hello, i'm lauren taylor. when israel's military attacked gaza, it knew underground tunnels used by hamas would represent a major challenge. several miles long, they allow fighters to move, undetected, from one part of the gaza strip to another. clearing the tunnels has proved even more difficult than anticipated. along with other media outlets, bbc correspondent kasra naji and cameraman soran qurbani were invited by israel's defence force to visit what the idf says is the biggest tunnel found so far. at the main crossing into northern gaza, for the israeli military, progress in the war has been a lot slower than anticipated. the reason — the vast network of tunnels that hamas is using for hit and run attacks on israeli soldiers and for hiding.

there is crossing right behind us. you can see how the entrance was blasted open. the israeli army took us and a group of otherjournalists inside gaza on foot to show us the biggest tunnel that they have discovered so far. there were no restrictions on journalists other than not showing some positions of troop concentration. we are just north of gaza. this is what gaza looks like from here — a devastated shell of a ghost town. we can hear the sound of heavy machine gun fire and drones flying overhead. there is also the occasional blast of an artillery round. this is the mouth of the huge tunnel israelis have discovered just a few hundred metres from the border with israel. a spokesman for the army, originally from iran, spoke to me in persian. translation: in this tunnel

you can find anything. - you can live in them. you can sleep in them. you can take a bath. you can keep prisoners here for years, if you like. and no one from the above would know what you are up to. from here, the tunnel doesn't look like a major discovery or a massive engineering feat. but inside it's clear that this has been a major development project for hamas to be able to quickly move gunmen to the border with israel. the tunnel is wide enough to drive the car through. it's 4.5km long. it opens in the northern part of the city of gaza. it's wired for electricity and other amenities. it's made of concrete. it must have taken hamas years to build and cost millions of dollars. it begs the question — how did the israeli intelligence agencies miss something

of these dimensions? after about 30m or so, we were not allowed to go any deeper into the tunnel for our own security. soldiers had their guns and their lights pointed at the dark end of the tunnel, just in case. israel discovered this tunnel over two weeks ago, its mouth hidden in a sand dune. i've just come out of this tunnel. you can only go down this tunnel forabout 20m or30m. and israeli soldiers stop you from going any further, which means that two weeks after having been discovered, this tunnel is still not completely safe or secure. the tunnel is, we've been through the whole tunnel from side to side. it branches off into different directions. it goes down. however, you have to understand that these tunnels are very complex and all of a sudden you can find another instance of a tunnel you never knew about.

this stretches for kilometres all the way to gaza, into gaza city. this tunnel goes to gaza city and so therefore cautiously saying that we know every element of this tunnel, but we're not going to take any chances. it is now clear that the tunnels have presented the israeli army with a big challenge. they say the war may now last for many months, particularly now that hamas says it has moved to guerrilla tactics of hit and run attacks using these tunnels. kasra naji, bbc, northern gaza. gaza tunnels captured by israel. the other key developments in the conflict this hour. israeli forces are advancing towards central gaza, forcing thousands of palestinians to flee the refugee camps there. the un says 150,000 people are on the move. israel says it regrets the harm caused to civilians in a strike on a refugee camp on december 24th. an israeli minister has warned the military will act to remove hezbollah from the israel,

lebanon border if attacks continue. and the united nations has warned the situation in the occupied west bank is rapidly deteriorating and has called for the end to unlawful killings of palestinians. let's take a deep dive into the un report published on thursday. it says about 4,785 palestinians have been detained in the occupied west bank since 7 october. and nearly 300 palestinians were killed due to israeli military operations. it details a sharp increase in air strikes and incursions by israeli security forces on densely—populated areas including refugee camps. violent incidents from armed settlers have also increased, including sexual assault, beatings and humiliation. let's get more on that west bank report with ajith sunghay, he's the head of office for the united nations high commissionerfor human rights in the occupied palestinian territory.

thank you have with us. focus for us on the more serious allegations in your report. on the more serious allegations in your report-— your report. thank you for having this report _ your report. thank you for having this report basically _ your report. thank you for having this report basically cast - your report. thank you for having this report basically cast a - this report basically cast a spotlight on the human rights violations in west bank. what we are seeing is a marked increase in the intensity of violations happening since december of october, up until yesterday —— seventh 0ctober. we thought it was necessary to draw attention to the nature of force used by security forces. it is being used by security forces. it is being used as the there is an armed conflict in the west bank, but according to international law, they should be using the legal framework of law enforcement. what we see instead of fighterjets, drones being used, hundreds of thousands of

troops being sent and used as snipers and unlawful and unnecessary forces, which has led to the most high number of palestinians killed since we started in 2005. we have seen prime —— 500 killed. tell since we started in 2005. we have seen prime -- 500 killed.- seen prime -- 500 killed. tell is about the _ seen prime -- 500 killed. tell is about the torture _ seen prime -- 500 killed. tell is about the torture allegations. i seen prime -- 500 killed. tell is| about the torture allegations. we have about the torture allegations. - have 4700 palestinians recorded as being detained by the israeli security forces. we do not have access to all centres, many are inside israel. however, some of them have had access to was and we have a range of ways of gathering information. based on that, we understand in many cases, the treatment of detainees has been what we call ill—treatment, and in some cases that amounts to torture. the

spokesoerson _ cases that amounts to torture. the spokesperson for the prime minister's offers has dismissed these as ridiculous and belittles these as ridiculous and belittles the security forces. they say they've arrested hundreds of terror suspects and will maintain their security. given the response, how do think your report will be received by the israeli government? will they listen to it and respond positively? unfortunately, i'm not very surprised by the reactions. we do hope they will take our recommendation seriously. the recommendations are notjust for the israelis, but for the international community. if they don't take it seriously, and the recommendations, our concern is it will fast deteriorate into further grave security situation, but human rights violations. that is why we thought it was important to put it out, to

raise an alarm. we hope the israeli authorities take these recommendations seriously. authorities take these recommendations seriousl . . ~ recommendations seriously. thank you ve much recommendations seriously. thank you very much indeed _ recommendations seriously. thank you very much indeed for— recommendations seriously. thank you very much indeed for taking _ recommendations seriously. thank you very much indeed for taking the - recommendations seriously. thank you very much indeed for taking the time i very much indeed for taking the time to talk to us. let's get some of the day's other news now. more than 40 people have died after a fuel tanker crashed and exploded in central liberia. officials say it burst into flame soon after people rushed to the site to scoop fuel from the tanker after it overturned on a road about 130km from the capital, monrovia. the cause of the crash is unclear. the funeral has been held in iran for a senior revolutionary guards adviser who was killed in an air strike in syria this week. iran says sayyed razi mousavi was killed by an israeli air strike. mourners at the funeral chanted "death to america, death to israel". the commander in chief of the islamic revolutionary guard vowed to avenge his death. russia has reopened its embassy in burkina faso after a gap of more than 30 years. the move comes a week after france

said it was closing its mission. the military governments in mali, niger and burkina faso have all moved towards greater military and economic cooperation with moscow. cher has reportedly filed for a conservatorship of her son elijah blue allman due to his alleged substance abuse and mental health issues. court documents seen by us media reportedly claim mr allman — seen here with the star in 2002 — is "substantially unable to manage his financial resources". here in the uk — around 1,000 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. thousands of homes are still without power and two major roads are closed because of flood water and fallen trees.

0ur 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. some breaking news, three men have died after a 4x4 vehicle was recovered from the river esk near glaisdale on the north york moors, north yorkshire police said. another man who attempted to help those in the vehicle was pulled to safety from the river. he has been receiving medical treatment. next of kin are currently

being informed about the tragic incident and specialist support is being provided by the police.more information will be released in due course. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. lancashire police say that what was thought to be a fire at the iconic blackpool tower was actually orange netting. six fire engines were deployed to the landmark this afternoon, after reports of flames coming from the top of it. police said the tower had been closed for renovation and had therefore been difficult to access. 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. the post office says personal cash withdrawals reached a record daily high before christmas. it said £62 million was taken out

on friday the 22nd of december as many people did last—minute shopping and took cash out for gifts on christmas day. it beat last year's high of £51.5 million. you're live with bbc news. 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. here's rupert wingfield—hayes. it's 6am and this fighter base on the coast of taiwan is already a hive of activity. 0n the mirage, 2,000 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 the 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. 0n the coast, the jets are returning from yet another patrol. taiwan has fewer than 300 fighterjets. china, more than 2,000. whoever wins taiwan's presidential race will face a military balance tipping ever more in china's favour. new year's resolutions will soon be made around the world, and it's the perfect time for the health authorities to encourage people to quit smoking. here in the uk a new nhs camapign features the former footballer, features the former footballer

david james, with research suggesting teenagers are more than three times as likely to smoke, if someone they know, already lights up. here's anisa kadri. in this campaign, former england goalkeeper david james joins other ex—smokers and health professionals. he says his children are one of the main reasons he stopped smoking. it's a tough thing to give up, smoking. i'm not pretending you canjust do it without a second thought. and if you get to those tough moments, think about your own health, think about the children, and think about the impact that you're having on them in a positive way by not smoking. according to the nhs, about 76,000 people in the uk die every year from a smoking related illness. it wasn't till i gave up at the age of 30, started training better, not getting out of breath during training sessions, becoming the athlete i was before i started smoking, that i actually realised that first of all, smoking wasn't good for me, personally.

at the moment you have to be 18 years old to buy cigarettes. in england, the government says it wants to raise the age people buy them by one year every year but some critics say it could lead to the creation of a black market. it means anyone who has turned 14 this year or is younger than that won't ever be able to buy them. we were able to look at what things made people more likely to start smoking, and what we picked up really strongly was there was this effect of parents and peers. so if a teenager's parents or theirfriends smoke, they are three or four times more likely to start smoking than if that isn't the case. a large part of this campaign is to deter young people from taking up the habit and it also warns against vaping unless it's used as a tool to give up cigarettes. this message is clear, that now is the time to quit. anisa kadri, bbc news.

covid cases are on the rise across the world again. last week, the world health organization declared a �*new variant of interest�* which has been detected in a number of countries — including the uk — and is the fastest growing strain in the us. paul hunter is a professor in medicine at the university of east anglia. he says he's seen an increase in cases. it is going up since the last week in november. the problem is we no longer have as many tests available, so it difficult to judge exactly how many infections we are seeing, but the resurrected 0ns survey published just before christmas, which would suggest we are seeing as many cases and probably more cases of infection across england at least than we have at the same period over the last two years. and the evidence from europe is almost certainly they are seeing

increasing infections as well, although again most countries have stopped publishing weekly covid reports these days. those that are, it is said the increasing. the strain, it is a daughter variant of the one we have seen for some time. and it is not that much difference to its parent strain, but it is spreading rather more quickly than most new variants we've seen for the last year also, that's why the who not that it was a states of interest. as far as it causes any more disease, the interest so far is it probably isn't. although we are seeing more cases of infection, although there are more infections in england than one year ago, we are seeing substantially fewer hospitalisations at the moment. the

balance of evidence is this won't be causing a large amount of hospitalisation, unless infection rates go very high. now, how do you listen to music? on a streaming service or are you a little more "old school". well latest figures here in the uk show that sales of vinyl albums have surged by almost 12% this year — returning to levels last seen more than 30 years ago. meghan 0wen has more. taylor swift's 1989, the rolling stones' hackney diamonds and lana del ray's did you know that there's a tunnel under ocean blvd? what do all of these have in common? they are the highest selling vinyl albums of 2023. in fact, sales are the highest they've been in the uk since the 1990s. they've jumped by around 12% to 5.9 million and they've continued to increase for the last 16 years — that's according to the british phonographic industry. now, although 80% to 85% of recorded music is still consumed via streaming, there's clearly been a huge surge in vinyl sales.

and i asked gennaro castaldo from the british phonographic industry why this was. i think people love the idea of having something to own and to collect. it's a beautiful kind of piece of artwork, really, from the sleeve artwork, the packaging and of course the baby boomers like me, who grew up with it, are still buying it, but we're seeing much youngerfans, millennials, certainly gen z, who are buying it. maybe they've been informed by their parents' record collections, certainly by streaming as well. but they love it because i think it helps them to feel closer to the artists they love, there's this emotional connection that vinyl, in particular, i think sort of affords us as fans. it's notjust vinyl. in fact, cassette sales have been up this year as well, despite having died out in the 1990s. and despite the decline in cd sales, they've now plateaued. in fact, 11 million were sold in the uk this year. so it shows that there's been a bit of a physical resurgence of the way that we're consuming music and, in many ways, you could say that

it's gone full circle. to the us next, and police have deployed an unusual method to arrest a driver who refused to stop. take a look at this. a swat team and armoured vehicle was called in to break open the cab of a lorry on a motorway in texas. 0fficers then threw in a gas canister. the driver has refused to get out when officers used spike strips to stop the vehicle. the driver was eventually pulled from the cab. it's unclear what started the chase in the first place, but police said the driver used "evasive manoeuvres", changing lanes multiple times and swerving. the christmas travelling period can be stressful, but passengers at portland international airport were treated to an unusual way to de—stress this christmas — therapy llamas. dressed in their christmas best, llamas beni and prince visited

the airport to bring festive cheer to travellers and staff. handler shannonjoy walked the duo round the airport and made sure they behaved themselves, portland airport said that animals had brought "instant joy". stay with us here on bbc news. good evening. well, storm gerrit certainly brought some challenging weather conditions on wednesday, particularly for those of you returning back from seeing friends and family over the christmas period. now, an early heads up if you're travelling this weekend to see in the new year — there's further heavy rain forecast, maybe some snow likely in the north, and the winds, widespread gales on exposed coasts, so that's worth bearing in mind. through the night tonight, we'll see a rash of showers turning increasingly wintry in scotland, some showers into northern ireland. a milder story further south with rain easing — here, around 5 to 9 degrees. it's going to be a chilly start

in scotland, though, still under the influence of low pressure. and with the winds coming round to a northerly, that means that showers to higher ground in scotland could be a mix of rain, sleet and snow. but this weak weather front as well, that's going to produce some persistent outbreaks of showery rain into northern ireland, north—west england, and a westerly flow will drive in a few scattered showers across south—west england and wales, which will drift its way steadily eastwards as we go through the day. here, we'lljust scrape double digits, but a cooler story across the far north and east of scotland in particular. now, as we move out of friday into saturday, here's that area of low pressure which could cause some further travel disruption, bringing some wet and windy weather in from the west. now, ahead of it, under clearer skies, we could see temperatures falling below freezing in the far north of scotland, so a cold start, and that could be relevant as that front starts to move in. so first thing on saturday, dry and bright, but the rain will start to push in from the west and some of it quite heavy.

and as it bumps into that colder air, we'll see some snow even at lower levels for scotland as well. so it's going to be a windy day, the best of the drier weather through the midlands, east anglia, south—east england — 12 degrees the high. the rain heavy as it moves its way gradually into south—west england, wales and northern england. some real torrential downpours likely. a brighter end to the day in northern ireland, but look at this. yes, we could see some snow even at lower levels for scotland — and that's worth bearing in mind — accompanied by gale force gusts of winds. so that low pushes through at quite a pace in the early hours of sunday morning. sunday is, of course, new year's eve. and for those of you out and about, it is going to get a little bit cooler, but it's going to stay pretty unsettled.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the israeli military has shown journalists what it says is the largest hamas tunnel discovered so far in gaza. the underground tunnels have been a key challenge for israel since the start of the war. as israeli forces advance towards central gaza, tens of thousands of palestinians are forced to flee refugee camps there. the un says 150,000 people are on the move. around 100 properties in greater manchester have been damaged by a "localised tornado". roofs were torn off houses, trees blew down and walls collapsed.

now on bbc news, it's sportsday. hello. you're live at the bbc sports centre with me, ben croucher. this is sportsday on bbc news. coming up: we'll be live at the emirates stadium as arsenal bid to return to the top of the table. wimbledon moving to belfast? it may seem like a crazy idea, butjust how close was it to happening in the �*905? and half—centuries for smith and marsh, but is it enough to give australia control of the second test against pakistan? also in the programme: we speak to the 16—year—old sensation who continues his darts dream at the world championship.