this is bbc news. iran's president vows to punish israel for an air strike in damascus that killed five iranian revolutionary guards. with just days to the new hampshire primary, we ask whether anyone can challenge donald trump as he leads the race for the us republican nomination. tens of thousands of people protest in germany against the far—right following revelations that a major party had discussed plans to deport immigrants. iam i am helena iam helena humphrey. it is good to have you with us. crisis continues in the middle east after missile attacks were reported in syria, lebanon, iraq and yemen on saturday. the strikes highlight the growing risk that the war in gaza could trigger a wider regional conflict, pitting iran and its allies against israel and its allies, like the united states. iran's president, meanwhile,

has promised revenge on israel for an air strike on the syrian capital that killed five members of tehran�*s elite revolutionary guard. israel has not confirmed or denied involvement in the attack. syrian activists say at least ten people were killed altogether in the raid, which destroyed a building used as a base by iranian military advisers in damascus. here's what those who witnessed the strike say happened. translation: l was - using my asthma inhaler. my little granddaughter, who is three years old, was sitting beside me. i swear, ijumped and the inhaler hopped too. i tried to protect the little one like this. during the earthquake, it didn't happen like that. three huge sounds shook the whole area. translation: within seconds, israeli missiles descended - in a terrifying manner with a sound beyond description. a building collapsed instantly, cars were shattered, buildings demolished. it is a crime of the most heinous kind.

well, in the last few hours, us central command says iran launched ballistic missiles and rockets at al—assad airbase in western iraq. it said most of the missiles were intercepted by air defense systems, but that a number of us personnel are undergoing evaluation for traumatic brain injuries. they also said at least one iraqi service member was wounded. earlier i spoke with firas maksad, a senior fellow at the middle east institute. please begin by putting this in context for us. israel says it doesn't usually, it doesn't comment on its operations abroad, but there is a background to this in terms of the military presence of iran in syria. explain that to us firstly. in syria. explain that to us firstl . ~ y in syria. explain that to us firstl . ~ , ., firstly. absolutely. killing a senior intelligence - firstly. absolutely. killing a - senior intelligence commander, a iranian senior commander in damascus, syria, has all the hallmarks of an israeli operation. they have done it before. recently israel dealt a blow to iran base assassinating

its top commander for syria, lebanon, and arrive. so although israel has a tradition of not outright admitting its role in such an assassination, it certainly has all the hallmarks of israel being behind it.— hallmarks of israel being behind it. after that, very swiftl , behind it. after that, very swiftly. we _ behind it. after that, very swiftly, we heard - behind it. after that, very swiftly, we heard from i behind it. after that, very l swiftly, we heard from iran vowing to have a response, vowing to have a response, vowing revenge. what do you anticipate we could potentially see here? i anticipate we could potentially see here? ~ ., ., see here? i think to say that this is an — see here? i think to say that this is an israel _ see here? i think to say that this is an israel versus - see here? i think to say that. this is an israel versus hamas conflict is to be missing the forest for the trees. this is no longer an israel hamas conflict. this is a conflict between iran, its allies in the region and its proxy forces, and on the other hand the united states and israel. we saw that soon after the assassination, hours after the israeli assassination, there was a response through iranian proxies against an american base was not many missiles, ballistic and otherwise, fight

against the united states. so what this underscores is the understanding that was achieved between the united states and iran in the spring, the detente, where they were indirect negotiations in oman with the iranians, that led to a cap on iranian nuclear enrichment operations. what we're seeing in arenas lake lebanon, gaza, aright, and yemen, is an all—out american iranian competition. yemen, is an all-out american iranian competition.— iranian competition. with that in mind, what— iranian competition. with that in mind, what do _ iranian competition. with that in mind, what do you - iranian competition. with that in mind, what do you think. iranian competition. with that. in mind, what do you think that iran will try to achieve here? they had several objectives. firstly it would like to save its prox i —— proxy and allies in gaza. as i would like to

destroy hamas and islamicjihad in gaza. through the attacks in iraq and syria, iran would like to project the american military presence from iraq and syria. those are two related objectives that the iranians will continue to pursue unless the war comes to an end soon and hamas is spared. lets talk to the potential _ and hamas is spared. lets talk to the potential path _ and hamas is spared. lets talk to the potential path to - to the potential path to deescalation, then. is there any sense that you could see that the us could have a role in that through its ally, raise rail, are also cognizant of the departures between israel and the us in terms of where it might stand on a two state solution. how difficult is that aspect as well? —— through its ally, israel. aspect as well? -- through its ally. israel-— ally, israel. that is exactly it. the administration - ally, israel. that is exactly i it. the administration doesn't want to see this blow further out of control. president biden has in relation to worry about. his polling numbers are great. he doesn't need another war in

the middle east. —— has an election. bring the war in gaza to an end to winding down operations and studied talk about a two state solution, to go back to normalisation between israel and its arab neighbours, primarily saudi arabia amongst them. the biden administration is trying to tabatha young conflict in the region. neither iran appears to be cooperative, nor benjamin netanyahu, with his refusal to talk about two state solution. none of the players in the region seem to be conducive or interested in political settlement that the american administration is pursuing. in your assessment with all of these moving pieces, do you think that there is the potential for this really to boil over into an all—out regional war? boil over into an all-out regional war? regionalwar? absolutely. i think we — regionalwar? absolutely. i think we continue - regionalwar? absolutely. i think we continue to - regionalwar? absolutely. i think we continue to be - regionalwar? absolutely. i think we continue to be on | regional war? absolutely. i i think we continue to be on an escalatory path in the region. but there is an upper threshold

so far that the us, nora ryan, nor iran and israel are interested in entering into a direct war. ——0 iran. they are using drones and assassinations, everything should have a direct traditional conflict. but as it drags on, there is a risk of miscalculation in the various theatres of war around the nation. ., , theatres of war around the nation. ., ~., ~ , ., theatres of war around the nation. ., a, ~ , ., ., theatres of war around the nation. ., ,, ., nation. firas maksad, a senior fellow at _ nation. firas maksad, a senior fellow at the _ nation. firas maksad, a senior fellow at the middle _ nation. firas maksad, a senior fellow at the middle east - fellow at the middle east institute, always good to talk to you. institute, always good to talk to ou. ., ~ i. meanwhile in tel aviv, thousands of israelis are rallying in the streets, demanding the government does more to secure the release of hostages in gaza. protesters called for elections for a new government. the protests come as prime minister benjamin netanyahu again insisted israel should retain security control over all the palestinian territories. he said this condition was "contrary" to a future palestinian state being established, defying pressure from the us and others to commit to future palestinian statehood.

our middle east correspondent mark lowen reports from jerusalem. in gaza's skies, where bombs have rained down, not an israeli attack, but an israeli appeal — for information on the hostages seized by hamas. around 130 are still not home. how many are dead is unknown. the subtext from israel — "this is why we're still on the offensive." but in israel, at the prime minister's residence, angerfrom families of the missing who want him to do more to get them back. polls show most think benjamin netanyahu should be prioritising their release. many here still feel failed by a state created to protect them. translation: | want to | have a country that cares for us, because our prime minister and the war cabinet doesn't. splits have spread to the top. gadi eisenkot of the war cabinet accused mr netanyahu of dishonesty by vowing total victory over hamas, adding that he was

responsible for leaving israel open to its attack. a war cabinet at war with itself spells trouble for israel's leader. benjamin netanyahu's growing unpopularity at home is increasingly echoed abroad — publicly rebutting the us by rejecting a two—state solution with a future palestinian state, and refusing allies' calls to ease the offensive in gaza. 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 ? there are a number of types of two—state solutions. there's a number of countries that are members of the un that still don't have their own military. a number of states that have limitations. so, i think there's ways in which this could work.

fears continue over the spillover of this war. and today, it hit damascus, where syria and iran say an israeli airstrike killed members of the iranian revolutionary guard. israel doesn't comment on its attacks abroad. and so, as israeli troops pushed deeper into southern gaza, fires are being lit in different parts of this tinderbox region. and as the conflict escalates, the question is how far the flames will spread. mark lowen, bbc news, jerusalem. voters in new hampshire are getting ready to cast ballots in the 2024 us presidential primary. the vote on tuesday comes after former president donald trump dominated the iowa republican caucuses. he won 51% of the vote there, well ahead of florida governor ron desantis and and former un ambassador and south carolina governor nikki haley. three days out from new hampshire, the latest major poll suggests mr trump holds a significant edge over ms haley in the state — 53% to 36%.

ron desantis is polling atjust 7% and has largely moved on to south carolina. the third primary state, where voters will cast ballots in late february. ms haley, on the other hand, says she is going for victory in new hampshire and has ramped up her criticism of mrtrump. today, she even questioned mr trump's mental fitness for office, after he confused her with the former house speaker, nancy pelosi, during a campaign speech. here's mr trump's apparent blunder, followed by ms haley's response. nikki haley is in charge of security. we offered her 10,000 people, soldiers, national guardsman — whatever they want — they turned it down. they don't want to talk about that. these are very dishonest people. these things happen because guess what? when you're 80, that's what happens. you aren't as sharp as you want to be. this isn't personal. i voted for him twice. i was proud to serve in his administration.

this is the fact that have a country in disarray and a world on fire and we need to know that we not giving our kids the option of two 80—year—olds going into presidency. for more on the new hampshire primary and nikki haley's chances, i caught up with cbs political reporter caitlin huey—burns. caitling, good to have you here. what can we expect from the final days of campaigning? it is great to be with you. it has jabbed up to be a race between nikki haley and donald trump. nikki haley is far behind in the polls by donald trump here in new hampshire. but she is hoping to appeal to independent voters in the state to try to make up some ground. those opposing donald trump are seeing this state is really the last chance to try to defeat him and prevent him from becoming the eventual nominee. if we look at her recent comments, we saw her talking about donald trump's mental ability, linking it with his age. what do you think that

tells us, the fact that, to a certain extent, she took the gloves off, when she has this difficult balancing act, doesn't she, of trying to appeal, you know, as the doesn�*t she, of trying to appeal, you know, as the anti— donald trump candidate, without angering his base?— angering his base? exactly. she ist in: angering his base? exactly. she is trying to _ angering his base? exactly. she is trying to tow— angering his base? exactly. she is trying to tow the _ angering his base? exactly. she is trying to tow the line - is trying to tow the line between the sizing donald trump osman policies and not attack him personally. when you talk to some of her supporters, independent voters, some have said they want to see her be more aggressive against donald trump as she really wants to challenge him. what happened was he had made these comments at a rally the night before, essentially confusing her with nancy pelosi, dan, at an event today, she went after donald trump and questioned his mental fitness. so we are in this final stretch of the campaign, she is far by donald trump, and he contains a committing media. every last push to get her case out there, you are seeing the

attacks intensify. find out there, you are seeing the attacks intensify.— attacks intensify. and let's talk about _ attacks intensify. and let's talk about ron _ attacks intensify. and let's talk about ron desantis. l attacks intensify. and let's - talk about ron desantis. could new hampshire potentially be make or break for new hampshire potentially be make or breakfor him? it is make or break for him? it is interesting _ make or break for him? it is interesting because - make or break for him? it is interesting because he - make or break for him? it 3 interesting because he has essentially all but ceded new hampshire to nikki haley and donald trump. there has been polling in the low single digits and has reshuffled campaign efforts to focus on the next primary which is in south carolina. but he has actuallyjust added a new stop tomorrow in new hampshire coming back to the state when he hadn't planned too, at least not tomorrow. they could be a bit more competition there. but rarely, if you think about it, you know, his supporters would be backing donald trump, so here he has been trying to squeeze nikki haley and prevent any momentum for her. but he is really kind of acknowledged that this is a state that donald trump is poised to win.

we are in this final stretch of the campaign, she is still pulling behind donald trump my human sends a commanding lead here, so every kind of last push to try to get her case out there, you are seeing the attacks intensify. they want a candidate who is not donald trump or a donald trump alternative and if she cannot compete in a state that has more favourable conditions in terms of the electorate, it really raises questions about where she can go forward. this is all about collecting delegates but winning states is a real sign of momentum and if she cannot win a state, that does raise questions about the future of her campaign. find

future of her campaign. and donald trump, _ future of her campaign. and donald trump, in _ future of her campaign. and donald trump, in terms - future of her campaign. fific donald trump, in terms of what he is running up against, i guess, in terms of challenges, there are 91 criminal charges currently against him. when you speak to republican voters there, are they worried about that? .,, there, are they worried about that? , , ., that? those supporting donald trump say _ that? those supporting donald trump say that _ that? those supporting donald trump say that is _ that? those supporting donald trump say that is something . trump say that is something that has endeared them to him. they call them political, they have written them off, voters i spoke to reporting him kind of echo his rhetoric in that regard, and so we have really seen the republican party kind of galvanise around donald trump in light of these indictments and even his republican rivals do not criticise him because of the indictments.— criticise him because of the indictments. ., , , ., indictments. ron desantis and nikki haley — indictments. ron desantis and nikki haley have _ indictments. ron desantis and nikki haley have described - indictments. ron desantis and l nikki haley have described them as distractions but they haven't criticised him for them and that has given some cover to voters to feel the same way. caitlin, on the campaign trail, thank you so much for taking the time. we will have a special broadcast live from

new hampshire on tuesday evening here on bbc news as results come in. to the uk now, where norfolk police have revealed that an emergency call to police was made from a house near norwich about an hour before four people, including two young children, were found dead inside. the force has referred itself to the independent police watchdog because no officers were sent to the property in response to that call, which was made by a man at 6 o'clock on friday morning. sam read has more from the scene. 2a hours on, there's still a huge police presence on this small estate near norwich. the man who died has been named locally as bartlomiej kuczynski. the two young girls also lived in the house. the 36—year—old woman was related but didn't live there full time. police said today a 999 call was made by a man inside the property at around 6am yesterday morning. no—one was deployed. officers then discovered the bodies around 1.25 hours later after another call

from a member of the public. norfolk police has referred itself to the independent police watchdog. more than 2a hours on, people here are still in disbelief. we got an email from the school last night, saying that one of the kids was at the school, so we thought it best to tell my seven—year—old boy about what happened this morning and, yeah, it was a big surprise of his reaction, really — he was a bit shocked. yeah, the guy had gone missing before christmas and so, the police brought his picture around just before christmas to see if we'd seen where he'd gone and see if we could catch him on our camera. a local church opened this afternoon to allow residents to remember the deceased. people are finding it hard to come to terms with the news, really. obviously, they were known and people are finding it very hard to digest and a real sense of shock and bewilderment. police have described this

as a "devastating incident" as they try to piece together what exactly happened yesterday morning, and with many questions still remaining for them to answer. sam read, bbc news, near norwich. let's turn now to germany, where more demonstrations against right—wing extremism have been taking place across the country. the protests have been gathering momentum over the last week. they're a response to reports that senior figures within the far—right party alternative for germany, or afd, had met in november to discuss the deportation of millions of people with immigrant backgrounds. germany is wrestling with a potentially explosive debate over whether to ban the party, which is polling second nationally. the afd says it's being smeared by opponents. who is senior director of the counter extremism project, a transatlantic think tank. you know, you have something of a split screen here, essentially. you've got those tens of thousands of people who came out to protest.

at the same time, you've got the fact that the afd has increased — has been doing well in the polls, particularly over the summer. how does germany feel about this party, do you think? well, thanks so much for having me. it is really a difficult, difficult political subject because part of the party are already officially declared right—wing extremists, and under the constitution. —— right—wing extremists, and anti—constitutional. so, the entire young wing, the young alternatives, is, for the country, declared right—wing extremists and anti—constitutional and four of its federal state organisations are declared right—wing extremists. this meeting in november that came to light a couple of days ago reallyjust confirmed the fact that we have a deeply, deeply anti—democratic strand in this party which, unfortunately, is polling between 20—30% nationally. if you take a look at what we've seen in statewide elections in recent months — you know, places like hesse, bavaria, for example —

we've started to see afd come out from that popularity seat of the east, spreading more in the country. what do you think is behind that growing popularity? well, i mean, it's the same populist agenda that many parties in europe, and some party here in the united states, is following, where you blame all essential difficult problems that everyone finds themselves in, caused by climate change, caused by the energy crisis, caused by the wars in ukraine and of hamas against israel and the situation in the middle east really on foreigners — that basically is the central argument that the afd has put forward since its inception. and it's essentially, really, a protest party. but in difficult situations where crises and cost of living crisis are rampant, of course, protest parties always gather more votes. one thing i am curious about, though — and a distinction, i guess, between that very interesting comparison with the united states — is, you know, germany's history.

i lived in germany for a very long time and there's such a sense of awareness there with regards to the rise of the nazi party 1933. people will always say, "never again". and yet, growing support among young people. you know, are there new kind of tactics, particularly when it comes to kind of the more underground, far—right — the movement there in terms of getting young people on board and supporting? well, i mean, the right—wing extremist scene has been very active in the last years in germany. since 2019, consistently, every single federal minister of the interior has said the greatest threat to democracy comes from right—wing extremism. islamistic extremism terrorism is a close second but the bigger threat is right—wing extremism. we've seen a slew of movements and groups being banned in the last couple of years from this particular spectrum. we've seen several attempts to actually conduct fairly serious right—wing

extremist—informed terror plots — and in december 2022, we actually did have a coup d'etat attempt, incidentally, involving one former afd federal member of parliament. and so, how do you tackle that, then, with all of your experience in counter extremism? you know, when you see calls, for example, to ban the afd as a political party, do you think that that would tackle the cause here, the root? obviously, democracy needs to show that it has teeth when it comes to defending itself, right? you do not have to tolerate intolerance indefinitely. however, banning a party is an extremely difficult process in germany. and according — for good reasons. we had a fascist and a communist dictatorship in germany in the last century. the parties are highly protected by the german constitution article 21. that's why very, very, very rarely this has been used and even fewer times, it has worked — only in �*52, a right—wing extremist party and �*56 the german communist

parties were banned. the attempts to ban another right—wing extremist party, the npd, founded in 2003 and in 2017. although the constitutional court had stated in 2017 that, indeed, the npd is a right—wing extremist, anti—constitutional party, its poor showing in the votes — it was polling around 3% — were not justifiable enough to use this final sharpest instrument of democracy. in — of course, everyone is nervous in germany right now because we have several key state elections this year in some of the states where the afd is polling exceptionally well but a party banning process in front of the constitutional court takes anywhere — if it's fast — between 11—5 years, so it's not an appropriate instrument to deal with with the immediate problem. that's why the federal president steinmeier called this weekend at demonstrations for focusing on what we can do now politically to get the votes for the afd down and don't obsess about the legal possibility of banning the party.

hans—jakob schindler, senior director of the counter extremism project. very interesting to speak to you. thank you. and before we go, 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 in the uk. 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 herfosterfamily in west wales. about £15,000 was raised by well—wishers all over the world for the treatment. we wish her well as well. you are watching bbc news. i'm helena humphrey. iwill are watching bbc news. i'm helena humphrey. i will have more of the top of the hour. join me then if you can. goodbye for now.

hello there. we're in for a very stormy spell of weather for the second half of sunday into the first part of monday, all thanks to storm isha. met office have a number of amber wind warnings in force for northern and western areas. heavy rain could lead to localised flooding along with snowmelt, as it will be turning very mild indeed. but we could be looking at some significant disruption from this storm as it continues to hurtle across the atlantic towards our shores later on sunday. but sunday starts off on a fine note for many, england and wales dry with some sunshine. same, too, for north east scotland. the winds will continue to pick up, though, through the day and rain across northern ireland will spread across the irish sea into much of scotland, northern and western england and wales, so it will be turning downhill as we head through the afternoon but very mild for the time of year — up to 13 degrees in many parts of england, wales, northern ireland. storm isha continues to plough through during sunday evening and overnight. a real squeeze in the isobars across western scotland, northern ireland but lots of isobars across the charts. amber warnings in force.

gusts of 60—70 mph south west england, particularly irish sea coasts, much of wales, maybe up to 80mph north—west wales, 60—70 for northern england, maybe 80 mph in excess for northern ireland. some very strong winds expected across scotland through the night — perhaps in excess of 85mph across western scotland — so these are damaging gusts and likely to cause some disruption. there'll be some heavier rain and showers rattling through as well and we'll also see amber warning for the southeast of england for strong winds. sussex and kent could see gusts in excess of 60 or 70 mph early on monday. a mild night to come across the south, taking a little bit fresher further north. into monday, storm isha continues to push across the norwegian sea. lots of isobars on the charts, so monday will be another windy day as well — not as windy as sunday night — and there'll be lots of showers rattling into northern and western areas. best of the sunshine towards the east. some wintriness over the higher ground of scotland and northern england. it won't feel particularly warm in the north if you factor in the wind but still double figures in the south.

stays pretty unsettled for the upcoming week. tuesday, we see another spell of wet and windy weather and then, a ridge of high pressure for wednesday will bring some fine conditions. another spell of wet and windy weather, perhaps, for thursday and friday. so, the weather really will be up and down through this week, interspersed with fine spells. generally staying on the mild side. stay tuned to the forecast, though, for the effects of storm isha.

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