residents have reported intense gun battles between israeli troops and hamas fighters there. many people have been trying to move to the southern border town of rafah which continues to see an influx of people seeking safety. our correspondent, shaimaa khalil, sent this report from jerusalem. a massive israeli bombing in northern gaza turns an extensive network of hamas tunnels into dust. these idf pictures show a well—equipped infrastructure of long and branched—out tunnels in which the army says senior hamas members moved and operated. in central gaza, more than 150,000 people were ordered to evacuate two of the area's biggest refugee camps. and this is where they were told to go for safety — the area of deir al—balah, itself reeling from the aftermath of strikes.

translation: we were sitting in our homes peacefully - and all of a sudden a missile hit and destroyed my house, my neighbour's house, the whole neighbourhood. my children are displaced now, we don't know where to go. have mercy on us, help us. it's a devastating situation. people are sleeping on the streets. in rafah, now gaza's most densely populated city, according to the un, there's no let—up in the bombardment. children were killed here, 26 people were killed here. i'm terrified. i'm scared and the thought of me being killed or my other brother being killed, it's just crossing my mind repeatedly. i already lost my older brother, i can't lose my younger brother. and this is what egypt's ceasefire proposal is up against — an expanding military operation in gaza and a continuing barrage of hamas rockets into israel.

a delegation of hamas members is in cairo now for further discussions, but there is no guarantee that either side is going to agree to this. and if they do, it will be a long, drawn—out process. for now, the displacement continues, and gazans are running out of places to go. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, jerusalem. meanwhile, israel has responded furiously to south africa's application on friday to the international court ofjustice to rule that israel has carried out, what it called, genocidal acts in gaza. israeli foreign ministry spokesperson lior haiat says, "israel rejects with disgust the blood libel spread by south africa in its application to the international court ofjustice". he goes on to say, "south africa's claim constitutes a despicable and contemptuous exploitation of the court." 0ur middle east correspondent, yolande knell, is injerusalem — and told us more about that response from the israelis. the israeli government isn't sitting today because it's

the jewish sabbath. but this was a very strongly worded response that we had from the foreign ministry spokesperson. aat the same time, though, i think some of it would be expected, it's often quite a difficult relationship with south africa because of the fact it has very strong support for the palestinian cause, often identifies, the ruling anc party in south africa, between the palestinian nationalist struggle and its own past struggle against apartheid. and we heard about those gun battles in khan younis. what more can you tell us about what's happening? so, residents of khan younis were telling us that they could hear very loudly gun battles taking place on the streets, presumably between hamas fighters and israeli soldiers who are there deep in the heart of this city, the main southern city of gaza, seen as a place where perhaps the hamas leaders, the likes of yahya sinwar — whose hometown it is, he is the leader of hamas in gaza — perhaps they could be hiding

in underground tunnels there. that's what the israeli military thinks. we've also had israeli artillery pushing into the city, artillery shells, and also more israeli air strikes. three people killed, according to medics, by an air strike earlier this morning. and so, really, that does appear to be a main focus still of israel's ground offensive. but at the same time, it is pushing into these three urban refugee camps in the centre of the gaza strip, where there have also been air strikes ahead of the advance of israeli tanks overnight. and we're seeing many pictures, of those being displaced by this latest offensive, the un saying around 150,000 people. are there safe places for people to travel? i mean, it's extremely difficult. what we're seeing is that people are using whatever means they can, eitherfleeing on foot, using donkey carts in some cases, a few people have got their vehicles

with enough fuel to make the journey, and they're sort of going in short hops. as they fled from these different camps in the centre of gaza strip, as israel's ground offensive has advanced just in the past week, heading first to deir al—balah, a big town there which has also been hit by air strikes, as we saw, and then going south into rafah, the town on the egyptian border. but of course, this is now the most densely populated part of the gaza strip. there are hundreds of thousands of people who are displaced there. the un says that it's extremely difficult to deal with in terms of they're seeing now a spread of disease in the areas where there are these overcrowded shelters and people living in very difficult conditions, some of them sleeping rough or else in sort of makeshift tents that they've set up. former british army major general —

and former senior nato adviser — general charlie herbert joins me now. we joins me now. heard that egypt has confirmed it has we heard that egypt has confirmed it has put forward a three stage proposal to stop fighting. can't that work?— proposal to stop fighting. can't that work? �* , . , ., , that work? any attempt to bring these sides _ that work? any attempt to bring these sides together _ that work? any attempt to bring these sides together at - that work? any attempt to bring these sides together at the - that work? any attempt to bring | these sides together at the table that work? any attempt to bring i these sides together at the table to get in a dialogue to start talking about peace and what might follow this war is a good thing. will this particular proposal work? i don't think so. netanyahu and his war cabinet have made it absolutely crystal clear that they are not interested in ceasefire. i would argue netanyahu was my political future depends on this war. does hamas wants his fight at this stage? arguably, more so. but that they want a deal that sees them give up power themselves? unlikely. want a deal that sees them give up powerthemselves? unlikely. ithink particular terms of this s2 are not likely to be accepted by either party, but what is good is that

there is a proposal on the table, some potential for dialogue. there is a proposal on the table, some potentialfor dialogue. this war has to end at some point and maybe this will lead to more fruitful discussion in the future. given what we have seen in the last couple of days, where do you think this conflict is heading in the short term?— this conflict is heading in the short term? �* , ~ ., , this conflict is heading in the shortterm? , ~ ., short term? and feels like a bit of a stalemate _ short term? and feels like a bit of a stalemate at _ short term? and feels like a bit of a stalemate at the _ short term? and feels like a bit of a stalemate at the moment, - short term? and feels like a bit of| a stalemate at the moment, there short term? and feels like a bit of. a stalemate at the moment, there is no significant progress in gaza. the israelis might suggest it is going 0k israelis might suggest it is going ok for them, but it looks like they are running out of options in gaza. initially they were into the north of gaza city. then after that initial ceasefire, they went into khan younis, which they said it is now the centre of hamas resistance. now they are lashing out at the centre. it is hard to see what the tactical objectives are right now for israel. they will not stop until they have killed or captured senior there are shipped and written down

hamas military capabilities significantly. the biggest regional picture, we have still got the houthis, affecting israeli sea traffic in particular. 200 instances in the last month of houthis attacking shipping, potential of escalation, possibility of us strikes against yemen itself. we have still got regional operations in the north with hezbollah. then yesterday, south africa bringing a case against israel, claiming it is committing genocide, bringing that case to the international court of justice. strategically, it is not looking good for israel at the moment. it will be interesting to see where this goes in the next week or two. see where this goes in the next week ortwo. but see where this goes in the next week or two. but i don't think we will see an end to the violence any time soon. �*

see an end to the violence any time soon. ~ , ., see an end to the violence any time soon. ~ , ,, _ soon. are you surprised by the number of _ soon. are you surprised by the number of civilian _ soon. are you surprised by the number of civilian casualties . soon. are you surprised by the l number of civilian casualties we soon. are you surprised by the - number of civilian casualties we are seeing? i number of civilian casualties we are seeinu ? ., �* number of civilian casualties we are seeina? j , , , seeing? i don't find it surprising, i'm horrified. _ seeing? i don't find it surprising, i'm horrified. i— seeing? i don't find it surprising, i'm horrified. i think— seeing? i don't find it surprising, i'm horrified. i think there - seeing? i don't find it surprising, i'm horrified. i think there are i i'm horrified. i think there are very significant questions being asked right number the igf conduct throughout this campaign, questions about distinction, about proportionality, about the legality. 21,000 killed. i don't know how many of those are civilians and how many are hamas. 21,000 in a ten week period— it is hard to describe that as anything other than outrages. it is indefensible, to be quite honest. given some of the previous actions we have seen from israel in gaza and in southern lebanon in 2006. but i am horrified. ithink in southern lebanon in 2006. but i am horrified. i think most of the world is horrified.— world is horrified. thank you for “oininu world is horrified. thank you for joining us- _ eurostar has cancelled at least 1a trains to and from london and warns

of severe delays after a tunnel floods under the river thames. other services have also been cancelled. this video has been released by southeastern rail shows flooding along part of the line. the company says says its high—speed services will not run today. the disruption comes as many travellers are trying to get away for the new year. live now to london st pancras station and transport correspondent for the independent, simon calder. simon, this is not the day, it couldn't have been a worse day. it is an absolutely miserable day, i am very sorry to say, for an estimated 20,000 passengers on eurostar trains trying to travel between amsterdam, paris, brussels and london. 1a trains in either direction have been cancelled so far. they hope there

will be services running from the netherlands, from belgium, from france to london and back by sometime in the next few hours. i have been here since 5am, and that has not been anything moving in and out. this has come and a really difficult time. trains are very heavily booked, the last weekend of the year. so many people emotionally invested in trying to get to where they need to be in time for the new year's celebrations. i have been speaking to some people hoping to go to brussels, they have been told they might be able to get on a train tomorrow evening. i'm afraid it is getting towards the end of a festive spell, which in the uk has been incredibly destructive for travellers, that something else has come to upset an awful lot of passengers. while the trends is here

and in some turmoil, i'm afraid it is a similar picture across large parts of britain because of staff shortages, as well as the effect of some severe weather. ba; shortages, as well as the effect of some severe weather.— shortages, as well as the effect of some severe weather. by the looks of it, --eole some severe weather. by the looks of it, people still — some severe weather. by the looks of it, people still turning _ some severe weather. by the looks of it, people still turning up— some severe weather. by the looks of it, people still turning up there. - it, people still turning up there. they didn't have any new test this was going to happen? we they didn't have any new test this was going to happen?— they didn't have any new test this was going to happen? we knew late on frida niuht was going to happen? we knew late on friday night there _ was going to happen? we knew late on friday night there were _ was going to happen? we knew late on friday night there were some - friday night there were some problems. there were certainly some firing on one of the tunnel laborious. this is the uk's only high—speed line. it goes frate london st pancras here, through east london, then through essex, then it goes through the thames and images in kent. it is actually the section in kent. it is actually the section in kent. it is actually the section in kent where they are having the problems. at aam, engineers inspected the terminal and decided that no trains could start up. 28

trains cancelled so far. people here are desperately hoping they will be able to travel. they queues are building up in the concourse b beneath me. unfortunately, for the people whose trains have been cancelled, they go to the back of the queue. people still who think their trains will hopefully run will hopefully get there. i've been talking to so many passengers, really upset. lots of families going to disneyland paris. 0ne really upset. lots of families going to disneyland paris. one of them decided they would go and get their car and go off and drive, who think the ferries would be a—0k. 0ther the ferries would be a—0k. other people, skiing trips, they had been buying very expensive flights to geneva and they will be flying instead of travelling by train through paris.— instead of travelling by train through paris. instead of travelling by train throu~h paris. �*, .,, , through paris. let's hope they can still make it _ through paris. let's hope they can still make it a _ through paris. let's hope they can still make it a happy _ through paris. let's hope they can still make it a happy new- through paris. let's hope they can still make it a happy new year. i an emergency meeting of the un security council has overwhelmingly condemned russia's aerial assault

on ukraine on friday, the largest since the start of the war. many countries said hitting civilian infrastructure had violated the international rules of war. more than 30 people were killed and 160 injured in the missile strikes yesterday. let's hear some of what countries' ambassadors to the un had to say in new york. rather than peace, putin chose to mark this holiday season and usher in the new year with a unprecedented number of drone and missile attacks against another un member state. these missiles were aimed at population centres across ukraine. they struck homes, apartment buildings, shopping centres and metros. a maternity hospital and a regional oncology centre has been damaged. in short, civilian infrastructure. meanwhile, poland has put its air defence forces on high alert after a suspected russian missile briefly entered polish air space on friday. from kyiv, our ukraine correspondent

james waterhouse reports. it is and always has been the whole of ukraine which is under attack. kyiv is still moscow's biggest prize. air defences have improved here, but this attack proved too much. translation: i was woken up at 7:30 by a horrible sound. _ it was so frightening, the missile was flying and everything was buzzing, so noisy. you are left in no doubt that this was a direct missile strike, the scale of the damage, the size of the blast zone, the heat caused. you're more used to seeing damage caused by falling debris when a missile is intercepted, but this reflects the scale of this russian attack. and scenes like this are being replicated right across ukraine. a lucky escape in kharkiv in the north—east. this city is familiar with missile strikes, but not 20 in a single morning.

a shopping centre in dnipro in the east, as well as a maternity hospital, were hit. it didn't stop there. this is the port city of 0desa in the south, where a residential block was struck. zaporizhzhia wasn't spared either, where at least eight were killed. even lviv in the west, which sometimes feels farfrom this invasion, wasn't immune this time. all military targets were hit, as far as russia's defence ministry was concerned. while moscow is trying to damage grand morale, president zelensky is trying to boost it by visiting troops in avdiivka, one of the most hostile parts of the front line. "it's hard," he said. "it's about pain and loss as well these are the people who keep ukraine alive."

his air force says it had never seen so many missiles in one attack. in a war where moscow routinely strikes cities it can't occupy, that is saying something. james waterhouse, bbc news, kyiv. here in the uk, the new year honours list has been announced — with people recognised from the worlds of sport, entertainment and charity. the authorjilly cooper is made a dame, and there's a knighthood for michael eavis, who co—created the glastonbury music festival more than 50 years ago. and in a great year for women's football, there's recognition for three of england's lionesses. 0ur entertainment correspondent, lizo mzimba, has all the details. her books have sold in their millions. noinlly cooper has been made a dame for services to literature and charity. i can't quite believe it, it's so lovely. when they told me, i got the letter and i thought, "gosh, this can't be me. me, blockbusterjill?" but it was lovely. i'm thrilled to bits. we're open!

michael eavis has been welcoming festival—goers to glastonbury for more than half a century. he's been knighted for his music and charity work. also receiving knighthoods, wetherspoons boss tim martin, who says he never expected to be recognised for services to hospitality and to culture. god save the king! and justin welby, the archbishop of canterbury, is knighted for his role in the coronation. former rugby league players kevin sinfield and rob burrow have campaigned around motor neurone disease since burrow was diagnosed with the condition. they've both been made cbes. certainly weren't expecting it. and this has never been about any recognition, this is about raising money and awareness for the mnd community and fighting for rob. so, you know, ifeel very humbled by the whole thing.

three lionesses are recognised for services to football. millie bright, who captained the world cup finalists, says it feels incredible to be made an 0be. england'sjoint top goal scorer at the world cup, lauren hemp, becomes an mbe, the same honour goes to golden glove and bbc sports personality of the year winner, mary earps. in the entertainment world, tony blackburn says it's unexpected and humbling to be made an 0be for services to broadcast and charity. fellow dj steve wright becomes an mbe, as does bake 0ff star paul hollywood for sservices to broadcasting and baking. most honours go to people not in the public eye. rizwanjaved has saved 29 lives on rail platforms, approaching and talking to people who were showing signs that they were thinking of ending their lives. he's been made an mbe.

every intervention that i was involved in, ijust felt like it was a part of life. i never thought it would be recognised to this scale. but it's definitely given me the confidence to carry on this work and spread awareness amongst everyone. the oldest person honoured is 97—year—old jill gladwell. a poppy appeal collector for eight decades, she�*s been made an mbe, one of many being recognised for making a real difference. lizo mzimba, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news now. the man who once ran one of the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchanges will not face another trial, after being found guilty of fraud and money laundering last month. sam bankman—fried had faced six charges that were separated from his first trial, including campaign finance violations and conspiracy. his sentencing has been set for the end of march. huge surf battered the us west coast on friday, with forecasters warning of more danger ahead, after rogue waves swept pedestrians off their feet and swamped a hotel. waves as high as 30 feet were expected to lash parts of california and oregon,

as a powerful storm capped a year of extreme weather in the region. indonesia has announced an additional tax on electronic cigarettes as a way to reduce vaping, the latest country to do so. the finance ministry said long term vaping is shown to negatively affect people's health. the extra levy will see 10% of the excise tariff for e—cigarettes added to the cost of purchase. indonesia is among dozens of countries to impose punitive levels of tax on vapes to discourage their use. police in australia are warning people not to go looking for packages of cocaine that have been washing up on beaches in new south wales over the last week. officers have been searching a huge stretch of coastline after plastic—wrapped parcels containing the drug began to appear shortly before christmas. many of the packages were covered in barnacles, suggesting they might have been adrift for some time.

0ur reporter in sydney, phil mercer, has been following the story. before christmas the first of these packages was discovered in the central coast region of new south wales, an hour or so to the north of sydney, and since then many beaches between here and the port city of newcastle, that's about two hours' drive to the north, have been washed up, this cocaine washing up on those beaches in between the two cities. now, the police estimate that 124kg of cocaine has been found by members of the public. and there is an overriding theory that this illicit haul was almost certainly strapped to a cargo vessel and was dislodged during wild seas, the aftermath of a tropical cyclone in queensland. so, certainly not the flotsam and jetsam that people on holiday or walking their dogs along the beach would expect to find here in sydney and further to the north. but a considerable amount of this

class a drug has been discovered. and the police are now warning people not to go looking for these packages? this is not a time to be a freelance bounty hunter, according to australian authorities. they do believe that all of the drugs have now been recovered, but they do caution that a single block of this illicit substance, weighing a kilogram, if anyone is caught with that, potentially there is a prison term of between 25 years and life. so certainly some harsh penalties for anyone involved in this particular trade. but the authorities believe that all of the drugs have now been washed up and recovered. a 29—year—old e—scooter rider has been charged after being stopped by police on a motorway in south—west england. it happened on the m5 motorway in somerset in the early

hours of friday morning. the man was charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol, and driving without insurance. brazil's famous christ the redeemer statue has been given a temporary makeover. the enormous icon which towers over rio dejaneiro wore a number 10 brazilfootball shirt on friday night to mark the anniversary of the death of the legendary player, pele. rather than an actual shirt, the image was created by coloured lights projected onto the statue. a critically endangered "dancing lemur" baby has made its debut at chester zoo. keepers there say the new arrival was born in september, weighing just 120g, to proud mother beatrice, following a five—month pregnancy. chester zoo is one of only three zoos across europe to care for the dancing lemur or coquerel�*s sifaka.

the species — named the "dancing lemur" because of the unique way it springs across the ground — is at risk of extinction due to widespread deforestation in its native home, the island of madagascar. stay with us here on bbc news. if you are planning to set out on a journey late on today, there are a few bits and pieces of weather to be aware of. heavy rain could bring some localised flooding today, hill is now for the northern scotland in particular, and the risk of some squally winds that could bring down some tree branches. the trouble caused by an air of low pressure to the west. heaviest winds this afternoon will be across wales and south—west england. the rain could be heavy enough at times to

consummate localised water flooding. localised disruption from that feature. further north, as the rain works into the colder in scotland, we see it turn into snow. the risk of disruption is in the high ground. that puts routes like the a9, the 83, 82 a risk of seeing some localised disruption. and then during the evening and overnight that squally band of rain, intense downpours, some very gusty winds works its way eastwards across wales and england, clearing towards the end of the night. so heading into new year's eve, we're looking at an unsettled day. the same area of low pressure is with us. it's a day of sunshine and showers. the showers widespread, heavy with some hail and thunder mixed extend, particularly for northern ireland, parts of northern england, north wales and the midlands. the strongest winds for southern wales and southern parts of england will still be some gales around coasts and hills. that takes us towards the all important midnight hour and those new year celebrations as we leave 2023 behind. and welcome 202a.

we're looking at unsettled weather conditions with widespread showers, some of them still pretty heavy with gusty winds. now, the showers will ease away for a time on monday, but then we'll see more unsettled weather moving in from the west, so a few showers to start the day. 0therwise some bright or sunny conditions. so not a bad day for a new year's day walk. in from the southwest. and given how wet the weather has been over recent weeks, we could well see some further flooding concerns into the early parts of the new year. the weather certainly staying unsettled. more rain at times, generally mild for england, wales and northern ireland, but on the cold side in parts of scotland.

this is bbc news, the headlines in southern gaza, fierce tank fire and air strikes are reported in khan younis. the un says around one hundred and fifty thousand palestinians are being forced to flee parts of central gaza, as israel's ground offensive advances. an emergency meeting of the un security council has overwhelmingly condemned russia's aerial assault on ukraine on friday — the largest since the start of the war. many countries said hitting civilian infrastructure had violated the international rules of war. new year's eve travellers face major disruption as tunnel flooding under london's river thames brings eurostar services to a halt.

more widely, dozens of train services have already been cancelled in the uk more than 1200 people from the worlds of sport, entertainment and charity have been recognised in the new year honours list. more now on the cancellation of all eurostar trains to and from london today, due to flooding in tunnels beneath the river thames. it comes as many people are travelling between christmas and new year. let's cross live to london st pancras station — and news reporter rachel mcadam: are people turning up with nowhere to go? exactly, i am are people turning up with nowhere to go? exactly, iam here are people turning up with nowhere to go? exactly, i am here outside st pancras where the eurostar services have been cancelled. it doesn't look

too busy but walking through