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. 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, launched the october seven assault on southern israel, warning that such an attack could spark a wider regional war." this was the view across the israel—lebanon border earlier today, where we've seen a thick plume of black smoke in the sky as hostilities continue in that border area. let's start this hour by hearing from israel's prime minister. 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. i put these reports of biden�*s intervention to israeli government spokesperson eylon levy in a wide ranging interview which also covered the civilian death toll in gaza. he started with the reports ofjoe biden�*s intervention. was israel considering a pre—emptive strike against hezbollah and had to be dissuaded byjoe biden�*s 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 that un security council resolution 1701 from 2006 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 destroyed half the houses in a village on the israel—lebanon border. are you considering action against hezbollah? we are saying the situation in the north with 80,000 displaced israelis is intolerable. we are trying to deter hezbollah from dragging us into a war, but until an effective diplomatic situation is found, we will continue making preparations to repel this threat from our northern border. why do you thinkjoe biden had to remind israel of the critical need to protect civilians? president biden has been 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... that's not the question i asked you. why has america, the president, had to remind you to 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 october 7th 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 attack 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. you're saying you are doing everything you can, but we have 20,000+ palestinians killed since october the 7th. your own estimates suggest

between 5,000 and 6,000 hamas fighters are included in that number. that's a terrible ratio of 4:1 civilians. according to your numbers, it would be 3:1 and when you compare that to other western counterterrorism campaigns — the uk and us in afghanistan, iraq and isis — the ratio shows the extents that israel is going to protect civilians. you asked me why the americans have to keep reminding people. senator blinken says this war can end tomorrow if hamas surrenders and lays down its arms, and we think anyone who is concerned for civilians in gaza — as we are — should be demanding that the monsters

who burned, beheaded and raped innocent israelis surrender, return the hostages, and no—one else 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. you're destroying infrastructure, you'redestroying gaza, not just hamas. it is tragic that hamas spent the 16 years in which it governed gaza, instead of trying to serve the people of gaza, building bunkers and tunnels underneath schools. i'm talking about what you are doing. there was piece in heretz in israel couple of days ago, which said you were "putting lipstick on nonsense". that's what you're doing now, isn't it? i am not putting lipstick on nonsense. the people putting lipstick on nonsense are the people trying to cover up for hamas embedding itself under civilian areas. hamas has a strategy of using human shields.

it builds command centres under hospitals, it stores rockets in 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. 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 the 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 the 7th are now more than 20,1100.

christmas is subdued this year in bethlehem, the biblical birthplace ofjesus. christian leaders in the town cancelled all public festivities as a mark of solidarity with the people of gaza living through months of bombardment and fighting. the town, in the occupied west bank, would normally be packed with pilgrims and tourists celebrating christmas. but the latin patriarch ofjerusalem did pay his traditional christmas visit to bethlehem. this is some of what he had to say in an address in manger square, violence generates only violence and the message of christmas is not violence, it is peace. we want peace, just peace, dignified peace for all, especially for the palestinians that, for too long, they are waiting to have their homeland.

earlier, a large palestinian flag was carried around manger square. it followed the inauguration of an art installation, nativity under the rubble, showing figures among the ruins of buildings, in solidarity with palestinians in gaza. our correspondent shaimaa khalil reports from bethlehem. on days like this, joudat and his father would have been talking about christmas preparations. not this year. joudat�*s 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. america says it has shot down for drones in the same waters. the pentagon blamed iran directly for the drone attack but iran's foreign minister denies this. translation: for foreign minister denies this. translation:— foreign minister denies this. translation: for us, regional security is— translation: for us, regional security is very _ translation: for us, regional security is very important. - translation: for us, regional security is very important. we i translation: for us, regional. security is very important. we are not seeking to expand the scope of war. the solution to the problem is not to establish a so—called coalition and the red sea to stop

the bloodshed of women, children and civilians in the gaza strip and the west bank. civilians in the gaza strip and the west bank-— civilians in the gaza strip and the west bank. . , ., ,., ., _ west bank. iran is also thought by the us to be _ west bank. iran is also thought by the us to be backing _ west bank. iran is also thought by the us to be backing houthis- west bank. iran is also thought by the us to be backing houthis in i the us to be backing houthis in yemen who have been targeting commercial ships with any connections to israel passing through the red sea. they are an ally of hamas and staunchly oppose the military action in gaza. speaking earlier in the week, america made it clear that it was important to all nations that shipping in the red sea was protected. shipping in the red sea was protected-— shipping in the red sea was rotected. ., , ., �* protected. the houthis aren't attackinu protected. the houthis aren't attacking just _ protected. the houthis aren't attacking just one _ protected. the houthis aren't attacking just one country, i protected. the houthis aren't i attacking just one country, they protected. the houthis aren't - attacking just one country, they are attacking just one country, they are attacking the international community really. they are attacking the economic well—being and prosperity of nations around the world. , ~ , ., ., . ~ ., world. the strikes and hi'acking of shi -s b world. the strikes and hi'acking of ships by the h world. the strikes and hi'acking of ships by the houthis _ world. the strikes and hijacking of ships by the houthis mark - world. the strikes and hijacking of ships by the houthis mark an - ships by the houthis mark an escalation in a series of maritime attacks threatening the commercial shipping industry. the us once international support to patrol the red sea to protect the shipping

routes. 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. live now to our political correspondent leila nathoo who is at the home office. tell us a little more about the apology itself. fix, tell us a little more about the apology itself. tell us a little more about the aolo: itself. ~ ,, ., apology itself. a spokesperson for the home secretary _ apology itself. a spokesperson for the home secretary james - apology itself. a spokesperson for| the home secretary james cleverly has apologised on behalf of the home secretary for what he called an ironicjoke made earlier this week at a reception at downing street for journalists. ministers and number ten aides. these sort of events remain private usually but there was a report on the home secretary's comments because what it said was his role on the subject matter. they say he joked about the drug

rohypnol, commonly used in drink spiking, and joked about his own marriage, saying that the secret to a long marriage was ensuring your spouse was someone who was always mildly sedated so she could never realise they were better men out there. the spokesperson for the home secretary is no disputing he made a joke about the issue but said the home secretary couldn't remember the exact wording used a given that it was a private event, but clearly he has come in for a lot of criticism already. labourare has come in for a lot of criticism already. labour are describing his remarks as appalling and women's groups are criticising the home secretary for downplaying a serious issue. i5 secretary for downplaying a serious issue. , , _ issue. is number ten saying anything? _ issue. is number ten saying anything? he's _ issue. is number ten saying anything? he's a _ issue. is number ten saying anything? he's a bit - issue. is number ten saying anything? he's a bit of- issue. is number ten saying anything? he's a bit of a . issue. is number ten saying - anything? he's a bit of a repeat offender, one remembers his expletive comments, the barracking of an mp and now this.— of an mp and now this. number ten have declined _ of an mp and now this. number ten have declined to _ of an mp and now this. number ten have declined to comment - have declined to comment specifically but last month, james cleverly had to apologise for using unparliamentary language in the commons to describe a labour mp. he

was caught on camera heckling a labour mp from across the green benches and he had to give an apology in the commons. he was accused of criticising using an expletive regarding the government's wonder scheme before he became the person in charge of it —— government's rwanda scheme. a spokesperson insisted he apologised for what was meant to be an ironic joke at a private event and was not expecting it to be reported but they are serious comments on a serious issue and one that his department on the very day he is said to have made those remarks announced a crackdown on drink spiking so clearly quite uncomfortable for the home secretary. millions of people are expected

to be travelling today as the christmas rush continues. it is considered to be one of the busiest day of the year for travel. rail disruption is predicted with london paddington shutting and some other stations running reduced services. the windy weather could also cause problems with yellow warnings in place from the met office. live now to our correspondent aruna iyengar, who is at euston station in london. just give us the latest. there is [en of just give us the latest. there is plenty of disruption _ just give us the latest. there is plenty of disruption on - just give us the latest. there is plenty of disruption on the - plenty of disruption on the railways. i'm at euston station which has services running to the north west of england. people have been turning up early to make sure and pre—empt, and make sure they get on their trains. generally, services have been running quite well from here today, there are some delays. it's a different story at king's cross station which runs major network services up to scotland and the north east of england, yorkshire, cambridgeshire and over to brighton in the south. it is

closed so that's a major disruption for passengers travelling to those areas. paddington station is closed until the 27th. both those stations are closed for major engineering works. paddington serves customers going out towards bristol and wales. a lot of disruption on the rails today. on the roads, around a0 million people take to the roads today, it's one of the busiest days —— 14 today, it's one of the busiest days —— 1a million people. the advice is to de—stress a little and be prepared for quite serious traffic jams on the motorways. the eurostar is running extra services between london and paris, that's due to catching up from a strike by eurotunnel workers earlier this week. on the roads and on the rails, there is disruption expected. the weather might also play a part, there are yellow weather warnings in place, not affecting london at the moment but it will be affecting the northeast of england and scotland.

thank you. across the world, christmas can be a difficult time for homeless people. crisis uk has taken over three hotels in london for a two—week period to support people who would otherwise be sleeping rough on the streets. on thursday, the charity opened its christmas services, with the help of volunteers and celebrities including anne—marie duff. live now to matt downie, chief executive of crisis uk. welcome to the programme. why don't you start by telling us more about what you are actually doing this festive period.— what you are actually doing this festive eriod. h, ., ., ., ., . festive period. good afternoon. we have a whole _ festive period. good afternoon. we have a whole range _ festive period. good afternoon. we have a whole range of _ festive period. good afternoon. we have a whole range of services - have a whole range of services opening today and others that have been open for a few days. over the uk, we will be helping around 7,000 people over christmas and new year. some of those in hotels, others in day centres, others with deliveries of food and specialist care, but

every one of them will become part of our year—round services to make sure that they are leave homelessness behind. it's a massive effort powered by the great british public helping us with volunteers but financially to make it all work. it's an incredible operation. tell us more about _ it's an incredible operation. tell us more about how you might try to make the temporary more permanent. if you come to crisis over the christmas period, one of our hotels for example, you will have a period of weeks and a room of your own —— in a room of your own with your own dignity and safety. the chance to get some sleep. i spoke to someone the other day who said it was the first night's sleep he had had in three years, given the length of time he had been on the streets. the chance to have some safety, some calm in your life. a crisis caseworker will be with you to make sure that you have somewhere to live ijy sure that you have somewhere to live by the time you leave the hotel but

also there are doctors, there are dentists, there are podiatrists, all manner of specialists on hand to help people get what they need, whether that is housing benefit are whether that is housing benefit are whether it's immigration advice or a haircut. there are all sorts of helpful things because people come forward and give their time and expertise to do that. we have people who are gps who take their christmas out to make sure they can help people with much longer appointments than they are normally able to give people and give them the medical attention they need. it's a full service offer for everyone that comes to us, the idea being that as many as possible see this as the last christmas homeless and ideally they never go back to the streets. we have a cost—of—living crisis, what is the scale of the problem this year compared to other years? homelessness is sadly going up

across the country, notjust rough sleeping, people in hostels and shelters, temporary accommodation, b&bs and that's because the numbers of people who cannot pay their rent are going up and up. inflation has really hit people, the cost—of—living crisis is really a rent crisis and on top of that, it's still the case that landlords can affect people for no reason whatsoever even though the government has said for many years that they were going to stop that practice so unfortunately we are seeing record demands everywhere we are providing services but we will be here for as long as people need is. ., ., be here for as long as people need 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 museums told us about how the carol was discovered. it was an absolute team effort. so michael obviously spotted it and realised that it was something really special. and then he gave it to me, knowing that i am a singer and also a really enthusiastic carol singer. we're really lucky that we've got a really strong carolling tradition in south yorkshire, which i am part of. so he gave it to me, i took it home and i had a little

sing through and i thought, "what an incredible tune, how beautiful! " and we came back, and the next day we just recorded a little version on the town hall main stairwell, which has got a beautiful acoustic — just thinking that it would be a nice thing to share with the museums team and a few other people. and we never really thought that it would go as big as it has, but today — this morning — we've had the barnsley youth choir singing a version on the town hall steps and — i don't know — my soul is full, full of christmas music. it's incredible. news just newsjust coming into news just coming into us from the metropolitan police that a second man has been arrested on suspicion of theft and criminal damage after the removal of a banksy art installation in peckham southeast london. we knew about the first arrest, you can see photographers taking pictures from the scene, but a second man has been arrested on suspicion of theft and criminal damage after the removal of that banksy art installation. i'm back in

a moment with motive today's headlines. —— more of today's headlines. stay with us here on bbc news. 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—1a celsius. 3—a 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. bye— bye.

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 have been "called off" in bethlehem. the usual tree has been 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.