an air strike on the syrian capital kills four members of iran's revolutionary guards — two of them high—ranking military advisers. iran blames israel. a un human rights official accuses israel of beating and stripping palestinians detained in gaza. they describe being beaten, humiliated, subjected to ill treatment and to what may amount to torture. and police urge the mother of a newborn baby found in a shopping bag in east london to come forward. hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones. a suspected israeli air strike on a residential building in the syrian capital, damascus, is believed to have killed several people. damascus, is believed to have killed iranian state media says four members of iran's revolutionary guards were among those killed. they include two high—ranking

military advisers — one of whom is reported to be the head of the force's information unit in syria. iran is blaming israel for the strike. israel says it does not comment on foreign media reports. iranian advisers to the syrian government have played a key role in keeping president assad in power during the civil war in syria. issam ikirmawi is a correspondent with bbc arabic. an air raid hit a building in the mazzeh neighbourhood in damascus, which is like sort of affluent neighborhood. and the whole building came down. they talk about precision bombing of the building. there is a number of casualties, according to a spokesperson of a syrian hospital. he spoke of one fatality and three injured people, including a woman that being brought

into the hospital. other sources spoke about other people being under the rubble. and the civil service in in damascus is looking for survivors under the rubble. so far, this is what we know about this target. iranian news agency spoke about two members of the islamic revolutionary guard who were in damascus and they appeared to be the target of this attack. and just remind us of the relationship here between syria and iran. well, syria and iran, president bashar al—assad has become highly dependent on iranian support during the the civil war or the uprising in syria since 2011. the iranians have sent advisers and even fighters, according to some sources, to help president assad.

also, they called upon hezbollah in lebanon to come to the aid of the syrian president. so there is a very sort of strong organic relationship, but it is very much the iran is is the superior partner in this relationship while the syrian president is the weaker part. and just to underline as well, the reports of who is behind this are from state media in iran and syria. what about any response from israel? in these incidents, israeli media quotes foreign sources. so it's only quoting the syrian sources and reuters saying they claim that israel was behind this, but there's no official claim or admission of responsibility by israel. and what are some of the theories then about why this strike may have been carried out? well, there is like a proxy war in the middle east going on between israel and iran.

we've seen that with hezbollah in south lebanon. we've seen it also more recently in erbil in iraq, where there was an iranian hit on a building in erbil, which is the capital of kurdistan. iran claimed that that was the hq, the local hq of the mossad, the israeli intelligence agency. israel denied that. so there is a tit for tat going on between the two countries in the middle east at the moment. israel is also reported to have launched an air strike on southern lebanon, killing two members of hamas as they were travelling in a car. israel has targeted hamas and its lebanese ally, hezbollah, in several strikes on southern lebanon in recent weeks. earlier this month, a strike on beirut killed the deputy leader of hamas�* political office. hezbollah, which is a powerful iranian—backed armed and political group, has been firing rockets across the border at israel since the war in gaza began. the israeli military has continued to pound the city

of khan younis in southern gaza, and says its troops found six rocket launchers when they raided what it described as a military compound. hamas health officials report that 165 palestinians were killed in the past day, and the overall number killed in the war so far is approaching 25 thousand. our middle east correspondent mark lowen reports from jerusalem. (tx vt our middle east correspondent mark lowen reports from jerusalem. in gaza's sky is where bombs have rained down, not an israeli attack but an israeli appeal for information on the hostages seized by hamas, around 130 still not home, how many date is unknown. the subtext from israel as this is why we are here. but in israel, anger from families at benjamin netanyahu's residents who want him to do more. most think he should be prioritising the release of hostages. the protection of a state, a founding israeli principle, was

absent in october and many feel it still is. i absent in october and many feel it still is. ., ., ., ., , still is. i want to have a country that cares _ still is. i want to have a country that cares for _ still is. i want to have a country that cares for us _ still is. i want to have a country that cares for us because - still is. i want to have a country that cares for us because the i still is. i want to have a country - that cares for us because the prime minister and what cabinet does not. split from bottom to top. benjamin netanyahu was accused of dishonesty by vowing total victory over hamas adding the prime minister was responsible for leaving israel open to attack. i wore cabinet at war with itself spells trouble for israel's leader. —— a war cabinet at war with itself. a two state solution was rejected with a future palestinian state and ally calls to ease offensive in gaza were refused. israel's great political survivor is looking isolated and vulnerable. after speaking to israel's prime minister, president biden tried to sound positive, could a possible future demilitarised palestinian

state be discussed.— future demilitarised palestinian state be discussed. there was a number of _ state be discussed. there was a number of countries _ state be discussed. there was a number of countries that - state be discussed. there was a number of countries that are . state be discussed. there was a - number of countries that are members of the un that still do not have their own military. so i think there are ways in which this good work. but a diplomatic —— there are ways in which this could work. anguish deepening on both sides. thanks to mark for that. a un human rights official has accused israel of beating, blindfolding and stripping palestinians detained during its military operation in gaza. ajith sunghay — the head of the un human rights 0ffice in 0ccupied palestinian territories — said some of the former detainees he met during a visit to the territory had been held for nearly two months, in often cramped conditions.

during my time here, i managed to meet a number of police detainees. these are men who were detained by the israeli security forces in unknown locations for between 30 to 55 days. they described being beaten, humiliated, subjected to ill treatment and to what may amount to torture. they reported being blindfolded for long periods, some of them for several consecutive days. one man said he had access to a shower only once during his 55 days in detention. there are reports of men who were subsequently released, but only in diapers without any adequate clothing in this cold weather. what they told me was consistent with reports our office has been gathering of the detention of palestinians on a broad scale, including many civilians held in secrecy, often subject to ill treatment with no access to their families, lawyers or effective judicial protection. israel has said it treats all those detained in accordance with international law.

in a statement to the bbc, the israeli military said terror suspects often needed to hand over their clothes to ensure they were not concealing weapons or explosives. the metropolitan police says it's concerned for the welfare of a mother whose newborn baby was found in a shopping bag by the side of a road in east london. officers say the girl, who has been given the temporary name elsa, is in good health, despite the freezing temperatures. nickjohnson reports. less than an hour after she was born, baby elsa, as she's been named, was found inside a shopping bag at the entrance to this open space on the side of a busy road. despite the subzero temperatures on thursday night, police say the little girl is unharmed and safe. the met�*s focus now rests upon finding the newborn�*s mother.

we are extremely concerned for her welfare as she will have been through a traumatic ordeal and will be in need of immediate medical attention following the birth. if you are the baby's mother, please know that your daughter is well. no matter what your circumstances please do seek help by dialling 999. the force has also asked anyone who thinks they might know baby elsa's mother to contact them. officers say the newborn�*s survival on thursday night was largely due to the actions of the dog walker who found her. thinking fast, that person kept the baby girl warm until london ambulance service paramedics arrived and checked her over before taking her to hospital. the police say others also stayed on the scene and the measures they took contributed to saving the baby's life. our reporter nickjohnson gave us this update from east london. well, lewis, police have

said they made a point of saying their primary concern is the health and well—being of the baby's mother. they say that specialist medics and police staff are on hand to provide support and have urged her to come and make contact. as you heard in that report we know that little baby elsa was less than an hour old when she was found inside that shopping bag right here on the pavement between this busy road and the entrance to this open space. the location of that shopping bag, the traffic, the busyness of the road, there is a dual carriageway just behind the camera, you really get a sense of how inconspicuous a tiny baby would have been in that shopping bag. police say they believe the dog walker that discovered her was alerted by the cries coming from that bag. it is cold here this morning but it's not as cold as thursday night when the little baby was found. it was below freezing and all she was covered in was a towel. but despite all that, police say she is doing well in hospital, she is safe, she is unharmed, but you get the sense that if someone had

found her a few moments later it might have been a very different story. indeed. nick, we heard a little from the police there. what have they been saying and what have they been urging people to do? as i said, their main concern now is tracing the mother. they have asked people who use this park for walking their dogs, we have seen lots of people walking their dogs, riding their bikes and running this morning, so anyone who may frequent this route on a daily basis, to get in touch with them, especially if they have any idea who the mum might be. when baby elsa was left here it would have been on thursday evening. there would have been a lot of traffic along this road. this is a busy road so perhaps a lot of opportunity for other people to have seen something that went on. but really, police now saying that now the child is safe and appears

to be doing well in hospital, their main concern now is finding the baby's mother and getting her the medical attention she will clearly need. thanks to nick for that. there's still a large police presence in a town in norfolk, where the bodies of a man, woman and two young girls from the same family were found yesterday. police say all the bodies showed signs of injuries, and are treating it as an "isolated incident". our reporter zoie o'brien has the latest. norfolk police are saying they're going to be here for quite a significant time because there is a huge investigation that they have to carry out. now, they were first called here by a neighbour shortly before 7am yesterday morning. they forced entry into the house and they found the bodies of four people. a 45—year—old man, a 36—year—old woman and two young girls whose ages have not been given at this stage. now, police are saying that they are very keen for people

not to begin speculation at this stage. they say there's been a lot on social media and locally, and while they are carrying out this kind of investigation, that is really unhelpful to them, but they have said that the woman whose body was found was not a resident of the home, but the man and the two young girls were. now, you can see the tent over my shoulder there. forensic officers have been coming and going over the last 2a hours. neighbours here say in costessey, which is just on the outskirts of norwich, it's a quiet area. they are devastated by the loss of life. it's not something that they expected to see on their doorsteps. now, all four people were found with injuries. those injuries have not been specified, but postmortem examinations will take place and we'll bring you any updates in the coming days.

let's get more now on our top story. our correspondent mark lowen is live injerusalem for us. it's being reported that a building in damascus that said to have been housing the iranian revolutionary guard in the capital was hit by an israeli air strike they say which they say killed four members of the revolutionary guard. the they say killed four members of the revolutionary guard.— revolutionary guard. the pictures show a pretty _ revolutionary guard. the pictures show a pretty large _ revolutionary guard. the pictures show a pretty large strike - revolutionary guard. the pictures show a pretty large strike there . show a pretty large strike there caused by precision targeted missile and israel does not comment on military operations abroad so we will never get a confirmation from israel that it was their missile if indeed it was but if it was an israeli strike, it could well have been retaliation for what happened less than a week ago when iran hit a building in northern iraq which they say was housing the israeli agency by mossad so you know how this tinderbox region is seeing flames

lit in every single corner and the big question is as the conflict drags on how far those files will spread. drags on how far those files will s - read. �* , drags on how far those files will sread. v drags on how far those files will sread. �*, ., spread. indeed. let's look at the situation on _ spread. indeed. let's look at the situation on the _ spread. indeed. let's look at the situation on the ground. - spread. indeed. let's look at the situation on the ground. what i spread. indeed. let's look at the situation on the ground. what is| spread. indeed. let's look at the . situation on the ground. what is the latest in gaza? the situation on the ground. what is the latest in gaza?— latest in gaza? the focus of the offensive remains _ latest in gaza? the focus of the offensive remains a _ latest in gaza? the focus of the offensive remains a southern i latest in gaza? the focus of the l offensive remains a southern gas latest in gaza? the focus of the - offensive remains a southern gas at the moment. israeli forces have forced deeper into khan younis and the health ministry there are say 165 people have been killed in the last 2a hours, the highest one—day total so far this year and there is fighting taking place around medical facilities and thejordanian authorities have accused israel of targeting thejordanian authorities have accused israel of targeting the jordanian field hospital and israel says it is receiving how mass attacks. and just to give you an idea of the large number of civilians, many are putting down from rafer which had a pre—war population of around 280,000

people and it has now swelled to over1 million so as the people and it has now swelled to over 1 million so as the fighting intensifies, the real and continued risk to civilians remains very high. let's get the latest sports now. from the bbc sport centre. the women's top seed has been knocked out of the australian open... iga swiatek�*s search for a title in melbourne goes on after she lost in the third round to czech teenager lina noskova. swiatek was on an 18 match unbeaten run and took the first set against the 19 year old but she became just the latest seed to suffer defeat in this year's tournament, losing 3—6, 6—4, 6—3. noskova said she was speechless afterwards and will now play 19th seed elina svitolina in herfirst 11th round match at a grand slam. in the men's draw... britain's cameron norrie has pulled off one of the other big results of day seven.

in the biggest grand slam victory of his career. norrie knocked out the number 11 seed and three—time major finalist casper ruud. he did it in four sets and now faces german sixth seed alexander zverev on monday. norrie is the only briton remaining in either singles draw and is the first british player to reach the fourth round at melbourne park in six years. so good. i was really enjoying it from start to finish and i really felt a sense of calm throughout the whole match and i embrace the atmosphere and everyone was enjoying themselves, they were behind me as well, the crowd, so i think that definitely played a factor in the match, but in terms of performances, it was up there with one of my best i think in grand slam. elsewhere it was pretty straightforward for the number two seed carlos alcaraz. he comfortably reached the fourth round for the first time after his 18 year old opponent shang juncheng of china retired with injury. the spainiard was two sets

up when that happened. it was the first time that the 20—year—old has played an opponent younger than him at tour level. arsenal are attempting to stop their recent slide in the first of two games in the english premier league on saturday. they're taking on london rivals crystal palace, trying to move back up to third after two straight defeats. brazilian defender gabriel gave them the lead afterjust 10 minutes. and he has also got their second eight minutes before the break, they are just about to blow the whistle for the half—time and it is arsenal 2-0 for the half—time and it is arsenal 2—0 crystal palace. as you saw their... later ivan toney will play his first game since may returning from his eight month ban for breaching betting rules to captain brentford. they need him too as they're going into the premier league match against nottingham forest on a run of seven defeats of their last 8 league games and just three points above the bottom three of course, he is a human being like you and i and he will be a little bit nervous like that eight—year—old boy that's playing his first game or is coming back, of course. but as soon as the

kick—off, the first whistle goes, he will be, boom, zoomed in, ready, and ready to perform. it's a pivotal weekend for international hockey with great britain's men facing new zealand in the semi—finals of the olympic qualifiers. knowing a win would guarantee them a place at paris later this year. before that gb�*s women face ireland in their third place play—off. only the winners will go to the summer games. the team haven't failed to qualify for an olympics since 200a. at the end of the day it is a hockey match which is what we all train to do and where we all feel most comfortable, so i think it is just taking as much as we can. obviously, it is a huge occasion and it means so much, but is trying to take some of that emotion away and see it as a hockey game. again, we want to win and know we can win if we all put our best foot forward and bring our a game. natasha jonas has said home advantage makes a big difference as she came in under weight ahead of herfight against american mikaela mayer. the fighter from liverpool

will defend her ibf welterweight title in her home city later and easily made weight with her opponent slightly heavier. jonas is 39 and says she's looking for legacy fights to end her career while mayer is a former unified super—featherweight champion fighting at welterweight for the first time. it is half—time at the emirates, arsenal winning 2—0, you can follow that on the website. and that's all the sport for now. it's now known that all thirteen people killed in a fire at a boarding school in central china were children aged nine and ten. the blaze started in a boys' dormitory in the nanyang region of henan province. let's ta ke let's take your life to the democratic republic of congo are now. swearing in ceremony of the new

president, well, new—ish, second term one by felix tshisekedi who has been sworn in as president of the democratic republic of congo for a second term. he won last month at a chaotic election with a packed stadium in the capital, kinshasa. mr tshisekedi was declared the winner of last month's election, which the opposition described as a sham. there has been violence in the country. violence the president said he will bring to an end. in the uk, a committee of mps has asked the treasury, the royal mint and other public bodies to reveal details of any contracts awarded to fujitsu in the past five years. the company has apologised for its role in the post office it scandal — in which hundreds of branch managers were wrongly convicted of fraud or theft because of its faulty horizon computer system.

fujitsu has said it won't bid for more government contracts while the inquiry is continuing. i've been speaking to our political correspondent helen catt. they are looking at details of all the contracts awarded to fujitsu since 2019. and why 2019? that was the date when the high court ruled that the horizon post office system which was installed across post offices across the country was defective. the committee has written to a number of different departments to find out what contracts have been awarded since then. they want to know details of it, notjust the value of those but, for example, how they were awarded, with done through open competition? the chair of the committee harriett baldwin, a conservative mp, said this is about surfacing information,

it is not about punishing fujitsu. how widespread is the company's involvement in government departments? it is understood to be pretty widespread. one estimate has been there has been £4 billion worth of work awarded to fujitsu in the last five years and one of the obvious examples that springs to is police national computer, fujitsu has run that for 30 years and was awarded a new contract in 2022 £48 million and at the time parliamentarians were told there was no alternative to fujitsu. we know it is a big firm and it has lots of involvement right across government. what the committee here has written to all the departments concerned with finances, people like the taxman, hmrc, like the treasury, like the royal mint. so it will be interesting to see what comes back from those. but as you said, fujitsu has for now said it won't bid for any more government contracts until the public inquiry into what happened at the post office is over. helen, thanks for that. sexual health clinics in england are at breaking point, according to the councils running them. more than two—thirds of local authority areas have seen a rise in gonorrhoea and syphilis

infections since 2017 and now they say soaring rates threaten to overwhelm services. every dog has its day and today it's ariel's. she was born with six legs and was abandoned in a car park in pembrokeshire. but she's now recovering after having her extra limbs removed. and this is 11—week—old ariel whose extra legs were fused together at birth. now, after her life—changing operation, she has several weeks of physiotherapy ahead, but is returning home to herfoster family in west wales. about £15,000 was raised by well—wishers all over the world for the treatment. that's it, i'm lewis vaughanjones. this was bbc news.

hello. we've got some pretty stormy weather on the way later tomorrow. latest named storm, storm isha, named by the uk met office, will roll its way in and barrel across the country, particularly sunday night and into monday morning, with severe gales expected quite widely. there will be disruption into monday morning rush hour. more on that in just a second, because even before that arrives, the winds already up today, it's much milder. we've got rid of the cold air and it's rain rather than snow. this is storm isha on the charts. it's out towards the west atlantic at the moment, that massive cloud. but even before then, we've still got this cloud across the uk and that is producing some rain. the rain's been pretty relentless so far through northwest england and parts of western wales, at least off a little bit through the rest of today. for a while at least, that's the brightness far northeast of scotland and some hazy sunshine, the channel islands and the far south east of england, six or seven degrees across some eastern areas and the west, ten, 11 celsius where the wind picks up even further later and the rain becomes heavier and more persistent. so quite a wet evening

and first part of the night across the western half of the uk. that rain pushes its way erratically eastwards, clearing for most into dawn. so a few showers in the west, but in the clear skies, temperatures will take a bit of a dip tonight. so another cool night, nowhere near as cold as it has been. any frost limited to some sheltered glens in scotland. so a frost free start to sunday and the morning will be the quietest part of the day. parts of east wales, central southern england, but a sunshine same to across northern scotland. showers replaced by longer spells of rain, northern england, central southern scotland, northern ireland and western parts of wales. that rain and the totals totting up combined with snowmelt could lead to some flooding. but temperatures will be on the rise as the winds pick up. those winds really become a feature sunday night, and that's the storm passes to the north or broad area of strong winds. many parts will be affected. the met office have issued amber weather warnings quite widely through sunday night and into monday morning. could see winds gusting 70, 80 miles an hour, maybe even a little bit more.

there will be some large waves, some damage, some disruption to power and also travel, which could linger into the morning, monday morning rush hour. so be prepared for some problems on monday morning weather—wise. still windy but not as windy as that have been through the night. frequent showers, particularly across the north and the west. best of the sunshine to the south and the east, that's looking. all the warnings are online. take care.

this is bbc news. the headlines... an air strike on the syrian capital kills four members of iran's revolutionary guards — two of them high—ranking military advisers. iran has blamed israel. a un human rights official accuses israel of beating and stripping palestinians detained in gaza. police urge the mother of a newborn baby found in a shopping bag in east london to come forward. now on bbc news, the travel show: city kids on the high seas.