hello. at least 70 people have been killed by an air strike in the al—maghazi refugee camp in gaza, according to the hamas—run health ministry. body bags have been piled outside the al—aqsa hospital — where many of the victims were taken. israel says it is investigating the incident. it comes amid scaled—back christmas celebrations in bethlehem and across the occupied west bank. let's take a look at some live pictures this morning. this is the scene in southern israel, on the border with israel. our correspondentjoe inwood has been monitoring the latest developments.

our correspondentjoe inwood has been monitoring the latest developments. for the people of gaza, there is no respite. this was once a residential block — reduced to rubble. multiple generations of families are said to have been killed, seemingly caught unawares. translation: we were having dinner, when suddenly the bombing started - without any warning. in an instant, our house collapsed. the victims were taken to the nearby al—aqsa hospital. in a population as young as this, children are so often the victims. this incident already has one of the highest single death tolls since this war began — and it is expected to rise.

israel maintains it tries to avoid civilian casualties, the idf released new footage showing what it says are tunnels under the strip — used for military purposes. translation: hamas operates from civilian areas. _ it uses them to cover its terrorist activity. it is a very complex challenge that we face, and we do it well so our forces in the field achieve good results — like the brigade that found the tunnel network. while the vast majority of destruction has been in gaza, the west bank has not been spared. in the place where christianity was born, they marked the birth of christ by remembering the deaths this conflict has brought. we used here to have the lighting of the tree — christmas tree in the middle here.

and we used to have a big christmas market in the playground down in the school. and we used to celebrate every night, at least for a week before. but this year we are just praying by night the holy mass, and we will pray for peace. but those prayers are yet to be answered. this has been the most devastating conflict between israelis and palestinians in modern times — and it shows no signs of ending. joe inwood, bbc news. earlier, i spoke to saddam sayyaleh. he's the regional development lead at anera. he gave me an update on their aid efforts. i am based injordan and have been deployed to egypt since the beginning of the war, trying to coordinate the entry of aid through egypt to gaza. so far, anera have been a little bit

successful in allowing some of the aid to get into gaza that we are focusing on food. so far anera has been able to distribute 8 million food parcels, vegetables, baskets, doing shelter cleaning. we were able to do overi million medical treatments for the health facilities inside gaza with five pop—up health clinics inside gaza. as you know, we are looking inside gaza at the situation which is very dire. we are looking at nine out of ten people who are eating less than one meal a day. and this is a testament by the world food programme and integrated food security classification that was activated just recently, that is ringing the alarm that we are looking into a famine in gaza.

we are looking at 85% of gaza that has been displaced. we are looking at 1.9 million people out of their homes. and how much relief has this un resolution, the security council's vote last week, made, if anything, in terms of a difference to the aid that is getting through? unfortunately, since the very beginning of the war, and this is a reality, humanitarian aid is not enough. the amount of trucks that are going inside gaza are not enough. on a normal day before the war we were looking at a minimum of 500 trucks going inside gaza. today, we are looking at less than 100 trucks going inside gaza and we are looking into a catastrophe because the displacement, the need is massive.

its children have dehydration, they're not eating. the world food programme are saying nine out of ten people are eating less than one meal a day. so that is a testament that the aid that is going in is not enough and we need more of that. and we need more humanitarian aid to be allowed in. there are many organisations like anera that have a great response since the beginning of the war because of the humanitarian situation inside gaza that we need to support and push for more humanitarian aid to get inside gaza. and is there anything more your contacts on the ground can tell us about this air strike today at the al—maghazi refugee camp? we are hearing that at least 70 people have been killed there? absolutely. we have a team, we have been operating in gaza for over 45 years. our team are from gaza.

the humanitarian workers are at the critical position because of the communication blackout. the bombardment that is happening in a very chaotic way. we are hearing every day from our team about the risk of distributing aid but as well about the bombardment that is happening all over gaza that is challenging the humanitarian distribution inside gaza. that is creating barriers, even if you have aid it is still very difficult to get that aid to where it is needed. so we need a ceasefire, we need more humanitarian aid aid getting into gaza to support children, women. 85% of people who are displaced inside gaza. israeli and arab media are reporting that egypt has put forward a new proposal

for a ceasefire in gaza in three phases which would lead to the release of all israeli hostages in exchange for palestinian prisoners held in israeli jails. live now to abdelbassir hassan from bbc arabic who's in cairo. what more do we know about this reported plan?— what more do we know about this reported plan? there are no official comments from _ reported plan? there are no official comments from the _ reported plan? there are no official comments from the egyptian - reported plan? there are no official comments from the egyptian side, | comments from the egyptian side, which is said to be behind what is called the initiative so far. we have learned that it has three stages. the first is to have an exchange of hostages and prisoners from both sides. it is said that the deal would include a truce for three orfour weeks more or deal would include a truce for three or four weeks more or less. orfour weeks more or less. where the two sides would exchange a0 hostages in return for 120 women and children from both sides. it would be forming a technocrat cabinet from

the palestinian side, followed by holding a national dialogue between the palestinian factions here in cairo in order to see what would be the future of gaza after the war. the third would be like a comprehensive dealfor the third would be like a comprehensive deal for an exchange of prisoners from both sides, like 7800 inside israeli jails in return for the more than 100 prisoners who would be in hamas and jihad hands in gaza. 50 would be in hamas and 'ihad hands in gaza, ., ., would be in hamas and 'ihad hands in gaza. ., ., . ., . , would be in hamas and 'ihad hands in gaza. ., ., . ., . gaza. so what are the chances of this [an gaza. so what are the chances of this plan coming _ gaza. so what are the chances of this plan coming to _ gaza. so what are the chances of this plan coming to fruition? - gaza. so what are the chances of| this plan coming to fruition? first of all, we have _ this plan coming to fruition? first of all, we have to _ this plan coming to fruition? first of all, we have to do _ this plan coming to fruition? first of all, we have to do tell- this plan coming to fruition? f "st of all, we have to do tell that in egypt there are no official statements from any side. i have contacted an expert who is close to this several minutes ago and he said that at this moment it is just an idea, which is not completely right

at this moment. egypt is having conversations with parts including israel and the united states and seemingly it had a green light from the united states to go that way and it had hosted hamas a few days ago. and today is hosting islamistjihad to talk on this. and he confirmed that egypt has opened an open line with the palestinian national authority. i have spoken to the permanent representative of the palestinian national authority in the arab league yesterday. he said he himself didn't know anything about these ideas except from the media but he said there could be a mechanism between the two sides. the egyptians and of course palestinians but we have learnt from israeli media that israel had already received these ideas and is considering at the moment without any final decisions because it is still completely, not completely right at this moment. therefore, i think we have to wait to see what it

says and of course we have to listen to hamas, which is the basic party in this deal if it is really true. thank you very much for bringing us up thank you very much for bringing us up to date. earlier, i spoke to our correspondent in bethlehem, shaimaa khalil. celebrations there have been cancelled because of the war in gaza. bethlehem feels and looks very, very different. christmas is supposed to be the height of the season of celebrations here in bethlehem. the eyes of the world would have been on this place, the birthplace ofjesus, for celebrations leading the world into the marking of christmas, and yet it looks nothing like its festive self. i've been here for days and i've been at manger square where the huge christmas tree is supposed to be, where it would be heaving with activity, with pilgrims and tourists celebrating christmas. none of that is happening.

instead, yesterday, in the place where the tree was supposed to be, many dozens of palestinian children held a flag, a palestinian flag, and waved it with a message of solidarity for gaza's children. the scouts were holding banners saying, we pray for gaza. gaza is in the heart. and you do feel that these images that come out of gaza, including, of course, from al maghazi, with what you saw in joe's report and what you have been reporting, they hit very close to home here because many here also have family and friends trapped inside gaza. i spoke to one young man who was on the phone to his father, and his father is trapped in a church in the east of gaza city, and his dad was telling me there's just destruction all around us, and they are very reluctant to move because he says that the roads leading to areas in the south are extremely dangerous, but also he said that many people who have moved to supposedly safer areas have been killed, and that's the complaint that you hear, even from people who

made it out of the rubble in al maghazi. they've been evacuated from gaza city to come to central gaza only to be hit like they have last night. the danish shipping giant maersk says it's preparing to resume shipping operations through the red sea and gulf of aden. the announcement came after an international military operation, led by the united states, was deployed to prevent the targeting of commercial ships by drones from areas of yemen controlled by houthi rebels. maersk and other shipping companies stopped sending ships through the red sea and the suez canal earlier this month as a result of drone attacks. us central command said two days ago that a us navy destroyer had shot down four drones in the red sea launched from yemeni territory. pope francis has used his christmas eve sermon to appeal for an end to the conflict between israel and hamas. speaking to a congregation of more than 6,000 people at st peter's basilica in the vatican, he said jesus'

message of peace was being drowned out by the "futile logic of war". the pope also suggested people had lost touch with christian values. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. here in the uk, an appealfor peace in the middle east has been echoed by the head of the catholic church in england and wales. cardinal vincent nichols says he is extremely worried after two women seeking shelter in a church in gaza were reportedly killed by israeli snipers, a claim denied by the israeli defense forces. the cardinal says catholic parishioners may be forced to leave. i think their biggest fear are my biggest fear is that somehow they will be given orders to vacate and just move, just go. there is nowhere safe, they want to stay. they have always stayed there. they have always stayed there. they have always looked after the needy, the 5a seriously handicapped children

who are there. sometimes times of darkness help us to focus on what is really of lasting importance. and there is no doubt in my mind that there is no doubt in my mind that the person of christ, and the birth that we celebrate, is an indomitable light that shines into the human heart. you're live with bbc news. for the first time in more than a hundred years, ukraine will mark christmas today instead of injanuary. these pictures show st michael's cathedral in kyiv a little earlier, where, for the first time in ukraine, believers of different religious denominations are celebrating christmas on the same day. the change is thought to be a way of cutting ties with russia who celebrate christmas in accordance to the 0rthodox calendar. as ukrainians mark a second christmas at war, president zelensky said he was praying for victory, and for evil to be defeated.

his holiday address came after us politicians were unable to agree on military aid worth almost £50 billion for kyiv. 0ur ukraine correspondentjames waterhouse reports from the city of kupiansk near the eastern border which was occupied for six months after russia's full—scale invasion and comes under almost daily attack. christmas in kupyansk is a celebration in name only. children were evacuated from this front line city, and only 5000 people remain. it used to be five times that. siren sounds days are punctuated with artillery shells and sirens. life continues for those who've stayed. but it's a tense existence. translation: we all live in fear of death when we go to work. - we don't know what can

happen, whether russia will strike with rockets. we all live on the edge. we don't know whether we'll come back home alive. 17—year—old sophia has lived through both occupation and liberation. her dad is fighting, and she's not impressed with her country's fate being determined by skeptical western politicians. translation: perhaps they should | come here and see for themselves| what the situation is like, and how much the aid is needed. if there's no help for ukraine now, russia will take its aggression further. the russians are eight kilometers to the east of the city. but what ukraine's military is worried about is them pushing once more up to the 0skil river, before making another push. and that is the point kyiv is trying to make. if western support was to further slow down, then russia won't stop there. it still wants the whole of ukraine.

the briefest of pauses for a christmas prayer. large gatherings are dangerous here when russian drones loiter above. instead of these troops forcing out their invaders, it is them repelling constant attacks. translation: it's day and night. there are no breaks. it's 2a/7. we have more targets, so we need more shells. they throw lots of men and machinery into battle. they don't pity anything. it's hard to sell a victory, which seems distant. ukraine's struggle to contain western doubt has left it with a new year looking far from certain. james waterhouse, bbc news. james is in the northern city of kharkiv and gave us his thoughts on what another

christmas under the shadow of war might feel like for ukrainians. it is the first time in more than a hundred years that ukraine celebrates christmas on the 25th of december. but it is a very difficult time, we are not seeing much in the way of festivities in this part of ukraine. large gatherings are a rare occurrence, it is somewhere that comes under frequent assault from the sky. it is a0 miles from the russian border. but president zelensky was keen to strike an optimistic and hopeful tone in his christmas address where he said he would pray for a ukrainian victory and in his words "for evil to be defeated". he spoke of previous struggles that ukraine had gone through, whether under the soviet union or nazi germany. he is drawing direct parallels but i think these are incredibly difficult times. 12 months ago his military had liberated swathes of territory throughout the autumn. there was a belief that ukraine

wouldn't stop there and a belief that ukraine can still win this war. i think that belief is enduring but there is a pragmatism starting to creep in too. because the last 12 months has seen ukraine's counteroffensive but it has also seen russia not only hold on to the fifth of ukraine that it has taken and occupied but it has also shown russia can defend it too. and this is a war which favours the defender in a way. when ukraine is still the smaller boxer in this fight if you like, it has got fewer men, fewer resources than russia. russia is now starting to make its size count. we are in a war of attrition. we have seen dozens of drones shot down again overnight. that is now part of a regular routine in ukraine. and we are seeing ukraine repelling wave after wave of russian attack. in some parts of the front line, we're even seeing it scale down its military operations in others because the waning western support isn'tjust putting ukraine's future military hopes intojeopardy,

it is affecting them right now. we have heard western governments say we are in it for as long as it takes for ukraine, we can't allow russia to win. but there is a political reality setting in, whether it is opposition mps, whether it is a new government that doesn't want to provide new support for ukraine. and the argument here is that this is what russia has been waiting for. any kind of peace deal or negotiation suits vladimir putin because it lessens the urgency on western support to continue and it allows russia to continue being on a warfooting so it can make a push, ukraine argues, in the coming months or even years for kyiv once more. let s get some of the day s other news now. protestors in serbia have vowed to block streets in the capital belgrade on monday unless the government agrees to re—run disputed elections. sunday night saw crowds attempt to storm the city hall, with police then using tear gas to disperse them.

it follows widespread claims of ballot rigging in the recent general and local elections, with international observers saying there were "serious irregularities". the serbian president, aleksander vucic has dismissed the complaints. he says nobody has a right to injure police officers or destroy property. the chinese capital, beijing, has experienced its coldest december since records began in 1951. the city endured nine consecutive days with temperatures lower than minus ten degrees celsius. six months ago beijing recorded its hottest everjune day when the temperature crossed forty degrees celsius. king charles is spending his second christmas as monarch with other members of the royal family at sandringham. he will attend morning service at the church on the estate before his christmas message is broadcast this afternoon. let's go to sandringham and talk to our royal correspondent daniela relph.

what's the programme for this morning at sandringham? goad morning at sandringham? good mornin: , morning at sandringham? good morning. merry _ morning at sandringham? good morning, merry christmas. - morning at sandringham? (limp. morning, merry christmas. this is the sandringham queue on the move. these are the people who have been waiting patiently to get a position just in front of mary magdalene church on the sandringham estate here to see the royal family a little bit later on this morning when they go to morning worship here at sandringham. some people have been waiting since the early hours of the morning here, so a long wait hoping to get a front and centre position to see the royal family. and if you are a bit of a royal watcher then sandringham is a good one to come to. because normally the big royal events, thejubilees of the weddings, it is hard to get up and close and personal to the royal family. it is quite different here. you will probably get to see them quite close up when they leave church here. traditionally, they take a slow walk back to the main house, chatting to people, taking flowers. there is a very good chance that some of the people on the move

here will get the chance to talk to senior members of the royal family a little bit later on. leading the royals today will be the king and the queen. with them will be other senior members of the family including the prince and princess of wales and their three children, george, charlotte and louis. there has actually been this morning the release of a new photograph of charlotte, george and louis. released this morning by a photographer. it is a black—and—white informal image of the three royal children sitting on a bench together with their arms around each other laughing and smiling and looking at each other. it is a really charming new photo for christmas day. it was taken as part of the collection that they had for the family christmas card this year that has been released this morning. and there are a lot of people in the crowd here today are really hoping they might get to chat there are children this morning. it is a lovely photo isn't it. just briefly in 30 seconds we have opposite got the kings beach this afternoon. any idea what we can expect him to say —— the king's

speech. expect him to say -- the king's seech. ~ , , . ~ , speech. well, it is very much kept under wraps _ speech. well, it is very much kept under wraps until _ speech. well, it is very much kept under wraps until it _ speech. well, it is very much kept under wraps until it is _ speech. well, it is very much kept under wraps until it is broadcast . under wraps until it is broadcast that 3pm here in the uk. it was recorded at buckingham palace, there is a sustainable christmas tree behind the king with its roots. it will be replanted. sustainable decorations and i think there will be an environmental message there. merry christmas to you, daniela! that is it for this half hour. we will be back with more of the day's news after this short break. do stay with us. snow in the hills of scotland, boxing day is looking sunnier but also cooler. what we have today of these weather fronts in the south and north. this one will pepper through the course of the day and this one as it engages

with the cold air, especially in hills of scotland will now. as much as five to eight centimetres in fact above about 200 metres and in some of the heavier bursts you could see it at lower levels. the rain coming in across wales will push into southern and eastern england where it still is mild. high is up to 1a degrees, considerably colder across scotland. through this evening and overnight the rain clears away from southern england. a few showers coming into northern ireland, southern scotland and also northern england but a lot of clear skies. it is going to be cold in the north, cold enough for some frost and also some ice across parts of scotland. that takes us into tomorrow. tomorrow, the northern england and also southern scotland, we will have also southern scotland, we will have a legacy of cloud and a few showers but that will tend to break up and then we have a lot of dry weather. a fair bit of sunshine. the cloud building in the south—west and here we will see rain and the wind will start to strengthen and it will be a

cooler day than today. that is courtesy of this clutch of weather fronts that will push northwards and eastwards overnight tuesday into wednesday taking heavy rain. windy everywhere and snow as well. the strongest winds are likely to be across the south coast of england and the english channel, gusting 50 to 60 miles an hour. there will be heavy rain around as well and as that pushes in across the pennines, the lake district and into scotland we will see some snow. but it is in scotland we are likely to see the most amount of snow above 200 metres. ten to 15 centimetres, strong winds as well so that will be blowing and in some of the heavier bursts we could also see some of that getting down at times to lower levels. colder in the north and comparatively mild, especially for the time of year in the south. then as we move through the latter part of the week on thursday it remains unsettled with showers and rain, snow on the hills and then it turns a bit cooler.

this is bbc news, the headlines. israel's army says it's reviewing reports of an air strike after gaza's hamas—run health ministry said at least 70 people were killed in a blast targeting the al—maghazi refugee camp. dozens of injured people were rushed

to nearby al—aqsa hospital. ukraine celebrates its first christmas on the 25th of december in a further shift from russia. the country had previously used thejulian calendar, also used in russia, with christmas falling on 7th january. president zelensky changed the law back injuly to, as he said, "abandon russian heritage". danish shipping giant maersk says it's preparing to resume operations in the red sea and gulf of aden. the announcement comes as a us—led international military operation was deployed to prevent the targeting of commercial ships from areas of yemen controlled by houthi rebels. now on bbc news talking movies: gurinder chadha special.

i come here, mainly walk the dog in the morning and in the afternoon.