginning to it? no, israel has been urging i civilians from the beginning to move to a designated humanitarian zone. we designated the zone is a humanitarian zone because hamas is not already embedded itself there. we think it's tragic that international aid agencies have been complicit with her mass's human shield strategy by diverting people into her mass strongholds where they can hide behind them instead of sending them to the humanitarian zone —— complicit with hamas human shield strategy. hamas has fired rockets at our communities, and not a single un agency can condemn hamas forfiring rockets into areas a single un agency can condemn hamas for firing rockets into areas where we want civilians to be safe. civilians must be protected and if we are going to do that we need international agencies to help get them to areas that we have designated as a safe because hamas

is not operating out of there, instead of playing along with hamas's human shield strategy and making themselves culpable... the? making themselves culpable... they would contest _ making themselves culpable... they would contest every _ making themselves culpable... they would contest every part of what you have said as they continue to operate in terms of the humanitarian situation on the ground and i won't rehash what the un secretary—general has said. we have to leave it there but thank you very much forjoining us. but thank you very much for “oining us. . ~' but thank you very much for “oining us. . ~ , ., y but thank you very much for “oining us. . ~' , ., , . but thank you very much for “oining us, ., ~' , . �* , us. thank you very much. merry christmas- _ bethlehem, the biblical birthplace ofjesus, would normally be packed with pilgrims and tourists celebrating christmas. but this year, celebrations are subdued after palestinian christian leaders in the town cancelled all public festivities in solidarity with gazans living through months of bombing and fighting. our correspondent shaimaa khalil is in bethlehem. on days like this, joudat and his father would have been talking about christmas preparations. not this year. his family's stuck in northern gaza.

he tries to reassure his father that he'll make it out alive and that they'll be together again. but his dad is overcome with grief. a week ago, joudat�*s grandmother was shot twice in the stomach. his aunt rushed to help her and was shot in the head. joudat�*s parents and relatives had been sheltering in the holy family church. now they've buried their loved ones there. the family blames israeli snipers for their death. the idf says it will continue its investigation. "there's still shelling around us", his father tells me. before he says goodbye, he has one last message for his son. "may god be with you, my son," he says. "take care of your sisters." the war in gaza weighs heavily on bethlehem. visitors from around the world would have been here by now. it's empty. the city is empty from happiness, from joy, from kids, from santa,

from every celebration. there is no celebration this year. we cannot be happy because, you know, we are not in another side of the world. we are like, you know, still in palestine. translation: it's so difficult. we're really struggling. look at bethlehem. it's never been this way. the atmosphere is heavy with absence. the absence of any features of celebration, the absence of tourists, of pilgrims who would normally fill this square. bethlehem is many miles away from the war in gaza, but the pain is felt deeply here. in an unusually empty nativity church, the priest tells me his city feels like a shadow of itself. 12 years here as a priest of this church. and i was born in bethlehem. and i never actually seen like this time of the year.

we have also brothers and sisters in gaza. and this is what exactly makes it difficult also to celebrate and to have maybe music and to celebrate, to have parties usually. but because of this, what's happening, we'lljust pray for them. in manger square, a nativity scene in the rubble has replaced the giant christmas tree, a tribute to the children in gaza and a call to end their suffering. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, bethlehem. the us defence department has accused iran of launching a drone which damaged an oil tanker off the coast of india. the attack happened 320 kilometres southwest of veraval and caused a fire on board, which was extinguished. there were no casualties. with more on this, bbc persian's parham ghobadi joins me now. what is the latest your hearing? iran has a history of seizing international ships but this is the first time since hamas's attack on

israel that iran has been accused of targeting an oil tanker. it's also supremely significant because the tanker according to us officials was hit near india which is 1,000 kilometres from iran. it is also in the past few weeks the international ships were targeted, not near iranian borders, in the red sea, and they were believed to have been targeted by houthis. the us military said a warship was shot down by drones that they believe was coming from houthis and another oil tanker was targeted in the red sea. the iranian revolutionary guard warned yesterday that in the past, the persian gulf and oman sea became a nightmare for international shipping, notice the red sea and if the war in israel does not come to

an end, you will see the same thing happening in the mediterranean sea and off the strait of gibraltar. what is iran saying officially about this? ., ., , what is iran saying officially about this? ., ., this? iran has not denied involvement _ this? iran has not denied involvement in _ this? iran has not denied involvement in this i this? iran has not denied| involvement in this attack this? iran has not denied i involvement in this attack but this? iran has not denied - involvement in this attack but the official line has been that they do not accept that these groups like houthis or hezbollah are their proxies, they say they are acting independently but iran has been accused of providing the know—how and technology for making drawings and technology for making drawings and making the missiles. also hamas as well. this gives them plausible deniability that these independent groups act independently, however they are supported by iran. the iranian revolutionary guard has also issued a warning saying they are going to make international shipping

everywhere unsafe and this is quite significant that the ship was targeted to 1,000 kilometres away from iran. here in the uk, the home secretary, james cleverly, has apologised forjoking about spiking drinks. the remark is alleged to have been made on the same day he announced new measures to tackle the problem. our political correspondent ione wells reports. downing street held a christmas reception last monday forjournalists, ministers and political aides. it was held by chance on the same day the home secretary had promoted a raft of new government measures to tackle spiking — the act of putting alcohol or drugs in someone's drink or body without their consent. the sunday mirror alleges that james cleverly told fellow guests that the secret to a long marriage was ensuring your spouse was someone who is always mildly sedated, so she can never realise there are better men out there. it also alleges he mentioned rohypnol — a drug commonly used to spike drinks.

a spokesperson for mr cleverly said, in what was always understood as a private conversation, the home secretary made what was clearly meant to be an ironicjoke — for which he apologises. the shadow home secretary, yvette cooper, said spiking was a devastating crime, and it was unbelievable to make a joke about it. ione wells, bbc news, westminster. let's get some of the day's stories in the uk. bbc news has learned the uk is to send a naval warship to guyana after venezuela renewed its claim for a disputed part of guyanese territory. the ministry of defence confirmed hms trent would take part in joint exercises after christmas. the uk's new anti—fraud champion says police and tech firms must do more to help victims of romance scams. conservative mp simon fell told the bbc that romance fraud could be "really traumatic" for victims. the national fraud intelligence bureau received more than 8,000 reports of romance fraud in 2022. britons are facing rail disruption today,

as the christmas rush continues. london paddington is shutting, with some other stations running reduced services. the windy weather could also cause problems with yellow warnings in place from the met office. a christmas carol lost for nearly 90 years has been performed in the south yorkshire town where it was originally composed. the song christmas eve was written by arthur godfrey, a factory worker from barnsley. here's a quick taste. # the chime of bells inspires the midnight breeze # and greets with fond caress the whispering trees # the moon—white hills around, in snow—shine splendour crowned # with pealing joys resound of christmas bells # glad tidings of the saviour bring # peace reigneth as ye gaily ring # ring on, ring on, ring on # while the merry breezes sing of christmas bells.#

tegwen roberts — who you just heard singing there — from barnsley museumsjoined me a little earlier. what a joy to sing that beautiful song. we found it while looking for newspaper articles about barnsley town hall which also opened 90 years ago this month and we found this carol that had been published in the barnsley katmai chronicle and to he would come back to life, the reaction we've had from people far it has been incredible. it had just sat there for 90 years amongst everything else. tell me a little more about who had originally written it. arthur godfrey was born in barnsley.

he worked in the glass bottle industry for his life. he lived in the middle of barnsley. he wasn't a professional musician but was very musically talented and he also wrote a number of other hymns and set poems to music. did the person who found it recognise what he had found or was it only after he had given it to you? who clicked that this was something of real importance? it was an absolute team effort. michael spotted it and realised it was something special, then he give it to me knowing i am a singer and an enthusiastic carol singer. we have a strong carolling tradition in south yorkshire, which i am part of. i thought it was an incredibly beautiful tune. the next day, wejust recorded a little version on the town hall main stairwell, which has a beautiful

acoustic, thinking it would be a nice thing to share with the museum team and a few other people. we never thought it would go as big as it has but today we have the youth choir singing on the town hall steps today and my soul is full of christmas music. it's incredible. did it come with a manuscript and lyrics? tell me about the reaction there has been since it was first publicly sung. what has that been like? it came with four parts, it is all written out and it has all the words with it too, and if people want to see that there is a blog on the barnsley museum's blog site and a link to the youtube videos. the reaction has been incredible, people have been recording their own versions, the barnsley music hub did a brass version, and people from across the country saying they are going to be singing

it at christmas. i don't think arthur could have wished for more. and for barnsley museums, we feel so overwhelmed and honoured to have been able to bring this amazing carol back to life. i want to show you some spectacular pictures, from new york. locals lighting up the night sky with this amazing display of festive illuminations. the south brooklyn neighbourhood has become a holiday tourist attraction with tours and even street vendor magnificent stuff. good morning. this christmas eve is looking pretty windy for many of us. it could cause some travel disruption, actually, if you are setting out through today. especially on the roads, the rail and the airports — there could be some problems there. northern england and scotland —

that's where we're going to see the biggest problems. there are a couple of yellow warnings from the met office in force. we could see gusts of 50—70 mph across northern and north—eastern areas of scotland, but even to the east of the pennines, we could see some pretty strong crosswinds for those north—to—south roads. showers coming in across northern and western areas with some sunny spells. further south, cloudy, some outbreaks of rain, but it's also going to be really very mild — temperatures up to 13, 1a, perhaps 15 degrees across england and wales, and we could see some temperature records being broken for christmas eve — so one of the warmest christmas eves on record. 15.5 degrees is the current highest for england — we'll be keeping a close eye on that through this afternoon. as we go through this evening, fairly cloudy across the south. further outbreaks of rain moving in. elsewhere, clear skies. cold enough perhaps across scotland for a touch of frost into christmas day but another mild night for many of us. double—figure temperatures in the south. for christmas day, this boundary

between cold air across scotland and very mild air once again across the rest of the uk. with that cold air in place, there could be some snow over higher ground technically making it a white christmas but further south, heavy rain across south wales, south—west england in towards east anglia and the south but still very mild in southern areas. 13—14 celsius. 3—4 celsius across central areas of scotland. eventually that cold air will move further southwards as we go through the night and into boxing day so you will notice those blues taking over the charts. it is going to be colder, yes, but lots of sunny weather around on boxing day. perfect if you're getting out and about for a christmas walk, walking off that christmas lunch. one or two showers which could be wintry in the far north—east of scotland, more cloud across the far south and maybe some rain in the day but temperatures will drop down for northern ireland, england and wales. a chillier day, 7—9 celsius. that's all from me.

have a wonderful christmas eve. goodbye.

this is bbc news — the headlines... israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has dismissed reports that the united states had convinced him not to expand its military activity. earlier, joe biden said he told mr netanyahu of the "critical need" to protect the civilians in gaza — including aid workers —

as the heavy bombardment continues. the us has accused iran of launching a drone attack that damaged an israeli—affiliated oil tanker, off the coast of india. a fire on board the ship was extinguished and no casualties were reported. iran has denied any involvement. christmas celebrations are "called off" in bethlehem. the usual tree is replaced by a nativity scene in the rubble. organisers had asked their congregations to forget the customary celebrations, while still upholding the spiritual aspects of christmas. now on bbc news, the travel show: winter wonderland adventures.