russia's leading opposition figure, alexei navalny, has been found to be held in a penal colony in siberia. hello i'm lewis vaughanjones israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu says the military will "deepen" its fight against hamas in the coming days. these pictures released by the israeli government show him on a rare visit to israeli troops in gaza — he later told members of his party that israel's military campaign there was "not close to being over". his comments come days after the us secretary of state said israel should lower the intensity of its strikes. these images

show the aftermath of an air strike on the al—maghazi refugee camp which reportedly killed more 70 people. the gaza health ministry says at least 250 people have been killed in the last 2a hours. local health officials say says the number of dead is likely to rise. israel says it is investigating the incident. since early october, the hamas—run health ministry says over 20,600 people have been killed, and over 5a,500 people have been injured. shaimaa khalil�*s 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, 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 story, we go to live now to who spokesperson, doctor margaret harris, who's in geneva. thank who's in geneva. you very much for coming on the thank you very much for coming on the programme. thank you very much for coming on the programme-— thank you very much for coming on the programme. that evening. can you “ust cive us the programme. that evening. can you just give us an — the programme. that evening. can you just give us an idea _ the programme. that evening. can you just give us an idea of— the programme. that evening. can you

just give us an idea of the _ the programme. that evening. can you just give us an idea of the state - the programme. that evening. can you just give us an idea of the state of- just give us an idea of the state of medical supplies, just give us an idea of the state of medicalsupplies, medical infrastructure and what medical care is available right now and because of? 50 is available right now and because of? ., �*, ., ., , of? so what's available is minimal and absolutely _ of? so what's available is minimal and absolutely overwhelmed. - of? so what's available is minimal. and absolutely overwhelmed. we've got officially nine of the 36 health facilities. we normally have 36, but they are partially functioning throughout the whole of gaza. the name partially functioning her in the south. there are hospitals in the south. there are hospitals in the north, but they are really functioning more as shelters. they do have a lot of injured and sick people there. they've also got a lot of internally displaced people, but they have so few medical staff, so few supplies that they are not really able to do what you or i would understand as health care beyond just oversee people who are dying. one of my colleagues described them as little more than hospices at this stage. share described them as little more than hospices at this stage. are medical su lies hospices at this stage. are medical

sunplies and _ hospices at this stage. are medical supplies and people _ hospices at this stage. are medical supplies and people able _ hospices at this stage. are medical supplies and people able to - hospices at this stage. are medical supplies and people able to move l supplies and people able to move around at all, or constant air strikes, is that not possible? we have been _ strikes, is that not possible? - have been able to send missions commence been extremely difficult, i tell you every time, often fingers crossed. it's very difficult to even move because you have to get agreement with both sides. even when they do move, they find themselves being faced down by tanks, but they been able have to get two different hospitals. they do it for two reasons, to get a sense of what the needs are, they are massive, as i've just described, but also to get some supplies. it's never enough. during our last mission, one of the trucks was stopped, they were desperately looking for food, was stopped, they were desperately looking forfood, people was stopped, they were desperately looking for food, people are so hungry and so desperate. you are not being bombarded, but you are likely to be hijacked by people who are

desperate to get anything to eat. can i also ask about the secondary sex consequences because of course people will be coming in and needing help from collapsed buildings, from direct strikes, but as things disintegrate, the spread of disease and other major health risks. you and other ma'or health risks. you are and other major health risks. you are absolutely _ and other major health risks. mt, are absolutely right. we are really, really concerned and we are seeing hundreds of thousands of cases now of diarrhoea, of respiratory disease, again, these things are things you might consider normal, but they are not normal when you are starving or when you are immunosuppressed. they very rapidly lead to death. now, we have no idea how many people are actually dying from that right now. those people aren't reaching the hospitals, the people that people with the most severe injuries, they are also women delivering babies every day, and we know, we expect that at least 70 of

those women will have complicated deliveries requiring caesarean section, so that is not happening. they are either dying or giving birth in such a way that they will be permanently disabled if they survived at birth and if the baby survives the birth.— survived at birth and if the baby survives the birth. doctor, thank ou ve survives the birth. doctor, thank you very much — survives the birth. doctor, thank you very much for _ survives the birth. doctor, thank you very much for coming - on the programme. thank you. 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. here's our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell. at the church at the sandringham estate, the king and queen were joined by other members of the royalfamily for morning worship.

the prince and princess of wales were accompanied by their three children, george, charlotte and louis, who feature in a new black—and—white photograph issued by kensington palace. the duke of york was with the family at church and making a surprise return to the christmas morning church appearance, the duchess of york. it's not to be the first time in nearly 30 years that she's been seen in public with the family on christmas day. after church, the family returned to sandringham house for lunch and to watch the kings christmas message. for this second christmas broadcast of his reign, the king focused in particular on those who render service to others. over this past year, my heart has been warmed

by countless examples of the imaginative ways in which people are caring for one another. my wife and i were delighted when hundreds of representatives of that selfless army of people volunteers who serve their communities in so many ways and with such distinction were able to join us in westminster abbey for the coronation earlier this year. community projects were all the more important, the king said, at a time every hardship for many, as his family had witnessed. then he turned to his great passion, the need to protect the environment. to care for this creation is a responsibility owned by people of all faiths and of none. we care for the earth for the sake of our children's children. and then a message for a troubled world. at a time of increasingly tragic conflict around the worlds, at a time of increasingly tragic conflict around the world, i pray that we could also do all in our power to protect each other. the words ofjesus seem more than ever relevant. do to others as you would

have them do to you. a christmas broadcast built around those three themes, which matters so much to the king, service to others, the environment and interfaith relations and concluding with a heartfelt prayer that people and communities will respect each other. nicholas witchell, bbc news at buckingham palace. iran's president ebrahim raisi has vowed that israel will quote "certainly pay" for the killing of a senior general of the country's revolutionary guards. iran's state media reported earlier that he'd 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.

tell me the latest. israelis have been targeting _ tell me the latest. israelis have been targeting iranian - tell me the latest. israelis have been targeting iranian troops i tell me the latest. israelis have | been targeting iranian troops for years now in syria, but this time say he was such an important commander, senior revolutionary guard commander in syria that iranian state tv interrupted its programming to announce his death. he was an iranian revolutionary guard also issuing a statement saying that he was in charge of the logistics in syria and in lebanon and he was a very close aide to slaney iranian general sulla money who was killed in a us drone strike in iraq back in 2020. so he was an extremely important figure. they also mentioned that he was killed by three missiles that hit the building where he was staying, a town on the outskirts of damascus capital of syria. outskirts of damascus capital of s ria. ~ . outskirts of damascus capital of sria.~ . ,., , outskirts of damascus capital of sria. . , syria. what has israel been saying about it? israel— syria. what has israel been saying about it? israel usually _ syria. what has israel been saying about it? israel usually has - syria. what has israel been saying about it? israel usually has a - syria. what has israel been saying about it? israel usually has a no i about it? israel usually has a no

comment _ about it? israel usually has a no comment policy _ about it? israel usually has a no comment policy so _ about it? israel usually has a no comment policy so then - about it? israel usually has a no comment policy so then either l about it? israel usually has a no - comment policy so then either accept nor reject their responsibility in such strikes. usually we get to hear about it through israeli media. previous attacks they have not commented on.— previous attacks they have not commented on. , ., ., , commented on. everything that has ha--ened commented on. everything that has happened in — commented on. everything that has happened in the _ commented on. everything that has happened in the region, _ commented on. everything that has happened in the region, just - commented on. everything that has happened in the region, just talk. commented on. everything that has happened in the region, just talk as to the significance of this. we happened in the region, just talk as to the significance of this.— to the significance of this. we have to the significance of this. we have to see this in _ to the significance of this. we have to see this in light _ to the significance of this. we have to see this in light of _ to the significance of this. we have to see this in light of the _ to the significance of this. we have to see this in light of the recent - to see this in light of the recent affair between israel and iran to stop it's just been two days that iran, us officials say that iran launched a drone and hit a oil tanker near indian coast, which is 1000 km away from iranian territory. i ran there today said that they were not involved in this attack, but us officials say that the kamikaze drone was launched from the iranian territory. we know that you put these in yemen were backed by iran. they've been targeting oil tankers in the red sea. those who

are involved with the israelis, and this oil tanker that was targeted by armenians was also related to israelis. �* ., ., israelis. all right, for the moment, thank ou israelis. all right, for the moment, thank you very _ israelis. all right, for the moment, thank you very much _ israelis. all right, for the moment, thank you very much that. - israelis. all right, for the moment, thank you very much that. thank i israelis. all right, for the moment, i thank you very much that. thank you. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. here in the uk, the head of the catholic church in england and wales has appealed for peace in the middle east. cardinal vincent nichols, says he's extremely worried after two women seeking shelter in a church, in gaza, were reportedly killed by israeli snipers. a claim denied by the israeli defence 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 are alive with bbc news. thinking ahead to rush i ——you are 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 sixth 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. speaking now into our regional editor. first of all, remind us who he is. ., ~ .,, he is. the thing about alexei as he bean his

he is. the thing about alexei as he began his career— he is. the thing about alexei as he began his career as _ he is. the thing about alexei as he began his career as a _ he is. the thing about alexei as he began his career as a grassroots i began his career as a grassroots anti—corruption cal weiner —— campaigner. he started buying shares in major companies which had links to the state, so they had to send them here accounts and started to look where that corruption was. but then he really became a thorn in the side of the kremlin when one thing really got attention he managed to get hold of a video showing the house belonging to the then prime minister and people could see the luxurious lifestyle he lived. at this point, the russian state started trying to prosecute navalny, throwing all sorts of charges at him. he was then banned from standing for election. this culminated in 2020 with the notorious moment when navalny was poisoned. alexei navalny was rushed to hospital in germany. there was plenty of evidence which connected the poisoning with the russian state, but at this point, navalny did something extraordinary and flew back to russia from germany whereto to know in surprise he was arrested,

charged with all sorts of offences. i can tell you what they were, but to be honest, i would be wasting your time because nobody takes them seriously. i don't even think the russian state takes them seriously, the charges which he was forced to go through, and was given a total of 30 years imprisonment —— imprisonment. 30 years imprisonment -- imprisonment.— 30 years imprisonment -- imprisonment. 30 years imprisonment -- imrisonment. �* ' . , ., imprisonment. and effectively over the last few — imprisonment. and effectively over the last few weeks, _ imprisonment. and effectively over the last few weeks, he _ imprisonment. and effectively over the last few weeks, he has - imprisonment. and effectively over the last few weeks, he has been i the last few weeks, he has been unable to be tracked down, so talk to us what the significance is now knowing his location.— knowing his location. inevitably, one thinks _ knowing his location. inevitably, one thinks that _ knowing his location. inevitably, one thinks that it's _ knowing his location. inevitably, one thinks that it's good - knowing his location. inevitably, one thinks that it's good news i knowing his location. inevitably, i one thinks that it's good news and terrible needs at the same time. good news because they're really were fears for his life, this man, as a set has been a thorn in the side of the kremlin. they probably try to gillam before, some fear they've done it again, so yes, he is alive and his lawyer says he's all right, to use her words, however, as he said, this penal colony he is in is really, really brutal. i have not been to that region, but i have been in the same neighbourhood of russia

visiting a former penal colony in the far north of russia in the arctic circle, and it is really hard to describe just how awful it is. i remember that i was wearing several layers of professional grade mountaineering gear and yet i have never been to so freezing cold in my life, quite indescribably so and i talk to people who worked in the prison camps there who were clearly not having the benefit of the kind of clothing i was wearing, tough beyond all measure, and i think also the timing of this is very interesting, there were presidential elections coming up in march. no one has any doubt that vladimir putin will win. but it seems like the kremlin is really not taking any chances at all. on saturday, they banned in the anti—war candidate from standing on some technicality, and now this move to get navalny as far away as possible, his lawyer has said can i think we heard it in that

clip, that it will be hard to visit him. they don't want this man having any influence at all. in a terrible way i suppose that is a complement to the extraordinary power that alexei navalny still has, certainly in the kremlin imagination. so what do ou in the kremlin imagination. so what do you think — in the kremlin imagination. so what do you think happens _ in the kremlin imagination. so what do you think happens now? - in the kremlin imagination. so what do you think happens now? hard i do you think happens now? hard to believe, do you think happens now? hard to believe. but _ do you think happens now? hard to believe, but there's _ do you think happens now? hard to believe, but there's actually - do you think happens now? hard to believe, but there's actually one i believe, but there's actually one penal colony a step worse than where he is now in the same vicinity, and there are fears that they could even send him there. theirfears for his life. people do die in these places of natural causes by... it is just so harsh. we will see if he manages to keep maintain any contact, get any messages out, the next steps are the elections in march. i think we know what the result of those are going to be. an american journalist detained in russia in march is spending christmas day behind bars, as he awaits trial. wall streetjournal reporter evan gershkovich was arrested more than 270 days ago, on what he, his employer and the us have labelled as false charges. diplomats from the two

countries are still engaged in negotiations for his release. gordon fairclough is evan gerskovich's boss at the wall street journal newspaper. he gave us the latest on evan's case. the 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 ——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. let s get some of the day s other news now. police in sri lanka say they have arrested more than 13 thousand suspects during a week—long drive against drug traffickers across the country. they say the operation led

to the seizure of almost 4a0kg 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. 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. 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. for the first time in more than 100 years, ukraine is makring christmas day today instead of in january. it's a way of cutting ties with russia, which celebrates 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. our ukraine correspondentjames waterhouse reports from one city on the front line. 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. around the world, services, events and santa runs have been taking place to mark christmas day. here are some of the best 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. that is it from us. i'm lewis vaughanjones. this is bbc news. goodbye. good evening. for most of us, it's been a cloudy, mild christmas, with some rain at times. but officially across the uk, it has been a white christmas because in the north of scotland, especially over higher ground, we have seen some snow. this pipeline of cloud has brought wet weather for quite a few of us, but with some cold air digging into northern scotland, that's where we have had some of the white stuff. and actually, that cold air will be

pushing a little bit further southwards as we head through the evening and into the start of boxing day. so through this evening and tonight, much of the rain will clear. we'll see some showers through northern ireland, northern england and some wintry showers continuing in the north of scotland. temperatures for some here will drop well below freezing, so there could well be some icy stretches. and further south, certainly chillier than it was last night. and then as we head into boxing day, well, we should see quite a lot of sunshine. this is a decent day to get out and about for a boxing day stroll. some showers in northern scotland — in fact, some of these wintry still over higher ground, maybe with the odd rumble of thunder later in the day. at the same time, through the afternoon, cloud and rain will spread in across the south—west of england and the channel islands. but on the whole, a chillier day than we had today. and then through boxing day night, well, we see cloud and heavy rain spilling in from the south—west. it'll start to turn really windy, with gales around western coasts. and this leads us into what will be a very wet and windy wednesday. if you do have any travel plans on wednesday, bear in mind we'll see outbreaks of heavy rain driving northwards and eastwards. there could well be enough rain

to give some flooding. it is going to be very windy. we'll see gales in places, gusts around some of the coasts up to 50 or 60 miles per hour, but pretty gusty for inland spots as well. and it won't only be wind and rain. snow could cause some issues, particularly over high ground in the northern half of scotland. above 200 metres, we could see 15 centimetres of snow or possibly even a little bit more. so this is not a great recipe if you are travelling on wednesday. it will be turning milder, though, again in the south — highs of 12 or 13 degrees. and then we head towards the end of the week, it looks pretty unsettled. various weather systems working from the west towards the east, giving outbreaks of rain. perhaps just a sprinkling of wintriness mixing in, some cold air trying to dig its way in from the north. in fact, it does look a little bit chillier for many of us as we head towards the end of the year. that's all from me. happy christmas.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the israeli prime minister has reiterated that the army will "deepen" its fight against hamas in the coming days. after a rare visit to gaza, benjamin netanyahu said the war against hamas was far from being over. 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.

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". the prominent russian dissident 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. protesters in the serbian capital belgrade have blocked the city's roads as they press their demand for the disputed elections to be re—run. now on bbc news, it's time for the year in review. # nothing compares to you... #