following claims of ballot rigging. for the first time in 100 years, ukraine celebrates christmas today, in a further shift from russia. royals attend christmas day service at sandringham, ahead of the king's christmas speech to the uk in the next two hours. the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has said that the war in gaza is far from over. he also dismissed what he called "false media speculation" that his government might call a halt to fighting. at least 70 people are thought to have been killed in an air strike in the al—maghazi refugee camp in gaza.

body bags were seen piled outside the nearby al—aqsa hospital, where many of the victims were taken. 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. 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. we will get more analysis on the situation in the middle east and speak to our correspondence in cairo 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. russia's most prominent opposition politician — alexei navalny — who mobilised huge protests before being jailed in 2021, is alive and being held in a penal colony in siberia — that's according to his spokeswoman. navanly�*s team lost contact with the imprisoned political activist on the 6th of december, prompting concerns from allies, human rights groups and western governments. several hundred protestors have gathered in the serbian capital, belgrade, vowing to block streets unless the government promises to re—run disputed elections there. it follows violent scenes on sunday night, with opposition activists attempting to storm belgrade's city hall, and police then using tear

gas to disperse them. dozens were arrested. president aleksander vucic has blamed foreign powers for inflaming the situation, and russia has now said that the west is trying to destabilise serbia. i m joined by our europe regional editor, paul moss. what exactly is behind these protests? initially it is about the disputed elections which were held earlier this year and they were general elections and council elections. there were allegations of ballot boxes being stuffed and votes being bought and international observers said the way the media was controlled by the election completely unfair but in fact there are long—running protests that have gone on in serbia all year with people angry about the state of the economy, pensions, health service and they've also objected to violence in the country. a lot of gun ownership and there were two mass killings prompting the

organisation which is behind a lot of the protest at the moment. find of the protest at the moment. and the president _ of the protest at the moment. and the president is warning about attacks against the police and other violent actions, but how violent did the protest get? mattarella looked pretty heavy. the people i spoke to had spoken to protesters said they did not expect such heavy—handed policing as they described it. there was tear gas and some of the protesters allege they were beaten by police but we don't have proof of this and in turn the police say the protesters were violent and that it is eight or nine officers injured and you certainly saw them attempting to storm city hall, smashing windows, so this was not a sit down protest. we've seen comments from the russian government. 0bviously comments from the russian government. obviously a massive interest not only from russia, but why would russia get involved in an election dispute?— election dispute? serbia is one of these countries _ election dispute? serbia is one of these countries being _ election dispute? serbia is one of these countries being pushed - election dispute? serbia is one of these countries being pushed and pulled between russia and the west and is trying to play a diplomatic game. 0n and is trying to play a diplomatic game. on one hand serbia has applied tojoin the european union game. on one hand serbia has applied to join the european union and condemned the invasion of ukraine.

but it's refused to impose sanctions on russia and at times has seen more in the russian sphere. russia is very keen at the moment to peel off any supporters from the west and over to one side so when they see these protests, russia says, oh, this is foreigners organising it. it's the west trying to destabilise serbia. let's not forget during the balkan conflict, nato was bombing serbia so there's still a lot of anti—western hostility dating from that so what russia is saying will perhaps fall on fertile territory. i know it's difficult to predict the future, but what is likely to happen nextin future, but what is likely to happen next in serbia?— next in serbia? today's demonstration - next in serbia? today's demonstration doesn't| next in serbia? today's - demonstration doesn't seem as next in serbia? today's _ demonstration doesn't seem as big as the protesters hope. they were talking about blocking the streets and we know some have sat in the streets, a few hundred, banging saucepans but they called for people to come onto the streets at five o'clock local time today hoping, presumably, to get more people as they were last night and they say

they were last night and they say they want to bring belgrade to a standstill and we will see if that happens. standstill and we will see if that ha ens. . ~' ,, , standstill and we will see if that ha ens. . ~ , . standstill and we will see if that ha ens. ., ~ , . ., happens. thank you very much, paul moss. more now on the israel—gaza conflict — 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's in the details of this reported plan? the plan which has been reported over the last 2a hours, although no there have been official egyptian comments made about it officially, which means it is still a vision according to experts who talk to the bbc, it is still a vision or some sort of thought because still it is

been not completely ripe, but the first stage according to this plan or this draft plan is being reported that there would be a truce where the two sides, israel and hamas will change, exchange hostages and 120 is the figure so far and that the second stage there would be negotiations in order to form a technocrat government in gaza and then national dialogue and the third stage would be talks about withdrawal of the israeli troops to the pre—0ctober seven lines and a change of hostages from both sides, but in further detail is we have learned through the media recently, the previous minutes, that there are some details like egypt has talked about assurances from israel that it

would not chase hamas figures. but very recently in the last few minutes, it was reported from hamas officials that they refuse any concessions, just swap for prisoners and they would not concede power in gaza. therefore i think this is comment on the egyptian plan from both hamas as reuters reported a few minutes ago. they seem to have declined this offer and they refuse or reject to concede power in gaza and they would only speak at this stage about freeing some hostages in return for getting more prisoners from israel as reuters reported some minutes ago. from israel as reuters reported some minutes age-—

live now to bethlehem and our correspondent shaimaa khalil thanks forjoining us on the programme and we have been hearing in the last hour from benjamin netanyahu. give us the details. he said netanyahu. give us the details. he: said he'sjust come back from gaza and he met a reserve brigade in the field and according to his speech they asked for his statement and asked him not to stop and continue to fight to the end, a reiteration of what he has said this weekend, that this war is a long war and will not stop. the wording is quite interesting. he said newspapers and studios say we would stop, and in a way trying to debunk any reports or predictions that there would be a stop at any stage or de—escalation any stage and went on to say, we don't stop, we keep fighting and we deepen the fighting in the coming

days and this will be a long fight and it's not close to ending. if you contrast that with what we have just heard about the proposal from egypt of negotiations between israel and hamas, you will see the big challenge that cairo and the two main negotiators are facing. you have two sides that are very adamant about their position publicly and also on the ground. whether it's the deepening of the military operation in gaza or the continued firing of rockets by hamas into israel. we have heard of reports of siren sounding in tel aviv last week. how would you bridge that gap? how do you bring those two together in any form to start negotiating some sort of pause for the release of some hostages. of pause for the release of some hosta . es. ~ , hostages. the prime minister presenting — hostages. the prime minister presenting a _ hostages. the prime minister presenting a tough _ hostages. the prime minister presenting a tough position, l hostages. the prime minister- presenting a tough position, talking about the fight continuing, but he is under immense international and

domestic pressure to bring back israeli hostages specifically, so what is he offering to the israeli public? i what is he offering to the israeli ublic? ~' ., , . public? i think the domestic pressure — public? i think the domestic pressure is _ public? i think the domestic pressure is a _ public? i think the domestic pressure is a really - public? i think the domestic. pressure is a really important point. we talk a lot about international pressure and the concern from his closest allies, the us, but the domestic pressure is of note because for the families of those hostages, hearing this will be a long war, hearing that we are nowhere close to stopping, that fills them with dread because it does not answer the question of when loved ones are coming home or how they will come home.— loved ones are coming home or how they will come home. thank you very much. 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 they are there because of the fear that they will have to make —— vacate and just go. there is nowhere safe. they want to stay. they have always stayed there. they have always looked after the needy, the 54 the 5a seriously handicapped children who are there and sometimes, times of darkness and help us to focus on what is really of lasting importance. and there's no doubt point 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 injanuary in accordance to the 0rthodox 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. 0ur 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 kilometres 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 24/7. 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 at 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. 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. in his annual christmas day "urbi and 0rbi" mass at the vatican, pope francis said that children dying in wars, including in gaza, are the "little jesuses of today" and that israeli strikes there were reaping an "appalling harvest" of innocent civilians. he added that the oct. seven attack on israel by hamas militants was "abominable" and appealled for the release of the remaining hostages. pope francis addressed thousands of people in st peter's basilica square. he also called for an end to conflicts in countries including ukraine, syria and yemen, as well as defended the rights of migrants. here's some of what pope francis had

to say earlier at the vatican. to say no to war means saying no to weaponry. the human heart is weak and impulsive. if we find instruments of death in our hands, sooner or later we will use them. and how can we even speak of peace, when arms production, sales and trade are on the rise? let's get some of the day's other news now. 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. meanwhile, 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

a0 degrees celsius. king charles and queen camilla have attended their annual christmas day service at the sandringham estate. king charles and queen camilla have attended their annual christmas day service at the sandringham estate. 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. here's our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell. god save the king! after the first full year of the king's reign — the high point of which was his coronation in may — it will be a traditional christmas day for the principal members of the royal family. they're at sandringham — the royal estate in norfolk. the king will be joined by other members of his family, but the queen isn't expected to be joined by other members of the parker—bowles family. there will doubtless be moments

for them to reflect on a year which has seen continuing turbulence with the sussexes, harry and meghan — the king's younger son and his wife are believed to be spending their christmas at their home in california with their children. at sandringham, the king will lead the family to morning service at the church on the estate before lunch, and then the broadcast of the king's christmas message. it was recorded a few days ago at buckingham palace in a notably sustainable christmas setting. the palace has pointed out that the christmas tree behind the king will be replanted, and has been decorated with biodegradable baubles. the king's christmas message will be broadcast in britain at 3:00 on television and radio. nicholas witchell, bbc news. 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. stay with us here on bbc news. happy christmas, hope you are having a lovely day. whether you are having a lovely day. you are celebrating or taking whether you are celebrating or taking it easy. is the forecast for the rest of christmas day and boxing day, so today cloudy with rain for some of us are blustery to. very mild and boxing day looking a lot more promising with more sunshine in the forecast. it's been so mild because of the south—west is riding

along this conveyor belt of cloud, whether from along this conveyor belt of cloud, whetherfrom bringing rain today, so here it is, pretty wet across parts of wales and the south—west and further north we have the showers and for some of us the possibility of a white christmas across the north highlands, so some flakes of snow possible across the hills above the rest of us it's a case of the cloud, rain and wind and temperatures in double figures. the weather fronts will clear towards the east through the evening that it will take time, so later tonight skies will clear. not particularly cold despite the clear skies and temperatures typically between five and 7 degrees 09, scotland and northern england and eastern areas across wales and the midlands, the morning expected to be wet. and low

pressure is approaching, and in fact reports on tuesday night into wednesday will be spreading across the, large and widespread rain sweeping white lines on and gale force winds around many codes windy and also the possibility of snow, several or rain across the highlands and above around 200 metres, possibility ten or 15 centimetres of snow and some wet snow possibly sell time. temperatures between ten and 15 ten in newcastle and around 1230. the outlook remains very uncertain remains an

this is bbc news. the headlines. gaza's hamas run health minitry says over 250 people killed and 500 injured in the last 2a hours. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu visits gaza and vows to intensify fighting. 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 to walk the dog in the morning