royals attend christmas day service at sandringham, ahead of the king's christmas speech to the uk in the next two hours. 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 alaqsa 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. the hamas run health authorities say

more than 20,000 people have now been killed in gaza since israel launched its offensive. israel maintains it tries to avoid civilian casualties, 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 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 a three or four weeks, would include a truce for a three or fourweeks, more would include a truce for a three or four weeks, more or less, where the two sides won't exchange a0 hostages in return for 120 prisoners. phase two would be like forming a technocrat cabinet from the palestinian side followed by like 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 more than 100 prisoners who would be in hamas andjihad hands in gaza. would be in hamas and jihad hands in gaza. ~ . . would be in hamas and jihad hands in gaza. . . . ., . , would be in hamas and jihad hands in gaza. . . . ., . would be in hamas and jihad hands in gaza. . . u, . , gaza. what are the chances of this [an gaza. what are the chances of this plan coming _ gaza. what are the chances of this plan coming to _ gaza. what are the chances of this plan coming to fruition? _ gaza. what are the chances of this plan coming to fruition? first - gaza. what are the chances of this plan coming to fruition? first of. plan coming to fruition? first of all, we plan coming to fruition? first of all. we have _ plan coming to fruition? first of all, we have to _ plan coming to fruition? first of all, we have to tell— plan coming to fruition? first of all, we have to tell that - plan coming to fruition? first of all, we have to tell that in - plan coming to fruition? first of| all, we have to tell that in egypt there are no official statements from any side. i have contacted an expert minutes ago. he says that it is at this momentjust an idea, just a thought, which is not completely ripe at this moment. egypt is having conversations with israel and the united states, and seemingly it had a green light from the united states to go that way. it hosted hamas a few days ago. today it is hosting islamicjihad 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. he said he himself did not know anything about these ideas except for the media. but he said there could be a mechanism complete between the two sides and the egyptians. but we have learned from israeli media that israel had already received these ideas and is considering at this moment without a final decision because it is not completely right at this moment. i think we have to wait to see. we have to listen to hamas, a basic party in this deal if it is really true. earlier i spoke to saddam sayyaleh, regional development lead at anera. we discuss the humanitarian situation in gaza and the world food programme's deep concerns of famine in the region. let's have a listen to what he said. i'v e i've been deployed. i am based in

jordan. i have been deployed to egypt since the beginning of the war. try to coordinate the entry of eight through egypt to gaza. so far anera has been a little bit successful in allowing some of the aids to get in into gaza. we are focusing on food. so far, anera have been able to distribute over 8 million food parcels, vegetables, baskets, doing shelter cleaning. we were able to do over1 million medical treatments for the health facilities inside gaza, with five p°p�*up facilities inside gaza, with five pop—up health clinics inside gaza. as you know, we are looking inside gaza at the situation. it 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, you know, by the world food programme, the integrated food classification, that was activated 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. christmas celebrations have been cancelled in bethlehem because of the on—going war in gaza. 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, 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 marketing of christmas. and yet it looks nothing like its festive self. i have been here for days. i have been in manger square where the huge christmas tree is supposed to be. 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 jazz or�*s children. the scouts were holding banners saying, we pray for gaza. you do feel that these images that come out of gaza, including from al—maghazi, from where 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. his father is trapped in a church in the east of gaza city. his dad was telling me there is just destruction. 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 that had moved to the supposedly safer areas have been killed. that is the complaint that you hear, even from people who made it out of al—maghazi. they had been evacuated from gaza city to come to central gaza only to be hit like they had last night. gaza only to be hit like they had last niuht. ,, ., ., ., gaza only to be hit like they had last niht. ,, . . . . 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. 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. 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 attempting 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. let's get more on this with our reporter paul moss in the studio. first of all, what is exactly behind these protests?— first of all, what is exactly behind these protests? ostensibly, as you said, it is about _ these protests? ostensibly, as you said, it is about the _ these protests? ostensibly, as you said, it is about the elections - these protests? ostensibly, as you said, it is about the elections that l said, it is about the elections that were held. there were general and local elections held earlier this month. there were international

observers. there were lots of serious irregularities. ballot box is being stuffed, boats —— votes being bought. particularangerat being bought. particular anger at the being bought. particularangerat the contest in belgrade where the ruling party won, the opposition did not believe this. but in fact there have been protests building for quite some time. it started with an event that was not directly political. earlierthis event that was not directly political. earlier this year there were two mass shootings, one at a school, one in a village, in which more than a dozen people were killed. that prompted an organisation called servant —— serves against violence. these became more than about the shooting incident. they were protesting about the state of the economy in serbia, alleged corruption, the way the government worked its allegedly autocratic hand, and they formed the opposition in this election. a lot of anger in serbia about a lot of things. it seems to have coalesced in need demonstrations, which we saw on sunday night. —— in these

demonstrations. on sunday night. -- in these demonstrations.— on sunday night. -- in these demonstrations. ., , demonstrations. how serious was the violence? pretty _ demonstrations. how serious was the violence? pretty violent _ demonstrations. how serious was the violence? pretty violent protests - violence? pretty violent protests last niuht. violence? pretty violent protests last night- they _ violence? pretty violent protests last night. they stormed - violence? pretty violent protests last night. they stormed the - violence? pretty violent protests last night. they stormed the cityj last night. they stormed the city hall in belgrade, or at least attempted to. they were met with very heavy policing, with tear gas used. 35 protesters were arrested. now the police are saying that about eight of their officers were injured in the incident. that is their claim. the protesters don't see it that way. they argue they were being peaceful and were met with a violent crackdown. what is likely to happen now? i think at the moment it's not quite as the protesters had hoped. they said that by early today they were going to have occupied the streets of belgrade, the capital. it does look as if the police have managed to prevent that because so far what i am hearing from belgrade is that we haven't seen the kind of crowds that were predicted. but it is, how can i say, still early days. the

protest on sunday didn't happen until night time. they may yet succeed. thank you. some breaking news that has just come thank you. some breaking news that hasjust come in. the kremlin critic alexei navalny is alive and being held in a penal colony in siberia. that comes from his spokeswoman. it is after his team lost contact with him on the 6th of december. the statement says, "we found alexei navalny. he is in the ik three penal colony in the autonomous district." that was posted on the telegram site. it is confirmed his lawyer has seen him as well. alexei navalny is fine. as i was sitting at the start of that, alexey novelli is a staunch critic of the kremlin —— alexei

navalny. he has been in prison. it was on the 6th of december that they lost contact with him. an update there from his team confirming that he is fine. let s get some of the day s other news now. 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 aao kilogrammes of various types of narcotics, including heroin. more than a thousand addicts have been sent to a military—run rehabilitation centre. there's been widespread anger and protests after three civilians were found dead in indian—administered kashmir, a day after they were reportedly taken into questioning by security forces. police in the region have launched an investigation into the incident. five other civilians with injuries are being treated in hospital. christmas is also being celebrated in china, but the chinese communist party has urged christians not to forget they live in a socialist country as they celebrate christmas. under the chinese government rules, christians are allowed to worship only in the churches registered

with the government. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. here in the uk, an appeal for 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, and 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, t5a seriously handicapped who were 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 the person of christ, and the birth we celebrate, is an indomitable light that signs into the human heart. —— that shines. 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 injanuary in accordance to the orthodox calendar. in his christmas address, president zelensky said he was praying for victory and for evil to be defeated. the recorded speach comes after a frustrating month for ukraine which saw us politicians fail to agree on military aid worth almost £50 billion and the eu fail to get a similar package through. our ukraine correspondent james waterhouse reports

from the eastern city of kupiansk, which was occupied for six months after russia s 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 oskil 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. king charles and queen camilla have led the royal family to church in sandringham for their annual christmas day service. 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

sarah, duchess of york. she walked alongside her ex husband, prince andrew. let's go to sandringham and talk to our royal correspondent daniela relph. we saw them all going into church. what more can you tell us about what has been happening where you are? well, it was a pretty full collection of the royal family today here at mary magdalene church on the sandringham estate. all senior royals were in attendance, led by the king and queen, with the prince and princess wales and their three children. brenchley, who can be excitable, had his hand clasped firmly by mia tindall, his cousin. the surprise guest, as you say, the person we were not expecting to see, was sarah, duchess of york. she has been part of christmas is in sandringham over the years, but never publicly. by our calculations

she has not been part of the royal families celebrating in front of the cameras for more than 30 years. since her divorce and a sense a number of scandals followed her. so, to see her here today was something of a surprise. she has had a difficult year. she is recovering from breast cancer. she was here with herformer from breast cancer. she was here with her former husband and two daughters, who were part of the royal party. she was the surprise package of the day. around 2000 people lined the route to mary magdalene church. many of them have been queueing since around four o'clock this morning for a prime position in the front row. many of them got a chance to talk to senior members of the royal family. them got a chance to talk to senior members of the royalfamily. we spoke to some. lam iamon i am on holiday and i got to see the royal— i am on holiday and i got to see the royal family. — i am on holiday and i got to see the royal family, which is at the top of my list _ royal family, which is at the top of my list i— royal family, which is at the top of my list. i have been loving them since _ my list. i have been loving them since i_ my list. i have been loving them since i can— my list. i have been loving them since i can remember. this hasjust been _ since i can remember. this hasjust been great — since i can remember. this hasjust been great. shaking the king's and, i probably— been great. shaking the king's and, i probably will never wash it again!

-- hand~ _ i probably will never wash it again! -- hand~ we — i probably will never wash it again! —— hand. we are coming back. this is my fifth_ —— hand. we are coming back. this is my fifth time — —— hand. we are coming back. this is my fifth time i— —— hand. we are coming back. this is my fifth time. i was _ —— hand. we are coming back. this is my fifth time. i was here _ —— hand. we are coming back. this is my fifth time. i was here for- —— hand. we are coming back. this is my fifth time. i was here for the - my fifth time. i was here for the king's— my fifth time. i was here for the king's coronation. _ my fifth time. i was here for the king's coronation. i— my fifth time. i was here for the king's coronation. i was - my fifth time. i was here for the king's coronation. i was here . my fifth time. i was here for thej king's coronation. i was here for the platinum _ king's coronation. i was here for the platinum jubilee. _ king's coronation. i was here for the platinumjubilee. i- king's coronation. i was here for the platinum jubilee. i was- king's coronation. i was here for the platinum jubilee. i was herej king's coronation. i was here for. the platinum jubilee. i was here for prince _ the platinum jubilee. i was here for prince harry's — the platinum jubilee. i was here for prince harry's wedding. _ the platinum jubilee. i was here for prince harry's wedding. i— the platinum jubilee. i was here for prince harry's wedding. i was - the platinum jubilee. i was here for prince harry's wedding. i was herel prince harry's wedding. i was here on a _ prince harry's wedding. i was here on a self_ prince harry's wedding. i was here on a self curated _ prince harry's wedding. i was here on a self curated princess - prince harry's wedding. i was here on a self curated princess diana i on a self curated princess diana iour~ _ on a self curated princess diana iour~ i_ on a self curated princess diana iour~ iiusi, _ on a self curated princess diana iour~ liner, and _ on a self curated princess diana tour. ijust, and the _ on a self curated princess diana tour. ijust, and the more - on a self curated princess diana| tour. ijust, and the more eyed, on a self curated princess diana - tour. ijust, and the more eyed, the more _ tour. ijust, and the more eyed, the more i_ tour. ijust, and the more eyed, the more i realise — tour. ijust, and the more eyed, the more i realise i_ tour. ijust, and the more eyed, the more i realise i have _ tour. ijust, and the more eyed, the more i realise i have come - tour. ijust, and the more eyed, the more i realise i have come back. - the royal family are the royalfamily are now the royal family are now back the royalfamily are now back inside sandringham house, where they will have their own christmas lunch ahead of the king's christmas broadcast at three o'clock. daniela relph reporting from sandringham. of course, a reminder that we will bring you the king's christmas speech here on the bbc news channel when that happens in a few hours. around the world, services,

events and santa runs have been taking place to mark one of the holiest days in the christian calendar. here are some of the best christmas images from around the world. worshippers pray at a service in st francis church in sri lanka, where catholics represent around 7% of the population. jesus in the manger of a nativity scene in the bangladeshi capital, dhaka. children in lviv wore traditional dress for a christmas celebration in ukraine. and, surfers at bondi beach in sydney dressed festively for the occasion. before we go, a reminder of the top story. that is that at least 70 people are thought to have been killed in an air strike in the al—maghazi refugee camp in gaza. the hamas run health ministry says a number of the doubt 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 i made scaled back christmas celebrations in bethlehem and the occupied west bank. christian leaders cancelled normal festive celebrations to focus on prayer. there is more on that story and the rest of the day's news on the bbc news website. do stay with us here on the bbc news channel. i will be back after a short break. hgppy happy christmas. hope you're having a lovely day. the weather for the rest of today remains fairly cloudy. rain on and off. now in the hills of scotland in the north. boxing that is looking sunnier. also cooler. this weather front will pep up through the course of the day. 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. the heavier rain coming across wales will push into central and southern england and also into eastern england, where it is still mild. this evening and overnight the rain clears away. showers in southern scotland and northern indian. a lot of clear skies. it is going to be called in the north. cold enough for some frost and some ice across parts of scotland. that takes us into tomorrow. tomorrow, for a northern england and also southern scotland, will have a legacy of cloud and a few showers. that would break up. a lot of dry weather. some sunshine. the cloud building in the south—west. we will see some rain in the wind will strengthen. a cooler day than today. that is courtesy of

this clutch are weather fronts which is going to be pushing northwards and eastwards overnight tuesday into wednesday, taking some heavy rain. it would be windy everywhere. you can see some snow. the strongest winds are likely to be in the south coast of england and the english channel, 50 to 60 mph. there will be some heavy rain around as well. as that which is 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 we could see some of that getting down at times to lower levels. still 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 will remain unsettled with showers of 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 maghazi refugee camp. dozens of the injured people were rushed to nearby al—aqsa hospital.

and for the first time in 100 years, ukraine celebrates christmas today, in a further shift from russia. president zelensky changed the law backin president zelensky changed the law back injuly as he said, to abandon russian heritage. the danish shipping giant says it is preparing to resume operations in the red sea and in the 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 — brain hacks. modern life — the school run, work calls, inflation. remember your lines. work calls, inflation. scientists are carrying out pioneering... sorry, that whole thing. ok, the whole thing. the whole thing. 0k. our brain never evolved for any of this, and yet here we are getting on with it, as best as we can.

and it's all thanks to our brain's incredible capacity