hello, i'm sarah campbell. the future of the main un agency working in the palestinian territories has become highly uncertain, after israel presented evidence that some of its staff and resources were involved in the attacks by hamas last october. israel has called for the head of the organisation, philippe lazzarini, to resign. several countries have suspended funding for unrwa. mr lazzarini says that is shocking and something which threatens the ongoing humanitarian work in gaza. we'll look at how these developments could affect the people of gaza in the short and long term, but we begin our coverage with this report from our correspondent injerusalem, mark lowen. crushed from the air. lives, homes, families,

and now the very mission set up to help gaza's desperate is taking a hit, too — the un agency for palestinian refugees, or unrwa, firing several employees for alleged involvement in hamas�* assault on israel. a body set up to protect accused of attack. britain and a handful of other countries have now paused theirfunding. the foreign office said it was appalled by claims of complicity in what it called a heinous act of terrorism. hamas stormed israel on october 7th, killing more than 1,200 people and abducting at least 240. israeli intelligence has reportedly passed on material said to show the participation of unrwa staff and the use of its vehicles and facilities. its government has seized on the allegations, as the world remembers another massacre. translation: it was proven on international holocaust i remembrance day what we've

been saying for years, that the unrwa employees are collaborators with the terrorist organisation, hamas, and that the un has become not only a place where the existence of the state of israel is delegitimised, but also a place where employees are physically collaborating in the extermination of israel. the un, which has frequently batted away past israeli criticism, says it's horrified by the news, and will ensure any unrwa employee shown to have participated or abetted what transpired on the 7th of october, or in any other criminal activity, be terminated immediately and referred for potential criminal prosecution. but as israel's offensive intensifies, driving 80% of gazans from their homes, the un plays a vital role there, and, say some, a mission with 30,000 staff, shouldn't be tarred by the violations of a few. it certainly looks as if there is cause to be concerned

about the actions of some of the members of unrwa, the un relief and works agency, but that does not, and norshould it, impugn the entire agency and all the body of work that they're doing. they have helped save literally thousands of lives in gaza. they do important work. the worst attack in israel's history has left scars here that will last generations. and with trauma comes rage towards those who aided the aggressors, not the victims. israel has long accused the un of bias, anti—semitism and worse. another foreign minister has called unrwa the civilian arm of hamas and said it should not operate in gaza once the conflict ends. there is real anger here at these very serious allegations. but for a government increasingly under pressure, it's also an opportunity to bolster its argument. mark lowen, bbc news, jerusalem. let's just take a moment to explain the background to the un agency at the centre of these claims.

unrwa is the initialised name of the un's relief and works agency for palestinian refugees. it started its work in 1950 and says it provides essential services for the well—being, human development and protection of those people. this includes healthcare, education, social services, and infrastructure work. it has around 13,000 staff in gaza — almost all of them palestinians. its funding comes from un member states, the european union, and other governments and private organisations. in 2017, unrwa says the contributions amounted to more than $1.1 billion — much of which is spent in gaza and the west bank. so far, nine countries have suspended funding, inlcuding the us, the uk, canada, germany and australia. with me is said shehata,

from bbc arabic. thank you for talking to us. this came as a shock, these allegations emerged yesterday. take us through what the allegations are and in terms of who these people are. the allegations _ who these people are. tue: allegations brought who these people are. tte: allegations brought by the israeli officials that some employees by unwra were involved in the attacks of october seven conducted by hamas. involved how? some people facilitated, like using their vehicles to help some militants, and in addition to that one of the hostages upon being released she said she was being released she said she was being held in the house of someone working in unwra but how did she know that is still to be investigated. the third

thing is, some information that teachers in a unwra celebrated the attacks on october seven. the united nations workshop, unwra was shocked and they set “p unwra was shocked and they set up an investigation and fired the people involved in this. but they have to do a thorough investigation to see to what extent this happen and how this happened. in order to save the reputation of unwra. the investigation _ reputation of unwra. the investigation is _ reputation of unwra. the investigation is ongoing but it meant underfunding has been put on hold by many what impact will that have on what unwra does to help the people in gaza? tt does to help the people in gaza? ., , ., , gaza? it would be disastrous. since establishing _ gaza? it would be disastrous. since establishing itself- gaza? it would be disastrous. since establishing itself in - since establishing itself in 1949, since establishing itself in 1919, about 6 million people in jordan, lebanon, syria and west bank and gaza were helped.

13,000 from unwra work in gaza and they shelter hundreds, in school facilities. they provide medical, health, education, many things. as the head of unwra said, it would be irresponsible if you punish the whole organisation and the whole organisation and the whole society of people in need in gaza, especially as the situation is getting worse and worse, with less access to gaza. the investigation is going to be done so philippe lazzarini and officials say we need to wait. we fired the people but you should not punish the whole organisation which has done such good work. the national security council co—ordinator said we should not

punish because they have saved the lives of thousands of people in gaza so it should be put into consideration and into context. ., ~ , ., put into consideration and into context. ., ~ �* , context. thank you. i'm sure we will aet context. thank you. i'm sure we will get a _ context. thank you. i'm sure we will get a lot _ context. thank you. i'm sure we will get a lot more _ context. thank you. i'm sure we will get a lot more reaction - context. thank you. i'm sure we will get a lot more reaction on i will get a lot more reaction on that story for the day. meanwhile, we've been hearing details of another planned high—profile negotiation on the future of more than 130 hostages still held by hamas. in an undisclosed location in france, at some point in the coming days, the head of the cia is expected to meet officials from israel, egypt and qatar. they're expected to work towards securing the release of hostages held by the group. many western governments consider hamas to be a terrorist organisation. live now to chicago and phil andrew, who's a former hostage negotiator at the fbi. thank you so much for talking to us. let's start with these negotiations. the cia over the next few days are going to be

holding these talks we understand. how do you hold negotiations with an organisation like hamas? what we have seen _ organisation like hamas? what we have seen is _ organisation like hamas? what we have seen is it _ organisation like hamas? what we have seen is it is _ organisation like hamas? what we have seen is it is largely - we have seen is it is largely done through intermediaries and leveraging kata and egypt and even third—party organisations thatis even third—party organisations that is largely how these negotiations were successful previously and now there is really a press by the us and other nations to try to get everyone back at the table and we have even heard reports there is a written document that they are trying to get agreement around. —— that they are trying to get agreement around. -- qatar. so this is a result of high and intense diplomacy to try resurrect the ceasefire and get an agreement and get these hostages release.— an agreement and get these hostages release. there was of course a lot _ hostages release. there was of course a lot of— hostages release. there was of course a lot of hype _ hostages release. there was of course a lot of hype when - hostages release. there was of| course a lot of hype when there was a ceasefire in november.

what other complications, the complexities of these and are you surprised his hostage situation, with such a large number of hostages/ what makes it probably so different to other scenarios — that this has gone on for such a long time? given that this is an act of hostility, there is currently a military campaign going on and, too, the command and control, this is i was bennett's question as to a hamas's ability to actually communicate with those holding the hostages. —— this has always been a question. so it adds to complications and, secondly, the inability to bring the parties to any agreement. israel's prosecution of this campaign, its military operations have really been prioritised over the hostage release attempts and it has

really complicated this. what do ou really complicated this. what do you know _ really complicated this. what do you know of _ really complicated this. what do you know of william - really complicated this. what| do you know of william burns and the cia. what will he bring to the table, skills, negotiations can he bring to progress this? t negotiations can he bring to progress this?— progress this? i think it is the full weight _ progress this? i think it is the full weight of- progress this? i think it is the full weight of the - progress this? i think it is the full weight of the us l the full weight of the us government and other international allies that are going to be pressuring israel to really take this moment seriously but also reminding folks that this didn't work. one of the things that is ambitious is moving beyond hostage release by giving vision and structured to what a 2—party state and what future, really the immediate future, for a ceasefire that might hold, so actually bringing some diplomacy and structure to the next steps of this, so i think this is a new, it is very

different to the agreement before which was just a ceasefire, and it is looking for some more permanent solutions which i think will be attractive to obviously both sides but may encourage hamas to be more engaged at the table. ., .,, , . ., to be more engaged at the table. ., , . ., table. how optimistic would you be that the _ table. how optimistic would you be that the hostage _ table. how optimistic would you be that the hostage situation i be that the hostage situation at least might be brought to an end soon?— end soon? frankly, i was very surprised _ end soon? frankly, i was very surprised we _ end soon? frankly, i was very surprised we were _ end soon? frankly, i was very surprised we were able - end soon? frankly, i was very surprised we were able to - end soon? frankly, i was very surprised we were able to get| surprised we were able to get an agreement initially and that will always create hope for the future. because we were able to do that complicated agreement with hostility is currently going on, i think we're in a similar situation that there but this really has the world's attention, that the dynamic has changed greatly, the life, international crisis, the humanitarian crisis that now exists there, and really it is

a recognition probably by hamas that they really cannot sustain this hostage taking effectively and really maintain the health of these hostages much longer, so this is really the time for an agreement like this but it requires great intensity, it is going to require a lot of pressure on the parties, including those third parties from qatar, egypt and other international bodies. fascinating talking to you. thank you for your time. let's check in on the race for the white house now, and the candidates have all been out on the campaign trail. first with donald trump, who held a rally in las vegas, in nevada. the republican caucus is being held there on thursday, february 8. mr trump is almost assured of victory, with his last notable republican rival, nikki haley, not competing there. he used his speech to outline his policies on migration

and security and america's border with mexico. we have no choice within moments of my inauguration will begin the largest domestic deportation in american history. cheering and applause. we have no choice because of this is not sustainable. nikki haley, who is mr trump's last remaining challenger, spent saturday campaigning in south carolina — the state where she used to be governor. she's been accusing the former president of being confused and has questioned his ability to serve in the white house, at the age of 77. because on election night, we were super excited. we had moved 25 weeks in the three weeks leading up to the election. and donald trump was totally unhinged. unhinged. cheering and applause

. he was a bit sensitive. and i think his _ . he was a bit sensitive. and i think his feelings _ . he was a bit sensitive. and i think his feelings were - . he was a bit sensitive. and i think his feelings were hurt i think his feelings were hurt but he threw a temper tantrum out on stage. seriously. through a total temper tantrum. —— threw a total temper tantrum. the polls suggest ms haley remains a long way behind mr trump. also campaigning in south carolina, president biden, who dropped in at a barber shop for this photo opportunity. he lost the state to donald trump in the 2020 presidential vote, but his speech made it clear he expects to face off with him again in november's vote. you're the reason donald trump is a defeated former president. cheering and applause you're the reason donald trump is a loser. you're the reason donald trump is a loser-— is a loser. and you're the reason — is a loser. and you're the reason we're _ is a loser. and you're the reason we're going - is a loser. and you're the reason we're going to - is a loser. and you're the | reason we're going to win is a loser. and you're the - reason we're going to win and beat him again. cheering and applause king charles has spent a second night in hospital in london, after undergoing a procedure for an enlarged prostate. he was visited on saturday

by queen camilla. charles is staying in the same hospital where the princess of wales is being cared for, following her abdominal surgery. with more on this, i'm joined by our correspondent simon jones. hello to you. i have to say i've been following the royals were quite a few years now and i don't remember ever so many hospital visits by members of the family. it has been quite an unusual stay this time. tt has and not least because we have two senior members of the royal family in the same hospital. in terms of king charles, i don't think the palace are going to give us a running commentary on his recovery and, in fact, the next time we hear from recovery and, in fact, the next time we hearfrom buckingham palace formally, maybe not until the king is discharged from hospital but we understand he may well spend the rest of the weekend there. what we do know, as you say, as there have been a number of visits. when

camilla visited the clinic, the private clinic in central london where the king and catherine are being treated. she actually made her third visit there yesterday. on friday, she attended the clinic and told staff that the king was doing well. i think the palace feel they are being open and honest as far as they can be with the public about the king's treatment and, in fact, the king himself is said to have been very pleased that now people are discussing this condition that he has been suffering from an enlarged prostate. and the nhs here in england say on the day it was announced that he was going to have treatment, its page on its website looking at problems with prostate was actually getting a hit every five seconds, it's certainly raising awareness, even while he still remains in hospital. has awareness, even while he still remains in hospital.— remains in hospital. as you sa , remains in hospital. as you say. the — remains in hospital. as you say, the global— remains in hospital. as you say, the global spotlight i say, the global spotlight really back on the london clinic where i'm sure you and many other journalists will clinic where i'm sure you and many otherjournalists will be throughout the day because

basically now we are waiting but the news from the inside seems to be good and everyone is doing fine and is now waiting for the two senior royals to leave and i think initially what catherine princess of wales was due to be between ten and 1a days and we are now on the 12th or 13th day and the king said initially one and the king said initially one and three nights in hospital so essentially, they could really leave any time? t essentially, they could really leave any time?— leave any time? i think in terms of _ leave any time? i think in terms of catherine - leave any time? i think in terms of catherine we - leave any time? i think in | terms of catherine we are leave any time? i think in i terms of catherine we are on day 13 now and initially when she was admitted to the clinic for surgery to her abdomen, it was said she was likely to spend a couple of weeks in hospital so it could be anytime now that she is discharged and also in terms of the king, as i said, perhaps he will spend the rest of today in hospital but we are expecting his discharge to be imminent soon. in terms of this, it may seem unusual to have two senior royals in one place at the same time but what it does is make the whole security situation rather

easier to deal with. also in terms of having two of them there, it does put the spotlight on this hospital and in the past, we've often seen royals very keen to leave hospital as soon as possible but what we've got to remember here in terms of catherine, it's clearly been a serious operation that she has undergone which means she is unlikely to undertake further public duties before easter. the king, you have to remember, although it's a relatively routine treatment that he has been going under, he is 75 years old and so medics and the royals themselves to make sure they are not discharged from hospital until they are fit and safe to do so.— safe to do so. simon jones, thank you — safe to do so. simon jones, thank you very _ safe to do so. simon jones, thank you very much. - the chairman of the uk's post office has stepped down from his role in what appears to be ongoing tensions following the horizon it scandal which saw hundreds of postmasters wrongly convicted of fraud. the government says that henry staunton agreed to leave by mutual consent but the post office says he was asked to go by the business secretary kemi badenoch. with the details, here's our political correspondent iain

watson. i think it is interesting that the government said, and i quote, actually they agreed to part their ways with mutual consent. that may well be mutual consent by the end of that conversation. the post office are telling me actually, he was asked to stand down and therefore, the person who instigated that call was undoubtedly the secretary of state, the appropriate government minister, in the first place and clearly, she wanted him to go. i mean, it is actually rare, i think, for someone who is chairman of an arm's—length body, although government—funded, to be called up on a saturday afternoon and persuaded to go so, clearly, this was the secretary of state who wants a change of leadership at the top of the post office. as we know, the government's currently now trying to push through legislation to compensate and indeed exonerate sub—postmasters and mistresses who were caught up in the horizon scandal, and certainly this has become a major political issue since an itv drama seemed to focus the minds of the public and politicians alike at the start

of this year. here in the uk, a series of opinion polls have suggested that the main opposition labour party is set to win the next general election, which is likely to happen later this year. that would mean sir keir starmer becoming the first labour prime minister since gordon brown left office in 2010. with that in mind, we've been testing public opinion, hearing from a group of nearly 50 voters with a range of political views, all of whom live in constituencies which switched from labour to conservative in 2019. the groups were selected with the help of the political research firm more in common, and laura kuenssberg listened to what they had to say. have a seat. young, old, tory, labour and those who haven't a clue yet who they'll choose — they've all been chosen from seats that went labour to conservative last time round. we've put together a sample to hear everyone's thoughts. a bit like britain in a room.

how would you sum up britain in 202a? depressing. terrible state we're in. dishonest and messed up. falling apart. i think we're - a country in crisis. i think it's the worst it's ever been. what's the first thing that comes to mind when you see this person? nice guy, but weak. not strong enough. no personality. you need a personality to rule. it's like he's reading - from a script when he talks. yeah, he doesn't have charisma. i would say out of touch, because i don't think he understands what the ordinary people go through. people in this country don't like successful people. - they're very bitter. —— they're very bitter that they're not like them - and that's why i think. everybody resents him. i don't think he's out of touch. i just think the problems he has are so vast. i thought he did a marvellous job as a chancellor. what's the first thing that - comes to mind when you see this person? a bit boring, to be honest with you. i don't think he's the strongest of leaders. i don't look at him and think

he's the one that's going to come and save us. i don't know what he actually believes. i i think everything he says i is to try and win the majority over. i'd rather somebody that was either here or there, not somewhere in between. i think his kind of popularity has been largely by default because of kind of the backlash of the conservatives. i think you can only reallyjudge him kind of when he's in power. i do actually thinkj he's got integrity. i do think he will try. but i do think he's got a big task ahead. again and again, our voters have shared stories of how the health service just isn't up to scratch. it's obviously at the top of many people's lists. obviously, with me being a senior carer, there's times that i have to ring 111 and the wait times for the ambulances are ridiculous. i mean, i have a heart condition and i would say i had to contact the hospital because i'd waited 26 weeks up to now and i've still not got an appointment. and then, they told me the waiting list is up to 70 weeks. i really don't know if i want to work as a nurse in this l country right now. the cost of living crisis is having a big impact on us. being able to go out

and socialise isjust so much more expensive, going to the supermarket, your bills are so much more expensive. i'm a student and i can barely afford to eat some weeks. . it's rubbish. this is a first world country. however, there is so much of a difference between, you know, the highest pay, the wealthy, and the ordinary people. we've heard from nearly 50 voters today. there's a deep well of worry about the state of the country and a sense that a change of government is probably on the way. but there wasn't much confidence here today. not much faith that a different leader in number 10 could change lives for the better. there is, though, ten months to go. viewers in the uk can see more from that research, along with an interview with the business secretary kemi badenoch, on sunday with laura kuenssberg, this morning at 9 o'clock

on bbc one and on the iplayer. let's stop by poland now, where the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of auschwitz concentration camp liberation took place last night. -- 79th. around 20 former prisoners who were held at the auschwitz death camp participated in a ceremony held beside the remains of a brick barracks for female prisoners in the birkenau section of auschwitz. do stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. saturday brought quite a bit of sunshine to england and wales. a dry day for many and a lovely end to the day here in north somerset. further north, though, for northern ireland and scotland, the day turned out to be quite windy and we did have a fair bit of cloud coming in off the atlantic, associated with the jet stream pattern. well, thisjet stream pattern

for sunday is going to be bringing a very mild air mass across the uk and we could well see some exceptional temperatures, really, across northern areas of scotland through sunday afternoon, as we'll see injust a moment. before we get there, though, the southerly wind at the moment is bringing occasional patches of drizzle to coast and hills for scotland and for northern ireland, although many areas will stay dry and have a dry start to the day on sunday. mild across the north—west. we've got the cooler air across england and wales. a few mist patches to start the day on sunday quickly clearing and then, a lovely morning for most of you. into the afternoon, though, a cold front will bring a spell of rain to northern ireland and western scotland and some very strong winds working into the hebrides and the north—west of the highlands — 60mph, maybe 70mph gusts here, but on the other side of the mountains, helped on by the foehn effect, we could see temperatures get boosted all the way up to maybe as high as 16 celsius — well above the average for this part of the world. and the uk all—timejanuary temperature record stands at 18.3 celsius, so 16 wouldn't be that far away from that. although we don't see those dizzy heights across england and wales, it is going to be

a mild day nationwide. now, looking at the weather picture into monday, we keep the mild air across england and wales but further north, the air�*s getting colder across scotland and northern ireland. between the two, we've got a band of rain. now, it looks like being quite wet across this area with 20mm—li0mm of rain. could see a few flakes of snow over the highest hills of the southern uplands. colder weather pushing back into scotland and northern ireland. i say colder — actually, temperatures are coming back closer to average. but across england and wales, still very mild. temperatures could reach 15 degrees in the warmest spots. heading into tuesday, that area of low pressure is working away. a ridge of high pressure follows in for a time from the west, so the cloud will thin and break and many of us will have a day where the weather will improve. it will get brighter with a bit more in the way of sunshine coming through. temperatures near average across northern areas but still on the mild side for east anglia and south east england. the rest of the week ahead, often quite wet and windy at times in the north. dry and bright largely in the south. bye for now.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the un agency for palestinian refugees says its humanitarian work is collapsing, affecting more than 2 million people, after nine countries stopped funding the organisation. a growing number of governments have paused financial support because of israeli allegations that some agency staff were involved in october's attacks by hamas.

the race for the white house continues with the remaining major candidates all out on the campaign trail. former president donald trump held a rally in las vegas in nevada. his republican rival, nikki haley, and president biden were both in south carolina. queen camilla has visited king charles in hospital in london, a day after the british monarch underwent treatment for an enlarged prostate. it is not known how long he will stay there but it is expected to be at least until the end of this weekend. now on bbc news, talking business. hello, everybody. a very warm welcome to talking business weekly with me, aaron heslehurst. let's go and take a look at what's on the show. it's a new lipstick revolution. so is it time to see the light and invest in the future of your skin?

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