when it comes to the flour people are using animalfeed. are using animal feed. even are using animalfeed. even the animalfeed are using animalfeed. even the animal feed is starting to get scarce in the market and people are not finding it. and people are not finding it. reports from ukraine say a russian drone attack has killed seven civilians in the north—east city of kharkiv. leaders of rival parties in pakistan claim victory after the general election, even though the final results are yet to be announced. and police in london are to begin searching the river thames for the body of a chemical attack suspect. we speak to spain's first openly lgbt matador who wants to challenge perceptions around bull—fighting. hello, i'm catherine byaruhanga.

we begin this hour in the middle east. there's growing concern over food shortages in gaza, with the united nations warning of looming famine. people living in isolated northern areas have told the bbc that children are going without food for days, and that animal feed is being used to make bread. with renewed fighting and aid convoys still regularly blocked from reaching some areas, half of gaza's population is now in a food emergency, according to the un. it says one in four households is facing a catastrophic lack of food. we start our coverage with this special report from our middle east correspondent lucy williamson. in the middle of a war, a battle for survival men sent the fight over cans of beans, and sacks of flour.

the un is warning that famine is coming fast, to gaza's northern areas. as aid arrives more slowly. this the first—aid to arrive here for ii this the first—aid to arrive here for 11 days brings crowds surging close to israeli forces. who fire to push them back. in northern areas residents say children aren't eating for days. in some places they are tapping waterfrom underground pipes. water from underground pipes. translation: waterfrom underground pipes. translation: we water from underground pipes. translation:— water from underground pipes. translation: ~ ., ., translation: we are back to the stone age. _ translation: we are back to the stone age. 30. — translation: we are back to the stone age, 30, 40, _ translation: we are back to the stone age, 30, 40, 50,000 - translation: we are back to the stone age, 30, 40, 50,000 years translation: we are back to the - stone age, 30, 40, 50,000 years ago, we dig water out, filter it from sand and use it for cooking. the un sa s sand and use it for cooking. the un says israel's — sand and use it for cooking. the un says israel's army _ sand and use it for cooking. the un says israel's army blocked - sand and use it for cooking. the un says israel's army blocked more - sand and use it for cooking. the un l says israel's army blocked more than half the aid deliveries to northern areas last month. and that child

malnutrition has spiked.- areas last month. and that child malnutrition has spiked. when it comes to flour _ malnutrition has spiked. when it comes to flour people _ malnutrition has spiked. when it comes to flour people are, - malnutrition has spiked. when it comes to flour people are, a - comes to flour people are, a eventually using animal feed. however, even the animal feed is starting to get scarce in the market and people are not finding it. when it comes to canned food there is nothing left in the market, literally. what we had was actually from the six to seven days of truce we had at the beginning of this war and whatever aid was allowed into gaza and the north of gaza has been consumed by now. the world food programme told us that four out of its last five deliveries to northern gaza were blocked by israel. this shouldn't be a logistics crisis, it shouldn't be it shouldn't be a logistic programme problem, there is enough food round this region to feed 2.4 million people and prevent a family anyone the gaza strip. the issue is being able to get that food to people.

israel says it needs to control aid to prevent food and fuel reaching hamas. forsome to prevent food and fuel reaching hamas. for some israeli protestors thatis hamas. for some israeli protestors that is not enough. they have been blocking border crossing points to try to force hamas to hand over israeli hostages. protestors are demanding a siege, aid is a lifeline for gaza, but here they say it's a lifeline for hamas. three miles from the israeli border, european planes air drop supplies to thejordanian hospital in gaza city. solutions here are getting more extreme. military planes over gaza point to its devastation. even when they are carrying aid in place of bombs. lucy

let's speak to sir mark lowcock. he is a former un under—secretary—general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. there were some striking images in that report by lucy williamson, there were crowds rushing towards an aid truck. what is your reaction when you see these images coming from northern gaza? those are horrifying pictures of panic and fear, and desperation, what is worse though is what we can't see in that powerful report, the hidden people, most of the 300,000 people still left in northern gaza, young children, the infirm, the elderly, those people who are too weak or too sick or too near to death to chase after the food. �* . . food. and in recent weeks, recent months have _ food. and in recent weeks, recent months have been _ food. and in recent weeks, recent months have been continued - food. and in recent weeks, recent - months have been continued mediation efforts to try to put an end to the fighting in gaza, to get more humanitarian aid into the territory,

what more pressure doous you think can be put on israel and hamas to try and get more aid to the people who need it. the try and get more aid to the people who need it— who need it. the people who are auoin to who need it. the people who are going to decide _ who need it. the people who are going to decide the _ who need it. the people who are going to decide the stale - who need it. the people who are going to decide the stale of- who need it. the people who are going to decide the stale of the i going to decide the stale of the loss of life now, in gaza, are the israelis, what we are seeing results from their decision, i think the death toll from starvation is very likely to eclipse the 28,000 people the best it mates say have been killed in the bombing and shooting. it is clear that hamas are willing to do another deal for a pause it is clear that hamas are willing to do another dealfor a pause in the fighting and release more hostages but the decisions are with the israeli authorities. do you understand the israeli government's position which is that the international community key voices like yours should be putting pressure on hamas to put its weapons down and to basically vacate its position in gaza. it says there should be more pressure on hamas as well, notjust the israeli

government. fearand well, notjust the israeli government. fear and hysteria is driving too many decisions at the moment. there needs to be more humanity brought into this decision making process, of course, everybody�*s widely condemned the atrocities hamas perpetrated on the 7th october, but there is a big question about whether that justifies the massive scale of the loss of life we have seen already and the worse spectre of huge numbers of people, simply being starved to death unless the israelis start taking different decisions. and more recently, we are hearing from the israeli government about plans to expand this operations in rafah, where people have been seeking refuge over the past few months, what impact do you think further operations in rafah would have? ,, ., ., , ., have? the us authorities have described this _ have? the us authorities have

described this as _ have? the us authorities have described this as a _ have? the us authorities have described this as a potential . described this as a potential disaster. disaster. the president biden has said that israeli actions are over the top. secretary of state blinken has been stressing that military operations need to put civilians first and foremost, if there another big military operation, there is going to be a lot more loss of life and things will simply continue to escalate. and in the long run, you know, that will, ithink, run and in the long run, you know, that will, i think, run the risk of having serious consequences. find will, i think, run the risk of having serious consequences. and sir mark, i having serious consequences. and sir mark. i want — having serious consequences. and sir mark. i want to _ having serious consequences. and sir mark, i want to get _ having serious consequences. and sir mark, i want to get your _ having serious consequences. and sir mark, i want to get your opinion, - mark, i want to get your opinion, when you were humanitarian chief at the un, you didn'tjust cover the situation in the middle east, but also crises all over the world, one thing that audiences talk about is the fact that we are not only seeing the fact that we are not only seeing the crisis in gaza but also afghanistan, sudan, ukraine. how do you think humanitarian organisations are managing to cope through this time, is this period unprecedented compared to other times when we have seen conflicts round the world?

certainly the worst period we have seen for 20 or 30 years, if you go back long enough you find greater horrors and you have ared just some of them, i am worried about the moment northern ethiopia where there is the risk of a large—scale famine as well. aid agencies are good at saving lives and they only need two things, they need money for operation and access, the biggest problem is always access, as matthew hollingworth told you in that report that lucy williamson put together earlier, the central problem is access and that is controlled by the israeli authorities.— israeli authorities. thank you very much, sir mark _ israeli authorities. thank you very much, sir mark locock. _ israeli authorities. thank you very much, sir mark locock. thank - israeli authorities. thank you very| much, sir mark locock. thank you israeli authorities. thank you very - much, sir mark locock. thank you for sharing your thank you for sharing your thoughts on bbc news. let's go to the south of the gaza strip, where the us, the eu and the un have all warned israel that invading the city of rafah would be a disaster. it comes after the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu

ordered his military to prepare to evacuate civilians from the city, ahead of what it says is an expanded offensive against hamas there. two million people live in gaza, and more than 80% are now displaced, with most heading to the city of rafah, near the egyptian border. the palestinian authorities say that two years ago rafah's population was about 260,000. but since israel began its war on gaza, with the population in the north ordered to evacuate to the south, it's now shot up to 1.4 million, and it's already come under attack from israeli airstrikes. let's hear from palestinians in rafah. thanes translation: , ., , ., ., translation: here is netanyahu and his government, _ translation: here is netanyahu and his government, threatening - translation: here is netanyahu and his government, threatening to - his government, threatening to invade rafah, where shall we go if they try to pressure us to migrate to egypt, we will not go, we will

return to gaza and die in gaza or anywhere on gaza's land and we will not migrate to egypt or any other place. we not migrate to egypt or any other lace. ~ ., not migrate to egypt or any other lace, ~ ., , ., not migrate to egypt or any other lace. ~ ., ., ., place. we are so afraid, where will we no? place. we are so afraid, where will we go? to — place. we are so afraid, where will we go? to where? _ place. we are so afraid, where will we go? to where? we _ place. we are so afraid, where will we go? to where? we are - place. we are so afraid, where will we go? to where? we are so - place. we are so afraid, where will. we go? to where? we are so worried. i don't _ we go? to where? we are so worried. i don't want _ we go? to where? we are so worried. ldon't want to— we go? to where? we are so worried. i don't want to migrate. i want to die in_ idon't want to migrate. i want to die in my— i don't want to migrate. i want to die in my own country, i want to stay— die in my own country, i want to stay here — die in my own country, i want to stay here and i won't leave here. let israel— stay here and i won't leave here. let israel do whatever it want, i am staying _ let israel do whatever it want, i am staying in— let israel do whatever it want, i am staying in my tent, i won't go anywhere _ staying in my tent, i won't go anywhere and i will die here. what — anywhere and i will die here. what about us? where will we do? we don't know_ what about us? where will we do? we don't know where _ what about us? where will we do? we don't know where to _ what about us? where will we do? we don't know where to go. _ what about us? where will we do? we don't know where to go. we _ what about us? where will we do? we don't know where to go. we have - don't know where to go. we have no-one, — don't know where to go. we have no-one, our— don't know where to go. we have no-one, our home _ don't know where to go. we have no—one, our home is— don't know where to go. we have no—one, our home is in— don't know where to go. we have no—one, our home is in gaza, - don't know where to go. we have no—one, our home is in gaza, we| don't know where to go. we have - no—one, our home is in gaza, we want to return _ no—one, our home is in gaza, we want to return there. — no—one, our home is in gaza, we want to return there, that _ no—one, our home is in gaza, we want to return there, that is _ no—one, our home is in gaza, we want to return there, that is all— no—one, our home is in gaza, we want to return there, that is all we - to return there, that is all we want — to return there, that is all we want we _ to return there, that is all we want. we have _ to return there, that is all we want. we have a _ to return there, that is all we want. we have a tent - to return there, that is all we want. we have a tent made l to return there, that is all we i want. we have a tent made of to return there, that is all we - want. we have a tent made of nylon and wood _ want. we have a tent made of nylon and wood we — want. we have a tent made of nylon and wood. we have _ want. we have a tent made of nylon and wood. we have never— want. we have a tent made of nylon and wood. we have never left - want. we have a tent made of nylon and wood. we have never left our. and wood. we have never left our home _ and wood. we have never left our home and — and wood. we have never left our home and the _ and wood. we have never left our home and the shell, _ and wood. we have never left our home and the shell, shakes - and wood. we have never left our home and the shell, shakes the l and wood. we have never left our. home and the shell, shakes the tent when _ home and the shell, shakes the tent when it— home and the shell, shakes the tent when it happens _ home and the shell, shakes the tent when it happens. lt— home and the shell, shakes the tent when it happen— when it happens. it will not move south towards _ when it happens. it will not move south towards egypt, _ when it happens. it will not move south towards egypt, no - when it happens. it will not move south towards egypt, no matter. when it happens. it will not move - south towards egypt, no matter what happens because egypt will not be a substitute for my home land, also we are not ready to accept leaving one day, but if it happens we will return to our homes no matter the

cost. if death is inevitable, we will die in our homes, and die ourland. live now to our correspondent, nick beake, injersualem. nick, thank you forjoining us on the programme. so do we have any more detail on what the israeli army plans to do in rafah, and where the civilians there would go? goad civilians there would go? good morninu. civilians there would go? good morning. those _ civilians there would go? good morning. those are _ civilians there would go? good morning. those are two - civilians there would go? good morning. those are two really| morning. those are two really crucial aspects to this, we haven't got any clear idea, certainly the prime minister netanyahu has asked the idf to come up with what he calls a dual plan, to a military operation that would see israeli forces going in to try and attack hamas fighters, to try and get wreath rid of the remaining four battalions he says are in the city. at the same time to do that, the israelis concede there needs to be a huge operation to move people out of the city of rafah. it is in the

south of gaza, people can go no further south and the big issue here, is there is no obvious place for people to go. this was a city of about 250,000 people, four months ago, now more than 1.2 million people and some international aid agencies is are worried about the situation, the lack of food, water, medicine, the fact in some cases we are hearing people are resorting to eating grass, but they are warning that moving this huge amount of people would be amount, would be tantamount to breaking international law, it would be the force displacement of people they say. so a lot of unanswered questions about what might happen in the days and weeks ahead. stand what might happen in the days and weeks ahead-— what might happen in the days and weeks ahead. and as we have been mentioned on _ weeks ahead. and as we have been mentioned on the _ weeks ahead. and as we have been mentioned on the programme, - weeks ahead. and as we have been mentioned on the programme, the| weeks ahead. and as we have been - mentioned on the programme, the us, a key ally for israel, has warned that invading rafah would be a disaster, do we get a sense of how much binyamin netanyahu is listening to the us, whether that is affecting his decision making? i to the us, whether that is affecting his decision making?—

his decision making? i think that is a really interesting.and _ his decision making? i think that is a really interesting.and we - his decision making? i think that is a really interesting.and we will. his decision making? i think that is a really interesting.and we will to l a really interesting.and we will to see in the coming days the decisions he takes and to what extent the american influence is guiding his thought process, and his decision making, i mean the americans, listening to them, they say since the start of the war, after the hamas attacks on october 7th, that they have been trying to persuade israel to carry out this war, in a responsible way, in that innocent civilian life is protected at all cost what with are hearing from the american, they do not any israel is doing that, they, the americans believe there is an unacceptably high number of civilian casualties of women and children being killed in this pursuit to destroy hamas. the thing is, though, as well as that pressure from the americans which of course is israel's biggest backer, in terms of political weight, but also military assistance, and otherfunding, as well as that pressure from america there is pressure from within

binyamin netanyahu's own government. you have right—wing ministers who say that he really must keep up the fight, against hamas and that really to walk away now or to take the foot off the gas would be tantamount to letting hamas get away with it, in terms of the attacks of october 7th. lots of contrasting pressures on binyamin netanyahu, and in the past week or so he has been doubling down saying they will keep going until israel achieves what he calls total victory, the thing is we don't know what that looks like and what cost that may bring. nick, thank you for that police are expected to start searching the river thames this morning for the body of the man they believe carried out a chemical attack on a mother and her two children in south london. officers have been searching for abdul shokoor ezedi for nearly ten days, but say they now believe he went into the river shortly after the incident. sean dilley reports. chelsea bridge at 11:30pm on wednesday night.

this is the last known sighting of abdul shokoor ezedi. police believe that, shortly after, he entered the thames and died. now they say they will direct resources to confirm their theory. specialist police personnel are expected to start their search later, at low tide, but strong currents and winds could make their search lengthy. our marine support unit will be carrying out some searches of the thames. but as you can imagine, at this time of year, the thames is very fast flowing. dead or alive, detectives say they believe ezedi was responsible for launching a concentrated corrosive substance at a 31—year—old woman and her two daughters, before throwing a three—year—old to the ground in clapham on the 31st january. since then, officers have tracked the convicted sex offender's movements across london. police were able to follow what they believe were ezedi's final

moments walking west and close to the river. detectives say they think he may have died near where i am standing now. now, this water is cold and very choppy. police believe it may take months to find his body — if, indeed, they ever do. this obscured picture was posted to a fundraising page by friends of the victims. it is feared that the 31—year—old mother—of—two may lose the sight in one eye. but detectives will only be able to close this investigation when they can be certain the suspected offender is no longer alive and cannot face justice in court. sean dillie, bbc news, at chelsea bridge. our news correspondent louisa pilbeam is on chelsea bridge. so louisa, do we have any more up

days from the police on when this search might begin?— days from the police on when this search might begin? good morning. yes, we know from _ search might begin? good morning. yes, we know from the _ search might begin? good morning. | yes, we know from the metropolitan police that they say that their marine policing unit will carry out searches of the water in the thames, it could be this area, we haven't got specifics of exactly where those searches will take place, or exactly when, the commander of the metropolitan police saying those searches will be carried out imminently. now, the reason that they will be searching is because as you have been hearing, the police are pretty certain that abdul ezedi is dead. they believe that he went off here, at chelsea bridge, into the water, and they think that because according to cctv footage, the last movements where him standing here, they said pacing round, looking over the railings, pacing round again and going back, looking over the edge, and he is not seen again. so they believe that he

he wouldn't have been able to survive the fall, specialist police officers saying that from that height, here, and at night, it isn't a survivable situation, so they believe that he is dead, and they have also said that they have been looking at police have been looking at footage on buses, london buses that have passed by and being here this morning you can really see how many go by and how often they do, so they really do believe that if he had moved away from this area, he would have been seen. so police making it clear also, that the investigation is still open, that it is not closed, until they find a body. is not closed, until they find a bod . . ~ is not closed, until they find a bod . ., ,, , ., is not closed, until they find a bod. ., ,, ., is not closed, until they find a bod . ., ~' ., ., is not closed, until they find a bod . ., ,, ., ., ., body. thank you louisa, and do we know any more _ body. thank you louisa, and do we know any more about _ body. thank you louisa, and do we know any more about the - body. thank you louisa, and do we know any more about the condition body. thank you louisa, and do we i know any more about the condition of the mother and daughters caught up in this attack?— in this attack? yes, police have said that the _ in this attack? yes, police have said that the 31-year-old - in this attack? yes, police have i said that the 31-year-old woman, in this attack? yes, police have - said that the 31-year-old woman, who said that the 31—year—old woman, who was injured in the chemical attack,

and her children, they say that the children have now been released from hospital, their injuries weren't as severe as initially thought, they have been released into the care of the local authority, but when it comes to that 31—year—old woman, she is still in hospital, she is sedated so she hasn't been able to speak about this incident, police haven't been able to interview he and the very latest is that police believe that she could lose the sight in her right eye, and that the injuries to herface are right eye, and that the injuries to her face are incredibly veer, they say, and life—changing. louisa, thank you. the authorities in ukraine say a russian drone has hit a petrol station in the city of kharkiv, killing seven people. the regional governor says three of them were children. the attack caused a fire which spread to nearby residential buildings. at least 50 people were evacuated from their homes. kharkiv has been targeted more frequently by russian forces in recent weeks.

here's our correspondent, sarah rainsford, in kyiv with the latest. the authorities are trying to clarify exactly what was targeted and what was hit. they originally said it was a petrol station, we now understand that it was an oil depot, so we are trying to get more clarity on exactly that detail, but certainly what we know is what it caused and it caused a huge fire that spread down a residential street, 15 thousands were destroyed by fire —— houses were destroyed by fire and a number of people were killed. that included some children, seven people were killed, three children in one family, that is a children in one family, that is a child of seven, a child of four end a baby of six month, all of them boys. now as we have got details from the authorities there, they have described fuel mixing, diesel, and petrol mixing and the local head of police there has called it a

hellish lava that flooded down the street, catching fire and causing such devastation and such loss of life. these children are all from one family, they all died in their own home as they were trying to escape from the fire, so it was caused by a russian drone, we do know from kharkiv it is so close to the russian border, it is very difficult there for air defence systems to shoot down drones, to shoot down missile, they come in very quickly and the danger is very realforfamilies, for very quickly and the danger is very real for families, for civilians living in indonesia's presidential candidates are holding their final mass rallies in the capitaljakarta. it's the last day of campaigning before voting takes place. the defence minister, prabowo subianto, is considered the frontrunner in the presidential race, despite accusations of human rights abuses in the past. earlier anies baswedan, a former governor of jakarta, addressed a packed football stadium

in the capital. both main contenders in pakistan's general election have claimed victory, even though the final results have yet to be announced. the jailed former prime minister, imran khan, used an ai—generated message to reject a declaration of victory by his opponent, nawaz sharif. mr khan was barred from standing but independents linked to his pti party have emerged as the largest group. mr sharif, who's been prime minister three times, says his party is best placed to form a government, though in coalition. in a statement on saturday, pakistan's foreign office, in a statement said that international comments on the nation's elections ignore what it says is the "undeniable fact" of pakistan conducting elections successfully.

from lahore, our pakistan correspondent caroline davies has the latest. the final results in pakistan's general election are now starting to come in, and it seems pretty clear that imran khan's backed candidates are in the lead, followed by mr nawaz sharif�*s party's, the pmln's candidates. they have the second largest number of seats. it is not clear at the moment who is going to form a government, but we are starting to see international reaction about this vote. we have heard from the eu, who said they note a lack of a level playing field. from the us who said there were undue restrictions, and from the uk who expressed concerns about the fairness of this election. today we have heard from the foreign office here in pakistan. they have said they are surprised by the negative tone of some of these international statements, which would neither take into account the complexity of the electioral process they say, nor acknowledge the free and enthusiastic exercise of the right to vote by tens of millions of pakistanis.

that is quite a firm push back against some of these comments that we have started to hear internationally as well. we have heard from the chief of the army staff here in pakistan. the army is an incredibly powerful and politically powerful organisation here in pakistan. the army chief has said that pakistan's diverse pluralism will be well represented by unified government of all democratic forces. now that suggests that he is encouraging there to be some form of coalition government that will happen here in pakistan. we understand that there will be a lot of negotiations that will be going on behind the scenes, but at the moment, still not clear who will be governing the country. stay with us here on bbc news. plenty of standing water from the rain, coupled with the snow melt, here is a flooded park in warwickshire as captured by one of

our weather watchers. lots of water on the ground and a number of flood warnings in place across england and wales, the good news is it should be a much drier weekend of weather but with low pressure still close by, we are still likely to see some showers andindeed are still likely to see some showers and indeed longer spells of rain here and there at times, you can see on the pressure chart that warm front pushing northwards, this is where the colder air is being displayed to but still some snow falling on the tops of the hills to the far north of scotland as we head through the rest of the night. we will still see temperatures dip below freeze bug this is how we are starting off saturday morning generally, it is a colder, drier start to day in the south of england and wales and patchles of mist and fog here, hill fog further north where we keep that low cloud and mild feeling air. gusty winds in the far north of scotland, elsewhere they lighter, wintriness for caithness and sutherland but further south a lot of cloud. for northern ireland, northern england, much of england and wales there will be sunshine developing, watch out for

showers to the west and these will be the temperatures to end the afternoon, it has turned milder now across scotland, 12 degrees celsius in the south of england. low pressure approaches the far south—west, the winds will pick up here, showers and some longer spells of rainjust creeping here, showers and some longer spells of rain just creeping into the south—east, and east anglia as we head towards the end of the day on saturday. that area of low pressure is set to spin further northwards, towards partings of eastern scotland as we head through the day on sunday so it is going to be cloudier to eastern coastal areas with outbreakses of rain, a scatted tersing of showers and bright ersky, the winds pick up, temperatures lower for many to the south but of course higherfurther lower for many to the south but of course higher further north, lower for many to the south but of course higherfurther north, as we head into monday we are back to more north—westerly winds. some of the showers could turn out to be wintry, particularly over the higher ground towards the north and the west, feeling chillier for most, towards the north and the west, feeling chillierfor most, with added wind chill to factor in, by the time we get to tuesday and

wednesday the temperatures will pick up wednesday the temperatures will pick up again with milder air and atlantic influence and more showers in the forecast

this is bbc news, the headlines: the israeli prime minister orders the military to prepare for an offensive in rafah in southern gaza — where 1.5 million palestinians are sheltering.

as the united nations warns of looming famine in gaza — people living in the isolated northern areas tell the bbc of their precarious situation. when it comes to the flour people are actually using animal feed. however, even the animal feed is getting scarce in the market and people are not finding it. reports from ukraine say a russian drone attack has killed seven civilians in the north—east city of kharkiv. as we've been reporting us, the eu and the un have all warned israel that invading the city of rafah would be a disaster. it comes after the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu ordered his military to prepare to evacuate civilians from the city, ahead of what it says is an expanded offensive against hamas there.

some 1.5 million palestinians are in rafah to seek refuge from israeli combat operations in the rest of gaza — aid organisations say it's not possible to evacuate everyone from the city, which has already come under attack from israeli aistrikes. ibrahim isbaita is resdient of gaza who has been dispaced four times since the war began. he is currently in rafah, and he spoke a short time ago daily life right now in rafa is different than before because the air strikes didn't stop in rafa which is supposed to be a safe area according to the idf. it was given as a location according to the idf

again. people for the last few days are thinking about what is the next step and where we should go after they announced about the ground invasion coming to rafa so the situation on the ground is chaos. people are traumatised. they have no idea about where we should go or what is the next step. before we were thinking about starvation, for the food, for the shortage of water and electricity but now we are traumatised about what is the next step where we should go. this is our daily life right now.— daily life right now. where are you and our daily life right now. where are you and your family — daily life right now. where are you and your family considering - daily life right now. where are you and your family considering going | daily life right now. where are you| and your family considering going if and yourfamily considering going if you do have to leave rafah? actually no idea. since the morning we are packing our bags and we are thinking where we should go because rafah is the last city before the egyptian border and it contains 1.5

million people who are located here. all of them asking the same question, where we should go, should we go back to the middle area like deir al balah but we are thinking and asking the same question where we should go. no idea and we are just ready but we have no idea where we should go. i just ready but we have no idea where we should go— we should go. i understand your mother has _ we should go. i understand your mother has to _ we should go. i understand your mother has to have _ we should go. i understand your mother has to have hospital - mother has to have hospital treatment. i assume that is another huge consideration for you about whether you leave rafah? exactly. this is our biggest _ whether you leave rafah? exactly. this is our biggest concern - whether you leave rafah? exactly. | this is our biggest concern because when we came here in rafah my mother needed dialysis a few times a week. according to the shortage of

electricity she had itjust one or two times if she is lucky with one or two hours. that's why we stuck beside the hospital. this hospital is the only one in rafah with dialysis machines. they only have 17 machines for more than 700 patients. i live beside the hospital because of my mother and we are trying our best and trying to find a solution. if we go to a safe place, if this safe place contains a hospital that can help my mother or not. hate safe place contains a hospital that can help my mother or not. we heard earlier about — can help my mother or not. we heard earlier about the _ can help my mother or not. we heard earlier about the lack _ can help my mother or not. we heard earlier about the lack of _ can help my mother or not. we heard earlier about the lack of food - can help my mother or not. we heard earlier about the lack of food in - earlier about the lack of food in the north, and particularly how it is affecting children. i know you have children. how are they coping and are you managing to get enough food in rafah for them? in rafah it is easy, not like in the

north. in the south 40 trucks per day, it's not enough but if we compare this situation with the people in the north, you can't compare that because people have started eating animal food compare that because people have started eating animalfood in compare that because people have started eating animal food in the north. there is no aid in the north and once the aid came to the north the israeli army started shooting them, 50 people killed when they were waiting for the trucks, there was an attack from the israeli army, more than 50 people got killed. so the situation there is dire. when we talk to our friends and family and colleagues there, they told us they didn't eat, for example, bred for more than two months. we are talking about for months there is no aid to the north. ., ., , , .,

about for months there is no aid to the north. ., .,, , ., , ., the north. that was ibrahim isbaita who has been _ the north. that was ibrahim isbaita who has been displaced _ the north. that was ibrahim isbaita who has been displaced to - the north. that was ibrahim isbaita who has been displaced to rafah i who has been displaced to rafah speaking to my colleague nicky schiller earlier. we have some more news coming in from gaza. the grandfather of a six—year—old girl, ? hind girl, ? rajab, who went missing while under fire in gaza city last month says she has been found dead. hind made a desper the palestinian red crescent say two of their staff, the palestinian red crescent say two of their staff, sent to rescue hind, were also killed at the same location, and have accused israeli forces of deliberately targeting them. hind made a desperate call for help to the palestinian red crescent from a mobile phone, while in a car with her dead family — and surrounded by israeli tanks and gunfire.

iraq's foreign minister has told the bbc there is a danger his country could be pushed into conflict because of the latest deadly tit—for—tat attacks by iranian—backed militias and us forces. in the past week, the united states has carried out a series of air raids that killed 17 iranian—backed militiamen in iraq as well as a precision drone strike in the capital baghdad, that killed a senior commander. dr fuad hussein spoke to our senior international correspondent, orla guerin, and told her he hoped both sides would stop their attacks — and leave iraq to be ruled by iraqis. from the government point of view now, from the point of view of the iraqi government, do you want the us troops out? we want to start the negotiation. on the basis of the negotiation it will be decided. and of course, the end of the negotiation must be clear. the majority of iraqi people, they don't want to have foreign forces on iraqi soil.

but is it iraqi government policy now that the troops should go, and it's just a question of when? the troops one day must leave. this country at the end must be free from having foreign bases. some has been invited, and that's valid for the american side. some has not been invited. going back to the issue of the us strikes that happened, the americans say they were targeting iraqi militia that are pro—iranian, that are on your soil, and from your soil they are carrying out attacks on us forces. do you accept that there are militias here that are officially part of your security forces but in fact are armed and trained by iran that are carrying out these attacks? those militias, they themselves they are announcing their attacks. and they are also well known, that they are, or they have, good

connection with the iranian side. this is well known. i cannot deny it. that's true. as we sit here now, minister, is it the case that your government does not have control over these pro—iranian militias, that they are doing their own thing and you cannot stop them? i think if nowadays you will talk with many political leaders, they started to talk about this. many people, they didn't dare to talk about. this is also a part of the reality in this country. but now we are talking about it and we are saying to them, stop. people dare to say to those guys it's enough. i think all of them, they got the message that if they will continue. that if they will continue, they would in the first place destroy the political process in iraq, and they will push

this country into a war while it is not our war. and also the iranian got the message.s how real is that danger that this tit for tat between the iranians and the americans on iraqi soil could push this country into conflict? that's the main problem, to be honest. the tension nowadays between iran and united states is very high. so i hope both sides will stop their attacks on iraqi soil and they are not going to solve their problem on iraqi soil. we paid a very big price. it's no secret that the iranian influence here has been growing for years, and many outsiders would say at this point, tehran is dictating more of the policies here than baghdad. what would you say to that? no, i deny that — this is not true. no influence? no, no, i'm not saying no influence,

but dictating the policy in baghdad is not true. are you worried about the degree of iranian influence here? i'm worried about the degree of all influence surrounding us. not only iranian. iraqis must take the decision. the decision about iraq must be taken in baghdad and it must be taken by the iraqis in baghdad. that was our senior international correspondent orla guerin speaking to iraq's foreign minister dr fuad hussein. let's turn to spain. farmers are due to drive their tractors into madrid as they step up their protest against european union farming policy. it's the latest in a series of such demonstrations across the eu. the spanish farmers are demanding greater flexibility over controls on agricultural products, which they say push up costs and generate red tape. let's speak to our correspondent

in madrid — guy hedgecoe. how big are the protests expected to be and how much disruption could they cause? abs, be and how much disruption could they cause?— they cause? a great deal of disruotion _ they cause? a great deal of disruption throughout - they cause? a great deal of disruption throughout this i they cause? a great deal of- disruption throughout this week across spain. i am just north of madrid. we had been expecting farmers to drive along this motorway at some point today in order to get into the capital. what they said they were going to do today is drive into the centre of madrid in the tractor�*s to the headquarters of the socialist party pedro sanchez. other farmers have said they plan to drive into the city of valladolid in northern spain to disrupt a national cinema awards ceremony. the spanish government has said that these protests have not been organised

through the right channels, they are illegal protests. so a lot of police have been deployed here in madrid and outside valladolid. we don't know if the farmers will indeed be able to get into the cities if they get that far. but we are expecting them to come along here and later on. , , ., , , ., them to come along here and later on. ., ., on. guy, as you mentioned, you have farmers coming _ on. guy, as you mentioned, you have farmers coming in _ on. guy, as you mentioned, you have farmers coming in from _ on. guy, as you mentioned, you have farmers coming in from different - farmers coming in from different parts of the country. what are they calling for? are they all calling for the same things because i understand different parts of the country are affected by different factors? ., , factors? the thing that unites them all is the grievance _ factors? the thing that unites them all is the grievance they _ factors? the thing that unites them all is the grievance they have - all is the grievance they have against the european union's farming regulations which they say are far too strict. in that sense they are similar to their counterparts in much of the rest of europe who have been protesting as well. they say that those rules that the eu imposes, for example, environmental rules on their products, generates red tape, pushes up farmers' costs and makes life difficult for them.

they also say that non—eu farmers, for example, from morocco do not have to face those kinds of controls so they are able to sort of undercut spanish farmers and sell their product much more cheaply. earlier this week some spanish farmers bought moroccan products from a supermarket and threw them out in the street and drove over those products in a tractor as a protest. so there is a lot of anger about that as well. and also, many areas of the country are suffering a severe drought, particularly the north—east and the south. so the farmers are also angry about that and they won the spanish government to do something about that as well. briefly before we let you go, has there been a response from the spanish government? the spanish government _ spanish government? the spanish government is _ spanish government? the spanish government is in _ spanish government? the spanish government is in a _ spanish government? the spanish government is in a rather- spanish government? the spanishj government is in a rather awkward position because it is very pro—eu. the most part it supports eu policy but at the same time doesn't want to be seen as anti—farming. so the spanish government has said it

understands the grievances of the farmers but it will not accept any kind of violent protests. so it is saying that farmers have to respect spanish law in that sense. and that the police will try and stop them if necessary. the police will try and stop them if necessa . . ~' the police will try and stop them if necessa . ., ~ , ., , . the police will try and stop them if necessa . ., y . , y necessary. thank you very much, guy hedaecoe necessary. thank you very much, guy hedgecoe in — necessary. thank you very much, guy hedgecoe in madrid. _ necessary. thank you very much, guy hedgecoe in madrid. guy _ necessary. thank you very much, guy hedgecoe in madrid. guy will - necessary. thank you very much, guy hedgecoe in madrid. guy will have . hedgecoe in madrid. guy will have more updates on that story here on bbc news. brazil has become the first country to provide a new vaccine against dengue fever through its public health system, as the country suffers a sharp rise in cases. 53 people have died from the mosquito—borne disease in the current outbreak. produced injapan, the new vaccine will initially be given only to children aged 10 and 11. dengue can cause haemorrhagic fever, but most cases are mild. celebrations are taking place around the world to mark the start of the lunar new year.

hundreds of people made their wishes for the year their wishes for the year of the dragon, by placing sticks of incense at a temple in hong kong. vietnam celebrated with a colourful firework display in the skies above hanoi. worshippers flocked to temples across taiwan to light incense and pray for prosperity in the new year. and the chinese community in peru celebrated the year of the dragon in style — with dragons leading the festivites through the streets of lima's chinatown. live now to hong kong — and astrologist letao wang. thank you forjoining us. we have people watching all over the world right now. what can you tell us about the year of the dragon? why is it so special?— it so special? good morning and thank ou it so special? good morning and thank you for— it so special? good morning and thank you for having _ it so special? good morning and thank you for having me - it so special? good morning and thank you for having me today. | it so special? good morning and j thank you for having me today. i have to say i am looking forward to

2024 as an astrologist and there are several reasons. first, if we add all the digits together, numeral logically speaking this is a year that carries the numerological vibration of eight which is very much about the practical and grounded aspects of life. for example the key phrase for 2024 is i accumulate and this is a number associated with growth, abundance, prosperity, acquisition, powerand prosperity, acquisition, power and also prosperity, acquisition, powerand also control. and in fact many of us in the spiritual community would cool this number the divine fortune. meanwhile, in chinese astrology, as we all know, this is the years of the dragon which is a symbol of power and good fortune and this is why in ancient days chinese people used to believe that our emperors were the incarnations of dragons. so were the incarnations of dragons. so we can see 2024 is going to be a year filled with power and

we can see 2024 is going to be a yearfilled with power and momentum. and more specifically, this is a year of dragon that carries an element of wood which symbolises trees and trees grow upwards and downwards and so this is about expansion. brute downwards and so this is about exoansion-— downwards and so this is about exansion. ., ., ., ., expansion. we don't have a lot of time and i — expansion. we don't have a lot of time and i want _ expansion. we don't have a lot of time and i want to _ expansion. we don't have a lot of time and i want to get _ expansion. we don't have a lot of time and i want to get to - expansion. we don't have a lot of time and i want to get to other. time and i want to get to other parts of the story. as you mention, it is a very powerful year. my understanding is there are a lot of people who want to have a baby in the years of the dragon. tell us about the culture around this. so about the culture around this. sr actually, about the culture around this. 5r actually, for chinese people, there are lots of superstitions around it. i have to say the years of the dragon is the year most favoured in chinese culture, as i mentioned earlier dragon is a symbol of power and strength and good fortune. so chinese families usually consider a child born in the years of the dragon especially auspicious. and you know, people born in the year of the dragon are seen as wise and

charismatic, as we would see an emperor. $5 charismatic, as we would see an em eror. �* , charismatic, as we would see an emeror. �* , .,, charismatic, as we would see an emeror. a , charismatic, as we would see an em eror. �* , .,, , ., charismatic, as we would see an emeror. a , ., , emperor. as i was preparing for this interview and _ emperor. as i was preparing for this interview and is _ emperor. as i was preparing for this interview and is a _ emperor. as i was preparing for this interview and is a lot _ emperor. as i was preparing for this interview and is a lot of _ emperor. as i was preparing for this interview and is a lot of people - interview and is a lot of people around the world would probably see in their local newspapers, and may be on blogs, glossy publications try to tap into the lunar new year and maybe advise people and finding out which year they were born. do you think it is a year that people who are not chinese or not celebrating the lunar new year can tap into and to try to read the future for themselves this year? absolutely. s - irituali themselves this year? absolutely. spirituality is _ themselves this year? absolutely. spirituality is really _ themselves this year? absolutely. spirituality is really a _ themselves this year? absolutely. spirituality is really a shared - spirituality is really a shared treasured by humanity. whatever culture that you grow up and i really believe that by making this connection between our physical self and whatever our spiritual belief is, this will definitely help us to make more achievements. and for some of us it's about finding inner peace within ourselves. l of us it's about finding inner peace within ourselves.— of us it's about finding inner peace within ourselves. i know it is going to be da s within ourselves. i know it is going to be days of _ within ourselves. i know it is going to be days of celebrations - within ourselves. i know it is going to be days of celebrations for - to be days of celebrations for people who are marking the lunar new

year, so how will you be celebrating?— year, so how will you be celebrating? year, so how will you be celebratin: ? �* ., ., ., year, so how will you be celebratina? �* ., ., ., ., celebrating? i'm going to have a dinner gathering _ celebrating? i'm going to have a dinner gathering with _ celebrating? i'm going to have a dinner gathering with my - celebrating? i'm going to have a dinner gathering with my family | celebrating? i'm going to have a i dinner gathering with my family is. i haven't seen them for a long time, actually, due to travel and work and so on. i have to say i'm really looking forward to it.- so on. i have to say i'm really looking forward to it. thank you very much. _ looking forward to it. thank you very much, astrologist - looking forward to it. thank you very much, astrologist letao i looking forward to it. thank you i very much, astrologist letao wang joining us from hong kong. so that wasn't the final story of this half an hour, so now we're onto one of the world's biggest sporting events. we are of course talking about the super bowl. american football's biggest game of the year takes place on sunday. but this year the usual excitement about the game and the half—time performance is being overshadowed by a celebrity superstar — that's taylor swift. here's our north america correspondent nomia iqbal to tell us why. it's one of the most watched sporting events in the world. more than 100 million people tune in to the super bowl every year. but the person dominating the headlines isn't in the football

line—up or even performing at halftime. the romance of pop icon taylor swift and football star travis kelce means it might as well be renamed the taylor swift bowl. yep, taylor dominated the grammys. if you thought she was on your tv a lot last night, wait till next sunday. and when i say bet on the game, i, of course, mean bet on taylor swift. for this family in kansas city, it's the perfect collision of two things they love — taylor and football. two, three... i'm fine, but i wasn't sure... four—year—old ella is a dedicated swifty. tell me about what you want to be when you grow up. i want to be taylor. you want to be taylor? yeah. well, ijust think she's wholesome, and she really does seem like a genuine person, and she's always been this huge star. but then i think by her

being in kansas city and going to the chiefs games, itjust made her more of like a relatable human. the taylor swift effect is in full force, notjust in kansas city, but across the country. i love it. her current music tour is already boosting the us economy by billions, and some believe she's getting new fans interested in the nfl. you know, we were able to double our sales from last year and it was bigger than any time the chiefs won the super bowl. but the swift effect doesn't stop at music and football. one of the world's most prestigious universities is analysing her impact. we got an announcement... we've come to harvard to find out why students think she's worth studying alongside some of english literature's greatest writers. we should offer courses organised around songwriting as an art form. and so part of the goal of this course is to just appreciate taylor as a major songwriter and say, hey, this is connected to wordsworth. it's a such a great opportunity- to not only study her songwriting,

but her media influence and how she has had such a social- impact on our generation- and the generation that she grew up with. but with all that power, there's questions if the pop star can politically influence the country. she hasn't endorsed anyone for the us election yet. # you need to calm down...# but at the moment, for most people, it's reallyjust about the music. oh, and the football. nomia iqbal, bbc news, kansas city. now we have this story. this friendly looking creature is an alligator snapping turtle — and extraordinarily it has been pulled from a small lake in cumbria in north—east england. this one is a merejuvenile but an adult can weigh around 12 stone. and they eat meat. danny savage has the story. it is not a pretty sight,

and certainly shouldn't be living in the wild here. but this alligator snapping turtle is now residing at a vet's in cumbria. when they get larger, they can be fairly dangerous. they do have a nasty bite to them. the armoured turtle was hoiked out at ulverston by a local, who donned three pairs of builders' gloves for protection and put it in a shopping basket. she then passed it on to the vet's. it wasn't in too great a shape. it was cold and lethargic. they weren't able to move very well, and the mouth was open, which is always what they do when they're in a sort of threat display or they feel a little bit cornered or defensive. the alligator snapping turtle is native to freshwater in the united states, has immensely powerfuljaws and is so—called because of its shell, which looks like the rough, ridged skin of an alligator. and they can weigh up to 12 stone. so what have its carers called it? fluffy, of course.

it's not illegal to own, but the suspicion is it was dumped at the tarn, where it would have eaten the wildlife if left. the hope is to send it to a zoo — the plan is to make it snappy. danny savage, bbc news, cumbria. scary discovery. i never knew creatures like that actually existed! that is an alligator snapping turtle here for you on the bbc. a reminder of our headlines. the united nations is warning of a looming famine in gaza with people living in the isolated northern parts of the territory telling the bbc of their precarious situation. you're watching bbc news. hello, there. still plenty of standing water from the heavy rain on thursday coupled with a snow melt, of course. here's a flooded park in warwickshire as captured by one

of our weather watchers. bright skies, but lots of water on the ground. and there are still a number of flood warnings in place across england and wales. the good news is it should be a much drier weekend of weather, but with low pressure still close by, we're still likely to see some showers and indeed some longer spells of rain here and there at times. now, you can see on the pressure chart here that warm front just pushing northwards across the north of scotland. this is where the colder air is being displaced to, but still some snow falling on the tops of the hills towards the far north of scotland. as we head through the rest of the night, we'll still see temperatures here dip below freezing. but this is generally how we're starting off saturday morning. it's a colder, drier start to the day across the south of england and wales. some patches of mist and fog here, some hill fog further north where we'll keep all of that low cloud in that now milderfeeling air. so still some strong, gusty winds across the far north of scotland. elsewhere, the winds are lighter, still some winteriness

for caithness and sutherland. but further south, there'll be lots of cloud for northern ireland out northern england, much of england and wales. in fact, there will be some sunshine developing. watch out for some showers towards the west maybe. and these will be the temperatures to end the afternoon. it's turned a lot milder now across scotland, 12 degrees celsius in the south of england. low pressure approaches the far southwest. the winds will pick up here, some showers and some longer spells of rain just creeping into the south—east of england and east anglia as we head towards the end of the day on saturday. that area of low pressure is set to spin its way over northwards towards parts of eastern scotland as we head through the day on sunday. so it was always going to be cloudier towards eastern coastal areas with, again, some outbreaks of rain at times a good scattering of showers for the west, but also some brighter skies. the winds picking up and temperatures a little lower for many towards the south, but of course, higher further north. now, as we head into monday, we're back to more north westerly winds. the air is going to feel colder and some of these showers could turn out to be a little wintry, particularly over the higher ground towards the north and the west. feeling a little chillier for most

with a bit of added wind chill to factor in as well. but by the time we get to tuesday and wednesday, those temperatures will be picking up again with some milder air and atlantic influence. and there will be some more showers in the forecast at times.

live from london. this is bbc news as the united nations warns of looming famine in gaza, people living in the isolated northern areas tell the bbc of their precarious situation.

when it comes to the flour, people are actually using animal feed. even the animal feed is starting to get scarce in the market and people are not finding it. a six—year—old girl missing in gaza has been found dead, as well as the two paramedics despatched to rescue her. leaders of rival parties in pakistan claim victory after the general election, even though the final results are yet to be announced. police in london prepare to start searching the river thames for the body of a chemical attack suspect. and the year of the dragon is here. celebrations around the world to mark the start of the lunar new year.