hello, i'm lauren taylor. we start with the latest in the israel—gaza war. the israeli military has taken journalists into what it says is the largest underground tunnel found so far. since the beginning of the conflict, hamas has maintained an underground network allowing fighters to move undetected from one part of the territory to another. finding and clearing them has been difficult. this video released by israel shows what it says is part of the tunnel network being destroyed near a hospital in the nasser area of gaza city. the tunnel that our correspondent kasra naji and camera operator soran qurbani were taken to is not far from the erez border crossing which was breached by hamas when it launched its attacks on israel. here is their report. 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. erez 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 gunfire 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 its 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 4.5 kilometres 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 30 metres 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 for about 20 metres or 30 metres. 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 entrace 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. shaimaa khalil has the latest from jerusalem, and a warning — her report contains some distressing images from the start. once again, a child tells their story of the war. this child's home in khan younis was bombed overnight. "we were upstairs," she says, "then we were hit, and i started running." she tries to comfort her sister, but she has no idea that her mother and brother were killed in the strike. her father abdullah sits next to the body bags. he's still in shock. "this is my son," he says. "this morning, he asked

me for biscuits. i went to buy them, and when i came back, i found him and my wife dead." munitions explode. the ground offensive continues to deepen in the southern city of khan younis... ..where hundreds of thousands have fled from the fighting in northern gaza. israel says it's trying to protect civilians during its operation against hamas fighters, but it said it regretted what it called extensive collateral damage in a strike last weekend. the hamas—run health ministry says at least 86 people were killed in the strike on the maghazi refugee camp in central gaza. israel says it used the wrong type of munition. people shout. here injerusalem, thousands of teenagers march towards the israeli parliament. "alive, now," they chanted. they want a new deal to return those still in captivity. the war is not going

to end any time soon. that is the message from the israeli government, but that only increases the frustration among the young people gathered here, many of them from communities that have been worst—affected by the october the 7th attacks. their message to those in power — bring the hostages back home now. i am from kibbutz kfar aza. i was there on the 7th of october, and my people were kidnapped. we want them back. for me, personally, i really hope that it ends for both sides as quickly as possible. war is horrible on either end of it. in the agony of war, new life begins. iman tends to three of her quadruplets. one is still in intensive care. there is very little food and not enough formula or diapers. she and her family are sheltering in a un school after being forced out of their home in the north. her new babies born into displacement. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, jerusalem. let's get some of the

day's other news now. more than a0 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 130 kilometres from the capital, monrovia. the cause of the crash is unclear. the venezuelan president has ordered the armed forces to hold military exercises. it's in response to a british decision to send a warship to support neighbouring guyana. in a tv address, nicolas maduro said 5600 soldiers would take part. earlier this month, venezuela resurrected an old claim to an oil—rich region which for decades has been part of guyana and its colonial predecessor, british guiana. 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". three men have died after their vehicle was recovered from the river esk near glaisdale in north—east england. police say another man who attempted to help those in the vehicle was pulled to safety from the river. it follows heavy rain and flooding caused by storm gerrit. 100 homes have been damaged by a mini—tornado which ripped through part of greater manchester when the storm blew in. police declared a major incident in tameside after roofs were torn off homes, trees were blown down and walls collapsed. there were no reports of any injuries. areas surrounding stalybridge were the worst affected, including the village of millbrook. fiona trott reports, from greater manchester. the eye of the storm. so strong that some homes couldn't even keep the residents safe. they'll evacuate us now. this tree smashed through a roof just metres from where

maisie pilkington slept. if you was to get a wrecking ball and go through a house, it was like, cos i opened the door and i thought, "oh, my god". in daylight, the damage was clearer to see. metal and glass not strong enough. lead not heavy enough to withstand the force of this tornado on her street. 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's in the bathroom. the whole tree is being held up by one branch, and it's starting to snap currently, i've been told. so if it does snap, it's going to go through the whole house. it wasn't just maisie�*s street. look at the devastation in other parts of stalybridge. their homes and their lives have been ripped apart. this was the village of carrbrook. and we were so scared, i we didn't know what to do. i don't know who phoned the police. police, ambulance, fire brigade, everybody were around. -

and tonight, hundreds of residents still have questions that can't be answered. can i go back home? when can i go back home? is my house safe? so we're trying to get movement on that as quickly as possible, but the amount of damage that it's done to the amount of properties, you know, we haven't got the resources just yet to get that done very quickly. so we have gone out to get support. what people here are still coming to terms with is how so much devastation was caused by something that lasted less than a minute. tornadoes can be massively damaging. you can see winds in excess of 100 mph concentrated on a very small area. that is enough to bring down parts of houses, trees, cause massive amounts of damage. and clearing up that damage will take some time. a rare and devastating event is bringing these communities together. fiona trott, bbc news, stalybridge. meanwhile in scotland, around 300

homes are still without power and motorists and rail passengers continue to face disruption after storm gerrit caused landslides and felled trees. the energy company ssen says customers in the north—east and shetland are the worst affected and some homes are unlikely to be reconnected until tomorrow. here's chris mclaughlin. everything's been turned upside down, really. a local shop in cupar, fife. storm gerrit has been and gone. this is what it left. we don't know where to begin with the clean—up procedure, so i think everything is going to have to be refitted again. fridges, freezers, the shelving. i tried to save what i could, butjust had no time. no time to react at all. homes across the town were affected, too. for many, it comes at

the worst possible time. the hardest part this time around was i watching - our seven—year—old try- and collect all her christmas presents, breaking her heart- thinking our christmas was ruined. said it was the worst christmas . ever, and it wasjust horrendous. in the town of tarland in aberdeenshire, food trucks for those who've been without power since yesterday afternoon. i had a pretty poor night. had the kids and the dogs up at my parents', but nobody really settled well, so... we lit the fire and we had baked potatoes in the fire, and we played stupid games. i should've gone home yesterday, because i live in inveraray. - so i should've gone - home yesterday morning. in shetland, the evidence of gusts reaching 83 mph was obvious. it's been here and the north—east that's been worst hit. we were aware of the weather, but the wind speeds were higher than what was actually forecasted.

they were about 10 mph higher, which can actually cause more disruption to the network. disruption on the rail network, too. damage to trains and train lines had left routes closed. many are now back on. the vast majority of the network is back open for business, but we do expect some disruption into friday morning, and the advice to passengers is to check before you travel because unfortunately there is more bad weather on the way. not good news as roads that were closed slowly begin to reopen. flooding and landslides mean some smaller roads still remain impassable. gerrit is gone, but its effects will be felt in scotland for some time to come. chris mclaughlin, bbc news. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. a man who died after a car collided with a group of people in sheffield yesterday has been named as father—of—two christian marriott. mr marriott was with his wife and two young sons when he went

to provide first aid to a woman following an altercation between a group of people. police have described him as a good samaritan who lost his life while helping a stranger. 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. itv has announced holly willoughby will return to television to present dancing on ice alongside stephen mulhern injanuary. 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. you're live with bbc news. sport, and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre,

here's lizzie. thank you. we're starting with the first of two football matches in the premier legaue tonight. tottenham are at brighton, hoping to do enough to move up to third in the table but they're behind at half—time. teenagerjack hinshelwood putting brighton ahead on 11 minutes with a good, but unmarked strike. and then dejan kulusevski gave away a penalty after pulling danny welbeck�*s shirt in the box. joao pedro converted it to make it 2—0 at the amex. and they have got five minutes of extra time in the first half of the could be more goals there. in the other game, arsenal have just kicked off at home to west ham. a win for arsenal will send them back to the top of the table, a point ahead of liverpool. it's goalless at the moment, just into the second minute. meanwhile, tottenham's third—choice goalkeeper hugo lloris is in talks to move to the usa to join los angeles fc. the 37—year—old french world cup—winner hasn't played since april and would join the mls side on a free transfer. well, tottenham, like several clubs,

have a tricky january coming up with players missing on international duty. spurs' skipper son hueng—min is off to the asia cup with south korea whilst manchester united's goal keeper, andre 0nana, has been picked by cameroon for the africa cup of nations. 0nana had retired from international football following a row at last year's world cup, but he returned in september and has been included for the tournament, which is being held in the ivory coast. 0nto rugby union, and england are set to be without manu tuilagi for at least the start of this year's six nations championship. the 32—year—old sale centre has another groin injury which, although not requiring surgery, is expected to rule him out of england's opener against italy in rome on the 3rd of february. this year's cheltenham gold cup winner, galopin des champs, looks back to his brilliant best after thrashing a star—studded field in ireland to win the savills chase by a massive 23 lengths. it's his first victory since the famous festival win, and he's now favourite

to defend his title in march. 0nto cricket, and south africa thrashed india inside three days in their opening test. despite virat kohli's best efforts, india were bowled out forjust 131 runs in their second innings, with only kholi and shubman gill reaching double figures as they crumpled to an innings and 32 runs defeat at centurion. the second test begins in cape town next week. meanwhile, as pakistan look to level their series down under, a 96 from mitchell marsh helped australia wrestle back control of the boxing day test. after a terrible start to the third day in melbourne, where at one point australia were 16—11, marsh and steve smith combined for a crucial stand of 156 and australia closed with a lead of 241 runs and four wickets intact. rafael nadal is back playing competitive tennis this weekend after nearly a year out through injury. the 22—time major—winner has been practising for the brisbane 0pen

ahead of the first grand slam of the year, the australian open, which starts onjanuary14th. nadal hasn't played a tournament since last year's aussie open due to a hip injury. well, the new tennis season gets underway in a few hours' time in australia, where two cities host the united cup mixed team competition, perth and sydney. there are 18 teams including great britain, and they play a mix of men's and women's singles and mixed doubles. world number one novak ijokovic is there for serbia with one eye on the australia open in a fortnight, and at 36 years old, the record grand slam champion is hoping it won't be his last time in the country. to be honest, i mean, i always look forward as i said coming back to australia and always felt like i played my best tennis over the years and had great support. so i'm not sure, i don't really have a plan what's going to happen next year.

i'm kind of taking it season by season to see how far it takes me. that's it for me. my back in an hour plus my time with update on the football but for now, that's it. wind turbines provide renewable energy, but producing the steel they're made from isn't such an environmentally—friendly process. well, now a wind turbine made of wood has begun supplying electricity to the swedish grid, asjonah fisher reports. having brought us abba, meatballs and flat—pack furniture, from sweden comes another innovation thatjust might change the way we generate electricity. welcome to the world's tallest wind turbine tower made out of wood. currently, almost all of the world's turbines are steel, which is usually made by burning fossil fuels. steel is a great material, right? but steel is very heavy, and with this material, we can perform the same task, but with 30% less weight and more than 100% less carbon emission.

we're the firstjournalists invited inside for a closer look. wind power is already one of the cheapest and cleanest ways to generate electricity. using wood could make it even greener. i'm now 105 metres up at the very top of the tower. these blades are, like almost all wind turbines, made out of fibreglass. the generator that i am standing on is primarily made of steel. but the company who's built the wooden tower say that by making the tower out of wood, it's storing carbon dioxide, it's carbon—negative. and it's that carbon dioxide that's warming our planet. but this isn't only about being greener. to reach stronger and more consistent winds, more consistent winds, turbines need the get even taller,

and that means bigger and wider turbine towers. getting those massive pieces of steel on site by road is already a major headache, and that's where wooden towers just might come in. there's a huge amount of potential in this. that's because the towers are modular. at a factory in gothenberg, more than 100 thin sheets of wood are glued together to make the wall sections. those modular pieces can then more easily be taken to the turbine site. we do not bolt our towers or screw them together. we glue them together, right? and wood and glue is a perfect combination. so, is it alljust a bit of a gimmick? well, maybe not. the project is being backed by vestas, the world's largest installer of wind power, and they told us that using wood could end up solving some of the industry's transport problems in a more environmentally

sustainable way. jonah fisher, bbc news, in gothenberg in sweden. 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 had refused to get out when officers used spike strips to stop the vehicle. a local reporter describes what happened next. it looks as though they may be using dummy bullets. there goes the dog. they pulled the dog... there, now the dog is inside most of this is coming to an end finally. now see, as soon as the dog does in things here with the driver, you can see now the officers are going in now. again, we don't know whether the driver is conscious. they are going

to try to go in from the driver's side. i'm going to pull back a bit here because we don't know exactly what's going to happen. is he hanging on? cannot tell but it looks as though they are having difficulty getting them out of the cab. 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. next, we wanted to take you to spain to show you these pictures. every december the 28th, residents of the town of ibi in alicante stock up on flour and eggs for a 200—year—old festival that takes place on the day of the innocents, spain's version of april fool's day. they basically throw flour and eggs at each other. locals who don't take part are fined, and all the money goes to charity. finally, some rather cute pictures to leave you with this half hour. they are of a critically endangered lemur. this little one was born at chester zoo here in the uk and weighed in at 120 grams. experts say it'll be a little

while until they find out the sex of the baby. the species are native to madagascar and are known as dancing lemurs for the way they spring across the floor. lemur babies ride on their mother's back for about three months until they're ready to explore the world on their own. plenty more from you soon. do 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, as further heavy rainf 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—9 degrees. 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 scotland, could be a mix of rain, sleet and snow. got this weak weather front as well. that's going to produce some persistent outbreaks of it showery rain into northern ireland, north—west england. and a westerly flow will drive in a few 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 clear 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. happy new year.

now on bbc news — this cultural life: ken loach. ken loach, britain's foremost politically engaged film—maker. his work explores issues of social justice, freedom and power, and has twice won him the prestigious palme d'0r at the cannes film festival — in 2006 for the wind that shakes the barley, and ten years later for i, daniel blake, a contemporary british story about unemployment and poverty. go back to your desk and let her sign on and do thejob that the taxpayer pays you for. ridiculous, man! in this episode of this cultural

life, the radio 4 podcast, he reveals his formative influences and experiences, and how at the age of 86, he's still as fired up as ever. there's an anger. is there? i think that's what drives you. well, you can't see it happen... you can't see it happen and be indifferent, you know, you can't. if there's something that puts fuel in the tank, it's seeing hope destroyed, you know? camera crew's ready. i think in my acting days, i did a tiny bit of bbc radio. oh, you did? it might have been in this very studio some 60—odd years ago.

really, here? fantastic.