lam i am lucy gray. we start in ii!!! middle east, where gaza's health ministry says 165 palestinians have been killed and 250 injured in the past 2a hours as the israeli army hits targets across the territory. israeli tank fire and air strikes are continuing on khan younis in southern gaza, which israel sees as a stronghold of hamas, which is considered a terrorist organisation made many western governments. residents report intense gun battles between israeli troops and hamas fighters there. the israeli army says its troops have killed dozens of terrorists in gaza city. as ground operations drive tens of thousands of people to flee, there are also reports of an increased spread of diseases and the un is warning that the volume of aid reaching the country remains woefully inadequate. our correspondent, yolande knell, sent us this update. there have been street battles, once again, very intense between israeli soldiers and hamas fighters in khan younis in the south of the gaza strip,

seen as a stronghold of hamas. israeli warplanes have also been pounding the three urban refugee camps in the centre of the territory. this is an area from which tens of thousands of people have fled in recent days. and one local health official there said that 100 people had been killed by israeli bombings injust the last 2a hours. and he said that the local hospitals really overwhelmed by the numbers of casualties that were coming in. now, israel says it's not limiting the amount of aid that is getting into gaza. and it says that earlier in the day it allowed a four—hour humanitarian pause in the fighting. but at the same time, there is this complaint from the un that it's really "woefully inadequate", the amount of aid that is getting into gaza right now. and it has said that mass delivery of aid remains impossible because of the ongoing fighting. we've also had fresh warnings from un health officials about a rise in outbreaks of diseases among newly displaced people.

yolande knell reporting there from jerusalem. meanwhile, south africa has filed a case at the international court ofjustice, alleging that israel is engaging in genocidal acts in gaza. the un court has confirmed the proceedings concerning alleged violations of israel's obligations under the genocide convention. the move has been welcomed by the leader of palestinian national initiative, mustafa barghouti. we appreciate and we support the decision of the south african government to take the case of genocide against palestinian people in gaza to the international court ofjustice. israel is committing three terrible war crimes against the people in gaza — the war crime of genocide, the war crime of collective punishment, and the war crime of ethnic cleansing. and it is high time to hold israel responsible and accountable in front of the international community. but israel has responded with fury.

israeli foreign ministry spokesperson lior haiat says... he goes on to say... 0ur correspondent daniel de simone is in johannesburg and earlier he explained the perceived link south african politicians have with palestinians. there is a long context to this. the governing party of south africa, the palestinian national initiative, was once an opposition party, it was an opposition party to the apartheid regime and was a revolutionary movement with the military wing. in those years it did have links to some palestinian groups and since taking power almost 30 years ago in south africa it has retained links with palestinian organisations and has spoken about but it views what is happening to palestinian people as a form of apartheid. so the case that was filed by them yesterday at

the international court ofjustice really not that much of a surprise, the south african government has been speaking at the last few weeks, saying they regard what has been happening as a genocide, they talk about war crimes, so when the filing came yesterday it wasn't that much of a shock. it is sort of consistent with the previous evidence and relations between the two countries are in an incredibly bad point. south africa withdrew all of its diplomats from israel last month. it hasn't had an ambassador there for years. and israel then withdrew its ambassadorfrom years. and israel then withdrew its ambassador from south africa last month. the national assembly of south africa actually voted to suspend automatic relations with israel, but the south african government is yet to respond to that vote. , ,, ., fair in johannesburg. eurostar fair injohannesburg. eurostar has cancelled all of its services travelling to and from london today. in a statement they said...

let's speak to aruna iyengar, who joins us now live from st pancras station. this is all down to flooding in a tunnel, isn't it? that's right, yes, there are lots of water coming into two tunnels, which run between airbus fleet in kent and st pancras international, which is where i am standing outside. —— they run between ebbsfleet and as a result of this no trains can run from here in london and ebbsfleet. that affects eurostar massively, it had to cancel 41 services today between here in london and to paris, brussels and amsterdam, and that means there are hundreds of travellers really disappointed sitting inside st pancras behind me there since this morning. i have been talking to various people who say they are really disappointed,

they say they are missing out on their new year celebrations. i spoke to one teacherfrom their new year celebrations. i spoke to one teacher from new york who had a group of high school children with her. they are trying to get to paris and so far they have not been able to get there, their trains are cancelled, so they are hopeful they will get a flight tomorrow. we arrived this _ will get a flight tomorrow. we arrived this morning, planning to take a _ arrived this morning, planning to take a 9am — arrived this morning, planning to take a 9am train, as we were told about— take a 9am train, as we were told about the — take a 9am train, as we were told about the flooding in the tunnels and that— about the flooding in the tunnels and that ourtrain about the flooding in the tunnels and that our train was cancelled, so we have _ and that our train was cancelled, so we have been here all day, trying to reb00k— we have been here all day, trying to rebook either a different trainer or a flight, _ rebook either a different trainer or a flight, new hotels and we are still here~ _ a flight, new hotels and we are still here-— a flight, new hotels and we are still here. �* . , still here. and what is the feeling amon . st still here. and what is the feeling amongst the _ still here. and what is the feeling amongst the group _ still here. and what is the feeling amongst the group about - still here. and what is the feeling amongst the group about these l amongst the group about these cancellations? 0bviously amongst the group about these cancellations? obviously you are presumably quite disappointed? weill. presumably quite disappointed? well, es, but presumably quite disappointed? well, yes. but most — presumably quite disappointed? well, yes. but most of— presumably quite disappointed? well, yes, but most of these _ presumably quite disappointed? well, yes, but most of these students are enjoying _ yes, but most of these students are enjoying being here. we have been in and out _ enjoying being here. we have been in and out of— enjoying being here. we have been in and out of the train station, we have _ and out of the train station, we have been— and out of the train station, we have been exploring, we have been trying _ have been exploring, we have been trying different foods, shopping, taking _ trying different foods, shopping, taking pictures. the students are pretty— taking pictures. the students are pretty 0k — taking pictures. the students are pretty ok with the travel changes. but you _ pretty ok with the travel changes. but you have had some good news, haven't you?—

haven't you? yes, we have, thank ou, we haven't you? yes, we have, thank you. we have _ haven't you? yes, we have, thank you, we havejust_ haven't you? yes, we have, thank you, we have just heard _ haven't you? yes, we have, thank you, we have just heard we - haven't you? yes, we have, thank you, we have just heard we may l haven't you? yes, we have, thank. you, we have just heard we may have flights— you, we have just heard we may have flights booked for tomorrow, we just now have _ flights booked for tomorrow, we just now have to find a hotel and taxis to get _ now have to find a hotel and taxis to get to — now have to find a hotel and taxis to get to the hotel.— now have to find a hotel and taxis to get to the hotel. well, she had a re to get to the hotel. well, she had a pretty positive _ to get to the hotel. well, she had a pretty positive story _ to get to the hotel. well, she had a pretty positive story there, - to get to the hotel. well, she had a pretty positive story there, but - pretty positive story there, but many people i spoke to were really disappointed, they were saying they did not get enough information on their website about the cancellations by eurostar. also, south—eastern services are affected as well, many people not able to travel today at all on those services. they say the websites did not give information. hs1 has also directed people to its website, it runs the track and is responsible for maintaining that track and it has said it is giving out information on its website, but people here are saying they have not really received correct information before they set out this morning. so overall people who have been trying to travel to the continent to meet loved ones over the new year's holiday are disappointed. 0ne loved ones over the new year's holiday are disappointed. one group i spoke to today said they couldn't travel to paris and wouldn't be able to travel until the 1st of january, so they said they are going to have

to find the money to be put put up in hotels and have not yet been offered any compensation for that. 0k, offered any compensation for that. ok, thanks very much for now, aruna iyengar bear at st pancras for us. let's get more now on the conflict in the middle east. and we have been mentioning, the ground operations in gaza are driving tens of thousands of people to flee. the un is also worrying warning that the aid, entering the country remains woefully inadequate. we can speak now to the director of communications to the un humanitarian agency, unrwa. we are hearing from our colleague in jerusalem about the concerns of disease spreading among displaced people in gaza. what can you tell us about that first?— about that first? yes, thanks for havin: about that first? yes, thanks for having me- _ about that first? yes, thanks for having me. look, _ about that first? yes, thanks for having me. look, it— about that first? yes, thanks for having me. look, it is— about that first? yes, thanks for having me. look, it is not- about that first? yes, thanks for having me. look, it is not going| about that first? yes, thanks for l having me. look, it is not going to be a very big surprise if diseases are going to spread faster they are right now and we have already warned

about the impact of the siege on the health of the population in gaza. this is largely due to the unsanitary living conditions, especially in the shelters. we have 70 people sharing one toilet, we have the same for showers, there is not much hygiene supplies, the living conditions are very difficult. living conditions are very difficult-— living conditions are very difficult. �* , , ., , ., difficult. and “ust in terms of your facilities, difficult. and just in terms of your facilities, you _ difficult. and just in terms of your facilities, you have _ difficult. and just in terms of your facilities, you have so _ difficult. and just in terms of your facilities, you have so many - difficult. and just in terms of your i facilities, you have so many people, i think it is now more than 1 million people living in unrwa facilities, but so many of your facilities, but so many of your facilities have now been hit? yes. facilities have now been hit? yes, we have right _ facilities have now been hit? yes, we have right now— facilities have now been hit? yes, we have right now 1.4 _ facilities have now been hit? yes we have right now 1.4 million people living in our facilities across the gaza strip. the facilities in the north are becoming crowded by the hour because people continue to come in. they are absolutely free and so people have started taking refuge in areas outside these facilities, including in parks, in the open,

many are sleeping in their cars and for us ourfacilities, many are sleeping in their cars and for us our facilities, yes, many are sleeping in their cars and for us ourfacilities, yes, many have been hit. we have recorded 180 hits on our facilities, some were directly hit and as a result of those hits, at least 300 people who are sheltering in these facilities got killed and around 1000 were injured. got killed and around 1000 were in'ured. . , ., got killed and around 1000 were in'ured. ., , ., ., , got killed and around 1000 were in'ured. ., ., , ., injured. can you tell me a bit more about where _ injured. can you tell me a bit more about where these _ injured. can you tell me a bit more about where these people - injured. can you tell me a bit more about where these people you - injured. can you tell me a bit more about where these people you are | injured. can you tell me a bit more i about where these people you are not in your facilities are saying, in terms of, you say they are out in the open, where are they sleeping? at least 400,000 people are just out there. they also depend on unrwa assistance because they are, they have taken refuge in the facility of our facilities and they are either in open areas, they are on the street, some have set up little shacks with a plastic sheeting, some are sleeping in their cars. when i was there, it had just started and

colleagues who continued to be in gaza, they say that they opened the window and all they see of just rivers of people everywhere. in rivers of people everywhere. in terms of the age distribution, and the amount, obviously we know many agencies are saying how difficult it is to get in, in terms of the amount just isn't enough, but in terms of the amount that is getting on, what is the distribution like without? because obviously it is so hard to travel around gaza, so how far into gazais travel around gaza, so how far into gaza is the aid getting it is very, very challenging to distribute the very challenging to distribute the very little aid that is coming in. so after it comes in, we also have restrictions on our movement, for example, to the north, then what happened a couple of days ago when israeli forces shot at one of our humanitarian convoys after it had finally reached the north, delivered assistance there. also have the huge

number of people who are depending more and more on assistance from unrwa and other un agencies, and it is very difficult to keep up. the markets are almost hermetically closed, so there is no commercial surprise coming in, which makes the humanitarian operation even more complex. there is a telecommunications cut quite often. it has probably become one of the most complex and difficult humanitarian operations for us right now. ~ . , ., , now. where are people getting their water from? — now. where are people getting their water from? well, _ now. where are people getting their water from? well, it _ now. where are people getting their water from? well, it depends. - now. where are people getting theirj water from? well, it depends. first, there is very — water from? well, it depends. first, there is very little _ water from? well, it depends. first, there is very little water _ there is very little water available. there are a couple of pipelines that are coming via israel through the public network. there is also bottled water that we are managing to bring in. fuel is absolutely critical for that because that puts fuel to things like pumping stations and desalination stations, where people can get

water. . ~' , ., stations, where people can get water. . ~ , ., stations, where people can get water. . ~ . ., ., ~ water. thank you so much for talking to us, water. thank you so much for talking to us. juliette _ water. thank you so much for talking to us, juliette touma _ water. thank you so much for talking to us, juliette touma there - water. thank you so much for talking to us, juliette touma there from - water. thank you so much for talking to us, juliette touma there from the | to us, juliette touma there from the un agency, unrwa, thank you. thank ou. russia has vowed to retaliate after ukraine carried out a series of deadly air strikes on targets in south—west russia over the past 24 hours. that is according to russian officials. the russian emergency ministry says that 14 people, including two children, were killed and dozens of others injured in the city of belgorod. this dash cam video has been verified by the bbc and it shows an explosion on the street in the city and people running from the scene. 0ther footage and images shows damage to buildings and vehicles gutted by fire. if the number of dead are confirmed, it would be one of the deadliest strikes on russia during the war so far, after nearly two years of fighting. it also comes a day after friday's massive bombardment of ukraine, the biggest of the wall so far. ukraine's president zelensky says at least 39 people were killed when 150 russian

missiles and drones were launched at cities across ukraine. now it is time for a look at all of the day's sport with cerebral parents. thank you very much. it is a very busy saturday at football. let's start with the latest scores in the premier league... we are four matches into the second half now, so let's take a look at how they are getting on. aston villa, who are second on the table, while one goal down, sorry, they equalised against them and now they have extended their advantage. crystal palace where the team to come from a goal down against brentford and they now lead to — one. manchester city are fourth in the table, a first—half goal for her them. this is against sheffield united in the relegation places. and wolves look to be in control against everton who are just outside the relegation places, safe by one point at the moment, they have just scored at the moment, they have just scored a second goal there, that when you can follow all the live football on the bbc sport website and the app.

earlier, chelsea saw off a late charge from luton town to hold on and win 3—2. chelsea were 3—0 up, but two luton goals in the last 10 minutes made for an interesting end. mauricio pochettino's side held on to the three points, they stay 10th, while luton remain in the bottom three. i think it still was a good chelsea performance. ifeel like i think it still was a good chelsea performance. i feel like credit needs to be given to them, to be fair. they make it difficult with a lot of direct play and yes, we defended very well for 70 minutes, but came in a bit unstuck in the last 20, but three points going into the new year, i'm not complaining. later manchester nottingham forest, who played a big win over united in the last match. their new boss and united manager erik ten hag says his side need to be wary of facing a team who are full of confidence. with them can you see the reaction when a new manager is coming in. you see the spirit. and we have to be ready for that. and it is always

about... but be aware of it, be aware that if they have the right spirit and of course they built the confidence... but... so, we have to continue and in the performance. in scotland, celtic increased their lead at the top of the scottish premiership to eight points after beating rivals rangers 2—1. paulo bernardo and kyogo furuhashi scored for the hosts. rangers captainjames tavernier scored a brilliant free kick in response. they also had leon balogun sent off. so celtic have a healthy lead in the scottish premiership, but rangers do have two games in hand. to tennis now and the united cup, where alexander zverev and angelique kerber have led germany to victory over italy on the first day's play. after a strong singles win over lorenzo sonego, zverev teamed with kerber to win the deciding mixed doubles rubber in

straight sets. this was kerber�*s first time back on court after giving birth to a little girl in february. imean, it i mean, it was a special day for me, coming back after so long, playing a single on a really high level and then playing with sasha, it makes winning my first match after coming back, naturally, so yes, it feels great! applause congratulations to her. let's move on to cricket. australia beat india by very small margin, three runs, in the odi by very small margin, three runs, in the 0di game. batting first, the tourists got to 258—8 off their 50 overs with opener phoebe litchfield top scoring with 63. elyse perry with a half century... in reply, india are 219 for 5 in the 45th the final game of the three match

series on tuesday. that is it from me with the sport for the moment, rememberyou is it from me with the sport for the moment, remember you can stay right up moment, remember you can stay right up to date with those 3pm and 4pm games the bbc website and sporting app. that is it from me. thanks very much. a 23—year—old man has appeared in court charged with the murder of a 46—year—old man who was hit by a car as he helped an unconscious woman in sheffield on wednesday. hassanjhangur has also been charged with five counts of attempted murder. chris marriott was helping the woman when he and several others were hit by a vehicle. he died at the scene. police in australia are warning people not to go looking for packages of cocaine that had been washing up on beaches in new south wales over the past week. officers have been searching a huge stretch of coastline after plastic wrapped parcels containing the drug began to appear shortly before christmas. our 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. 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. phil mercer reporting. let's get some of the day's other news now from around the world: taiwan's three presidential election candidates have taken part in the only televised debate ahead of next month's elections. many of the questions focused on taiwan's difficult relationship with china. the frontrunner — william lai — rejected accusations he would steer the self—ruled island towards full independence. china has expelled nine military officers from its parliament, the national people's congress. they include four generals of the army's strategic missile force. it's the latest in a series

of high—level restructuring moves in the military since defence minister li shangfu was abruptly sacked in october, following months of speculation about his whereabouts. no explanation has been given for the officials' removal, but there have been reports of a corruption investigation. 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 vaping is known 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. here in the uk... the new year's honours list has been announced, that people recognise from the world of sport, entertainment and charity. the authorjilly cooper is made a dame and there is a knighthood for michael leavis, who created the

glastonbury music festival 50 years ago. and in women's football, there is recognition for three of england's kate —— england's his lionesses. kate mosse, who's a writer and founder director of the women's prize for fiction and non fiction has been appointed a cbe. i spoke to her earlier. it's very funny because my last novel was called the ghost ship and the lead character is a lady commander of the sea and i am terrible on the sea, but now i am going to be lady commander from henceforth. i will call you lady commander! lady commander, it is who i am now! it is very fitting, so this is for services to women and to charity. just explain what it means to you. well, it is very funny, like i was saying, when you get the letter you don't quite believe it because it looks like a very humble letter. you were not impressed? mine had been open somewhere along the line and stuck down with sellotape, so it was very funny and i didn't have my glasses on and i thought, what is this? my first feeling is it is daft,

i wish my mum was here, and my dad, i think many people feel that as we all get older. but actually i was thrilled because it really matters to celebrate the arts, it really matters to celebrate books and i am a writer, you know, and to be in the batch as the great gilly cooper, how wonderful! but there were so many great people on the list, three of the lionesses, maggie aldrin pocock, so many great people, but books, a lot of people, more people engage with books as an art form than any other leisure activities throughout the whole world, so it feels as though, though i have got it, this is for the women's prize fiction and for next year the women's prize for nonfiction and everybody who has made the prize happen and everyone who has been and one and the many millions of readers who have engaged with the prize and will carry on, so it feels a celebration of the prize as much as anything else. charities like... just explain to people you may not know much about the women's prize for fiction and nonfiction, it is one of the biggest literary prizes in the world now. how hard has it been to get it to there from its inception? 0h! oh, yes, it has been a long old road, in some respects, but the thing that is very interesting is it is the 29th year

of the fiction prize in 2024 and the first year of our nonfiction prize, the sister prize, and we are working with our amazing sponsors, audible and find my past and baileys, who have been with us for ages. it celebrates and honours and amplifies incredible writing by women, but it looks outwards to everybody, every single reader who wants to hear about fantastic books. when i was doing the round of media setting up the prize for fiction, it was really aggressive and really unpleasant and quite often you would come off air and take the microphone off, quite often people would say, "i am really sorry, but my boss said you had to talk it down." when we were launching the nonfiction prize earlier this year, i ended up at the end of the day standing on the pavement thinking, what happened? because everywhere i went, people were saying, this is great! moving the women's prize into nonfiction, so it'sjust shows if you think something is needed, you just have to do it, do it! everybody won't like it, but you just have to stick to your guns... kate mosse blair, who has been given

and cbes for her services to women and cbes for her services to women and charity. stay with us on bbc news. hello there. good afternoon. still some more unsettled weather as we head through the rest of this weekend. feeling rather stormy at times. we've seen some snow across the central belt of scotland, such as here in glasgow, but the snow levels here will gradually lift through the afternoon. it will become more confined to the hills of scotland, but possibly some more travel disruption, heavy downpours of rain, particularly towards the west, with the risk of some coastal gales too and here is that deep area of low pressure just captured nicely on the satellite picture here, this large swirl of cloud, it's all moving further eastwards, but an improving picture across northern ireland for the rest of the day with some brightness around, but heavy rain across the south—west

of england and wales. coastal gales here, that rain stretching up into northern england and some more snow for the hills of central and northern scotland, perhaps another 5—10 centimetres accumulating. and of course, this could cause some more disruption to some of those major routes. now, as we head through this evening and overnight, then, our cold front will gradually be pushing further eastwards across into east anglia, central southern england, squally gusts of wind, particularly towards the south coast, gusts of wind here of up to 60—65 mph, potentially, along with some heavy downpours of rain, blustery showers digging in behind. not quite as chilly tonight across much of scotland and it's still mild towards the south. and this, of course, is new year's eve. during the day, we're likely to see some more blustery showers, some hail, some thunder, possible lighter winds across scotland and it should be largely dry, particularly towards the east. but again, it's quite gusty towards the south coast. it remains mild in the south, colder across much of scotland. but let's take a look at the big night itself. we're likely to see again, more blustery showers blow through.

again, very windy with strong gusts of wind towards the south coast. could cause some disruption here. and while we're showing lots of showers on the charts here, there will be a lot of dry weather around as well, perhaps a patchy frost across scotland where it will be feeling colder. the winds will be lighter here. into new year's day and it's a much quieter looking picture. we'll eventually start to see the winds pick up towards the south—west and some outbreaks of rain by the time we get to the end of the day. but as you can see, there's lots of dry weather. there will be some sunshine around. expect to see some more showers towards north—west england, perhaps the south—west of scotland, too. it stays largely mild as we head through the start of 2024. it's colder in scotland, of course, and it will be rather unsettled at times.

this is bbc news, the headlines: tank fire and air strikes have been reported in central and southern gaza. the un says around 150,000 palestinians are being forced to flee as israel's ground offensive advances. there have been more air strikes on russian cities near the ukrainian border. moscow says at least 14 people have been killed and dozens injured in belgorod. russia says the attacks will not go unpunished. a ukrainian source blames russian air defences for the blast. eurostar cancels all of saturday's train services to and from london st pancras due to flooding in a tunnel. in a statement it says affected customers should visit their website

to find out what compensation they can receive. britain's shortest serving prime minister liz truss has unveiled her resignation honours list which largely consists of political supporters and former aides sparking an angry backlash from some critics. now on bbc news it's time for a look back on the bigger stories from 2023. there's a huge barrage going on overhead just at the moment. yevgeny prigozhin seemed determined to march his men

to the top of the hill. then, he marched them down again.