hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan. at least 70 people are thought to have been killed in an air strike in the al—maghazi refugee camp in gaza. the health ministry says the number dead is likely to rise with body bags seen piled outside the nearby al—aqsa hospital, where many of the victims were taken. israel says it is investigating the incident. the strike comes amid scaled back christmas celebrations in bethlehem and across the occupied west bank. where christian leaders cancelled normal festive celebrations to focus on prayer. let's take a look at some live pictures this morning. this is the scene in israel border with lebanon. 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, but the people of gaza are paying a huge price for this war.

it blames hamas for hiding among the population. 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. 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. earlier i spoke to abdelbassir hassan from bbc arabic who's in cairo. although there are no official comments or remarks from the egyptian side, which is said to be behind this 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 the deal would include a truce for three or four weeks more or less, where the two sides would exchange a0 hostages in return for 120 prisoners who are old women from both sides. it would be like forming a technocrat cabinet from the palestinian side, followed by a national dialogue between the palestinian factions here in cairo in order to see what would be the future after the war. the third would be like a comprehensive deal for an exchange of prisoners from both sides, like 7800 in israeli jails, in return for the more than 100 prisoners who would be in hamas

andjihad hands in gaza. what 100 prisoners who would be in hamas and jihad hands in gaza.— and jihad hands in gaza. what are the chances _ and jihad hands in gaza. what are the chances of _ and jihad hands in gaza. what are the chances of this _ and jihad hands in gaza. what are the chances of this plan _ and jihad hands in gaza. what are the chances of this plan coming i and jihad hands in gaza. what are | the chances of this plan coming to fruition? , ., ., , , fruition? first of all, in egypt there are _ fruition? first of all, in egypt there are no _ fruition? first of all, in egypt there are no official- fruition? first of all, in egypt i there are no official statements from any side. i have contacted an expert who is close to this minutes ago. he said at this moment it is just an idea which is not completely right at this moment. israel is having conversations with the united states and israel. —— egypt is having conversations. it hosted hamas a few days ago. today it is hosting islamistjihad to talk on this. egypt has an open line with the palestinian national authority. i have talked to a permanent representative of the palestinian national authority and the arab league yesterday. he said he himself did not know anything about this

idea except from the media. but he said they could be a mechanism between the two sides. the egyptians and the palestinians. but we have learned from israeli media that israel had already received these ideas and is considering at the moment without any final decision because it is not completely right at this moment. therefore, we have to wait and see. we have to listen to wait and see. we have to listen to hamas, the basic party in this deal if it is really true. earlier i spoke to saddam sayyaleh, regional development lead at anera. we discussed the humanitarian situation in gaza and the world food programme's deep concerns of famine in the region. we have been deployed, i am based in jordan, i have been deployed to

egypt since the beginning of the war, trying to coordinate the entry of aid through egypt to gaza. so far, an era has been a little bit successful in allowing some of the aid to get into gaza. we are focusing on food. so far, we have been able to distribute over 8 million food parcels, vegetable baskets, doing shelter cleaning, we were able to do more than 1 million medical treatments for the health facilities inside gaza, with five p0p facilities inside gaza, with five pop health clinics inside gaza. as you know, we are looking inside gaza. the situation is very dire. we are looking at nine out of ten people who are leading less than one meal a day. —— eating. this is a

testament by the world food programme and integrated food security classification that was activated just recently, that is bringing —— ringing the alarm that we are looking into a famine in gaza. we are looking at 85% of gaza that has been displaced. 1.9 million people out of their homes. from gaza to bethlehem, — people out of their homes. from gaza to bethlehem, where _ people out of their homes. from gaza to bethlehem, where christmas - to bethlehem, where christmas celebrations have been cancelled because of the ongoing conflict. it's normally the busiest period for the city wherejesus is thought to have been born, but this year local leaders in the occupied west bank said their focus this year will be on prayer. you can see images on your screen from the chrsitmas service. earlier i spoke to our correspondent shaimaa khalil, who is in bethlehem. bethlehem feels and looks very different. christmas is supposed to be the height of the season of celebration 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 cell. i have been here for days. i have been in 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. you do feel these images that come out of gaza, including from al—maghazi, with what you saw in the report, 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. his dad was telling me there isjust the east of gaza city. his dad was telling me there is just destruction all around. they are very reluctant to move because he says the roads leading to areas in the south are extremely dangerous, but also, he said many people who had moved to supposedly safer areas had been killed. that is the complaint that you hear, even from people who made it out of the rubble in al—maghazi. they have been evacuated from gaza city to come to central gaza only to be hits like they were last night. shaimaa khalil. the danish shipping giant maersk says it's preparing to resume shipping operations through the red sea and the 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. the danish shipping giant maersk says it's preparing to resume shipping operations through the red sea 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. king charles and queen camilla have led the royal family to church in sandringham for their annual christmas day service. hundreds of royal watchers, some of whom have been waiting since the early hours of the morning, greeted the monarch as he arrived. charles and camilla were joined by the prince and princess of wales and their three children. also in attendance for the first time in many years was us central command said two days ago that a us navy destroyer had shot sarah, duchess of york. she walked alongside her ex—husband prince andrew. if you look through the crowds there in those shots you can see them on the far right. as they all make their way into the

church for the annual christmas day service. i spoke to our royal correspondent daniela relph, who was waiting for the royal family's arrival in 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. front and centre position to see the royalfamily. if front and centre position to see the royal family. if you are a bit of a royal watcher, sandringham is a good place to come. normally the big royal events, thejubilees, the weddings, it is hard to get up close and personal. it is very 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 these people will get a good chance to speak to senior members of the royal family. leading the walk will be the king and the queen, along with other senior members of the royalfamily, including the

prince and princess of wales and their three children, george, charlotte and louis. a new photograph has been released this morning of charlotte, george angeleri, released by the photographerjosh sinner. —— charlotte, george and louis. it is a charming photo. it was taken as part of the collection that they had for the family christmas card this year. it has been released this morning. there are a lot of people hoping to get to chat to the royal children this morning. thank you. in his annual christmas day mass at the vatican pope francis has called for an end to war, to every war, to the very mindset of war, as he went on to describe an aimless voyage, defeat without victors, and inexcusable folly. he went on to say, may peace come in

israel and palestine, where war is devastating the lives of those peoples. he said, i reiterate my urgent appealfor the peoples. he said, i reiterate my urgent appeal for the liberation of those still being held hostage. i pray for an end to the military operations. their appalling harvest of innocent civilian victims. and i called for the provision of humanitarian aid. 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. my my biggest fear and they 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 are pictures from st michael's cathedral in kyiv a little earlier, where believers of different religious denominations have come together to celebrating christmas. 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 struggle to contain western doubt has left it with a new year looking far from certain. james waterhouse, bbc news. james waterhouse is in kharkiv and gave us his thoughts

on what a second christmas under the shadow of war might feel like for ukrainians. it is the first time in more than 100 years that ukraine celebrates christmas on the 25th of december. but it is a very difficult time. we are not seeing much of the way of festivities. in this part of ukraine large gatherings are a rare occurrence. this 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, 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 talked about previous struggles ukraine had gone through, whether under the soviet union or nazi germany, and 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 i believe that ukraine would carry —— can still win this war. that belief is enduring but there is a pragmatism starting to creep in. 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 shown that russia can defend it too. this is also a war which favours the defender, anyway. i think when ukraine is still the smaller box in this fight, if you like, it has got fewer men, it has got 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 overnight. that is part of a regular routine. we are seeing ukraine repel wave after wave of russian attack on the front line. we are even seeing it scaled down

military operations in others because the waning western support is notjust putting ukraine's future military hopes into jeopardy, is notjust putting ukraine's future military hopes intojeopardy, it is notjust putting ukraine's future military hopes into jeopardy, it is affecting them right now. we had western governments saying that they are in it for as long as it takes for ukraine. they can't allow russia to win. but there is a political reality setting in, whether it is opposition mps, a new government that does not want to provide support for ukraine, and the argument here is that that is what russia has been waiting for. any kind of peace deal or negotiation suits vladimir putin because it lessons that urgency on western support to continue and it allows russia to continue being on a war footing, so it can make a push, ukraine argues, in the coming months, or even years. james waterhouse. 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 deploying 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. police in sri lanka say they have arrested more than 13,000 suspects during a week—long drive against drug traffickers across the country. they say the operation led to the seizure of almost aaokg of various types of narcotics, including heroin. more than a thousand addicts have been sent to a military—run rehabilitation centre. millions of people of people around the world are celebrating — or will soon be celebrating — christmas. for some it is an important religious festival — for others it's simply an excuse to eat, drink and be merry. but for one man in particular its a lot of hard work — as the bbc�*s tim allman explains.

it has become as much a festive tradition as roast turkey, sleigh bells and crackers. for nearly 70 years, real, actual taxpayers money has been spent monitoring the progress of father christmas as he journeys around the world. the north american aerospace defence command keeps tabs on santa and manages to keeps tabs on santa and manages to keep a straight face while doing so. we track santa using the same technology we use every single day of the year to keep north america safe. it starts with our north warning system writers that pick up santa at apm eastern time when he left at the north pole. it transitions to our satellites in orbit all over the world. they track rudolf�*s red nose. orbit all over the world. they track rudolf's red nose.— rudolf's red nose. yes, of course the do. rudolf's red nose. yes, of course they d0- back— rudolf's red nose. yes, of course they do. back on _ rudolf's red nose. yes, of course they do. back on the _ rudolf's red nose. yes, of course they do. back on the earth's - rudolf's red nose. yes, of course i they do. back on the earth's surface in the spanish capital madrid,

thousands of people dressed up as father christmas for an annual charity fun run. it has been described as the largest race of its kind anywhere in the world. the event raises money for the red cross. in the end christmas gives you the spirit of participation and solidarity and union, said this santa. for me, it is another mini goal to keep progressing. in india, no snow but plenty of sand. so why not build a massive sculpture of father christmas? they don'tjust use sand. there is a special ingredient. use sand. there is a special ingredient-— use sand. there is a special ingredient. this year we have created the _ ingredient. this year we have created the biggest _ ingredient. this year we have created the biggest sand - ingredient. this year we have i created the biggest sand santa claus. we have used two tonnes of onion in the sand. in claus. we have used two tonnes of onion in the sand.— onion in the sand. in mexico they have little _ onion in the sand. in mexico they have little time _ onion in the sand. in mexico they have little time for _ onion in the sand. in mexico they have little time for the _ onion in the sand. in mexico they have little time for the onion. - have little time for the onion. here, they prefer radishes. lots and lots of radishes. this festival

dates back to the 16th century. after all, what says christmas more than a root vegetable? tim altman bbc news. —— tim altman, bbc news. a reminder of our top story. let's take you to the live shot from the lebanon border. we can also take you to the pictures of the hospital in khan younis in southern gaza. it all comes as the gas and health ministry say an israeli air strike killed at least 70 people in a refugee camp. hello. hope you're having a lovely day. the weather for the rest of the day remains fairly cloudy. rain on and off. stony hills of scotland. boxing day is looking sunnier. but also cooler. we have weather fronts in the south and north. this one will p9p up the south and north. this one will pep up through the course of the day

and this one as it engages with the colder, especially in the hills of scotland, will produce some snow, as much as five to eight centimetres above 200 metres. in some of the heavier burst you could see it at low levels. heavier rain coming across wales putting into central and southern england, as well as eastern england, where it is mild. highs of up to 1a degrees, considerably colder across scotland. this evening and overnight in the rain clears away from the southern england. there will be a few showers in northern ireland, southern scotland and northern england. a lot of clear skies. cold in the north, cold enough for frost and ice across parts of scotland. that takes us into tomorrow. tomorrow for northern england, and also southern scotland, will have a legacy of cloud and a few showers. that will break up. we have a lot of dry weather, a fair bit of sunshine. the cloud building in the south—west. here we will see some rain and the wind will strengthen. a cooler day than today.

that is courtesy of the sludge of weather fronts which should be pushing northwards and eastwards overnight tuesday into wednesday. windy everywhere. snow as well. the strongest winds are likely to be across the south coast of england and the english channel. 50 to 60 mph. there will be some heavy rain around. as that pushes across the pennines, the lake district and into scotland, we will see some snow. it is in scotland where we are likely to see the most amount of snow, above 200 metres. ten to 15 centimetres. strong winds. that will be blowing. some of the heavier burst could get to lower levels. colder in the north and comparatively mild, especially for the time of the year, in the south. as we move through the latter part of the week, on thursday it remains unsettled with showers of rain, snow on the hills, and then it turns 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". now on bbc news — windrush: portraits of a generation: episode one. can you see me in here? yeah. oh, yeah. laughter. ruining anothercamera! my name is godfrey henry 0liver palmer and i was born injamaica in19a0. big set.

carmen esme — e—s—m—e — steele.