it's the second assault by iran—backed houthi rebels on the ship within 2a hours. the us says the gunmen who launched the raid from yemen attacked in four boats, coming within 20 metres of the vessel. the fourth craft fled the area. the houthi rebels say their actions are in protest against the gaza war, where there have been more air strikes by israel. the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, is insisting that the war in gaza will continue until all hostages have been released and hamas has been dismantled. this report is from shaimaa khalil injerusalem — and a warning you may find parts of her report distressing. street by street, the battles on the ground in gaza rage on. israel is concentrating its ground offensive on the centre and the south of the strip,

with hamas fighters continuing to resist the idf�*s advances. translation: the war is at its height. - we are fighting on all fronts. we have huge success, but we also have painful cases. central gaza is the latest focus of israel's military operation, with heavy bombardment on the densely populated al—nuseirat refugee camp. further south, in neighbouring deir al—balah, palestinian rescue workers stand around the body of their colleague. he was killed in a strike near the al aqsa hospital, where many of the wounded are being treated. this is one of what israel says are safe areas, where palestinians were told to go to escape the fighting in the centre. but as the military operation expands, safe areas for gazans keep shrinking. the southernmost city of rafah has now become the last stop for hundreds of thousands

of displaced people fleeing the heavy bombardment in khan younis, many using makeshift shelters near the border with egypt. there is nowhere else to go from here. translation: | hope - that the war would end soon. i hope we can return to our homes, go back to school, return to everything that is familiar in the new year. the fallout from the war in gaza continues to be felt in the red sea, with yet another houthi attack. the us central command said that navy helicopters destroyed three of four small boats used by the iranian—backed militants as they attempted to board a container ship. this footage released last month shows some of the group's armed militias dropping from a helicopter and seizing a cargo ship in the southern red sea. the houthis have claimed that their attacks on this vital shipping route are directed at vessels linked to israel, in response to its conflict with hamas.

as this year draws to a close there is no end in sight for the war in gaza or the suffering of its people. let's get more on that red sea attack now. rear admiral dr chris parry is a former royal navy warfare officer, strategic forecaster and writer. he gave us his assessment of events. well, i think it's a continuation of the pressure that iran, through the houthis, is trying to apply to free world nations to try and offset the support that they're giving to israel. they're not too fussy about some of the vessels that they are attacking. originally, of course, they said they were attacking those with israeli connections. they've become a lot less discriminating since, and i think they're just trying to make trouble in one of the chokepoints of the maritime trading system. one of the things i've said over the years is that the sea is the physical equivalent

of the world wide web, and you get sort of chokepoints where the geography constrains the maritime routes. so you get it in the english channel, the malacca straits near singapore, and the bab al—mandab, which is off aden and you get quite a lot of shipping going through. it's very high density and, of course, much of the oil and gas that the west uses comes through that route. the only alternative really is to go around the cape. and it's quite significant, of course, that the houthis, as the agents of iran, are not constraining oil and gas that is going to china and india, but they are constraining the oil and gas that is coming to europe and the rest of the free world. live now to our correspondent shaimaa khalil injerusalem. we have just seen your report. benjamin netanyahu ended the year vowing the war will continue for many months. there has been intensive fighting around khan younis, has in their quest might guess, there has been. the? younis, has in their quest might guess, there has been. they have been intensifying _

guess, there has been. they have been intensifying their _ guess, there has been. they have been intensifying their ground - been intensifying their ground offensive in khan younis in the south. this is why you see this further exodus from khan younis, which, itself, was a place where people fled from the north in the beginning of the conflict. now people are fleeing again from khan younis at this time to the small southernmost city of a raffle. as it stands, it is the most densely populated city in gaza right now. —— the southernmost city of rafah. completely overwhelmed by people coming in and fling. the un saying that they are now using makeshift shelters in open areas because people —— for people to say because there is no where to go. before we came on air, i saw some testimony of peoplefrom guys are talking about their new year wishes and all of them have said that their wishes for them have said that their wishes for the work to stop. one of them actually said, what do i want for 2024? actually said, what do i want for 202a? someone to wake me up and tell me that the war is ended and we are

going back home. she has fled from the to the south to gaza —— of gas at the moment and there is no home to go back to. find at the moment and there is no home to go back tw— to go back to. and if your's for a minute to _ to go back to. and if your's for a minute to saying _ to go back to. and if your's for a minute to saying that _ to go back to. and if your's for a minute to saying that israel- to go back to. and if your's for a minute to saying that israel is i minute to saying that israel is preparing to allow aid into the strip via cyprus. how much aid is getting into rafah and those other areas and how difficult is it to get into the gaza strip? abs, areas and how difficult is it to get into the gaza strip?— into the gaza strip? a fraction is the short answer. _ into the gaza strip? a fraction is the short answer. i _ into the gaza strip? a fraction is the short answer. i would - into the gaza strip? a fraction is the short answer. i would say i into the gaza strip? a fraction is| the short answer. i would say the numbers have fluctuated between 100, just over 100, and as little as 70. in normal days, pre—war days, you'd have 500 trucks of aid coming into gaza every day. we are nowhere near that number. we have also heard from the un relief agency for palestinians, unrwa, criticising the israeli government again for limiting their access to areas in

gaza where they say they should have access. this is something israel has denied saying the problem is with the distribution once the aid has come in and the problem is this is a very complex process even before the trucks coming through rafah or kerem shalom, they have to go through lots of testing and examination and overall authorisation by israel before they come in. once they come in, this is also a very difficult process because they come through rafah, through kerem shalom, and that area has seen a lot of bombardment, but also it is an area where people are highly congested. spare a thought for then going through salahuddin route, the main road that combines or links north guy south gaza which has now described as a battlefield so it's not safe. so it is a dangerous journey to go from the south when it comes into central gaza to northern

gaza where people are still trapped. thank you very much forjoining us. let's continue discussing the situation in the middle east. james b cunningham, former us ambassador to israel. thank you forjoining us. can i start off with what we were discussing at the beginning of the billeting, the attacks by houthi rebels, how concerning whether us minders and it has had to intervene in this case? it minders and it has had to intervene in this case?— in this case? it is very concerning but is one — in this case? it is very concerning but is one of— in this case? it is very concerning but is one of your _ in this case? it is very concerning but is one of your guests - in this case? it is very concerning but is one of your guests are - in this case? it is very concerning but is one of your guests are said earlier, it is an overall pattern in the region of various factors and influence of control of iran being used to spread the conflict, so it is concerning in that area, in that region, but i think it is something manageable in at the end. fik. region, but i think it is something manageable in at the end. 0k. the us on a wider scene _

manageable in at the end. 0k. the us on a wider scene has... _ ..urged israel to scale back what president biden called "indiscriminate bombing" — and yet attacks continue and you have pm netanyahu saying the war goes on. what pressure will the us be putting on israel behind the scenes? i lived through an earlier less violent version of this when i was a bustard to israel in 2009, when the first incursion in gaza took place. we have seen this scenario develop before, although it is incredibly more violent, dangerous and painful. the key aspect, i think, from the american international point of view will be to do everything possible to lessen the amount of suffering among the civilian population. that is incredibly difficult under any circumstances. one has to remember that this problem, this terrible problem is being caused by hamas and what hamas did and is doing. they

are fighting a war in a highly congested urban area using the civilian population as a shields. dealing with that is a terrible terrible problem for the israelis and i think one can expect the biden administration will keep pushing israel to do everything possible to move to another phase of the conflict that is more focused and to do everything possible to get humanitarian access for food and any other things the population needs. how much do you think us policy will be driven as we move into 2024 by the fact that there is —— it is an election year in the us? the fact that there is -- it is an election year in the us? election ear election year in the us? election year always _ election year in the us? election year always make _ election year in the us? election year always make things - election year in the us? election year always make things more . year always make things more complicated, no doubt about that, but although there is a variety of opinion in the united states about the conflict and how it is being conducted, by far and away the polls show that most americans support

israel, support israel's right to defend itself, and will continue to maintain that support going forward. jamesie cunningham, former us ambassador to israel, thank you very much forjoining us here on bbc news ——james b cunningham. russia's president vladimir putin says his country will never back down as he addressed the nation in a new year's eve speech. ukraine came under attack from russian air strikes again overnight, mainly in the eastern kharkiv region. ukraine has disputed russia's claim it was targeting military targets in its latest attack on the country, with kyiv claiming "not a single one was hit". for more on this we can cross live now to kyiv and chat to our ukraine correspondentjames waterhouse. james, it doesn't seem to be at the moment a deadly aerial tit—for—tat as we enter 2024. it moment a deadly aerial tit-for-tat as we enter 2024.— moment a deadly aerial tit-for-tat as we enter 2024. it really does and it is certainly — as we enter 2024. it really does and it is certainly not _ as we enter 2024. it really does and it is certainly not like _ as we enter 2024. it really does and it is certainly not like for— as we enter 2024. it really does and it is certainly not like for like - it is certainly not like for like with russia always being able to

mount the larger attacks. this week has been no exception and the most deadly sometimes, really. any week where we saw the biggest ever aerial bombardment, we saw ukraine respond and then russia hit back and it seems the north—eastern city of kharkiv over the past 48 hours has really bore the brunt with several dozens of missiles landing in the city, causing extensive damage to medical buildings, we are told, residential blocks, including a hotel popular amongst foreign journalists. our team where they only few days ago, so i think you know, this is a deadly tit—for—tat in the aerial sense, but it almost takes place in tandem with what goes on in the front line when you have a vladimir putin saying he will never retreat. i do not think people expected him to say otherwise, and

there were fears russia had been stockpiling missiles as we approach the new year celebrations, but i think that moment has already arrived. , , u, , , ., arrived. interesting because you talk to local _ arrived. interesting because you talk to local ukrainians - arrived. interesting because you talk to local ukrainians every - arrived. interesting because you i talk to local ukrainians every day, people in the country. how have they taken this latest attack. is it a case of psychological warfare from the russians on them? it case of psychological warfare from the russians on them?— the russians on them? it certainly is. it the russians on them? it certainly is- it really — the russians on them? it certainly is. it really does _ the russians on them? it certainly is. it really does vary. _ the russians on them? it certainly is. it really does vary. i _ the russians on them? it certainly is. it really does vary. i think- is. it really does vary. i think what always amazes you when you watch people live with sirens, sometimes you have to act on them, they take shelter, they get the all clear, they carry on with their days. and there are parts of the country in the west, north even with a chernihiv, which still isn't immune from missile strikes. it was targeted only a few months ago, people in the main can live regular lives in the sense of there being curfews every lives in the sense of there being cu rfews every evening lives in the sense of there being curfews every evening so you can't really go out and stay late. but it

changes drastically the closer you get to the 700 mile long front line where people really are afraid, where people really are afraid, where people really are afraid, where people see a scale of death they had never seen before. and yet they had never seen before. and yet they choose to live and remain in their homes. in their words, they would rather dine home than as a refugee in a foreign country. so it really does vary, but in terms of the broad emotion that you encounter, it is one of fatigue. but ukrainians really do see it as having their backs against the wall. they see it has a choice between survival, which russia's invasion is a story of extraordinary survival on the ukrainian part, but the problem for tf is this is a story which is not over and it could still lose, with russia remaining on the war footing and western support continued to stutter, directly affecting ukrainian front line operations —— the problem for tf in

the story. operations -- the problem for tf in the sto . ., ., operations -- the problem for tf in the sto . ., ~ ,, operations -- the problem for tf in the sto . ., ~' ,, , operations -- the problem for tf in thesto . ., , . the story. thank you very much, james waterhouse. _ the story. thank you very much, james waterhouse. a _ the story. thank you very much, james waterhouse. a bit - the story. thank you very much, james waterhouse. a bit of - the story. thank you very much, - james waterhouse. a bit of breaking news in the last hour or so. europe's longest reigning monarch, the queen of denmark, has made the unexpected announcement that she will abdicate in january. queen margrethe made the unexpected announcement during her annual new year's address to the nation. she said her son, crown prince frederik, would take over on 14th january. queen margrethe has been on the throne for 52 years and is europe's only reigning queen. we will have more on that later in this bulletin. china's leader, xijinping, has reiterated his claim that it is inevitable that taiwan will be reunified with mainland china. mr xi made the comments during his new year's address, which comes less than two weeks before a general election in the self—ruled island that beijing considers part of its own territory. this in the speech, president xi also addressed a challenging year for the country's economy, stating

it had "weathered the storm". eurostar services to and from london and paris has resume following a day of cross—channel chaos. all trains were cancelled on saturday due to flooding in tunnels under the river thames. these pictures are of passengers boarding at london st pancras this morning. eurostar says all services will run to and from london, but there are warnings that delays are still likely. ellie price reports. the first eurostar train to leave london since friday night pulled away just after eight o'clock this morning. 41 services were cancelled yesterday, leaving lots of passengers disappointed and stranded, and madly trying to reorganise their new year plans. a little bit anxious because i'm just waiting to travel to spend the new year with my fiance. he's french and lives in paris, so we're just waiting to see. he works for french border police, so we'lljust see what happens. we tried flying to brussels. that didn't work out either. and now we're back to take a train today, hopefully.

they gave all the standby seats away so they didn't have - any seats on the plane. so it's been a disaster from start to finish? yes. it was all caused by flooding in two high—speed rail tunnels under the thames. pumping this much water out wasn't a quickjob. we have cleared the water from both of the tunnels that were impacted yesterday under the thames and we are looking to run a near normal service this morning. it's had a knock—on effect on domestic high—speed services, too, though most seem to be running on time now. eurostar say all speed restrictions on the line have now been lifted and all services will be travelling at normal speeds. but for many it wasn't quite the bon voyage to 2023 they were looking for. ellie price, bbc news, st pancras, in london. to the democratic republic of congo next. authorities there say president felix tshisekedi has been re—elected. the country's election commission reports the president won about 73% of the vote, with his nearest challenger, moise katumbi on i8%.

there have been complaints about irregularities. the vote was marred by widespread logistical problems, with a number of polling stations opening late. the opposition said the problems were part of a deliberate plan to allow the results to be rigged in favour of mr tshisekedi. several of the main challengers have called for protests after the results were announced. the un says around 300 people die every year from lightning strikes around bangladesh, fewer than 20 people annually in the us. which has almost double the population. lightning is now considered a natural disaster in the country alongside cyclones, floods and earthquakes. officials say climate change is leading to an increase in extreme storms, driving up the number of lightning strikes. our correspondent rajini vaidyanathan reports from bangladesh.

a day of celebration turned into a lifetime of grief. mamun was due to get married when a storm struck. his family took shelter under a tin shed. it was hit by lightning. instead of his wedding, mamun was arranging funerals. translation: i ran to the river bank and found bodies lying everywhere. l i was at a loss. i couldn't even decide who to go to first. all the dead and injured were my close relatives. when i found my father's body, i simply burst into tears. lightning is a big killer in bangladesh, claiming more lives than floods annually. the government says extreme storms due to global warming have led to a rise in fatal lightning strikes over the years.

a singed football shirt — a painful reminder of how deadly lightning can be. it belonged to abdullah, a farmer who worked these fields when a thunderbolt struck him. for his wife, rehana, a loss that's hard to even understand. he was in the field? translation: my husband fell down i here when the lightning hit him. i some otherfarmers brought him to this roadside shop. by then, he was dead. this is an irreplaceable loss for me. he won't come back. how do i raise my little boy now? he's only 14 years old. now she's terrified every time she sees a cloud in the sky.

the majority of victims of lightning strikes in bangladesh are farmers. working in the open, they're more vulnerable to the elements, especially in the monsoon months. despite the risks, farmers here say they have no choice but to work these fields, even if it leaves them exposed. so what can be done to protect them? well, the government says it's planting more tall trees to attract lightning and it's developing an early warning text message system. but with hundreds of deaths in bangladesh every year due to lightning, is that enough? it's hoped these workshops, run by a local lightning awareness group, can help educate people about what to do in the face of a storm. but for families like mamun�*s, it's all too late — i6 relatives taken by lightning. rajini vaidyanathan,

bbc news, bangladesh. the australian journalist and documentary filmakerjohn pilger — known for his hard—hitting journalism and tv documentaries — has died at the age of 84. he worked for a number of publications including the daily mirror, world in action and the guardian and was highly critical of western foreign policy. he first became prominent with his 1970s documentary film the quiet mutiny, made during one of his visits to vietnam. he also helped expose the extent of the cambodia genocide under the pol pot regime in the late 70s, and later described tony blair ——the pol pot regime in the late 70s. countries around the world are celebrating the new year. auckland in new zealand was the first major city to mark the start of 2024. and in australia, huge crowds gathered in sydney for one of the world's most spectacular fireworks displays over the harbour bridge and the opera house. countries across parts of asia the latest to welcome in 2024 as rachel mcadam reports. five, four, three, two, one!

new year celebrations have officially begun. auckland in new zealand became the first major city to mark the start of 2024 with this light show on its harbour bridge and sky tower. sydney followed on from auckland with huge crowds gathering to watch a spectacular firework display over the harbour bridge and the opera house. japan has welcomed in the new year with this bell—ringing ceremony in tokyo. followed shortly after by seoul in south korea. fireworks then lit up the sky in hong kong

while in taiwan crowds enjoyed this display at the taipei 101 skyscraper. countries across the rest of the world are still gearing up for midnight celebrations and in some places preparations are still under way. in london, the fireworks display later is over in minutes, but it's been months in the making. planning started in august, but a small team of 22 have spent three long days on the final touches. 10,000 fireworks are loaded onto three barges ready to head down the thames to the london eye, where they'll be set off at midnight. we've got over 30 tonnes of equipment that gets loaded onto the barges, 50 kilometres of cable and wiring, 4,500 cues that all need to be wired in and tested all ready for the midnight moment. preparations on the day itself are often close to the wire, with the london eye rigged just two hours before the display starts. four, three, two, one. four, three, two, one! with everything set, the sky a blank canvas,

the teams will be hoping it all runs like clockwork. rachel mcadam, bbc news. and if you're already in 2024, a happy new yearfrom and if you're already in 2024, a happy new year from all of us at bbc news. hello there, good evening. blustery showers across the uk for much of the day. heavy thundery downpours for many, but also some sunny spells, so some beautiful rainbows spotted by our weather watchers, and very windy conditions across the south coast of england and wales. now, the ground already pretty saturated from all of the recent rain. there are a number of flood warnings in place, particularly across the welsh marches down into south—west england. all of the details on those on the bbc weather website. we've seen low pressure gradually push its way eastwards across the uk. in the centre of the low pressure across northern england and scotland, the winds are light but still very blustery towards the south

coast overnight tonight. still plenty more showers around as well. the focus for that wet weather across north—west england stretching down through into the north midlands and some more showers for parts of argyll and bute as well. some clearer skies for many. it's a cold, frosty start to new year's day after the hogmanay celebrations in scotland, but it is milder further south. let's take a look at new year's day. for most of us, i think it will be a nicer looking day of weather. if you fancy a new year's stroll, there will be quite a lot of dry weather around, some sunshine. that will last longest across east anglia for northern england, the midlands, northern ireland and for much of scotland. but the cloud will start to build towards the south—west of england through the late morning. there'll be outbreaks of heavy rain here by the time we get to the mid afternoon. temperatures starting to slip a little — to slip a little — 5 to ii celsius. the milder air, of course, where we've got the cloud and the rain and those heavy downpours of rain falling on saturated ground, of course, in many places. starting to drift northwards and eastwards as we head through monday evening, eventually clearing the south coast. but there's more rain just waiting

in the wings and we'll be seeing that on tuesday morning. as you can see on the pressure chart here, again, it's tending to move its way northwards and eastward. so some more heavy rain across much of england and wales as we go through the first part of tuesday. that drifts into northern england by the end of the day. another feed of rain, some wintry showers, perhaps over the tops of the hills into parts of aberdeenshire with the brisk southeasterly wind. temperatures turning milder, of course, towards the south, underneath the cloud and the rain — ii to 13 celsius, but still colder across scotland and northern ireland. but here is the outlook for our capital cities. as we head through the start ofjanuary, things will be turning a lot colder for all of us by next weekend. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. the headlines... the us navy says it has sunk three houthi rebel boats in the red sea after they tried to board a container ship off the coast of yemen. they say they got within metres of the ship, which has come under attack for the second time within 24 hours. president putin says russia will not back down in ukraine, as they carry out more drone attacks. in khakis, at least 28 people were injured after missiles hit the city. the queen of denmark announces she will step down after 52 years on the throne. she is europe's longest reigning monarch, and will abdicate into weak�*s time.

and a fantastic firework display in bangkok has celebrations take place around the world to in 2024. —— welcome in 2024. still a few hours until we welcome in 2024 here in the uk, but now on bbc news, it is time for sports day. hello, and welcome to sportsday. coming up on the programme.... arsenal miss their chance to end the year top of the premier league table as they lose at fulham. while there's an emphatic win for their north london rivals, as spurs see off bournemouth to move to within a point of the gunners. and leicester tigers beat bath to deny them the chance to go top of

rugby union's premiership.