live from washington, this is bbc news. the us again hits houthi targets in yemen — hours after reinstating them as global terrorists. as israel continues to hit gaza, its forces are accused of a deadly attack on civilians in the occupied west bank. and we look at how republican candidates for the us presidential nomination are trying to appeal to new hampshire primary voters. hello, i'm catriona perry. you are very welcome. the us military has confirmed that it has hit houthi positions in yemen for a fourth time. the strikes targeted 1a houthi missiles that were loaded to be

fired from yemen. that's according to us central command — which said in a statement: the raids came hours after the us added houthis to its specially designated global terrorist list — citing the group's attacks on ships in the red sea. the iran—backed fighters have stepped up their attacks in recent weeks — saying they will continue until there is a ceasefire in gaza. the attacks have disrupted global shipping and raised concerns of a knock—on effect for consumer prices. i've been speaking to bbc correspondent will vernon. the statement from the us central command we just had to hand, what does that say? the language they have used is quite interesting they mention 1a houthi missiles targeted, sounds like these missiles were primed, ready to launch, the military describing this as an act of self defence, a narrative we have seen several

times over the last week. the us and allies when describing their military action in yemen have said this is a defensive mission, they talked about protecting shipping, protecting the lives of mariners and that is all it is about. this is the fourth round of strikes in the course of the last week, we remember last thursday when the us and the uk, four other nations launched those widespread targeted strikes against houthi targets, since then we have descended into a tit—for—tat situation, where the houthi fire a missile or a drone and then the americans respond. the situation has been quite hot, today another missile fired at a us owned vessel? a few hours before these fresh strikes a us owned bulk carrier ship was hit by a drone fired from houthi —controlled territory

the us military said there was minor damage to the vessel and it was still seaworthy but the bbc understands these latest strikes, were most likely a response to that. but the question now is what comes next because when the us and uk and those other nations launched those strikes a week ago, they had two objectives, so they said. one was to dissuade the houthis from carrying out further attacks and the second objective was to degrade their capabilities to do so. it appears both those objectives have not been a huge success as these attacks continue, the houthis have not been scared off, i think we need to ask what the end game is, what the exit strategy is from here. the other development on the us side of things today, the department of state moving to label the houthis as a specially designated terrorist organisation. what is the significance of that move? we had this announcement on the white house,

they are hoping this will put pressure on the houthis and those who support them, making it easier for financial sanctions to be imposed by the us. and i think it is important that we remember and indeed us officials today were at pains to stress this, the us is still the largest international aid donor to yemen. the white house, the pentagon the state department all coming out and saying this is not targeted at people of yemen, we want to make sure international aid work is not disrupted, important work, and that is why that is why the houthis were taken off the list before, they were previously designated as a international terrorist organisation, they were taken off, now given this new classification and us officials hope this will disrupt the supply of weapons, put pressure on the houthis but not

interrupt that important aid work. will vernon, thanks so much for all of those details. iran has claimed responsibility for a missile and drone attack in western pakistan. officials in islamabad said two children were killed in balochistan. iran's foreign minister said the raid targeted the militant groupjaish al—adl, which he described as an "iranian terrorist group". pakistan's government recalled its ambassador to iran and has blocked tehran�*s envoy from returning. the attack on balochistan comes days after iran hit targets in iraq and syria. our correspondent in pakistan, caroline davies, reports. skirmishes between pakistan and iran on their border are not unheard of but rarely as high—profile as this particular incident. iranian state media said yesterday that the rain iranian military have hit and targeted the headquarters of a sunni militant group

that is known as jaish al—adl which has carried out multiple attacks inside iran including claiming responsibility for an attack on a police station in december. the group itself has put out on social media, it says that this particular strike hit the homes of the militants and killed family members of the militants rather than their bases themselves. they have also vowed revenge on iran. iran have not put out an official statement on this incident. pakistan's foreign ministry said that two children were killed and they have called this an unprovoked violation of pakistan's air space, pakistan has recalled its ambassador to iran and it has told that iran's ambassador to pakistan who is out of the country not to return. of course, the backdrop to all this and the reason why this is getting even more attention is because of the timing. the fact that iran, in recent days, hit both iraq and syria, put together, this suggest

that iran is trying to show a display of strength and force against any group that it considers to be a threat. israel has again hit gaza's southern city, khan younis. the hamas—run health ministry in gaza, says 165 people were killed and 250 people injured in the past 2a hours. thousands of palestinians are moving towards rafah — near the border with egypt — in a bid to find safety. meanwhile, two qatari military planes carrying medicines for hostages in gaza have arrived in egypt. the shipment will be transferred to the territory under an agreement between israel and hamas which will also see increased aid for palestinian civilians in gaza. james smith, who recently worked in gaza as an emergency doctor for medical aid for palestinians, gave us his assessment of the situation on the ground. any news that more aid will be entering into gaza is welcome, of course. the amount of aid that has entered into gaza since early october has fallen far, far below the minimum requirement to

sustain human life. as we know, prior to october 7, on a normal day in gaza, approximately 500 trucks would enter into the gaza strip. there hasn't been a day since october 7 which we met that minimum requirement of 500 trucks. at the same time, the scale of needs is far, far higher than a normal day in gaza. and of course, we know that there was a blockade on the gaza strip for more than a decade, prior to october seven so, already very high levels of need, very high levels of manufacturing dependence on humanitarian assistance. so now, of course, the need for immediate humanitarian access to avert even greater catastrophe is phenomenon part

and as i say, the news that more aid is coming is of course welcomed. four brothers killed earlier this month in an israeli air raid in the occupied west bank were palestinian civilians who posed no threat to israeli forces — witnesses have told the bbc. the un says that almost 500 palestinians were killed by the israeli army there last year, the majority of them since the hamas attacks on israel on october 7. our middle east correspondent lucy williamson has been to al—shuhada, near the city ofjenin, to investigate. gunshots, sirens. the war is in gaza, but it's hard to miss the warnings coming from west bank cities likejenin. since the hamas attacks, the israeli army has come intojenin again and again and again, determined to root out hamas and its sympathisers.

jenin armed groups here, determined to resist. those armed groups proudly claim any members killed in israeli operations as martyrs for their cause. none have claimed the four darweesh brothers, killed in an israeli air strike ten days ago. their mother's first gesture on seeing where they died, to tidy a little. translation: i wanted to come and imagine where each - of them was sitting. alaa was there. ahmad, rami and hazza were here. there were the other martyrs. i wanted to see exactly where my sons were. the men, all in their 20s, were filmed by a security camera sitting around a fire with three of their extended family as the air strike happened.

one of the first paramedics on the scene is convinced they were doing nothing wrong. translation: there was no sign of any clashes _ or confrontation. not shooting, not throwing stones. was there anything you saw that could explain why these men were killed? translation: there was nothing. they had no weapons. they were drinking coffee by the fire. they were wearing slippers and pyjamas. we asked the israeli army why the men were targeted. it said an aircraft struck a terrorist squad that hurled explosives at israeli forces, and sent us this video. the black flashes near the passing vehicle, consistent with explosives, analysts say. witnesses said soldiers drove through the village 15 minutes to an hour before the strike took place. we asked the army when their footage was filmed. it said it had nothing to add.

their mother, ibtesam, found all four sons in the hospital morgue. the family showed us israeli entry permits for two of them. no—one israel sees as a security threat would have them. translation: they took my whole family away. i who can i complain to when all countries are supporting israel? if they wanted to do anything, they would have helped the children in gaza. my sons are under the soil now, and no—one stood with them. in the village cemetery, her caresses and her questions go unanswered. this is a place she can take her grief. but her anger has nowhere to go. lucy williamson, bbc news, jenin. around the world and across

the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at a top story in the uk. the british prime minister's flagship rwanda migrant bill has passed a major hurdle in the house of commons. lawmakers voted in favour of the government's revised plan to send some asylum seekers to rwanda. that's despite some conservative mps rebelling — and pushing for changes to the legislation. the bill aims to stop legal challenges against the deportation plan — after the highest court in britain previously ruled it unlawful. here's our political editor, chris mason. rishi sunak can breathe a sigh of relief, victory sometimes is, always is the absence of defeat, his plan still stands, as i mentioned, it now heads to the house of lords, it will face opposition there and the government faces a deadline, the deadline is that general election to try and prove that they can make this policy work.

the policy is still alive, proving it can work is a work in progress. after wednesday's vote, the opposition labour party slammed the rwanda plan as quote, "unworkable, unaffordable and unlawful". you're live with bbc news. police in ecuador say a prosecutor investigating an attack on a television studio has been murdered. cesar suarez was shot in the city of guayaquil. the dramatic assault last week by gang members during a live tv broadcast came after a state of emergency was declared by president daniel noboa. i spoke to our south america correspondent ione wells. reminds us of this attack on the television station last week, just what happened? viewers in ecuador were watching the news on the national broadcasters tc broadcast from the port city of guayaquil, when suddenly armed gunmen entered that tv studio when it was live on air and started holding staff members at gunpoint,

some staff members were forced to the ground, others forced to read messages live on air. a terrifying moment for those staff of the television station. this moment really left ecuador reeling in shock and i think the world really in shock, seeing those images. police did then find those responsible and made arrests after that particular incidents but it came just a day after the president of ecuador had declared a national emergency after a spate of violent attacks initiated by drug gangs which included things like prison officers being held hostage, police officers being kidnapped, explosions in the street and also two gang members escaping from jail as well. what we know about the individual who has been assassinated, cesar suarez? cesar suarez is a public prosecutor and he had been tasked with trying to work out which criminal gangs may have been behind that particular attack on the television station.

he focused on cases involving organised transnational crime in that province where the attack took place. guayaquil is one of ecuador�*s most violent regions at the moment, particularly because it has become a real hub for cocaine to be exported to the usa and europe back and as a result it has become quite a battleground for rival drug gangs and it was that kind of crime which he was responsible for investigating. is it likely his death will inflame that intense conflict there? i think it probably will and will be a great concern to residency ecuador and politicians too who have declared the state is in a state of internal armed conflict. one of the shocking things about the incident we have seen in the killing of cesar suarez is it is a really chilling reminder that often those

in ecuador who have been responsible for tackling violent crime by drug gangs or even spoken out against the violent crime by drug gangs in the country often become targets themselves. i think this will be a reminder and i think a concern for many politicians and political leaders across the country who are tasked we try to tackle this problem at the moment. indeed. thank you ione wells, south america correspondent for bringing us up to speed on that. with the iowa caucus in the rear view — the focus of the us presidential election now turns to the new hampshire primary. but the republican debate before the primary has been cancelled. nikki haley — one of the lead challengers to frontrunner donald trump — refused to participate unless trump took part. the former president has not yet attended a debate — but still won this week's iowa caucus by a record margin. meanwhile, one of trump's other primary challengers — florida governor ron desantis — has turned his focus to a later race.

he has relocated some of his campaign staff to south carolina — where he hopes to pressure haley, a former state governor. i spoke with lisa kashinsky, a politics reporter for politico based in new hampshire, about the upcoming primary. lisa, we saw in iowa just 100,000 people, a tiny percentage of the state turn out to caucus. what is the situation in new hamphire? are voters more fired up for a primary, a different methodology? yes, and the weather will definitely be better here in new hampshire that it was in iowa on caucus night. you can expect to see, folks are predicting a good turnout, particularly high turnout. there is a lot of interest in the primary on both sides of the aisle, even on the democratic side might not count. there is also in play in new hampshire independency make up the largest lot of the state's voters and they are expected to turn out and play a major role in the gop primary.

on the point of independence, will the view on the ground match up with the polling without strong performance by south carolina nikki haley. nikki haley is definitely on the upswing and having a surge in new hampshire. it's down within striking distance within trump depending on the survey. that is really her focus right now, is to get those voters out. she has strong appeal to more moderate republicans and independent voters who are expected again to play such a big role in this gop primary. it is really on her to try and capture that moment and turn these people out to meet that polling reality. she is in the state, the former president is in, the state but we see ron desantis moving his campaign apparatus around.

what sort of presence do the candidates have there with their campaign? it is a little more muted than you would expect for the run—up to the new hampshire primary view, which is the first of the primary is here and usually a lot of action. trumpt is here almost every night with a rally. nikki haley has been keeping a somewhat lighter schedule in part because of family reasons. that is expected to ramp up. ron desantis, as you said, is splitting his time between south carolina, the next contest, and new hampshire. he was here today and gone tomorrow and back and forth for the next few days. that are wondering if they should still cast ballots for him. that is interesting because voters in new hampshire like and iowa are used to a high level of personal attention from candidates. if they are not giving that, does that potentially have an impact on the outcome as well? it very well could and that is something you see coming up

right now where actually voters at her events here. she used to do the town hall style 0&a is where she would be on stage, take a bow to question. that has stopped and folks are starting to notice that. ron desantis, when he is here, is taking questions from voters pretty extensively. but his absence is being felt as people try to make up their minds in the next few days. the cancellation of the debate as well, these used to be key markers of a contest that you just couldn't skip? absolutely. not having the debates is really noticeable and it is a way to reach many voters at ones in the state and now none of that is happening. one way or another, just briefly, this the end the road for at least one if not two of donald trump's competitors? it could potentially be. i know that both of them have reasons to continue onto south carolina. obviously, nikki haley's home state and an electorate more favourable to ron desantis. but new hampshire has been the state where trump has been

the weakest of the early states, heading into this contest and just and right now the best chance to either stop him or at least more significantly dent his lead in this primary. we will have full coverage of this next tuesday on bbc news. for the moment, lisa, thank you so much forjoining us. let's turn to some important news around the world. king charles will go into hospital next week to be treated for an enlarged prostate. buckingham palace said the king's condition is "benign", and he will have a "corrective procedure". his public engagements will be postponed. the princess of wales was admitted to hospital on tuesday for abdominal surgery. kensington palace says the planned procedure was successful, and took place at the london clinic, a private hospital. the princess is unlikely to return to public duties until after easter. a salvadoran woman has been freed from prison, more than seven years after she was convicted for having an abortion. the 28—year—old, identified only as lilian, was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2015. her baby died in hospital three days after she was born. prosecutors accused her of not taking care of the foetus, while lilian maintained her innocence.

there is a total ban on abortion in el salvador. it's a problem that impacts people across the world: childhood cancer. in the uk, kids suffering leukaemia are starting to receive a drug that is much kinder to their bodies than chemotherapy. our health reporter michelle roberts has more. life's getting back to normal for ii—year—old arthur. he's been clear of cancer for almost a year now. he was one of the first children in the uk to try out a new type of cancer drug. blinatumomab, or blina, can replace big chunks of aggressive chemotherapy. the news came that actually there was still some residual cancer, so that particular chemo phase had not worked as expected.

for arthur, blina was then the only real option to tackle his blood cancer. you can see the picc line that goes into his pyjamas and actually there on the right hand side, the pump that was separately at that point, or not yet in the backpack so everything could be... all of the kit can be carried in a small bag. although he had to wear it day and night, it gave him back his freedom. really good... doctors say it's a much kinder alternative. hello, arthur. come on in. hello. and could be a game changer for kids with b—cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia who struggle on chemo. chemotherapy are poisons that kill the leukaemia cells, but also kill and damage normal cells. and that is what causes their side effects. blinatumomab is a gentler, kinder treatment that doesn't have the same side effects as chemotherapy, but can cure

just as many patients as chemotherapy. that bead represents chemo... it's been a long, toughjourney for the whole family, made somewhat easier by blina. it made it feel like a lot freer. it also freed up some of mum and dads time and they could finally do work again. instead of having to go to hospital with me. new year was when we found out that the blina had worked and that there was no residual cancer. and so that was just amazing. and so we had double celebrations there. blina's already used in adults, but it's not yet widely available on the nhs for children. given its promise as a kinder, gentler treatment, arthur's medical team hope it could be in the future. michelle roberts, bbc news. and in the us — the fda fully

approved that drug lastjune. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. our current cold snap may well be coming to an end, but before it does so, i think something of a sting in the tail. of course, over recent days, we've seen plenty of these snow showers — this one looking very heavy as it obscures the skyline of the island of skye. and it is in northern scotland we've seen the largest accumulations of snow. through wednesday, we had over 20cm on the deck in lerwick, and that was before this lot arrived. this is a trough bringing particularly heavy showers, widespread, prolonged showers, southwards, and that will just increase the risk of seeing some disruption. now, for northern scotland, an additional 5cm—15cm of snow as we go through thursday. a much greater chance of seeing some disruption

in northern ireland, too. i think we could see around 5—10cm of snow building in here, so a much greater risk of seeing some disruption. and for northern scotland, as well as all that heavy snow, winds gusting to around 40—50 mph, so blizzard conditions, significant drifting of the snow and, for some communities, it'd be very difficult to travel around at all. now, there could be a bit of snow elsewhere in scotland and a few wintry showers coming down to clip the western side of wales, a few coming down the north sea coast of england. you might see some localised accumulations, but otherwise, a lot of dry, sunny and cold weather. into thursday evening, a shower stream sets up off the irish sea that will bring some snow showers to north wales across cheshire, merseyside into the north—west midlands. accumulations will vary a lot from place to place, but you could see a few centimetres in a few spots. on into friday, temperatures come up with just a little bit and that means the showers that we have in scotland will start to fall as rain and sleet at lower elevations — the snow becoming confined to the hills. temperatures a degree or two higher. you probably won't notice much in the way of change —

it will still feel cold. however, as we get into this weekend, that's when we see a real change in our weather pattern as these south—westerly winds push mild air off the atlantic and that will really boost the temperatures for most. now, on saturday, we've got these bands of rain moving from west to east along with those gusty south—westerly winds. now, there'll be a rapid thaw taking place in scotland, so there could be some localised flooding concerns here, given all of that snow lying on the deck, being a much milder kind of day. very windy weather then, for sunday and early next week, top gusts could reach around 70mph, potentially disruptive winds, but it does turn incredibly mild. bye for now.

voice—over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. israel has been waging a relentless war in gaza since hamas�*s assault on southern israel on october the 7th. the result — 2a,000 palestinians killed, including more than 10,000 children — that according to the hamas—run health ministry, and a humanitarian catastrophe engulfing the entire territory.

my guest today is mark regev, chief spokesman for israel's prime minister.