julia wendell from poland has gone viral this week after saying that she's madeleine mccann. we track down the 21—year—old woman who claimed she was the missing toddler madeleine mccann, and found a world of online hate. no let—up from the furious farmers in france as they block roads and lay siege to paris. no wires or physical movement are required. and elon musk says his company has implanted a microchip in a human brain. and on newsnight at 10.30, we'll go deeper behind the headlines and speak live to key players on today's big stories. plus, we a first look at what's on tomorrow's front pages. good evening.

two days after a drone attack by iran—backed militants that killed three american troops injordan, president biden has said he has now decided how to respond. he didn't give more detail, but he did said america wasn't looking for a wider war in middle east. tensions have soared since the october 7th attacks by hamas in israel, with us forces in iraq and syria coming under attack more than 150 times. but what happened at tower 22 — the military post injordan — at the weekend was the first fatal attack. in the last few hours, the us president has been speaking. have you decided how to respond to the attacks?— have you decided how to respond to the attacks? yes. inaudible i do hold them _ the attacks? yes inaudible i do hold them responsible in the attacks? 151v inaudible i do hold them responsible in the sense they are supplying the weapons. sense they are supplying the

wea ons. ~ , �* i don't think we need a wider war in the middle east, that's not what i'm looking for. president biden this evening. 0ur international editor, jeremy bowen, is injerusalem. what is the united states expected to do? 0ne one of the president's officials said actions speak louder than words but what will those actions be? we can only spectate at this point but what tends to happen is that the us military gives the president a menu of options that he can choose. the lowest level, if you like, might be to hit back at iranian proxies operating inside syria or iraq, but that might not be enough for the americans and especially not forjoe biden�*s critics back home. they might be something a bit more, go for iranian targets in those countries, or they could go for may be iranian targets in the gulf. the most extreme option, and i think this is highly unlikely, would be to

attack targets inside iran itself, inside the territory of iran, which is something the americans have not done. so we get to a situation now where the american secretary of state, antony blinken, says the middle east is at its most dangerous point since at least 1973, when there was a major middle east war, when, at that time is well, the superpowers, the americans and the soviet union went to a nuclear alert during that crisis, and he says it is at least as dangerous as that moment and as for what is going on here, the war in gaza, which is back on october seven, this is where a lot of this is coming from of course, what is happening is that there is discussion about a ceasefire, but israel's prime minister, mr netanyahu, in a very fierce speech, appears to have ruled out the terms they are discussing.

0ur international editor, jeremy bowen, injerusalem. israeli forces — disguised as medics — have entered a hospital injenin in the west bank and assassinated three palestinian men who were all members of armed groups, including a member of hamas, which is designated a terror organisation by the uk government. 0ur middle east correspondent lucy williamson reports. a building with a mission to heal the sick. visitors with a mission to kill. israeli forces, in headscarves and medical coats, filmed on security camera at the heart ofjenin�*s ibn sina hospital. guns in one hand, handbag, baby cot in the other. here to assassinate a patient and his two companions, fighters with armed palestinian groups. translation: at dawn today, - a military operation was carried out inside the hospital. three people were martyred, including a patient who was injured a month ago and was being treated

in the rehabilitation unit. they targeted his room, and all the occupants were killed. 0n the third floor, they killed basel ghazawi in his bed as he slept, his brother mohammad shot in a chair. both fighters in jenin�*s resistance groups. a third man, mohammad jalamneh, was a key hamas figure, wanted by israel, who says he was armed with this gun, and hiding in the hospital, and that the group had been planning an imminent terrorist attack. israel has also targeted hospitals in its war with hamas in gaza, arguing that hamas makes them legitimate targets by hiding there. and today, more detail from israel's government on its accusation that the un's palestinian refugee agency is a front for hamas, and that some of its staff took part in the 7th october attacks.

six unrwa employees infiltrated israel in the attack. not only does the evidence show that unrwa staff were involved in the massacre, they were also directly implicated in holding hostages once they were in gaza. israel says the agency, its shelters, schools and food aid, should be defunded. aid workers say gaza's humanitarian crisis is already slipping out of control. miriam and her seven children are living without a proper tent or food on a beach at the southern tip of gaza. a roadside cart for sweets now beach side housing for a baby. adults and infants alike, dependent on others for food and shelter, dependent on others to stop the war. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. israel has confirmed for the first time that its army in gaza has been flooding some of the tunnels used by hamas with sea water.

intense fighting continues in gaza with the epicentre of the fighting in southern gaza's main city, khan younis. new satellite images of gaza seen by bbc verify suggest that more than half of its buildings have been destroyed or damaged since israel's offensive began almost four months ago. caroline hawley has been looking at the extent of the destruction. for weeks, aid agencies have been warning of the huge scale of suffering and destruction in the gaza strip, but no journalists have been allowed in independently. now bbc verify, working with academics who've used satellite radar mapping analysis, can show the extent of israel's military strikes. the un says a ceasefire is desperately needed. these maps showing how the damage has built up since the start of the israeli response to the hamas attacks on october the 7th. israel has repeatedly said hamas embeds itself, deliberately, in civilian areas.

now, the analysis shows between 50% and 61% of buildings are either badly damaged or destroyed. israel initially told civilians to move south for their safety, but this is the southern city of khan younis, which has also now been badly hit. here before the israeli air strikes and now afterwards. and you can see a dramatic change to the city landscape. more than 38,000 buildings have been destroyed here alone. now, drone footage shows whole residential areas, once bustling streets, now in ruins. and this was israel blowing up a whole university in what appears to be a controlled explosion earlier this month. the extent and pace of damage is remarkable. i've never seen this much damage appear so quickly, satellite radar indicated damage appeared so quickly. and in that sense, it really stands out. we've also been looking at satellite imagery illustrating the extent that farmland shown in these squares has

been effectively laid waste. the idf told us they found hamas tunnel entrances and rocket launch sites in various agricultural areas. but there have been allegations of deliberate destruction and of course it's caused massive displacement for civilians. this was an area near the egyptian border in october. and this more recently, tents and temporary structures now covering three and a half square kilometres. a sprawling new city of hunger and despair. caroline hawley reporting. northern ireland is set to swear in its first ever nationalist first minister by the end of this week, after a power—sharing plan was finally agreed. there's been no government in northern ireland for two years now after the dup walked out in protest, angry at trade checks between northern ireland and great britain. but last night the dup, decided to back a deal with the uk government on post—brexit trade agreements. 0ur ireland corresondent sara girvin has more.

last night was a night of high stakes and high drama for the democratic unionist party. there were protests and the leak of a private meeting to contend with. it is understood a party member wore a wire to record proceedings which were then live posted on social media. but despite all the noise, there was a breakthrough, and news of a deal negotiated between the dup and the government that could see the return of devolved institutions in northern ireland after almost two years. the details will be released tomorrow but today sirjeffrey donaldson was confident. i believe that what we have delivered is significant, and on the basis that the government continues to deliver, then we will be in a position to convene a meeting of the assembly and proceed with the restoration of the political institutions. the dup walked out of power—sharing in 2022 in protest at trading arrangements brought in after brexit. the party says those arrangements saw northern ireland treated

differently from the rest of the uk and it has been negotiating with westminster for measures to remove what it sees as economic barriers. the secretary of state for northern ireland said he would fulfil his side of the deal. i believe that all the conditions are now in place for the assembly to return, and i look forward very much to the restoration of the institutions at stormont as soon as possible. the assembly may be recalled as early as friday or even saturday but whenever the power—sharing institutions do return, they will do so with a nationalist first minister in the shape of sinn fein�*s michelle 0'neill. it will be the first time in northern ireland's existence — more than a century — that the top job will be held by a leader who wants a united ireland. power—sharing is the only show in town so i am finally glad - we are getting to a juncture where actually that may be | possible once again. i believe in power—sharing - and i believe in life you get much, much more done when you work together as opposed _ to working apart. after two years of uncertainty,

frustration and division, it looks like the stormont stalemate will soon be at an end, but it is not done yet. and so people in northern ireland must do what they have done for nearly two years now — wait. sara girvan, bbc news, belfast. let's get more now with our political editor, chris mason, who's at westminster for us this evening. if this happens, it would be a major moment in history. yes, it is a weakness of our trade, journalism, to occasionally splash around in hyperbole and exaggeration, to attach the word historic to fleeting footnotes or one date wonders but it would be a genuine landmark moment, a sinn fein first minister. and sinn fein have been doing very well, they have done well in northern ireland elections, they did very well in the last irish general election. look at the opinion polls in the republic and while they may have slipped down a

little, they suggest that sinn fein remain the most popular party there. quite a moment, a sinn fein first minister, a party that would like to see northern ireland as part of a different state, the republic, eventually, seemingly doing very well in both northern ireland and the republic. as poor here at westminster, tomorrow we get the detail of this new deal in a so—called command paper and a debate as well in the commons —— as for tomorrow at westminster. the law will be changed on 38 as me as soon as friday to potential return restoration religion and first minister. thames valley police has referred itself to the policing regulator after a bbc investigation discovered that officers ridiculed an assault victim while watching body—worn video showing her groin and chest. the woman's body was exposed when she was filmed suffering from a seizure. three male pcs later watched the footage without reason. none of the officers faced a misconduct hearing but a student officer who reported them was later dismissed. the force says the remarks

were "unacceptable" and the officers were sanctioned. 0ur investigations correspondent, noel titheradge, has the story. his report contains offensive language. allegations of police misconduct are under the spotlight. last year, the bbc revealed officers were misusing body—worn video, by not disclosing key evidence of an officer's punch and switching off cameras. our latest investigation began here, when we obtained a student officer's whistle—blowing statement. he reported that a woman had been mistakenly arrested after being assaulted herself and then filmed suffering from a seizure. male officers later watched the body—worn video without reason to, mocking her exposed chest and groin, as she vomited and lost consciousness. the pcs discussed how much money they would need to be paid to have sex with her. 0ne asked to see footage of her genitals. another insulted her looks.

they covered it up. this man is the whistle—blower, a student officer working at newbury police station. it was sickening being in the room. i just thought that this is a victim of crime, a person who we know to be vulnerable. one of the officers who watched the footage was his tutor, responsible for passing his probation. i was dismissed for reporting, no doubt in my mind. the fact that i had to weigh up reporting misconduct against keeping my career is a disgrace. it took us months to track down the woman involved, who's played here by an actor. it makes me feel betrayed. the police are supposed to be the people you go to when you need help. she believes the officers should have been arrested. has this happened more than once? it should have been looked into. but, by the looks of it, it's different if you work for the police, which i think is disgusting. we've learned that none of the officers faced a public misconduct hearing and their behaviour wasn't reported to the policing regulator.

in a statement, thames valley police said it takes such reports extremely seriously and a full investigation was conducted. it said that some officers were sanctioned following private misconduct meetings. the force added that the student officer was not dismissed for whistle—blowing and his tutor was changed. it's a horror story of misogyny and sexism. it's massively damaging to public confidence. this former chief prosecutor recommended a roll—out of body—worn video in other emergency services. here, we have somebody who is really vulnerable and yet the police took advantage of it. in old—fashioned language, it would be called a cover—up. there is no doubt that this would have a significant impact on public confidence and so, in those circumstances, the iopc should be engaged. now, following our investigation, the policing regulator says the force should have referred the officers' behaviour for independent scrutiny and has now done so in response. there are over 1.5 million incidents recorded by police forces on body—worn footage every month.

this police commissioner says the majority of officers use cameras appropriately, but change is now needed. some of the cases that you highlighted in your report were truly shocking, in terms of what's happened to victims — clear, systematic failings of police forces. so i think there needs to be an improved, mandatory set of rules around how body—worn videos are adhered to. the government declined to say whether any new changes were planned and said current guidance was governed by data protection law. noel titheradge, bbc news. the bbc has this evening released around 3,000 emails linked to its handling of thejournalist martin bashir, who became famous after his interview with princess diana in 1995. an independent inquiry in 2021 found that he had been deceitful and had faked documents to secure the interview. the corporation has now been compelled to release thousands of pages of correspondence revealing how it dealt with it all.

0ur media correspondent, david sillito, has been reading the emails. david, what do they say? this goes back to a period in 2020 when questions emerged about that interview by martin basheer with princess diana. they include an e—mailfrom old spencer to the director—general, calling for an independent inquiry. it also has a discussion about a crucial missing note from princess diana and communications with martin bashir, conversations about his health, and we get from him its view that this was essentially all about professional jealousy was essentially all about professionaljealousy but was essentially all about professional jealousy but at was essentially all about professionaljealousy but at its heart is a freedom of information request. there was a suspicion the bbc was withholding vital documents to the journalist behind it, bbc was withholding vital documents to thejournalist behind it, and bbc was withholding vital documents to the journalist behind it, and the web, says he believes the e—mails to show that information was being kept from him. the bbc says, any documents not released to journalists were made available to the subsequent and damning dyson

inquiry. worth noting the corporation spent thousands in a court case trying to resist this release of further documents, saying they are largely irrelevant. jurors at the old bailey have been shown footage of a newborn baby who died after her parents went on the run. constance marten and mark gordon are accused of the manslaughter of baby victoria through gross negligence, a charge they deny. it is alleged the couple travelled across england and lived off—grid in a bid to keep their daughter after four other children were taken into care. our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford, was in court. on a freezing january day last year, constance marten got out of a taxi in east london and mark gordon handed her their newborn baby, indicated by the purple arrow. after four days of their trial, this was the first time the jury has seen the baby the pair are accused of killing by gross negligence. a bit later, constance marten, who's been described in court as wealthy, could be seen readjusting the baby under her clothing.

the newborn was wearing only a babygro with no jacket, hat or gloves. the clearest images of baby victoria were when she was put into a buggy that mark gordon had just bought from argos. the next day, having bought a tent for £40, the couple were camping in freezing temperatures on the south downs. the prosecution case is that the couple were trying to hide baby victoria from the authorities because their previous four children had all been taken into care. eight weeks later, in a shed on this allotment near brighton, the baby girl was found dead in a lidl bag—for—life. the prosecution say the couple's initial attempt to hide their baby's birth went wrong when their car caught fire on the m61 near manchester and police found the baby's placenta. the couple then spent £600 in cash on taxis as they headed to london. they deny all the charges. daniel sandford, bbc news, at the old bailey.

a year ago, a woman claiming to be the missing toddler madeleine mccann went viral online. the young woman, who was living in poland, set up an instagram account called "i am madeleine mccann" and soon had more than a million followers. but it turned out she wasn't. whatjulia wandalt discovered instead was a whole new world of online anger and hate, directed at her. 0ur disinformation and social media correspondent, marianna spring, has managed to track her down. the 21—year—old reveals, for the first time, her motives and regrets about becoming involved in one of the world's most notorious missing person's cases. julia wendell from poland has gone viral this week after saying that she's madeleine mccann. last year, tiktok users began speculating about an instagram account called i am madeleine mccann, created by this woman, julia. well, let's take a look at some of what you have posted to social media.

any missing person case can spawn conspiracy theories, hate and impersonations on social media, seemingly none more so than madeleine's disappearance. julia's account was the most viral i'd seen, so i tracked her down to an address in poland. oh, yeah. ok, let's do that. after careful consideration and conversations with me, she agreed to tell her side of the story. i knew my goal. i knew my purpose because i wanted to know who i am. julia says the traumatic childhood left her with patchy memories. she thought she might be adopted, and then she came across the mccann case. she also discovered a physical similarity to madeleine, a rare eye abnormality. i think i can be this person, i can be this girl, but no one treated me seriously. when she went to authorities with her concerns, she says she didn't feel listened to. so she turned to social media instead. her account soon had more than 1 million followers. some sent support, even gifts.

0thers sent abuse. i knew that there will be people who will not believe me, who will hate me. but i didn't expect that i will get death threats. drjohn synnott has studied the obsessive online interest in the mccann case. he was not surprised julia's profile went viral. you have a scenario of somebody looking for something, somebody finding something, and then them believing or thinking that this is who they are. and then, ultimately, because of the nature of who she was claiming to be, that very quickly then takes a life of its own, out of her hands. eventually, a dna test showed julia was polish. she stepped away from her account and she apologised to the mccanns. those connected to madeleine's parents who have been affected by some ofjulia's content say they are willing to accept julia's apology and forgive her for the situation that unfolded online. according to the find madeleine campaign, kate and gerry mccann do not use social media. social media can destroy you.

that's the lessonjulia has learnt. 0nline, there don't seem to be guardrails to stop everyone involved being harmed. it's only offline where understanding seems possible. if you were doing it again, what would you do differently? i think i wouldn't go to social media because it can influence you in that way and it wasn't a good idea. marianna spring, bbc news. you can hear and see more of that interview and the other cases of extraordinary hate marianna has investigated in a new radio 4 podcast called why do you hate me, available on bbc sounds, bbc iplayer and the bbc website. protests by angry farmers are continuing across france. motorways have been blocked and slow—moving convoys of tractors have caused trafficjams on key routes into paris. their complaints range from rising costs to meeting carbon—cutting targets, fuel prices, inflation, bureaucracy, and ukrainian grain imports.

0ur paris correspondent, andrew harding, has been talking to one french farmer who is taking part. they haven't quite sealed off paris yet, but french farmers are still bringing in more reinforcements by tractor, blocking more roads, even engulfing a tax office with tyres — a protest against the excessive red tape that farmers say is stifling their industry. it's a big challenge for the french government, worried it's losing more ground to the far right. the prime minister, gabriel attal, today promising to address farmers' concerns. but, watching his speech, dairy farmer arnaud basse is unconvinced. "he knows how to talk, but we need action", he grumbles. arnaud spends hours every day trying to keep up with new regulations, often linked to european union climate initiatives.

"not too much time behind a desk, not enough time in the fields with our cows", he says. arnaud's farm has been in the family for six generations but he says a third of dairy farms in the region have gone bust in the past decade. he blames cheap imports, unpredictable prices, and says it's become impossible to plan for the future. across france, indeed, across europe, farmers have a huge range of complaints, but they boil down to a sense of unfairness that, in a fast—changing world, they're being left behind, overregulated and underpaid. and so, another night of protest. arnaud has joined with his tractor. the farmers are hoping for a breakthrough at eu talks on thursday in brussels. until then, the blockades continue. andrew harding, bbc

news, northern france. a wireless computer chip implanted in a human brain — it sounds like science fiction. but that is what the tech billionaire elon musk says his company has done. the aim is to be able to use the power of thought to control your mobile phone or computer. and several rival companies have already tried with similar devices. 0ur north america correspondent emma vardy reports. hello. we're thrilled to introduce neuralink�*s prime study. the man who's continually tried to make science fiction a reality has now taken a step closer to allowing people to control phones and computers with their brains. imagine the joy of connecting with your loved ones... this is elon musk�*s latest venture, following his enterprises in electric cars, space rockets and social media. no wires or physical movement are required. now, elon musk has said implanting a chip into a person for the first time has gone well.

last year, his neuralink company was given permission to test its chip on humans, and it asked for volunteers. to enable people who have lost the brain—body connection to be able to operate a computer or a phone faster than someone who has hands that work. previously, this monkey with a brain implant was shown playing a video game, controlled by its thoughts. elon musk�*s california—based company isn't the first to experiment using chips in humans to control movement. but it's his notoriety and celebrity status which raises the profile of this technology and could speed up development. a decade ago, scientists implanted a microchip into the brain of a patient, who was then able to control a robotic arm. you know, people are kind of divided as to what elon musk brings to the table. for some folks, the kind of hype and often the controversy that he brings is a detriment. and for others, it can even be a good thing for someone to put such attention, such a spotlight, to bring such

money to this field. some experts have safety and ethical concerns, but the hope that brain implants could one day allow people with disabilities to use smartphones and computers with their minds opens up life—changing possibilities. emma vardy, bbc news, los angeles. weather in a moment but first, have a look at this — the biggest fire festival in europe, taking place tonight in shetland. it's called up helly aa and it's an annual celebration of norse heritage. the festival in lerwick culminates in a torchlit procession where thousands of people snake their way through the streets of the town before a viking galley long boat is dramatically burnt. time for a look at the weather. here's sarah keith—lucas.

it's been an historic and dramatic 2a hours in northern ireland — stormont should soon be back in action and a nationalist takes the top job there — but what is the deal that's been agreed? we'll hear from the man at the heart of this — the dup'sjeffrey donaldson who's been talking to nick.