this is bbc news — the headlines. israel's defence minister outlines proposals for the future of gaza — once the war against hamas is over. disgraced former paralympian oscar pistorius is released on parole — more than ten years after killing his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp. flooding continues to cause disruption in parts of england and wales — forcing hundreds to leave their homes. the united nations has spoken out against criticism from israel, that it's not delivering aid quickly enough to gaza. israel has said that the process is still too slow — despite it opening new crossings into the territory. but the un's humanitarian office says its teams are being hampered by long inspections, multiple checkpoints, and constant bombardment, with aid workers being shot at and even killed. and it says it's been unable to take food and medicine into northern gaza for four days, as the fighting continues there.

a local resident currently in central gaza has been speaking to ours. he sent as this voice note on what the conditions are like for him, his family who are there at the moment. we are not giving his name, we are not telling you exactly where he is either, in order to protect his identity. we are just being exterminated. streets filled with letter and casualties. snipers and tanks are attacking everybody who moves out. it is not safe. everywhere is not safe. everyone is not safe. children are crying out in the streets. mothers are crying for their children. we cannot find food, water. the situation is getting

worse every day. every place is targeted. snipers are killing everyone. tanks are attacking everyone. tanks are attacking everyone. people cannot be another extra the of this war, for more than 90 days my family and i cannot do anything more. we are burnt out, torn apart. we cannot do anything. we arejust civilians. torn apart. we cannot do anything. we are just civilians. we are just being murdered and exterminated. people do not have water. life has stopped. we are just being treated as animals. if this continues we

willjust simply die slowly. it is very dire, and indescribable. a young man in central gaza who sent as that voice note. live now to sir stephen o brien is a former un under—secretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief co—ordinator. i spoke to this young man myself before he said that voice note. i could hear a drone overhead. i could hear absolutely the fear in his voice as he was talking, because he said to me, i cannot get to rafa, because of what is happening on the streets, people are dying as they leave their homes. when you hear something like that, what are your thoughts, just as a human being, when you hear what him and his family are going through? i am sure like everybody watching this, like you, ifeel incredibly worried and upset and concerned

about him, his family, indeed all those in that area of central gaza where he was speaking from. it must be absolutely terrifying to be stuck in whatever shelter you have got, not able to move because you have no confidence that you can't move without being in perilfor your life. that must be the most fearsome situation. that you have then got to say to yourself, what can you do about it? what has got to be done in order to dry and relieve that appalling pressure on that person, andindeed appalling pressure on that person, and indeed all those in a similar situation both in central gaza and northern gaza, we are the main fighting has been, as israel and its defence forces are determined to make sure that the hamas is eliminated as a terrorist organisation, having perpetrated the abominations on the 7th of october.

there you have the conundrum, because in order to get to hamas, the need to get past that cynical use of these innocent civilians in gaza as human shields. and the one thing that would relieve all the suffering would be for hamas to admit defeat, and to give up, and to place all its weapons beyond use, and to stop seeing they will perpetrate more 7th of october, and indeed to stop using their fellow neighbours and citizens as human shields. that is why in addition to central gaza, we have had reports of serious bombardment in areas in south gaza, and in the area designated the area people should try to reach. a cessation of fighting does not

look likely, not in the immediate term, even with antony blinken on the way, so can i ask you about aid and delivery of aid in gaza, trying to get help for people there at the moment? israel says it is not being delivered quickly enough. they say they have opened more crossings into they have opened more crossings into the territory. they have criticised the territory. they have criticised the un. can you give as an idea of the un. can you give as an idea of the charges that the un faces and whether, frankly, they could be working more efficiently, they could be delivering more aid more quickly, as israel sees? you need three things to deliver aid. whether you are at the un, ngos, locally, internationally, civil society organisations. that is, you need money, you need to then buy the supplies, make sure they are loaded, having had proper assessment of needs and we are most critical needs are, above all you need access. it is that third point that is difficult. when you have got all

the lorries loaded up and even sheeted against any rainfall that might happen in that part of the world, to go across the rafa crossing, or indeed the new crossing, or indeed the new crossing, you then have the inspections, because you have got an agreement, including the un on this occasion, that israel should be able to inspect these goods to make sure there is nothing that could filter through back to hamas to support them in their terrorist activities against israel and the israelis. in orderfor that to happen, those inspections need to be speeded up, with letters israel or un on prior inspections. most importantly, you need safe access for all un agency workers and the local people who are getting to the people in need. if thatis getting to the people in need. if that is not possible you cannot as a un emergency relief coordinator, which i was, you cannot deliberately throw your own people into harms

way. you have got to have a safe routes to get this distribution. that is the big challenge at the moment. it is a lack of confidence in their being safe routes, and that is what is needed. thank you so much forjoining us. it is good to hear your thoughts. as we've reported — the israeli defence minister yoav gallant has outlined his proposals for the future governance of gaza — once the fighting is over. they involve limited palestinian rule — and israel retaining overall security control. let's put that into the context of the recent history of gaza. the territory was controlled by egypt, until it was captured by israel during the six—day war in 1967. the israeli military remained there — and 21 israeli settlements were constructed — until 2005. then, all of the soldiers and settlers withdrew. in 2007 hamas took full control of gaza. a year after it won a general election, violently ousting palestinian authority forces.

israel and egypt tightened their blockade of the territory. the un still considers gaza to be occupied by israel. there have been several full scale conflicts between israel and palestinian groups based in gaza since then — including limited israeli ground invasions injanuary 2009, and in 2014. shaimaa khalil is in west bank — and gave us this analysis of how the palestinians are likely to respond. one of the most problematic parts of the plan is that israel plans to maintain general security in gaza, which means an israeli presence in gaza. that was floated by benjamin netanyahu early on, when speaking to an american network, and that was met by a great deal of concern from his allies, the united states and the uk, and i remember speaking to the uk foreign secretary at the time, but also from arab negotiators, specifically egypt and qatar. this will make any diplomatic

negotiation with hamas for the freeing of hostages very difficult, because one of their conditions is for israel to stop all of the bombing. but also the presence of israeli security forces, for any of the arab negotiators and for palestinians, mean some sort of reoccupation, even if it is not labelled as such by israel.

here in the uk — derek draper, the author and former political adviser, has died aged 56. draper had been living with extreme complications from covid since contracting the disease in march 2020. helen catt reports.

in march 2020 the former political adviser derek draper caught covid. he spent ten weeks in a coma, coming home after 374 days in hospital. derek's brain and body have been so impacted by covid that he has difficulty speaking, he cannot move without help, and has been left doubly incontinent. his wife, tv presenter kate galloway, made this film about their experience. the virus that affected so many others, and it's awful effects on a husband, colleague and father. born in lancashire, derek draper moved —— works behind the scenes to create new labour in the 1990s. he didn't follow his boss peter mandelson into government after their election victory.—

their election victory. instead he became a lobbyist. _ their election victory. instead he became a lobbyist. don't - their election victory. instead he became a lobbyist. don't quote | their election victory. instead he i became a lobbyist. don't quote me directly on this but you could say that a friend of peter summed up his problem. that a friend of peter summed up his roblem. . , ., . ., problem. flamboyance, we are connected. _ problem. flamboyance, we are connected, he _ problem. flamboyance, we are connected, he was _ problem. flamboyance, we are connected, he was caught - problem. flamboyance, we are - connected, he was caught boasting about his contacts with ministers, and making a fortune. if a company hires my company. _ and making a fortune. if a company hires my company, and _ and making a fortune. if a company hires my company, and they - and making a fortune. if a company hires my company, and they get. and making a fortune. if a company| hires my company, and they get me for one hour, guess how much they have to be? £15. 250. dolly, as he was nicknamed at westminster, was fired by his company, and cash for access became a scandal. ~ . , ., ., a scandal. minimum wage. devolution. gchq recognition. _ a scandal. minimum wage. devolution. gchq recognition. he _ a scandal. minimum wage. devolution. gchq recognition. he remained - a scandal. minimum wage. devolution. gchq recognition. he remained a - gchq recognition. he remained a fervent supporter of new labour but left politics to retrain as a psychotherapist. are you sorry for the problems you because for the prime minister? fix, because for the prime minister? a decade later he returned but was caught setting up a website to peddle false rumours about conservative mps. his career at westminster was over.

at home he had found happiness in a marriage to kate galloway, after a mutual friend sent them on a blind date. well done. when covid struck derek was fit, healthy and to 50. absently fantastic. the couple shared their story on film to show how theirfamily and shared their story on film to show how their family and others coped with a life changing event. it how their family and others coped with a life changing event. # happy birthda to with a life changing event. # happy birthday to yom _ birthday to you. keeping hope alive, doing their best, and enjoying what time they had. derek draper, who has died at the age of 56. some 270 flood warnings are in place in england and wales which was

battered by storm henk earlier this week. many people have been forced to leave their homes. areas in central and southern england are the worst affected. here's our news correspondent, john maguire who is in tewkesbury. the floods in 2007, they were devastating. tewkesbury abbey itself, i am devastating. tewkesbury abbey itself, iam right devastating. tewkesbury abbey itself, i am right on top of the tower of tewkesbury abbey, stood at this dry point, surrounded by flood water. as you can see, a lot of that floodplains are doing theirjob here this morning. the road that connects with the m5, the main motorway going north— south over there, is blocked. there are a couple of other roads blocked as well. but people are able to get in and out of tewkesbury at the moment. if you homes down below were evacuated overnight. people were evacuated overnight. people were brought to a pub down below as, two rooms, to keep them warm and safe for the night. not as bad as it could have been, i suppose. as i

say, 2007 was that incredible year. this is the biggest, or the highest, water levels, the worst flooding since 2007. thankfully things not as bad as that. the vicar of the abbey has invited us to the top of the tower. the town is used to this. we can hear the bells were below us. how are peeple — hear the bells were below us. haw are people getting hear the bells were below us. how are people getting on? we are a resilient community, we have been pulling together, it has been great to see. councillors is filling up sandbags. localsearch to see. councillors is filling up sandbags. local search and rescue boats are going out, getting people out of for tomes. some people have got water coming up through the floor. some people have got it coming through the doors. but we have been here before. we are a resilient community, we will pull ourselves together. next week tewkesbury will be back up and open for business. an the abbey once again remains dry, much of the town does as well. at some stage, over hundreds and hundreds of years, people knew what they were doing. the?

hundreds of years, people knew what they were doing-— they were doing. they did. what you see here art — they were doing. they did. what you see here art that _ they were doing. they did. what you see here art that floodplains - they were doing. they did. what you see here art that floodplains doing i see here art that floodplains doing what the floodplains are supposed to do. tewkesbury has been flooded since roman times. what is happening now is that with climate change these things are becoming more severe and more frequent. that needs to be a wake—up call notjust for tewkesbury, but for all of us. the abbey feels like a bit of an arc in the middle of a floodplain, like noah's ark. it is a place where we can hold dignity in prayer, and do some cherishing of this fragile creation that god has given us, and if we do more of that, we might see a little less of this. prime minister rishi sunak is on a visit to greater manchester today. he was asked about the government's response to the flooding. let us have a listen? will you be visiting flooded areas and there will there be money for those areas affected, and why didn't you visit them yesterday when you were so close by? i you visit them yesterday when you were so close by?— you visit them yesterday when you were so close by? i spoke to people in east midland — were so close by? i spoke to people in east midland yesterday _ were so close by? i spoke to people in east midland yesterday who - were so close by? i spoke to people in east midland yesterday who had i in east midland yesterday who had been affected, talking to them but how do— been affected, talking to them but how do visiting the impact of flooding _ how do visiting the impact of

flooding is. just want people to be reassured — flooding is. just want people to be reassured that the environment agency— reassured that the environment agency has got people on the ground in all the _ agency has got people on the ground in all the affected areas, also hundreds— in all the affected areas, also hundreds of high—volume pumps and practice _ hundreds of high—volume pumps and practice right now, making a difference. it is important that people — difference. it is important that people follow the advice that is given _ people follow the advice that is given in— people follow the advice that is given in local areas where there are flood _ given in local areas where there are flood warnings that have been given, and people _ flood warnings that have been given, and people should be reassured that the environment agency has got people _ the environment agency has got people on the ground everywhere, absolutely recognise the urgency of what is _ absolutely recognise the urgency of what is happening, and they are responding appropriately and with all due _ responding appropriately and with all due haste. rishi sunak, speaking a short time ago. more on the flooding as well on the news website. let us take you to yemen, to the capital, where we can see thousands of houthi supporters rally to commemorate ten fighters who were killed by the us navy. the background to this is about what is

happening in the red sea, attacks on commercial city at the moment. we have seen at the united nations, the us, uk, other states as well, warning houthi rebels in yemen they will face consequent is if they continue to attack commercial ships making their way through the red sea. it is a strategic and vital roots that many ships to take. the houthis responding with defiance, they have vows to continue targeting vessels. they see many of these vessels. they see many of these vessels are linked to israel. then we see scenes like this, happening right now, in the capital of yemen, thousands of people rallying in support. we have also just had a statement from the foreign ministry in yemen, reiterating its insistence that maritime navigation is safe in the red sea, except for ships with links to israel. and they reject a statement by the us and others which warns the group of consequences. you can see the amount of public

support there for the houthi movement in the capital of yemen. with previous winners including adele, stormzy and ellie goulding, the bbc "sound of" prize can be a great indicator of new music acts who are going to become huge. so, look out for "the last dinner party" — the group has just been named "the sound of 2024". let's take a quick listen. # like nothing matters... they only played their first gig together in 2021, released their debut single eight months ago. they were in good company.

difficult to be a judge this year? yes, it was particularly difficult to be a judge this year. it was a strong line—up, tenant names on the list. a difficult one to decipher who you want to be at the top. but last dinner party have credentials to be worthy winners. how does the nomination process work, and then how you choose the winner? the nominations work by essentially asking a very broad spectrum of the music industry to put together a list of five names who they believe are going to cut through and be the most exciting brand—new band, artist, dj, producer, whatever genre, overthe artist, dj, producer, whatever genre, over the next 12 months. those will get collated together. the ten most popular become the sound of list. there is another round of voting to choose a top five. you came up with last dinner party.

tell as about them. they have barely been around a year or so. they have made a massive impact already. they have plied their trade is playing pubs and clubs, and all of a sudden have blown up and elevated into arenas, supporting the likes of florence and the machine amongst others. they have gone across the entire world. they are an indie band. indie music at this time probably is in its lower amounts. but i think over the next few years bands like last dinner party, who are theatrical and have drama in their performances and a great aesthetic when they are on stage, they are going to start to cut through a lot more. there last dinner party at the beginning of this resurgence. much of the interesting work came to collaborations during lockdown. yes. i do not collaborations during lockdown. yes. i do not think— collaborations during lockdown. yes. i do not think they _ collaborations during lockdown. 13:3 i do not think they are one collaborations during lockdown. 133 i do not think they are one of a kind in that sense. 0ur lot of the

new generation are coming up because of that. i spoke about this on the show last night. when you put boundaries around creativity, that perhaps feels counter—productive, but if you give someone a boundary, you all of a sudden have to work out and express themselves in the best way they can, that actually brings out the best in deeper. we are in this moment where we are seeing this torrential flood of incredible brand—new music from this really exciting new generation. there last dinner party are just one part of that. so much of this new music, and this is exciting, comes from a female artist. the tricky question, why is that? it is not surprising seeing a lot of the sound of this consist of female artist. i have said this for the last couple of years on my radio show, female artists are making the best music right now. we are in this incredible time of expression for a female artist. you have only got to look at the other side of things, at

the top of the charts, to see that. last year, the biggest and best performers on the official charts were female. taylor swift. miley cyrus. they are all up there. 0livia rodrigo of course. and we could go on furtherfrom rodrigo of course. and we could go on further from that. this is an inevitable trend coming to fruition. has something else change in the industry, the fact they're getting this kind of exposure? yes. industry, the fact they're getting this kind of exposure?— industry, the fact they're getting this kind of exposure? yes, i think so. there this kind of exposure? yes, i think s0- there is _ this kind of exposure? yes, i think so. there is more _ this kind of exposure? yes, i think so. there is more of _ this kind of exposure? yes, i think so. there is more of an _ this kind of exposure? yes, i think so. there is more of an awarenessj so. there is more of an awareness and appreciation and also dedication to making sure that female voices are heard at the upper levels of the music industry. at that has also come from these bigger artists like taylor swift, for example, taking ownership of her own music. and we recording everything herself, to take ownership, and its long to her. it is about that empowerment thing. her. it is about that empowerment thin. ., , ., her. it is about that empowerment thin. ., ,., her. it is about that empowerment thin. ., , ., ., thing. people are starting to re5pond- — respond. you had a difficultjob, that you have done well. thank you for

joining us and seeking as through that. they have got big things ahead of them. they are already doing so well, last dinner party. when you think previous winners are the likes of adele, storms a, it is exciting times for them. here is a bit more of sound of 2024 winners. # felt like a sin # before it felt like a sin. likea sin. # like a sin. # felt like a certain. # felt like a certain. # there's nothing for me where the world is small...

hello. it has been a very wet start to 2024. some places have seen all of their expected january rainfall in the first few days of the month. still lots of flood warnings in force and the weather is going to continue to cause some disruption. what is actually falling out of the sky is much, much drier over the next few days. there will be a lag between the rain falling and the flood water receding. high pressure is building and that will squeeze away most of the showers. low pressure clearing towards the east. still low pressure close to the north of scotland. one or two showers for the rest of the day, quite heavy around the north—east of scotland. cloudy skies in central and eastern england. through this evening and overnight, clearer skies. fairly light winds. the drop in temperature and a cold night, we will see some of scotland, northern ireland.

central and eastern england just about frost free where you've got more of that low cloud. but it could be quite a murky start to saturday one way or another with the low cloud in the east and the pockets of fog elsewhere. they should clear away relatively quickly on saturday. just the odd shower coming around part of these irish sea coast and the odd spot of rain to england as well. much, much drier than it has been of late. temperatures cool in the east, seven, perhaps eight or nine further west with more sunshine. heading into the second half of the weekend, high pressure still with us. not many isobars on the map so relatively light winds. fog on sunday could be quite slow to clear. down towards the south—east, a bit more of a breeze just one or two showers towards east anglia and the far south—east. certainly nothing heavy like we have seen of late. a colder day across the board, only about three to seven celsius on sunday. it will feel different heading through the week and into next week courtesy of this area of high pressure. it is a large area of high pressure moving in, monday and tuesday

then, we will see a change in air mass, the cold air moving in. as that wind rotates, high pressure coming in from an easterly direction. very cold in scandinavia recently. we are tapping into something a bit colder than we have seen. a lot of dry weather thankfully. things looking a bit milder from mid week onwards but expecting to see some mist and fog at times. goodbye.

today at one — hundreds of flood warnings are in place after a week of heavy rain.

there's devastation for many — more than a thousand homes have been flooded so far. and there's travel chaos on railand road — some train lines have been inundated with water. we'll have the latest on the damage, and find out whether there's more to come. also on today's programme: the former labour adviser derek draper has died at the age of 56 — he'd lived with extreme complications from covid since 2020. 0scar pistorius has been freed on parole, from prison in south africa — 11 years after murdering his girlfriend reeva steenkamp. and, we talk to the all—female rock band who've just been named the bbc sound of 2024. and coming up on bbc news: everton are considering appealing the controversial red card their striker, dominic calvert—lewin, was given following another var intervention.