between major religions, at what he calls a time of "increasingly tragic conflict around the world". hello, i'm catherine byaruhanga. the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu says his troops are going to quote "deepen the fighting" in gaza in the coming days. he made the comments after visiting israeli forces currently stationed in the gaza strip and comes after one of the deadliest nights in the ii—week—old battle between israel and hamas. at least 70 people are thought to have been killed in an air strike in the al—maghazi refugee camp. the gaza 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. since early october, at least 20,600 people have been killed, and over 5a,500 people have been injured. in the past hour reports are emerging that an israeli air strike outside the syrian capital damascus has killed a senior adviser in iran s revolutionary guards. more on that later in the programme. but first — our correspondent shaimaa khalil is in bethlehem and sent us this report on the latest from gaza . and a warning, the report contains images some may find distressing pointing to her pain, overcome with distress. "it hurts here, mama," she says. her mother is trying to console her. late at night, tteir homes were bombed. ——late at night,

their homes were bombed. the wounded kept coming to the nearby al—aqsa hospital, already overwhelmed, with no fuel or water and minimal supplies. in gaza, there is no respite for the people, or those trying to save them. for many, it was too late. the writing on these body bags says "remains of al—maghazi." abdul rahim survived the air strike. his wife didn't. he says that in his building, several children and displaced people were killed. translation: it was horrific. i saw bodies on the road, some so badly disfigured they were unrecognisable. 0ur block was meant to be safe, according to the israeli military maps. but there are no safe areas in the gaza strip, not north, not south, nowhere. in a statement to the bbc, the israeli military said it was looking into the incident, adding that it was committed to taking feasible steps to minimise harm to civilians.

as the scale of the devastation becomes clear, so too does the challenge facing rescue teams who've been struggling to get in, with roads blocked after the strike. in bethlehem, christmas looks and feels very different. it's sad and subdued. no tourists, no festivities, lots of prayers. this time of year, the eyes of the world would be on the birthplace ofjesus. but it's been stripped of any signs of celebration. instead, there are messages of solidarity and calls to end the suffering. for the people here, those images of destruction and death coming from gaza hit very close to home. the pain in gaza is felt very deeply here. this year it's replaced what is normally a time ofjoy. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, bethlehem. for more on this, i spoke to mark regev, a senior adviser to israeli prime minister benjamin

netanyahu. i started by asking him about those comments from the prime minister that israeli troops would "deepen the fighting" in gaza in the coming days. it means we will follow through on our goals which remain threefold. number three, to ensure ourfuture situation —— where there is no longer a terror regime in gaza that can attack us the way we were attacked on october seventh and create a new reality in gaza which endures stability across the border and be good for isrealis and good for palestinians and the people of gaza too. and in the past few days, the israeli government have said publicly once the release of israeli hostages. in the past few weeks.

part of that would be mediation efforts and are taking place in the middle that would lead to a ceasefire. but what the comments from the prime minister mean for those mediation efforts? does it not scupper those efforts? 0n the contrary we believe if there is a chance to have more hostages come out in the framework of some deal negotiated as it was in november, that will only happen because hamas is facing enormous pressure and is desperate for a timeout or a pause in the fighting. hamas didn't suddenly release hostages because they became humatarians you manage aryans, on the contrary they are brutal, bloodthirsty killers —— because they became humanitarians. we are keeping the military pressure on them and we think that is the best way to facilitate the release of hostages in the future. a little earlier i also spoke with mustafa barghouti. he's the president of the political party palestine national initiative — and he referenced prime

minister netanyahu's comments about "deepening the fighting" in gaza. that means they will deepen the crime, the genocide of the palestinian people and the collective punishment and the indiscriminate shooting of people. mr regev said they investigated, but there is never a conclusion of any of their investigations that indicts any israeli. it is all talk to cover up the crime that is happening. 8,500 children have been killed. are these combatants? more than 7,000 women killed. if we count the children below the rubble, we are talking about 11,500 palestinians killed, children. 11,500 children. who can justify that? you are talking about 2.3 million people scattered and clustered in less than a0 or 50 square miles in gaza because israel forced them to move to the south

and bombarded them again there. in the midst of all of this, we are also hearing from the military leader of hamas, and his first comments since the war began, and obviously since he has been ——government, and what would it be an independent palestinian authority or interim authority, what is your reaction? is it workable? what we want is an immediate and permanent and complete ceasefire. that is what 153 nations of the world voted for in the un, and that is what the majority of the security council resolution has voted for, except the united states. that is what we demand. staying in the middle east, iran's state media say a senior member of the country's revolutionary guards has been killed by an israeli air strike just outside the syrian capital, damascus. tasnim news agency reported that

sayyed razi mousavi was responsible for coordinating the military alliance between syria and iran. with me is parham ghobadi from bbc persian. give us the latest on this. this is not the first _ give us the latest on this. this is not the first time _ give us the latest on this. this is not the first time that _ give us the latest on this. this is not the first time that israelis i not the first time that israelis have targeted iranian forces or iranian backed forces in syria. but say he was a senior iranian commander, and that is why iranian state television interrupted this programme to announce the killing of the senior commander in syria. also iranian revolutionary guards immediately issued a statement saying that he was the head of logistics in syria, which is an important role and said that he is extremely experienced in this field and has been serving in syria for many years. they also said that he was a top adviser, who was killed in

a jones strike during the trump administration in 2020. he was one of the most important iranian generals in syria. [30 of the most important iranian generals in syria.— of the most important iranian generals in syria. do we have a resnonse _ generals in syria. do we have a response from _ generals in syria. do we have a response from israel _ generals in syria. do we have a response from israel yet? - generals in syria. do we have a i response from israel yet? know, israel has _ response from israel yet? know, israel has not _ response from israel yet? know, israel has not commented - response from israel yet? know, israel has not commented yet, i response from israelyet? know, - israel has not commented yet, which again is not unusualfrom israel he cites. usually in such strikes, they neither accept nor deny their involvement. usually what happens next is that is really media say that it was israeli air strikes responsible for their death. what responsible for their death. what would ou responsible for their death. what would you say — responsible for their death. what would you say is _ responsible for their death. what would you say is the _ responsible for their death. what would you say is the significance of this attack, also iran publicly saying that one of its top military officers has been killed. what is the significance of this in the context of the conflict that we between israel and hamas? you have to see this in — between israel and hamas? you have to see this in the _ between israel and hamas? you have to see this in the light _ between israel and hamas? you have to see this in the light of _ between israel and hamas? you have to see this in the light of the - to see this in the light of the recent flair between iran and israel. it hasjust recent flair between iran and israel. it has just been two days that iran targeted an oil tanker near indian posts, and with a drone

that was 1000 km away from iranian territory, and today, iran denied any responsibility for that, but united states accused iran and said that the drone, the kamikaze drone was launched from the iranian territory. so if you see it and iran has said that many times that, and also who sees who are supported by iran, they have repeatedly said that unless the war in gaza comes to an end, they keep launching such attacks in the red sea and in the region. attacks in the red sea and in the reuion. ., .,, attacks in the red sea and in the reuion. ., . , region. feeding into those concerns about the conflict _ region. feeding into those concerns about the conflict spreading - region. feeding into those concerns about the conflict spreading into - about the conflict spreading into other parts of the middle east. thank you so much. now, here in the uk, king charles has emphasised the importance of "universal" values shared between major religions, at a time of "increasingly tragic conflict around the world". the king's second christmas broadcast also had an environmental element, as he thanked those who were "caring for our common home". he also praised what he called the "selfless army"

volunteers and carers. for more on this, i spoke earlier to our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell. so, a heartfelt message, i think. charles, as prince of wales and now as king of the united kingdom, he feels very deeply the need for better interfaith relations. he referred there to the abrahamic family of faiths. again, it's something that he has quite considerable knowledge about and interest in. now, the other areas that he spoke about in the christmas broadcast, service to others, that again is something that is important to him. the selfless army of people, many of whom were invited to his coronation back in may, they are the essential backbone of our society, people who are prepared to go the extra mile, as he put it, to help others around them and within their local communities. and then, of course, an area that we know is very close to his heart,

that is the environment, something that he's been speaking about, well, for decades. and of course, just a few days ago, he was at the cop conference giving the opening address at that, and he said, "we care for the earth "for the sake of our children's children," and so renewing that appeal to people to become even more committed to protecting the environment. and he said, "i find great inspiration now from the way so many "people recognise the need for a more sustainable earth." and, nicholas, obviously, these are key issues, fundamental issues around the world — conflicts, even though he didn't mention specifically the israel gaza war, but also the environment. so the king is meant to be apolitical, as it were. how do you think he's managing to balance these issues and his role? i think he's doing so with considerable discipline and certainly considerable knowledge about where the line is. now, i think he is showing himself to be slightly more proactive in some of these areas

than his mother was, and i think that that is only to be expected because of his lifelong commitment, particularly to the environment and to these areas like interfaith relations. but i think that he is quite skilfully ensuring that he is navigating the line and staying on the right side of it, because, as you say, the head of state of the united kingdom cannot go into any political areas. and so far, certainly he has, i think, successfully avoided them. his second speech, and there would be comments about how he's handling this difficult and immense role. briefly, what is your assessment of how he's taking on this challenge? i think what we've seen over the past 12 months is him bringing some of his style to the role. we were so accustomed, obviously, to queen elizabeth ii, 70 years and more on the throne, but i think that her son, charles, is now stamping his own style on it.

and i think we've seen in some of the speeches that he's made in germany and to the cop conference that he's able to make speeches that, actually, his mother would never have made. 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 and my biggest fear is that, somehow, they will be given the order to vacate and just move, just go. there is nowhere safe. they want to stay. they've always stayed there. they've 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's no doubt in my mind that the person of christ — and therefore the birth that we celebrate — is an indomitable light that shines into the human heart. you're live with bbc news. the russian opposition leader alexei navalny has been found alive and well, after apparently disappearing from the country's prison system. his spokeswoman said he was being held at a penal colony in siberia. he had previously been held in a prison 235 km east of moscow. navalny, considered one of putin's leading opponents, has been imprisoned since 2021. the new prison, nicknamed the "polar wolf" colony, is considered one of the toughest in russia.

most detainees held there have been convicted of serious crimes. concerns had been raised after his team had lost contact with him on the 6th of december. there is no law in russia that is applied to alexei. they always create for him special conditions, and they don't have anything to do with the law. so we don't have any legal routes. we know that for sure in this new colony that his conditions will be even worse than they were before. but the thing is that this colony is very distant. it is very difficult to access. for lawyers, it will be very difficult to go there and to see alexei. an american journalist detained in russia in march is spending christmas day behind bars, as he awaits trial on espionage charges. wall streetjournal reporter evan gershkovich was arrested more than 270 days ago, on what he, his employer and the white house have labelled as false charges.

diplomats from the two countries are still engaged in negotiations for his release. earlier, we spoke to gordon fairclough, world coverage chief at the wall streetjournal, who is evan gerskovich�*s boss at the paper. he started by giving us the latest on the journalist's conditions in prison. holidays are a time to be with friends and family. and evan, alas, is deprived of that this year, in a jail cell in moscow, with no even indication of when his case might come to trial. and we've also heard in the past few days president putin talking about the prospect of the release of american prisoners held in russian jails. how optimistic are you that this could potentially lead to evan's release? we're hopeful. president putin said that russia wants to reach an agreement

with the united states in the case of evan and paul whelan, another american who's being wrongfully detained. you know, we are encouraged. we know that talks are continuing. but the latest offer from the united states, washington says, was rejected. it was rejected. and just in the last few days, we've heard from paul whelan. he spoke to the bbc from prison, through a phone conversation, and he questioned whether america was doing enough, whether the american government was doing enough, for his release. do you think the american government is doing enough to help prisoners like paul whelan and evan? it's obviously a difficult situation. i think that president biden has assured evan's family, and i know paul whelan�*s family as well, that it's a very high priority for him to try to get them out. i think it'sjust a... it's a very difficult diplomatic

exercise to try to pull that off. and just very briefly, what do you hope can happen in the new year? how realistic is it that he could be released? well, we're hopeful every day, and i think every day that he's held is a day too long, so we would like to have him back with us as soon as absolutely possible. 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. these are life pictures that we are getting from belgrade, where, as he can see, a large cloud of people

have gathered there in the capital. these are students who are protesting those disputed elections in the country. you can see the large crowds there. this follows violent that happened in the on sunday. 0ur correspondent paul moss joined me earlier and told me what he thinks is behind the 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. and the president is warning about attacks against the police

and other violent actions, but how violent did the protest get? it 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. they were tear gassed 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. obviously a massive interest not only from russia, but why would russia get involved in an 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. on one hand serbia, has applied tojoin 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 pull them 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 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 want to bring belgrade to a standstill and we will see if that happens. let's get some of the day's other news now.

for the first time in more than 100 years, ukraine will mark christmas day today instead of in january. it's a way of cutting ties with russia, who celebrate according to the orthodox calendar. but with the country at war, for many people there will be little cause for celebration, with fears western support is ebbing away. 0ur ukraine correspondentjames waterhouse reports from the front line city of kupiansk, which was occupied for six months christmas in kupiansk is a celebration in name only. children were evacuated from this frontline city, and only 5,000 people remain. it used to be five times that. siren wails. 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. i

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 sofia 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 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's struggle to contain western doubt has left it with a new year looking farfrom certain. james waterhouse, bbc news, kupiansk. stay with us here on bbc news. happy christmas. hope you're having a jolly time with everyone, or you mightjust be relaxing on your own.

the forecast, then, for the rest of christmas day and for boxing day. well, this evening, there's still some rain around, but later on tonight, the skies are expected to clear. and boxing day is looking promising with sunshine on the way. but it remains mild, and the mild air is as a result of this south—westerly air stream. here's that weather front, the conveyor belt of cloud that has been bringing all the wet weather. well, later tonight, that weather front moves away to the east. still some showers, though, left over in the north, but essentially speaking, it's mostly clear skies. now the temperatures, despite the clear skies, won't be all that low — around about three degrees in the lowlands of scotland, five for birmingham and about seven in plymouth. a little bit colder there in the highlands. so we start the day on a bright, if not sunny note, beautiful weather, perfect weather for a walk in the park. however, the skies will turn cloudy in the southwest of the country, in fact, very quickly from morning onwards, hazy skies for wales and the midlands, and then rain is expected early in the afternoon across the south—west, and it should reach the south of wales by the latter part of the afternoon, and certainly

by the evening hours, moving further northwards. but to the north, it should stay clear. now the forecast, then, tuesday night into wednesday, shows the weather fronts sweeping across the uk. it's a large area of low pressure, with a broad band of rain, a broad band of gale force winds around southern coasts, west and east and northern coasts too. temporarily some transient snow there, perhaps across the pennines, but most certainly across the highlands. in fact, above 200 metres, we could see ten to 15 centimetres of snow. so a really rough day for some of us on wednesday, and quite a temperature contrast. around freezing also with that wintry weather in the highlands, at least for a time. to the south of that, temperatures are in double figures on wednesday. now the low pressure bringing this unsettled weather will continue into thursday. in fact, it's a very large area of low pressure, stretching from the north atlantic across the uk, all the way towards the baltic, and more weather fronts running along there, with strong winds. so here's the outlook, then, that takes us into 202a. it's an unsettled picture. briefly, a lull in the weather, with something a little bit colder on saturday, but then more wind and rain.

this is bbc news. the headlines: gaza's health ministry says over 250 people were killed in the last 2a hours, including 70 in a blast targeting the maghazi refugee camp. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu visits troops in gaza and says the fighting will deepen in the coming days.

king charles uses his annual christmas broadcast to emphasise the importance of "universal" values shared between major religions, at what he calls a time of "increasingly tragic conflict around the world". protestors in serbia launch road blocks in the capital belgrade, calling for a re—run of recent elections, following claims of ballot rigging. and for the first time in 100 years, many orthodox christians in ukraine celebrate christmas today, in a further shift from russia. now on bbc news, click.