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 is 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 a 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 entrance 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'm 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. three men have died after their vehicle was recovered

from the river esk near glaisdale in north—east england. 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. 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? and is the 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 aroundl 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. our 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 routes 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 in the uk. 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. to sport now, and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here's lizzie. hello, it's turning into quite a night in the premier league, two matches ongoing. let's look at arsenal first, who are hoping to go back to the top of the table, but they're currently losing 1—0 at home

to west ham at half—time. the goal, scored by tomas soucek, somewhat controversial because it looked the ball had gone out in the build—up. another one for the var detractors. since then, arsenal have battered west ham's defence, but no equaliser yet. half time as i say. in the other game, brighton are on the verge of a memorable win at home to tottenham. 4—1 the scoreline at the amex after goals from brighton's teenagerjack hinshelwood, pervis estupinan and two joao pedro penalties. spurs with a late consolation, but they're heading for a heavy defeat. six minutes on the clock there. 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' skippper 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 match, winning by an innings and 32 runs.

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 in tact. the match resumes in a couple of hours' time. 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 on january the 14th. 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 djokovic 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 from me, but there's much more on the bbc sport website. totte n ha m tottenham are now behind it two to brighton and there is still quite a bit of time so you never know. you can find what happens on the website but that's it for me. now, how do you listen to music? on a streaming service or are you a little more "old school"? well, latest figures where 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 rey�*s did you know that there's a tunnel under ocean blvd? what do all of these have in common? they're 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, continued to increase for the last 16 years. that's according to the british phonographic industry. now, although 80—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 younger fans, 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 cos 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. now to a criminal case which has gripped the united states. a woman who conspired to kill her abusive mother has been released early from prison.

gypsy rose blanchard, pictured on your left, pleaded guilty to the second—degree murder of dee dee blanchard, on the right, in missouri in 2015. the 32—year—old plotted with her boyfriend, nicholas godejohn, to kill her mother following years of abuse. he stabbed dee dee blanchard to death with a knife her daughter gave him, and the pair fled the scene. the case sparked intense media interest and spawned a number of documentary series and tv shows. live now to mike landis. he's an anchor on fox 49 news and has been following this story from the start. tell us a little bit more about the detail of this is why it's been so gripping for audiences there. i think it's because it's been so controversial. 0bviously any you have a murder case, things seem cut and dry with the crime being committed but because of this, with her background with gypsy r there because if you been following this case, her mother was suffering from

what many believed to be one chows an syndrome where you basically fake an syndrome where you basically fake an illness in a child of yours to simply get attention right there. so you had a lot of this controversy obviously. gypsy rose blanchard pleaded guilty to the murder of her mother but many thought that perhaps she was just justified mother but many thought that perhaps she was justjustified in doing mother but many thought that perhaps she wasjustjustified in doing it because she was kept positive by her mother all of those years. here locally that's been what everybody is talked about back and forth was what she justified or what you being abused and did she have a reason to do that? but she did commit a murder according to her own admission they're in court so i think that's what you have a lot of people on both sides of this the entire time. tell us a bit about the boyfriend. he is still in prison is understand it. what to him? he he is still in prison is understand it. what to him?— he is still in prison is understand it. what to him? he has been placed in rison it. what to him? he has been placed in prison for— it. what to him? he has been placed in prison for life and _ it. what to him? he has been placed in prison for life and this _ it. what to him? he has been placed in prison for life and this woman - in prison for life and this woman people have also wondered how it turns out. 0bviously gypsy rose blanchard was sentenced to ten years and getting out early now of course she was it would make a plea deal with prosecutors basically testifying against nicholas and with

that, that's it him to prison for life. he is now the one who used the knife into the actual killing while gypsy knife into the actual killing while gypsy was knife into the actual killing while gypsy was convicted knife into the actual killing while gypsy was convicted of her planning and that. he will be in prison there for the rest of his life and many people wondering is it fair that he is going to prison for the rest of his life or s she is getting out after these eight years and that's one thing that is left of the court to decide on that. in one thing that is left of the court to decide on that.— one thing that is left of the court to decide on that. in the meantime, gypsy rose — to decide on that. in the meantime, gypsy rose blanchard _ to decide on that. in the meantime, gypsy rose blanchard has _ to decide on that. in the meantime, gypsy rose blanchard has been - to decide on that. in the meantime, l gypsy rose blanchard has been giving interviews and had an interview from inside prison and it sounds as though she said she actually regrets what she did. tell us bit more about what she did. tell us bit more about what she's been saying.— what she's been saying. yeah, basically with _ what she's been saying. yeah, basically with that, _ what she's been saying. yeah, basically with that, the - what she's been saying. yeah, - basically with that, the background of this from the time that she was an infinite, she was held hostage by her mother, made to believe that she had all of these ailments. was able to convince doctors to perform unnecessary treatments and surgery on gypsy rose blanchard for all of those years and so with that, gypsy is that perhaps i should not have killed my mother maybe i could have gone to the police. it's been a

controversial issue with that as well because this family was leading the community to believe this girl was sick, she was disabled and nobody wants for the person to question that, whether it be a doctor, people with charities, nobody want to call somebody out on a sickness or disability saying that's fake. and so gypsy would have said had she try to bring out and if she did try running away and telling people, but the mother was able to come back and say gypsy, she's disabled, she's mentally ill and i'm the one in charge of her adult believer. and so with that, gypsy said that she could have gone and gotten help, but she fell to the very end that that was her only way out to freedom was unfortunately to in the life of her mother. mike landed him — in the life of her mother. mike landed him a _ in the life of her mother. mike landed him a think— in the life of her mother. mike landed him a think you - in the life of her mother. mike landed him a think you very i in the life of her mother. mike landed him a think you very much indeed forjoining a.— landed him a think you very much indeed forjoining a. indeed for “oining a. thank you very much. 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. this species are native to madagascar and are also known as dancing lemurs for the way they spring across the floor. lemur babies ride on their mother's backs for about three months until they're ready to explore the world on their own. 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 in 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 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.

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.

a clean up operation is underway in greater manchester after around one—hundred properties were damaged by a "localised tornado". roofs were torn off houses, trees blew down and walls collapsed. there are tensions in taiwan ahead of a presidental election there. beijing accuses the island of "hyping up" interference claims. and sales of vinyl lps in the uk have hit their highest level since 1990. nearly six million were sold this year — an increase of 11.7%. now on bbc news — ride above it. they speak italian.