more than 25,000 people have been killed since the war with israel began, according to the health ministry in gaza. the us blames iranian—backed militants in iraq for a ballistic missile strike on an airbase used by american troops. a powerful storm is forecast to hit the uk, with gusts of wind of up to 80mph and a risk to life. and the fifa president calls for stadium bans forfans — and automatic forfeits for teams — whose supporters shout racist abuse. hello. i'm lewis vaughan jones. welcome to the programme. we are going to head straight to gaza. we have live pictures coming in from southern gaza. this is the view around the rafah crossing.

just in the last few hours, some new numbers have been released by the health ministry in gaza, that is run by hamas, that is a prescribed terrorist group by many in the us in the uk. the numbers are this. they say that 25,105 palestinians have been killed in gaza since october the 7th, numbers over 25,000 killed. they also say that 62,681 people have been injured. israel often disputes the figures and the numbers given by hamas, but don't provide any of their own. we are going to head to iraq now and get the latest on that attack on an air base used by the us. the us says iranian—backed militants were behind the attack.

multiple ballistic missiles and rockets were fired. some were intercepted by air defences. let's look at where this happened. this is in iraq, the al—asad base. at least one iraqi service member was wounded, and a number of americans wounded too. attacks on us forces in iraq by militias linked to iran have increased since the gaza war began. this latest incident took place just hours after this. this was an air strike in syria, on the capital, damascus. iranians were killed here. iran said this wouldn't go unanswered. president of iran blamed israel for this. israel hasn't commented. more comments from prime minister benjamin netanyahu. he said again israel should retain security control over all the palestinian territories, that's gaza and the west bank. he said this condition was "contrary" to a future palestinian state being established.

his comments on saturday defied pressure on his government from the us and others to commit to a two—state solution. 0ur correspondent injerusalem, mark lowen, gave us his analysis of benjamin netanyahu's comments. well, once again, it puts him at odds with the us and many of israel's western allies, lewis, who have been increasingly exasperated by his repeated public rejections and rebuttals of attempts by israel's western allies to restart diplomatic talks on a long—term sustainable solution that can end these constant, endless cycles of violence between the israelis and palestinians. the hope was that the current gaza conflict could sort of shake both sides into talks on a meaningful two—state solution. benjamin netanyahu has repeated throughout his political career that he's opposed to that and he's now saying that very publicly, as he's under pressure from israel's western allies that are trying to get it to rein in its offensive in gaza.

he's under pressure from here in israel, from families of the hostages, for example, who are saying that he needs to do more to try to bring the remaining 130 or so hostages back home. and so he has in a sense sort of staked his political survival on his hardline anti—palestinian statehood position, which he believes chimes with the majority of israelis at the moment, and israeli public opinion, which is still too traumatised by the attacks in october to countenance the idea of a future palestinian state next door. and mark, bring us up to date with the latest on the ground there in gaza. well, the focus of the fighting is still in the south of gaza, around khan yunis, where israeli defence forces believe that some of the top hamas leaders are holed up in or probably beneath that city. but actually, there has been renewed fighting in the north as well around jabalia, where it is believed that as israel was trying to move its tanks and troops further south,

palestinian fighters tried to seize an opening there to launch renewed attacks. now, we're almost three months into the ground invasion of gaza. and yet israel, whose army is vastly superior, of course, in equipment and numbers to hamas, is still facing significant challenges and significant resistance across gaza. and that is, coupled with the fact that israel has yet to capture or kill any senior hamas leader in the north of gaza is kind of fuelling frustration here that israel has not yet achieved its war aims. israel is also saying that it has discovered another tunnel in southern gaza in khan younis, that is 830 metres long, was booby trapped, has blast doors and also, crucially, they say, contained cells. and they believe, the israelis believe that that tunnel was being used to hold around 20 israeli hostages. they've released photos of the tunnel with mattresses and children's drawings as well. but they say that when they discovered the tunnel, no israeli hostages were there.

0ur our thanks to mark for that. the uk defence secretary, grant shapps, was asked about mr netanyahu's comments rejecting the idea of a palestinian state. he's been speaking to my colleague laura kuennsberg. i think it's very disappointing that benjamin netanyahu has said that. it's not in some senses a surprise, he's spent his entire political career against a two—state solution. but the point is, which other route is there to seriously resolve this? palestinians deserve a sovereign state. israel deserves to have the ability to defend itself, its own security, in other words. and unless you pursue a two—state solution, i really don't see that there is another solution. now, you will get a lot of different views within the israeli government, of course. it is a rainbow coalition. so we very much distinguish between the views of individuals and our overall support for israel

as a country. live now to nawaf al—thani, qatar's former director of defence intelligence operations and defence attache to the united states. hejoins us from doha. thank you very much for coming on the programme. thank you very much for coming on the programme-— thank you very much for coming on the programme. thank you for having me. can i the programme. thank you for having me- can i get — the programme. thank you for having me- can i get your— the programme. thank you for having me. can i get your response - the programme. thank you for having me. can i get your response to - me. can i get your response to benjamin — me. can i get your response to benjamin netanyahu _ me. can i get your response to benjamin netanyahu being - me. can i get your response to l benjamin netanyahu being urged me. can i get your response to - benjamin netanyahu being urged for many allies to embrace a two state solution, but not doing so?- solution, but not doing so? well, lewis, as solution, but not doing so? well, lewis. as we _ solution, but not doing so? well, lewis, as we can _ solution, but not doing so? well, lewis, as we can see, _ solution, but not doing so? well, i lewis, as we can see, unfortunately the neo—conservative government led by netanyahu are just digging their heels in. they are not listening to the families of the hostages by continuing negotiations that qatar has sponsored in the past and wants to continue to sponsor, and doesn't want to listen to its biggest ally, the united states, to recognise a solution to this problem. but it seems like sticking in place may be the only thing that they understand, which is unfortunate. so the only thing that they understand, which is unfortunate.— which is unfortunate. so how do you look at getting _ which is unfortunate. so how do you look at getting towards _ which is unfortunate. so how do you look at getting towards a _ which is unfortunate. so how do you look at getting towards a peaceful i

look at getting towards a peaceful resolution to this if a two state solution, a palestinian state, is seemingly not on the table? well, i think the israeli _ seemingly not on the table? well, i think the israeli government - seemingly not on the table? well, i think the israeli government should start with the recognition that there is no solution that can be resolved politically. right now we're a widening conflict. three months ago we were speculating, now it is a reality, and in syria and in pakistan to a certain extent in addition to what is going on in the red sea and yemen, obviously this thing will only get out of hand, and it will be another forever war. we will aet it will be another forever war. we will net to it will be another forever war. we will get to the wider aspects in just a moment, but i want to ask you because you did mention it, we know the crucial role in negotiations that qatar has been playing, particularly around the issue of hostages. is there any update there at all that you can give us? qatar continues to _ at all that you can give us? qatar continues to seek _ at all that you can give us? qatar continues to seek a _ at all that you can give us? qatar continues to seek a peaceful - continues to seek a peaceful resolution, and the spokesperson for

the ministry for foreign affairs just yesterday reiterated that point, that qatar is willing to move ahead, but it needs willing partners, and the israelis are bent on the military aspect of this, which hasn't achieved its goals, unfortunately.— which hasn't achieved its goals, unfortunately. lets move to the wider potential _ unfortunately. lets move to the wider potential regional - unfortunately. lets move to the i wider potential regional problems here, because we havejust wider potential regional problems here, because we have just seen that attacks in iraq on an air base used by the us, we have seen attacks in lebanon, elsewhere too. how worried are you about a real escalation? the attacks are you about a real escalation? tue: attacks themselves are you about a real escalation? tte: attacks themselves have are you about a real escalation? tt2 attacks themselves have happened before, so it is not new. the escalation is what is worrying to me. it is worrying to see the escalator re—events are related to what is happening in gaza. this is starting to become a regional conflict, and unless everyone in the

region, including israel, including hamas, and part of the united states, qatar and others, work together to resolve this issue, unfortunately all of us, the west and east, will be victims of this. and i want to ask you on one specific point exactly on that. you said about people needing to resolve this. the us will play a huge role in that and its relationship with israel. what do you rate at the moment the level of influence that the us actually has over benjamin netanyahu? the us actually has over ben'amin netanyahu?— the us actually has over ben'amin netan ahu? ~ , ., , netanyahu? well, it is a precarious situation. obviously _ netanyahu? well, it is a precarious situation. obviously this _ netanyahu? well, it is a precarious situation. obviously this is - netanyahu? well, it is a precarious situation. obviously this is an - situation. obviously this is an election year, and the biden administration has to way a lot of political questions. but the answer is always at the closest ally is america, and the most influence over israel out of all the nations will be the americans and america, so i

think the americans shouldn't underestimate their influence, even in an election year. nawaf al—thani, thank you so much for coming on the programme. thank ou. the scottish first minister and leader of the scottish national party leader, humza yousaf, has said some people place a different value on palestinian and muslim lives. he was asked by the bbc�*s laura kuennsberg why he's one of the few uk politicians to call for a ceasefire in gaza. i think there is just a lack of leadership and moral courage, if i'm being frank, and this is a classic example of where i think nobody understands what keir starmer stands for. why has he not shown the appropriate leadership on the issue of gaza? and i don't know the answer to that. but i don't know how anybody can see that level of death and destruction and not call for an immediate halt and an immediate ceasefire. do you think sometimes people place a different value on palestinian lives? 0n muslim lives?

without a shadow of doubt. if you talk to anybody who is palestinian, you speak to many people in the muslim community, they feel that palestinian blood is very cheap. laura kuenssberg asking the questions there. let's take you live again to gaza. this is the live position right now, the view there over to southern gaza, i believe thatis over to southern gaza, i believe that is close to the rafah crossing there. the latest news from gaza, there. the latest news from gaza, the israeli offensive there continues, but the news from the hamas run health ministry is that now more than 25,000 palestinians have been killed in the conflict since october the 7th, and on top of that, 62,681 and now injured in that conflict. leaving the middle east.

a new storm, storm isha, is forecast to hit uk any time now. two amber wind warnings will be in place until monday morning covering most of the uk. winds of up to 80 mph are expected, eight flood warnings already in place across england. 0ur weather presenter matt taylor joined me with an update on how storm isha is progressing. at the moment it is out in the atlantic. i will show you the satellite imagery. you will see a clump of cloud which started in the us, it brought a lot of heavy snowfall to the north—east united states, but it is now approaching us in the uk and ireland, which will be hit by strong rain and winds rather than snow, it will approach today. so that is when it will hit and where it is. what is the likely timeframe as it comes across the uk? most of the uk is going to see rain develop during the rest of today, coupled with snowmelt, we have had a lot of snow recently,

there could be flooding around. you can see the area of low pressure, it is deepening past the north of scotland. the peak winds in the uk will be through tonight and into the early hours of monday morning, so it will be a night feature which is good news in some respects, they will not be as many people on the roads. unlike the storms we saw over christmas, this one, the strong winds will be felt quite widely. 50 or 60 miles an hour across the whole uk. but for some, particularly across parts of the north and west, where the met office have and the weather warnings in place, these are the areas that are most likely to feel the impact where we could see winds up to 80 miles an hour. in western scotland beyond midnight, we could see winds above 90 miles an hour which could have a big impact on what we will see through tomorrow. in terms of the impact, when you get wind speeds up to that speed, what are we looking at in terms of potential damage or travel disruption? in the areas marked with the amber warnings are the ones at greatest risk of storm damage. some structural damage.

we have the potential for power cuts, there could be problems with mobile phone signals if masts come down. and the added flooding, the rain with the snowmelt on top of it, and into the morning with all of that around, a busy monday morning rush hour, we could see some travel problems just about anywhere across the uk. probably worse felt across parts of scotland, which could experience the strongest of the winds through the night. we have had it for a while, but the naming of storms, this is storm isha, how does that come about, how does that name come about? three meteorological agencies, irish, dutch and uk come together, they set out an a to z of names, male and female. and it's up to each office, they think there will be a storm which will impact their neck of the woods, they give it a name. thank you. let's get more from our correspondent esyllt carr, who's in the newsroom.

you have been taking a quick look at the potential disruption. what is the potential disruption. what is the figure? ibis the potential disruption. what is thefiiure? a �* ., the potential disruption. what is the figure?— the figure? as britain prepares for storm isha. _ the figure? as britain prepares for storm isha, some _ the figure? as britain prepares for storm isha, some of— the figure? as britain prepares for storm isha, some of the _ the figure? as britain prepares for l storm isha, some of the destruction has already started. train companies are already warning passengers to expect disruption today. that is particularly on services later on and this evening as the wind picks up, speed restrictions are likely to put in place. avanti west coast has gone as far as to tell its passengers not to travel at all today if they can avoid it because of the changes it has had to make to its timetable. some services in scotland will be ending earlier this evening, and southeastern trains will cancel tomorrow's early morning trains in and out of london to give a chance to clear any debris of the tracks. ferry services are also facing difficulties, several sailings across the irish sea have been cancelled, and there is disruption on services between the

uk and amsterdam. if you are flying, you should also stay across development. british airways has had to cancel flights, and it says along with other airlines it has had to make adjustments to its schedule. gatwick and heathrow are not reporting any particular disruption at the moment, but of course it is airlines that control the flights themselves. the company behind glasgow, aberdeen and southampton airports is warning passengers to check with their airlines if they are planning to fly in these difficult conditions. for drivers, the advice is also to take care. the highways authorities in all four uk nations are putting out warnings for drivers, especially for later this evening when the high winds could pose particular risks to hdvs and also to vehicles like caravans and motor bikes. as we heard from matt, the conditions are expected to worsen later this evening, and a lot will depend on whereabouts in the uk you are, but the advice for anyone travelling today to check the conditions before you set off.

esyllt, thank you for that. let's see what is happening out there right away. we can go to scotland now. these are live pictures of the shetland islands. you can see it is starting to get a little more difficult, those conditions out there. we are expecting 80 mph winds in some places, widespread warnings across the uk. this is scotland, clearly the north of the uk, but it is actually fairly rare, the whole of the country pretty much being told to brace and expect winds and rain. let's take a look now at the airports. this is heathrow airport. you can just slightly see it figgbng you can just slightly see it jiggling around, a slightly nervous landing for some of the passengers there. no doubt the pilot completely in control. we have got to see it

land, make sure everything is ok, there we go, never in doubt! good job all round to the crew there, thatis job all round to the crew there, that is what we want to see. so it is a day that things are expected to get a bit worse, a bit more rain, a bit more wind, and there will be plenty more details on the live page on the bbc website of course, bringing you the latest on things like the travel disruption, the trains, that we were just getting from esyllt there, and also the wind in the rain as we headed to russia on monday morning, disruption expected. we will leave the uk and head to the us now. us republican party race to choose its presidential candidate. donald trump and his closest republican rival nikki haley are criticising each other. they are campaigning ahead of the

new hampshire primary on tuesday. ms haley questioned the former president's mental fitness after he confused her with the democrat nancy pelosi during a campaign speech. let's ta ke let's take a listen to trump and then nikki haley. nikki haley is in charge of security. we offered her 10,000 people, soldiers, national guard, 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're just not as sharp as you used to be. this is not personal. this you all know i voted for him twice. i was proud to serve in his administration. this is the fact that we have a country in disarray and a world on fire and we need to know that we are not giving our kids options of two 80—year—olds going into a presidency. lets ta ke lets take a look at the polls specifically for new hampshire. mr trump has a significant edge.

53 to 36 percent. ron desantis is polling atjust 7%. i've been speaking to andrew rudalevige, a professor of government at bowdoin college in maine, and an honorary professor affiliated with university college london's center on us politics. he explained the state of play. at this point nikki haley is the last woman standing, ron desantis is making his last stand in south carolina which is the next big stop on the electoral calendar. at this point you see the themes that are beginning to play out as trump tries to assert his dominance and wipe the slate clean before super tuesday in march and haley tries to establish herself as the non—trump candidate and took advantage of her 52nd birthday yesterday, noting the contrast in her age between herself and trump and president biden. remind us of the whole process here for selection, and why these specific mini campaigns within the

campaign matter so much. right, well, we started in iowa last week, that is a caucus, which means that people go out to a sort of central meeting place at night and supposedly talk about their choices and come to some conclusion. new hampshire is a primary where normal election, the polls are open all day and people go and vote so the turnout will be a lot higher in new hampshire and then it was in iowa. they are very different states. the primary process has developed over the last 100 years but became really important after the 1960s with a press towards giving ordinary people a bigger choice in the selection process. it's not very well organised, states decide when they want to hold their primary, new hampshire has traditionally been first, in fact they have a state law which says they have to be the first primary so that tradition continues on the republican side,

though the democrats have been trying to undermine that recently, they argue that new hampshire is not very diverse, it is small, very very white, very rural and they think there should be a different way of doing things but that has not caught on. so we are where we are in terms of the actual process. is there anyone predicting anything other than a trump victory when all is said and done? i think there are a lot of people in the so—called "never trump" camp which will hope for a haley victory which will show she is a clear alternative. the polling has been pretty good so far in this campaign, it's likely trump will win. a close second finish by haley is what her camp are pushing is an expectation, and that would establish her as the leading non—trump candidate, both for her and ron desantis what they are both hoping for it to be able to stick around in the race long enough that trump implodes in some way. from his legal troubles, most likely, that they can be around for example if he is convicted of a felony at some point,

perhaps they can be there to pick up the pieces and grab the nomination. otherwise it seems unlikely that they can beat him head—to—head. trump's rally last night featured a lot of greatest hits as they usually do but he brought out a lot of south carolina officials, that is haley's home state, she was governor there, trump is trying to show that he is more popular than she is even in her home state. and that is his calling card, that he controls the republican base, the republican party had been remade really in his image, and everyone else can just give up. that doesn't tell us much about the november election. we are talking about a minority of the american electorate, perhaps, but nonetheless a loud one as we saw. 0ur our thanks to andrew rudalevige for that. i'm going to take you to the israel lebanon border now because we have a report in from the reuters news agency in the last couple of hours, this newsjust reaching us

here. two people were killed, several others injured, in a suspected israeli drone strike that targeted a car in southern lebanon. writers here are quoting security sources. they go on to say that ambulances rushed to the site which was near a lebanese army checkpoint. it was not clear who was targeted in the strike. that is according to people there and security sources there. so, reuters news agency reporting at least two people were killed and several others injured in an suspected israeli drone strike on sunday that targeted a car in southern lebanon. those are all the details we have at the moment and we will be chasing down more details on that for you. i'm lewis vaughan jones, this is bbc news.

hello. widespread disruption is possible across the country through tonight and into monday as we see storm isha cross the uk. the met office has now issued amber warnings for wind across most parts of the country. heavy rain an added feature which, with snow melt, could lead to some flooding in the north and the west. storm isha is already approaching. the strongest of the winds will be tonight, but even through the rest of the daylight we will see gales develop in many areas, especially in the west. extensive rain through scotland, parts of northern england, wales and towards the south—west later. a temporary easing of the rain in northern ireland. driest conditions in east anglia, the south—east, the channel islands and also across shetland. temperatures of ten to 13 degrees, much higher than they have been, and that will also add to the snow melt and the flood risk. but as we see the day out and go into the night, this is when the winds will really ramp up. as you can see, met office amber warnings are in force across most parts of the uk. widespread gusts of 50, 60, 70mph. through parts of northern england,

scotland and northern ireland we could touch 90mph. that's because you're closer to the centre of storm isha as it crosses to the north through tonight. overnight, the strongest of the winds will be felt widely across the country, sweeping rain across all parts. some clearer skies and a few showers into monday morning. temperatures lower as they go through into the morning, around six to 11 degrees, but still not too chilly. the winds will have eased for monday morning, but the impact will still be likely felt. disruption possible across many parts of the uk. the latest travel news will be found, of course, on your bbc local radio station and on bbc breakfast from 6.00am. into monday itself, still a blustery day across the board, but with more sunshine around, a scattering of showers. in scotland and northern ireland though showers will be frequent, mainly of rain, but some hail and hill snow mixed in. fewer showers for england and wales, which means some of you will stay dry through the day. temperatures are not going to climb much as we go through monday — around seven to 11 celsius through the afternoon, so a fresher feel, by and large. that will be followed

by a cooler night. a chance of a frost in one or two spots, especially in the east. the next area of low pressure spills its way in for tuesday. winds on this not as strong as isha, but with more heavy rain, increased risk of flooding, some snow for a time on the scottish hills and winds could reach gale force with 60, 70mph gusts possible in the west of scotland. the end of the week, though, looks a little bit quieter.

this is bbc news. the headlines: more than 25,000 people have been killed since the war with israel began, according to the health ministry in gaza. the us blames iranian—backed militants in iraq for a ballistic missile strike on an airbase used by american troops. a powerful storm is forecast to hit the uk with gusts of wind of up to 80mph and a risk to life. this is the scene at the moment on the israel—lebanon border. there on the israel—lebanon border. are reports of two p being there are reports of two people being killed along that border region and several others injured to enact suspected israeli drone strike

that targeted a car in southern lebanon, so the lebanon side of that border. ambulances rushed to the site. it was near a lebanese army checkpoints. at this point it is not clear who was the intended target of the strike. that is according to security sources speaking to the reuters news agency. we are hearing at least two people were killed in a car in southern lebanon and others were injured, two. this is the israel boundary with gaza. this is the rafah crossing. we have had details released by the hamas run health ministry in gaza, they say since the 7th of october, since the war started more than

25,000 palestinians have been killed. there number is 25,105. they also said that 62,681 people have been injured. israel does not recognise those numbers, it doesn't recognise those numbers, it doesn't recognise the statistics produced by hamas, it is of course prescribed as a terrorist organisation, the uk and the us included. but they are saying that 25,105 palestinians have now been killed. in iraq, there has been an attack on an airbase used by the us. the us says iranian—backed militants were behind the attack. multiple ballistic missiles and rockets were fired. some were intercepted by air defences. let's look at where this happened.

this is the al—assad base. at least one iraqi service member was wounded, and a number of americans are being assessed for head injuries. attacks on us forces in iraq by militias linked to iran have increased since the gaza war began. this latest incident was hours after an air strike on syria's capital, damascus. iranians were killed here. iran said this wouldn't go unanswered. the president of iran blamed israel for this. israel hasn't commented. here's fawaz gerges, professor of international relations at the london school of economics, who explained the significance of the airbase attacks in iraq. this is part of the reverberations of the gaza war. you have attacks in iraq. attacks on the red sea. attack on the northern front

between hezbollah and israel. you have israel basically killing top iranian leaders and hezbollah military commanders. you have the houthis in yemen, a pro—iranian basically government in sanaa, attacking shipping in the red sea. the big point here is that the middle east is extremely volatile, more volatile and more unstable than any moment in its modern history. and the longer the conflict in gaza continues, ifear that the region is heading towards a wider conflict between israel and its allies and iran and its partners. and is that a very real worry of yours now that we're having these proxy battles, but a direct conflict between israel and iran? if you ask me, it's really 50% plus.

what's happening now, we're seeing really more escalation by the hour. i think israeli prime minister is besieged at home. he has failed to achieve his military objectives in gaza. he's pushing hezbollah and iran to the limits. frequently, israel is killing top iranian and hezbollah military commanders and generals in syria and lebanon. so far, neither hezbollah nor iran want all out war. but the question is, can iran afford to bleed so much without responding? it would really take a major miscalculation to basically ignite a wider fire. i mean, the question, lewis, here, the war has expanded. the war is escalating. the question is, will the low intensity conflict that we are witnessing in lebanon, in the red sea, in iraq, in syria, basically remain a low intensity conflict or escalate

into a wider regional conflict? this is the challenge and i fear, unless the conflict in gaza ends, that the chances of a wider conflict really increase by the day. i see. well, let's move to the direct conflict then. israel, gaza. what do you make of netanyahu's apparent refusal to embrace the idea of a two—state solution? look, lewis, i mean, are you surprised? are we surprised? netanyahu has spent most of his political career opposing the establishment of a palestinian state. in fact, he has repeatedly said that he feels proud of the fact that he sabotaged the establishment of a palestinian state. what's new about this is that the timing of netanyahu's announcement, the timing is very important because he's trying to tell the israeli public, look, i'm the only strong leader who can defy biden and my western allies,

i can really say no. and also he realises the american presidential elections had just begun and neither biden nor the republicans really will exert any pressure during the presidential elections because, look, and i probably am exaggerating here, lewis, netanyahu is a manipulator in chief of the american political system. he realises both biden and the republicans are in a bind in the next year. and that's why he's pushing very hard because his political career is at stake. once the guns fall silent in gaza, he and everyone in israel knows there will be public reckoning against netanyahu. well, just on that, on exactly that point, then, if an apparent rejection of a two—state solution by netanyahu and his own politicalfuture is bound up in the end of a conflict, how do you see this ending? well, that's why. .. i mean, i think there

is a race against time between the status quo and escalation, military escalation. the americans and the western powers, in particular the uk and germany, are trying to really give israel the time and space to complete the mission in gaza. but the mission is almost impossible, impossible to eliminate hamas. hamas is not a conventional army. it's deeply anchored in its society. but what's happening now is that netanyahu is really pushing very hard to basically provoke hezbollah and iran and prolong the war. and that's why the americans are very terrified that this really could easily become, gaza could become a time bomb that destroys the existing whatever remains of the political system in the middle east. i will take you back to the israeli

border with lebanon two people were killed in a suspected israeli drone strike that targeted a car in southern lebanon. we got those details from the reuters news agency and i had just provided an update, saying that to hezbollah fighters were killed by a direct hit by an israeli drone in southern lebanon. security sources telling the reuters news agency that there two people that were killed in a car in southern lebanon where two hezbollah fighters killed in a direct hit from an israeli drone on their vehicle in southern lebanon. the bbc has not confirmed those details. the bbc has not confirmed those details. pakistan and iran have spoken of the need to normalise relations at the end of a week in which each country carried out deadly air

strikes against the other. the skirmishes targeted areas close to the border, where local people say they fear for the future. bbc urdu's sahar baloch has more from turbat in southern balochistan. this is turbat city of balochistan province. the situation in this particular city is tense. it is closer to the city of iran, which was recently targeted by pakistan in response to iranian strikes. for two consecutive years, pakistan is not only facing an economic crisis, but also a political one at home. there's been an increase in militant attacks across the country and also souring of relations with another neighbouring country, afghanistan. amid all of this came the tit for tat strikes between iran and pakistan. now the question is, who are the baloch groups the two countries claim to be fighting? the baloch are the indigenous people of the balochistan region who are split among the iranian province of southeastern and baluchistan, the pakistani province of baluchistan and a small area of afghanistan. the insurgent groups in pakistani province of balochistan and the militants

in the southeastern province of iran claim to fight for the larger autonomy of their respective countries. the people on both sides of the border are caught in a war they cannot control. experts say that social and political deprivation in both countries has fuelled armed resistance, which may increase due to the recent strikes. people on both sides are not only linked by marriage and similar cultural values, but also barter trade. this border provides livelihood to millions of people in both the countries, and any form of closure of this border would mean starvation for people. there are reports of two regional countries trying to prevent further escalation between iran and pakistan. also, recent statements shared by the foreign offices of both the countries suggest that there is a willingness to move towards dialogue rather than confrontation. this recent development is seen as a sign of relief by the people of the two countries. there's been an explosion at a gas export terminal at a baltic sea port in russia.

the fire happened at a depot owned by novatek, russia's biggest exporter of liquified natural gas, in ust—luga, 110 kilometres west of st petersburg near the estonian border. the cause of the fire isn't known, but local media have reported that drones had been seen in the area. both russia and ukraine have used drones in the conflict. six people including two russian nationals thought to be on board a russian registered medical plane travelling from india to moscow via uzbekistan has disappeared. taliban officials said they had reports of a plane crash in the remote region and a search team has been dispatched to the region.

we're keeping across the weather for you, and live picture across the uk. let's show you these live pictures from the shetland islands off the coast of scotland. we are expecting winds of 80 miles an hour, potentially causing some damage and problems to travel. potentially causing some damage and problems to travel. we can also show you these live pictures from heathrow airport in london, where windy conditions are expected throughout the day, posing some challenges for planes trying to land. they have been a bit wobbly coming into land, i don't think that is a technical term! we can watch this one land. this is heathrow airport.

trains disrupted, lots of rain expected and, smootherjuly, the touch down there at heathrow airport. we are keeping across all the different parts of the uk experiencing storm isha. we'll keep you updated on the storm on our website. we will have all the latest as the wind started to hit different parts of the country, ferry services cancelled and delayed as well, of course. all the details as they happened there on the live page in the uk. uk police say they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths of four members of the same family in norfolk. the bodies of two girls, a woman and a man were found at a house in costessey on friday. norfolk police has referred itself

to the independent watchdog, saying it didn't respond to a 999 call from the property. greg mckenzie reports. 45—year—old bartlomiej kuczynski, seen here in this photo, was found dead at the property near norwich on friday morning. the two young girls who died at the same house are believed to be his daughters. police say a fourth person, a woman aged 36, who also died, had been visiting but did not live there. police have revealed at 6.00am on friday morning a man called 999 from the property but officers were not deployed. an hour later, a member of the public contacted them. the police responded by forcing entry where the gruesome discovery of the four bodies were made. officers say all four people who died were found with injuries. the local vicar says

there is an overriding feeling of shock and sadness in the community. we wanted to do something that provided people an opportunity to come together. i've been the vicar here forjust over a year. it's a very close knit community and providing an opportunity for people to come here, light a candle if they'd like to, to pray, to be on their own, to talk to me or someone else if they'd like to. certainly a lot of people, i think, may value the opportunity to talk and look to support one another. norfolk police has referred itself to the independent office for police conduct. it is the second referral it has made to the iopc following the deaths. its officers were also called to the same house on the 14th of december as part of a missing persons enquiry and said that particular investigation would now be re—examined. detectives investigating the deaths have told the bbc they are not

looking for anyone else in connection with the incident. postmortem examinations will be held today to establish cause of deaths for the man and woman, followed by the two young girls on wednesday. greg mckenzie, bbc news. our reporter maria veronese is following developments. well, as you can see, there is still a very big police presence here in costessey. they are still investigating the deaths of four members of the same family from here. we are starting to hear a little bit more about what happened at the end of last week. the police have told us that at six o'clock on friday morning, they received a 999 call from a man from the house. they apparently did not respond to that initial call. then a member of the public

called an hour later at around seven o'clock, worried about the welfare of the people inside the house. police came at 7:15am, they made a forced entry, and they discovered the bodies of a 45—year—old man, a 36—year—old woman, and two young girls. that man has been named locally as bartlomiej kuczynski. it is believed he lived in the house with the two young girls and they were his daughters. the woman apparently was visiting. norfolk police has referred itself to the police watchdog on two counts, the first focusing on that emergency call, and why they apparently did not respond to it. and the second relates to a missing persons report that they investigated on the 14th of december. so the watchdog will be looking into both of those counts. a postmortem examination is starting today to determine

the cause of the deaths, and flowers and messages are starting to be laid here outside of the cordon. people here this queens hills estate understandably very shocked and disbelieving at what has happened. i have got a friend who lives there, she tells me that it's normally a really friendly place to live, with neighbours pulling together during times of need like covid and of course now. while christmas may be a distant memory for many, the armenian community injerusalem has just held its celebration, but this year it has been overshadowed by the war in gaza and a new threat to the survival of the community because of a contested real estate deal that could see them lose 25% of their land in their ancient quarter of the old city. our middle east correspondent, yolande knell reports. this is a christmas like no other forjerusalem's armenians. their holiday is always at a unique time, and this year it's been

marked in an unusual way, with a sit—in in a makeshift tent. for two months now, members of the 2000—strong armenian community have been guarding this plot around the clock. they faced bulldozers and attacks by armed thugs since they pressured their church leader to go back on a land deal. he'd secretly signed it with a jewish—israeli developer. this may look like a car park, but it's incredibly valuable real estate in a place of huge religious significance. and it's now at the heart of a closely fought battle. armenians have been in the holy city since the fourth century. activists point out that the murky lease agreement could now mean losing homes and a seminary. a quarter of armenian property here. everything was put in danger with this deal. whoever wants to take away our rights and endanger our

presence and our lives here, we will stand up against them and defend our rights till the end. sacred to three religions, jerusalem's old city, with its holy sites, was captured and occupied by israel five decades ago, and it's at the core of its conflict with the palestinians. jewish settlements are widely seen as illegal under international law. but settler groups are committed to taking over more and more of the land here. it's alleged they have links to the armenian takeover. creating a settlement in this area is part of very far reaching aims of settler organisations who basically want to jew—idise completely the old city and again with their eyes on the temple mount, al—aqsa mosque, and that's very concerning. the armenians have now begun a legal challenge in the israeli courts to try to hold onto their land. but as the community comes together,

they know their struggle may go on for years. yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem. intense fighting has been reported in recent weeks in ethiopia's north—western amhara province between local militias and government forces. despite the threat of violence, many orthodox christians are celebrating an annual religious festival in the historic city of gondar. held at a pool built four centuries ago, the event marks the baptism ofjesus. our correspondent kalkidan yibeltal has been attending the festivities. the epiphany holidays include three days of festivities observed among followers of orthodox christianity, and we're now in the final stages.

these faithful are escorting replicas of the ark of the covenant or tugboat, as they are called here, back into their respective parishes. after the tugboats spent days near a 17th century baptism post, the which are found in every ethiopian parish, are said to have inscriptions of the ten commandments. the holy days themselves mark the baptism ofjesus christ on the riverjordan, and the main event takes place on the second day, where many of the faithful, particularly among young people, leap into the pool in symbolic baptisms after priest and right prayers are held. in this historic city of gondar, home to magnificent unesco's registered castles, normally, tens of thousands attend this holy days, filling the streets with dancing and choir singing hymns. but this year, because of a violence that's been raging in northwestern ethiopia for months, far fewer people are attending. the holidays have significant

spiritual, cultural and economic value for the city and its residents. and many who are attending here told us that given armed clashes in recent weeks, they are happy that the holy days are happening at all. not to tip it has re—established communication with its tiny helicopter on mars. it was able to renew contact with the perseverance rover. ingenuity was on board the rover. ingenuity was on board the rover perseverance when it landed on mars in 2021 and has carried out dozens of missions to scout for the rover that is looking for ancient signs of life. i will take you back to these live

pictures showing gaza. this is southern gaza close to the rafah crossing. you can see the black smoke in the sky there. this is in the last few hours or so, we have had the latest numbers from the hamas run health ministry, claiming that 25,105 palestinians have now been killed in gaza since the 7th of october. the israeli authorities have in the past disputed the figures provided by hamas, but they don't provide any of their own. so the latest figures that we have there from the health ministry in casa run by hamas is that more than 25,000 palestinians have now been killed.

hello. widespread disruption is possible across the country through tonight and into monday as we see storm isha cross the uk. the met office has now issued amber warnings for wind across most parts of the country. heavy rain an added feature which, with snow melt, could lead to some flooding in the north and the west. storm isha is already approaching. the strongest of the winds will be tonight, but even through the rest of the daylight we will see gales develop in many areas, especially in the west. extensive rain through scotland, parts of northern england, wales and towards the south—west later. a temporary easing of the rain in northern ireland. driest conditions in east anglia, the south—east, the channel islands and also across shetland. temperatures of ten to 13 degrees, much higher than they have been, and that will also add to the snow melt and the flood risk. but as we see the day out and go into the night, this is when the winds will really ramp up. as you can see, met office amber warnings are in force across most parts of the uk. widespread gusts of 50, 60, 70mph. through parts of northern england, scotland and northern ireland

we could touch 90mph. that's because you're closer to the centre of storm isha as it crosses to the north through tonight. overnight, the strongest of the winds will be felt widely across the country, sweeping rain across all parts. some clearer skies and a few showers into monday morning. temperatures lower as they go through into the morning, around six to 11 degrees, but still not too chilly. the winds will have eased for monday morning, but the impact will still be likely felt. disruption possible across many parts of the uk. the latest travel news will be found, of course, on your bbc local radio station and on bbc breakfast from 6.00am. into monday itself, still a blustery day across the board, but with more sunshine around, a scattering of showers. in scotland and northern ireland though showers will be frequent, mainly of rain, but some hail and hill snow mixed in. fewer showers for england and wales, which means some of you will stay dry through the day. temperatures are not going to climb much as we go through monday — around seven to 11 celsius through the afternoon, so a fresher feel, by and large.

that will be followed by a cooler night. a chance of a frost in one or two spots, especially in the east. the next area of low pressure spills its way in for tuesday. winds on this not as strong as isha, but with more heavy rain, increased risk of flooding, some snow for a time on the scottish hills and winds could reach gale force with 60, 70mph gusts possible in the west of scotland. the end of the week, though, looks a little bit quieter.

live from london, this is bbc news.

more than 25,000 people have been killed since the war with israel began, according to the hamas—run health ministry in gaza. the us blames iranian—backed militants in iraq for a ballistic missile strike on an airbase used by american troops. widespread warnings in place across the uk as storm isha is forecast to bring rain and wind of up to 80mph. and the fifa president calls for stadium bans forfans and automatic forfeits for teams whose supporters shout racist abuse. hello. i'm lewis vaughan jones. welcome to the programme. we are going to go straight to gaza.