hello, i'm lucy hockings. israel is broadening its ground offensive across the centre and south of gaza. the hamas—run health ministry says more than 210 palestinians have been killed in the past 2a hours, with 21,320 deaths in the last 11 weeks. there's also been an intensification of fighting across the israel—lebanon border in recent days, sparking fears of a wider conflict. a member of israel's war cabinet has warned that the military will take matters into its own hands if the lebanese government and the international community doesn't stop cross—border attacks by the hezbollah group. benny gantz said time for a diplomatic solution was running out. here's our middle east correspondent yolande knell. bundles ofjoy in a time of anguish. iman tends to three of her quadruplets recently born in one of gaza's overwhelmed hospitals. one remains in intensive care.

miles away from their home and with supplies short, iman and her husband fear for the safety of their newborns in this un school turned shelter. "because there is a lack of baby formula, i try to breast—feed them, but there is no nutritious food i can eat," iman explains. "disposable nappies aren't available, so i only change them three times a day". children continue to suffer in this brutal war. this little girl doesn't yet know her mother has been killed in an israeli air strike. medics here in khan younis battle to save lives close to the southern front line of the fighting. israeli ground forces are pushing into areas they say are strongholds of hamas, and targeting its command centres. the military says this tunnel network in northern gaza was miles long. it's now been destroyed.

increasingly, israel's attention is notjust focused on the war in gaza but on its northern border with lebanon, where there are almost daily exchanges of fire with the powerful iran—backed armed group, hezbollah. sirens sent israelis in northern towns rushing to shelters. yesterday saw some of the heaviest incoming rocket fire since tensions surged in october. hezbollah aims to tie up israel's military resources that could otherwise be deployed in gaza. israeli ministers warn it's a dangerous strategy. translation: the situation on israel's northern - border demands change. the stopwatch for a diplomatic solution is running out. if the world and the lebanese government don't act in order to prevent the firing on israel's northern residents and to distance hezbollah from the border, israel will do it. as israeli fighterjets strike in southern lebanon in response to the latest rocket fire, a grim pattern repeats itself.

but the fear is that this could yet slip into another devastating all—out war. yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem. on top of the current situation in gaza. the un has deplored what it said was a "rapid deterioration" of human rights in the israeli—occupied west bank. the un high commissioner for human rights said it had recorded mass arbitrary detentions, unlawful detentions, and cases of reported torture and other forms of ill—treatment of palestinian detainees. it said about 4,785 palestinians had been detained in the occupied west bank since 7th october. let's discuss this with leah tsemel. she's an israeli lawyer who has represented palestinian defendants in the israeli court system. very good to see you and thank you so much forjoining us to discuss this report from the un of israel's mistreatment of detainees in the occupied west bank. can you tell us

what happens to someone when they are detained, and what they then go through when they are put in the prison? to through when they are put in the rison? ., , ., ., prison? to my great sorrow, i can tell ou, prison? to my great sorrow, i can tell you, because _ prison? to my great sorrow, i can tell you, because i— prison? to my great sorrow, i can tell you, because i have _ prison? to my great sorrow, i can tell you, because i have been - tell you, because i have been visiting a few prisons. the women's prison, the men's prison, and there is one common phenomenon since they were started — all the prisoners, the political prisoners or what is called on israel security prisoners, are being humiliated in prison. it repeats itself in every prison. the prisoners i met after a month and a half of this war are starving. they are not getting enough food in all the prisons. all of their articles were taken away from them. they had

the same clothes, they cannot change it even, they are kept in the rooms almost all day long except a very, very short journey almost all day long except a very, very shortjourney going outside for the very short time. and then they are in again. the food is miserable. i met one of my clients who already lost 25 kilograms, and another lost 15 kilograms. they are in handcuffs most of the time. they are kept in the rooms. it is impossible to live there. the prison authorities took away their cattle for hot water, they can only drink tap water —— their kettle for hot water. i’m their kettle for hot water. i'm sor to their kettle for hot water. i'm sorry to interrupt, but to ask you about the un report, it is detailing reports of alleged torture as well.

are you hearing that? it is. i want to talk about it, of course. first of all, the major thing is humiliation. when they are being counted to three times a day, they have to bend and set on their knees and being all the time handcuffs, and being all the time handcuffs, and then they are being beaten without reasons whatsoever. prisoners who refuse to come to the court, even though they might have the right to do so, because they are afraid to be beaten all the way, in the car or by the guards and policeman. this is a constant complaint. there are a few people who have died after being detained after they were probably as a result of ill treatment, i'm sure about it. what does this treatment due to a

person? what does this treatment due to a erson? ~ . ., what does this treatment due to a erson? . ., ., y” what does this treatment due to a erson? . ., ., y., ., what does this treatment due to a | person?_ when what does this treatment due to a - person?_ when you person? what do you mean? when you seak to person? what do you mean? when you speak to some — person? what do you mean? when you speak to some of— person? what do you mean? when you speak to some of the _ person? what do you mean? when you speak to some of the people _ person? what do you mean? when you speak to some of the people you - speak to some of the people you represent, when they have been through something like this, how does it change them? what does it do to them as a person?— to them as a person? terrible. first of all, i to them as a person? terrible. first of all. ithink_ to them as a person? terrible. first of all, i think this _ to them as a person? terrible. first of all, i think this is _ to them as a person? terrible. first of all, i think this is kind _ to them as a person? terrible. first of all, i think this is kind of- of all, i think this is kind of revenge. we have our captives in gaza, so you will be treated as they will be treated. and therefore, i think, i believe this is behind it. and at the policeman and guards and almost every authority person allows it to treat him terribly. it is common. i see it everywhere, even in the detention place near the courts, prisoners are complaining again and again that there are being beaten to

go from e b and being humiliated all the time —— from a to b. it is a complaint we bring before the judges and in the military court and we have not seen any reaction. until now. we are trying to get organised as lawyers to defend our clients and we even test that the lawyers association in israel and are waiting for some kind of development. there have been all kinds of human right organisations who addressed the supreme court of justice about the new conditions and the answer was, well, we are in times of war, times of war is not times of war, times of war is not times of war, times of war is not times of peace. this is unbearable. that is what i can say. pare times of peace. this is unbearable. that is what i can say.— that is what i can say. are we also seeinu an that is what i can say. are we also seeing an increase _ that is what i can say. are we also seeing an increase of _ that is what i can say. are we also seeing an increase of people - that is what i can say. are we also seeing an increase of people in - seeing an increase of people in administrative detention? because obviously some in israel would say

there was have been locked up have committed various serious crimes, but what about the people they are without charge and without a trial? there are two kinds, one kind is military detention, people detained from the west bank, jerusalem, wherever, from israel itself without due process, without charges, without a charge sheet, detained there according to security material. and from time to time they have to decide whether they are really able to arrest them or not. another reason are the people arrested in gaza —— another group. there are more than 1000 people brought from gaza to military bases in israel and held administratively

so to say, but i think the category would be called not prisoners of war, it's very clear they are not recognised as prisoners of war, but they are held administratively. i do not know if they will be charged or not, i think the ministry ofjustice is still sitting and thinking what should be done with these people. but meanwhile, there is no decision and the detention has been extended again and again and again. we saw them in gaza naked, humiliated on tracks, i believe many of them are brought to israel, held in military camps, and we don't know exactly where. i cannot visit them even if i wanted, there are no lawyer visits.

also visits to regular prisons are limited. it took me a lot to get into those three prisons i was talking about. and it is difficult to defend them.— talking about. and it is difficult to defend them. leah tsemel, we really appreciate _ to defend them. leah tsemel, we really appreciate your _ to defend them. leah tsemel, we really appreciate your time. - to defend them. leah tsemel, we j really appreciate your time. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. you're most welcome. and i'm happy you bring it up. it is important. people should know about it. thank you so much. this un report accusing israel of mistreatment of detainees in the occupied west bank has not had a response yet from israeli officials. , . , ., , , had a response yet from israeli officials. , . , ., _ officials. they have previously said the operation _ officials. they have previously said the operation is _ officials. they have previously said the operation is conducted - officials. they have previously said the operation is conducted in - officials. they have previously said the operation is conducted in the l the operation is conducted in the west bank aim to confiscate documents and goods that finance hamas terrace, but we are looking for comments from the israeli government on this report —— hamas terrorists. hamas s network of tunnels throughout gaza is proving a major problem for israel s ground operations. bbc correspondent kasra naji and cameraman soran qurbani were invited by the idf to visit what it says is the biggest

tunnel found so far. we'll talk to kasra in a moment, but first let's take a look at what he saw. from here, the tunnel does not look like a major discovery or a massive engineering feat, but inside it is clear this has been a major development project for an assortment to be able to quickly move the gunmen to the border with israel. —— for hamas. the tunnel is wide enough to drive a car through. it is a 4.4 kilometres long and opens in the northern part of the city of gaza. it is wired for electricity and other amenities. it is made of concrete and must have taken hamas years to build and cost millions of dollars. and kasra joins us live now from jerusalem. how did you get access to the tunnel with the idea of? we how did you get access to the tunnel with the idea of?— with the idea of? we have been askin: with the idea of? we have been asking for _ with the idea of? we have been asking for access _ with the idea of? we have been asking for access for _ with the idea of? we have been asking for access for weeks - with the idea of? we have been - asking for access for weeks actually and a few days ago they came back to

us and said whether we wanted to go on this particular visit. we said, of course, yes. we expected that there would be restrictions, because in previous occasions, the idf, the israeli army have taken journalist inside gaza, they have gone in with a certain amount of restrictions, including for them to check the pictures and decide whether they want is to use at this or that picture. this time come on this occasion, when we went in yesterday, there were no restrictions at all. at one point, the only restriction was that our cameraman was told not to film a particular position of trip concentration, which is normal any battlefield. —— troop concentration. otherwise we filled

everything we wanted, talked to everyone, so whatever was possible to see and at this tunnel was amazing. 4.5 kilometres long, you can drive a car through it, and it goes down at a slope of about 50 metres, down 50 metres, and then from then on it becomes a horizontal tunnel that stretches all the way to northern gaza. but interesting is that when we got to about 20—30 metres inside the tunnel, israeli soldiers were blocking the way and looking the other way, holding their guns at the ready at the dark end of the tunnel, and it was obvious from there on, they didn't think it was safe for us or them to go through. it looks like. and when i came out,

it looks like. and when i came out, i asked a senior member of the idf whether this tunnel, two weeks after having been discovered, is a safe and secure, he said, they secured it, they have gone through it all the way to northern gaza to make sure it is secure, but he said this is part of a larger network of tunnels and we never know whether there will be a sort of entrance to there will be a sort of entrance to the tunnel that we haven't seen or we haven't discovered, so we have to be cautious about going into the tunnel all the way.— tunnel all the way. really fascinating. _ tunnel all the way. really fascinating. thank - tunnel all the way. really fascinating. thank you . tunnel all the way. really fascinating. thank you so | tunnel all the way. really - fascinating. thank you so much for joining us. we will bring you more on that in an hour or so here on bbc news, so do stay with us for that. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. holly willoughby will return to television to present dancing on ice alongside

stephen mulhern injanuary, itv has announced. the 42—year—old has been absent from screens since she left this morning back in october after a man was charged with soliciting to commit murder over an alleged plot to kidnap the tv presenter. a 46—year—old man has died after a car hit a crowd of people outside a property in the burngreave area in sheffield. another person is also seriously injured. two men, aged 23 and 55, are being held by south yorkshire police — and the authorities are appealing for witnesses. fans of benjamin zephaniah have been asked to plant flowers and trees in his memory, as his funeral is held today. the poet died earlier this month at the age of 65, after being diagnosed with a brain tumour. zephaniah has been remembered as a "titan of british literature" who popularised dub poetry. you can find more of his poetry online on the bbc news website, so do log on and take a look. you're live with bbc news. here in the uk, around 100 homes

have been damaged by a small tornado in greater manchester, as storm gerrit swept across the country. police declared a major incident in tameside after roofs were torn off houses, trees blew down and walls collapsed. elsewhere in the uk, storm gerrit has brought flooding and disrupted travel, with scotland being the worst affected area. our correspondent fiona trott is in millbrook where the mini tornado struck. they'll evacuate us now. this is me daughter's car. the moment their lives turned upside down. it's been described as a "localised tornado". it lasted for seconds but the impact was devastating. here in millbrook, a lucky escape. this tree smashed through a house metres from where a woman slept. if you was to get a wrecking ball and go through the house, it was like — cos i opened the door

and i thought, "oh, my god". maisie hasn't slept a wink. she has no idea what will happen to her home. what seems to have happened is the tree's hit the roof, gone through my bathroom, so the whole roof and ceiling of my bathroom is down, the tree is in the bathroom. and the whole tree is being held up by one branch and it is starting to snap currently, i've been told. so if it does snap, it's going to go through the whole house. a scene from a movie — that's how they've described it here in stalybridge. it's amazing that nobody was seriously injured. tornadoes can be massively damaging. you can see winds in excess of 100mph concentrated on a very small area. but that is enough to bring down parts of houses, trees, cause massive amounts of damage. in scotland, the shetland isles were hit by winds of over 80mph last night, and across the whole of scotland more than 7,000 homes are still without power. fiona trott, bbc news, stalybridge. the taiwanese government has accused china of mounting a huge

misinformation campaign to try to influence the outcome of the island's presidential election, which will be held next month. china says the claims are being "hyped up". taiwan's ruling democratic progressive party is attempting to win an unprecedented third consecutive term. from taiwan, rupert wingfield—hayes reports. it's 6am and this fighter base on the coast of taiwan is already a hive of activity. on the mirage, 2000 fighter jets from taiwan's rapid reaction squadrons. theirjob — to meet any incoming threat to taiwan's airspace. these taiwanese fighter jets being scrambled behind me here are heading out into the taiwan strait to confront chinese aircraft that are coming across the strait and probing taiwan's airspace. this is now happening multiple times every day. these pictures are from chinese television showing their fighter jets, and that down below is the coast of taiwan.

just over the horizon, there is another game of cat and mouse. this man puts up a long antenna to eavesdrop on the radio traffic coming from china's navy. radio chatter that's the chinese navy talking to the taiwanese navy saying, "your territorial waters that you claim do not exist," that the people's republic of china is the only legitimate government of china, and that taiwan is an inseparable part of china. "they tell us that the taiwan strait is peaceful," he says. "then why are there chinese ships and aircraft harassing us all the time? how is that peaceful?" back in taipei, the former head of taiwan's armed forces says china's tactics are designed to intimidate the island's voters and send a warning to its allies. i think china is sending

a very strong signal to the united states, even to japan. "this is our area, our territorial area, so i can do whatever i want". but also in the meantime, they can use this kind of aggression to make taiwanese people scared and make taiwanese people capitulate. as polling day approaches, there is little sign the intimidation is working. at this rally, supporters of the frontrunner to win taiwan's presidency told me they would rather fight than capitulate to beijing. i'm very worried, but i'm not afraid, because i will volunteer to be a soldier if they invade our beautiful country. if someday we may be at war or something else, i'm not afraid because i think i'm taiwanese, i need to protect my country. on the coast, the jets are returning from yet another patrol.

taiwan has fewer than 300 fighterjets. china, more than 2000. whoever wins taiwan's presidential race will face a military balance tipping ever more in china's favour. live now to steve tsang, he's the director of the china institute at the school of oriental and african studies in london. we have a number of elections taking place at this year, but surely this one in taiwan will be one of the most highly contested and consequential elections, particularly to start the year. having watched rupert's report there, could you tell us what the opinion polls are saying at the moment. .. . . opinion polls are saying at the moment. ., . , opinion polls are saying at the moment. .. . . �* moment. how close is it? at the moment. _ moment. how close is it? at the moment. the — moment. how close is it? at the moment, the candidate - moment. how close is it? at the moment, the candidate for - moment. how close is it? at the moment, the candidate for the l moment. how close is it? at the - moment, the candidate for the dpp, the governing party in taiwan at the moment, is still the frontrunner. he

is opposed by the kmt, the main opposition party and also a new party the tpp, and the real issue is whether the two opposition parties will sweep it, and then the —— split the vote and if that is the case, the vote and if that is the case, the current vice president, william lai, is likely to when the office. can you tell us what the american influences in the election and what outcome they would like to see? the americans outcome they would like to see? tue: americans are outcome they would like to see? tte: americans are really outcome they would like to see? t'te: americans are really taking positions that the election is for people in taiwan to decide, so the americans are not interfering with the democratic process in taiwan. they will accept whatever the voters in taiwan choose. if the dpp candidate, vice president william lai wins, the americans would be

slightly more concerned in terms of whether he might be taking any action that would trigger a stronger, more robust response from beijing, but the dpp candidate, vice president william lai, has assured americans he will not behave any irresponsible way.— americans he will not behave any irresponsible way. what about other countries in — irresponsible way. what about other countries in the _ irresponsible way. what about other countries in the region, _ irresponsible way. what about other countries in the region, like - irresponsible way. what about other countries in the region, like the - countries in the region, like the japanese? countries in the region, like the ja anese? countries in the region, like the japanese?— japanese? the japanese will be watchin: japanese? the japanese will be watching it _ japanese? the japanese will be watching it very _ japanese? the japanese will be watching it very carefully - japanese? the japanese will be l watching it very carefully because they realise if a crisis should erupt in taiwan, the americans are very likely to be involved and with the mutual defence treaty with japan and japanese space being used by the military, japan would probably be dragged into it as well, but the japanese have a very strong relationship with the dpp, so a dpp victory would not be something the japanese government would be unhappy about. ,. , japanese government would be unhappy about. ,, ,

japanese government would be unhappy about. . , .. japanese government would be unhappy about. . , ., . ~ ., about. steve, very good to talk to ou as about. steve, very good to talk to you as always _ about. steve, very good to talk to you as always as _ about. steve, very good to talk to you as always as we _ about. steve, very good to talk to you as always as we countdown i about. steve, very good to talk to j you as always as we countdown to about. steve, very good to talk to - you as always as we countdown to the election, thank you very much forjoining us. to find out more about all the different players and candidates in the election in taiwan, log onto the website, bbc.com. do stay with us, we have more coming up. hello there. at its peak on wednesday, storm gerrit brought gusts of winds just shy of 90 miles an hour. and despite the storm pulling away, it's still pretty windy out there with gusts of winds generally ranging from 50 to 70 miles an hour across the country. so a blustery afternoon in store and still some showers. here's gerrit now off into scandinavia where the warnings here remain in force. but for us, it's a case of sunny spells and scattered showers. some of the showers heavy with rumbles of thunder and lightning across wales and north—west england once again will see that line of persistent showery rain drifting its way slowly, south

and east, never really getting into the london area. a fairly narrow but intense line of showers from lincolnshire into south—west england. elsewhere, a windy afternoon with further sunny spells and scattered showers to come. a cooler story in the far north of scotland. once again, top temperatures generally between four and seven degrees. but elsewhere, we're looking at 9 to 13 degrees the high. now, as we go through the night, that line of rain will push its way down through the south—east. showers continue into the north and with the wind swinging round to a northerly direction, there'll be a wintry component to higher ground in scotland here, low single figures. but elsewhere we'll see overnight lows between five and eight celsius. so into friday, wintry showers continue to higher ground in the north. a line of showery rain through northern ireland into northern england, sunny spells and scattered showers for the rest of england and wales. still blustery, but the winds slowly easing down. top temperatures generally between five and ii celsius. now, if you're heading off for the weekend, travel plans for new year's eve, please keep

abreast of the forecast. is another area of low pressure, perhaps not quite as intense as storm gerrit, but nevertheless, another spell of wet and very windy weather, widespread gales likely and yes, a combination of rain, sleet and snow, potentially even at lower levels across northern england and parts of scotland. so as we move into sunday, new year's eve, that area of low pressure will continue to drift its way steadily eastwards, will see spiralling around that low, a rash of showers. it'll be windy across england and wales, slightly lighter winds in scotland, slightly quieter story, but it will start to get just that little bit cooler. and as we move into new year's day, the rain will continue, but those temperatures will gradually ease away.

now on bbc news, balance, stamina and leotards. the show stopping world of disabled equestrian vaulting. they speak italian.