not finding it. a six—year—old girl who begged for help after being trapped by israeli fire in gaza is found dead — along with two paramedics who went to rescue her. russian drones hit a fuel depot in the ukrainian city of kharkiv, causing a huge fire which killed seven people — 3 of them young children. the leaders of two rival parties claim victory after pakistan's general election. while the country continues to wait for the final results. and police in london start searching the river thames for the body of a chemical attack suspect.

we begin this hour in gaza, where concern is growing over the shortage of food. the united nations is warning of looming famine, with half of gaza's population now in a food emergency. people living in isolated northern areas have told the bbc that children are going without food for days, and animalfeed is being used to make bread. one in four households is facing a catastrophic lack of food, according to the un, because of renewed fighting and aid convoys still being regularly blocked from reaching some areas. 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 to 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 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. 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 says israel's army blocked more than half the aid deliveries to northern areas last month, and that child malnutrition has spiked.

when it comes to flour people are actually 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 actually 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 a logistic problem. we are in the mediterranean, there is enough food around this region to feed 2.4 million people and prevent a famine in the gaza strip. the issue is access, 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. 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. even with talk of a hostage deal, 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 williamson, bbc news, jerusalem.

sir mark lowcock who is a former un under—secretary—general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator gave his reaction to the images of crowds rushing towards aid trucks in 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, those 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. 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 do you think can be put on israel and hamas to try and get more aid to the people who need it? the people who are going to decide the scale of the loss of life now,

in gaza, are the israelis. what we are seeing results from their decisions. i think the death toll from starvation is very likely to eclipse the 28,000 people, the best estimates say have been killed in the bombing and shooting. it seems slear that hamas are willing to do another deal for 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. 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 even 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? the us authorities have described this as a potential disaster. 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, i think, run the risk of having serious consequences. in the south of gaza — panic and anxiety are growing in rafah, after israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu ordered his military to prepare to evacuate civilians from the overcrowded city, ahead of a ground assault against hamas fighters there. more than two million people live in gaza. at least 80% are now displaced — and 1.4 million of them are sheltering in rafah, trapped next the border with egypt, where israel had told them they would be safe. 0ur middle east correspondent nick beake joined us from jerusalem — i asked him about the israeli military�*s plans in rafah.

we know that the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has asked the military to come up with a plan. he talks about a dual track plan. so, on the one hand, an operation, a military operation, going into the city of rafah, south of gaza. to eradicate the hamas fighters there. he talks about there being four remaining battalions that he says must be destroyed. but also, he is asking his generals to basically come up with a plan to move the people from rafah. we know that more than 1.2 million people are now in rafah. it is really worth stressing that a lot of them, the vast majority of them have come from other parts of gaza. because they were told that it would be a relatively safer place. and there has been intense fighting in the places they have left behind. we were talking to one family who said they were in five places before they arrived in rafa. there is now a bleak situation there. the hospitals, the doctors, aid agencies, also crucially, the people themselves say

there is a lack of food, water and medicine. 0ne charity, action aid, says people have resorted to eating grass because they are so hungry. a really dire situation. there is no indication yet from the israelis where these people will go. how do you move more thani million people and to where do you direct them? this is the concern of the americans, in particular, the white house saying this week it would be disastrous to embark on any such mission without a clear plan. a six—year—old girl who went missing in gaza city 12 days ago has been found dead, along with several of her relatives and two paramedics who tried to save her. hind rajab was fleeing the city with her aunt, uncle and three cousins when the car they were travelling in appears to have come face to face with israeli tanks. hind was the last member of the family alive when she made a desperate plea for help to the palestinian red crescent using a mobile phone. nick beake told me more about this.

on october the seventh, the more than 1200 people who were killed, the hostages who were taken, and of course, the more than 27,000 people in gaza, according to the health ministry there who have been killed in the past three or four months. but in in the past week, there has been one story which has really got a lot of attention. that is the story of six —year—old hend. because there was this incredible recording of her talking to people from the emergency services, this emergency call in which she describes how she's trapped in her uncle's vehicle with her relatives around her who have been killed. it seems the vehicle had come face to face with an israeli tank, and for 3 hours she was talking to the emergency responders over the phone. at one point, the conversation is patched through so that she can talk to her mother and he becomes increasingly upset during this time. we know that there was an ambulance that was dispatched after about 3 hours or so with two paramedics, but then nothing more was heard

of the paramedics or six —year—old him. of the paramedics orsix —year—old him. or six —year—old hind. but as you say, catherine, what we're hearing today from hind's grandfather is that her body has been found. also, we've got some information from the palestinian red crescent, and they have said today that their two staff were killed. they have accused the israelis of deliberately targeting the vehicle. they say this ambulance was found burnt outjust a few metres away from the family vehicle. and they say this is despite the fact that there had been coordination conversations with the idf, the israeli defense forces, about getting the emergency medics to that location. now, we have approached the israeli army for a response to this, but as of yet, nothing from them. iraq s foreign minister has told the bbc there is a danger his country could be pushed into conflict

because of the recent 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, 0rla 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, from the point of view of the iraqi government, do you want the us troops out? we want to have to start the negotiation. 0n the basis of the negotiation it will be decided. of course, the end of the negotiation must be clear. the majority of the iraqi people, they do not want to have foreign

forces on iraqi soil. but is it iraqi government policy now that the troops should go and it is 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 is for the american side. some has now 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 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 now they see, they 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 is enough. i think all of them, they got the message that if they will continue, they will, in the first place,

destroy their political process in iraq, and they will push this country into a war, while it is not our war, and also the iranians got that message. how real is that danger that this tit—for—tat between the americans and iranians on iraqi soil could push this country into conflict? that is 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'd deny that, this is not true. no influence? no, no, iam not saying no influence, but dictating policy in baghdad is not true. are you worried about the degree of iranian influence here? i am worried about the degree of all influence surrounding us, not only iranian. iraqis must taking the decision. the decision about iraq must be taken in baghdad, and it must be taken by the iraqis in baghdad. well 0rla guerinjoins us live now from baghdad. for viewers that are trying to understand the shifting dynamics in the crisis in the middle east what do you think are the key takeaways from your interview with the foreign minister there? ihell from your interview with the foreign minister there?— minister there? well i think what looms the concern _ minister there? well i think what looms the concern that _ minister there? well i think what looms the concern that the -

minister there? well i think what i looms the concern that the minister has not only the foreign minister but about the possibility of escalation here on iraqi soil. what is happening is that iraq is getting burnt as a backed militias trade fire with us forces here. the past week has been very tense. we had the us retaliation after the killing of three us troops injordan that were strikes here in a rainy and backed militias killing 17 militia fighters but then we also had an assassination here on the streets of baghdad and it is the iraqis that are calling it an assassination. it was in a missile strike which killed a high—profile militia leader. since than the militias have come out and said they will renew their attacks on us forces. there are about 2500 american troops here, not combat forces but they hear adverse advisers to help prevent a resurgence of the so—called i guess

but we know there will be talks between the iraqis and the americans and we are told those talks are to draw a timetable for the withdrawal of us forces. in the meantime the americans are saying they will continue to take any necessary action to defend their personnel. iraq finds itself caught in the middle between its two allies, the united states and iran. the concern the foreign minister expressed is expressed by many who have been spoken to on the streets.— spoken to on the streets. thank you very much- — to pakistan now, where two former prime ministers have claimed victory in thursday's election, and tension is growing as the country waits for the final results. a senior aide to jailed former leader, imran khan, says candidates he backs will try to form a government. his pti party is not recognised by the electoral commission and its candidates had to run as independents, but they appear to have won the most seats.

the party chairman said that if complete results aren't released by saturday night, the pti will hold peaceful protests on sunday. the rival pakistan muslim league — led by nawaz sharif — has also claimed victory and says it has begun talks with others about forming a unity government. a russian drone strike has hit a fuel depot in the ukrainian city of kharkiv, killing seven people, according to regional officials. the attack caused a large fire, which spread to nearby residential buildings. the governor says three of the dead are young children, killed in their home with their parents. at least 50 people were evacuated from their homes. kharkiv has been targeted more frequently by russian forces in recent weeks. el salvador�*s supreme electoral tribunal has confirmed

which can take your life to hong kong where we have some pictures of the new lunar year celebrations. this is the new lunar year parade in hong kong which as you can see is as colourful as ever. singing those are some signs of their celebrations. this year is the year of the dragon. you have several countries in asia celebrating the new lunar year. countries in asia celebrating the new lunaryear. happy countries in asia celebrating the new lunar year. happy new year to those celebrating. happy new year to those celebrating. el salvador�*s supreme electoral tribunal has confirmed the landslide re—election of president nayib bukele last sunday — with nearly 83% of the vote, after completing the final tally of the poll results. mr bukele's victory has been widely attributed to his "war" on gangs — which has seen more than i% of the population arrested — and is credited with slashing homicide rates. well, to help us unpack this,

election, i'mjoined by william marquez, a journalist at bbc mundo. we have seen these final results come in from the authorities but are they a surprise at all? h0. come in from the authorities but are they a surprise at all?— they a surprise at all? no, it 'ust confirms off fl they a surprise at all? no, it 'ust confirms off his i they a surprise at all? no, itjust confirms off his overwhelming i confirms off his overwhelming victory which he made shortly after the polls had closed last sunday and before anything had been counted. he had stated that with this result el salvador had broken all the records and of all democracies in the history of the world which is an outrageous claim and somewhat over the top but what he did almost double the votes he got when he was first elected in 2019 and according to that it is the largest amount of votes ever gained by an elected president in el salvador. some

international observers have reported serious irregularities. figs reported serious irregularities. as we mentioned there an orange introduction 1% of the population, estimated to have been arrested during the presidents war on drugs. why do think he so popular despite criticisms around human rights abuses for example?— abuses for example? while el salvador was _ abuses for example? while el salvador was under _ abuses for example? while el salvador was under the - abuses for example? while el salvador was under the grip i abuses for example? while el| salvador was under the grip of incredible high rates of murder, criminality, insecurity, brought on by violent criminal gangs. so in his first term he started what he called a declared state of emergency stop he had 70,000 people detained most of them housed in a high security prison which has been dubbed the

alcatraz of central america. a lot of ngos and human rights organisations have questioned severely what has happened there. bbc mundo's correspondent had an opportunity to visit the place last week which is a very sterile, spartan, huge place guarded 24 hours a day. the prisoners have to sleep with bunk beds for levels high on bad beds, and in each with their hands,...— bad beds, and in each with their hands,... ~ i. ., ., ., hands,... when you have a minute or so to no hands,... when you have a minute or so to go over. — hands,... when you have a minute or so to go over. i _ hands,... when you have a minute or so to go over, i want _ hands,... when you have a minute or so to go over, i want to _ hands,... when you have a minute or so to go over, i want to ask _ hands,... when you have a minute or so to go over, i want to ask you - so to go over, i want to ask you this question, a tough crackdown by the president, what is the result? because that really effectively going to the country? the because that really effectively going to the country? the truth is that el salvador _ going to the country? the truth is that el salvador has _ going to the country? the truth is that el salvador has managed - going to the country? the truth is that el salvador has managed to i going to the country? the truth is i that el salvador has managed to put a murder and violence which has

benefited his popularity. his approval ratings are sky high which are approved of the elections and i think that the people of el salvador are willing to turn a blind eye to the human rights issue as long as the human rights issue as long as the price they have to pay security. thank you very much. that is william marquez. we want to leave you these pictures from hong kong which is celebrating the lunar new year. as you can see celebrations there. at the start of the year of the dragon. you're watching lucy knees. hello again. we've got a generally quiet weekend of weather compared to the last few days. there are till numerous flood warnings in force across england and wales, after all that rainfall we have had

rushing down into the rivers. this morning has been quiet serene, quite beautiful in wigan, with a few bright spells. this is the satellite image through this morning. you can see the swirl of cloud here. this is an area of low pressure, that will throw in some showers today, but you can see there are some breaks in the cloud to give us some sunshine. generally speaking, it is mild as well, but in the far north of scotland we still have some pretty cold air, so this morning there has been a bit of snow, but that will generally clear away, and for many parts of scotland it will be fairly cloudy, some showers moving in. some cloud developing with rain affecting some central and south—eastern areas, heavy showers into the south—west. maximum temperatures nine to 12 degrees, but maybe three to five in the far north of scotland. tonight, this area of rain will continue to develop and move northwards into eastern scotland. still some showers affecting the far south and south west. some gusty winds to go with those showers as well. further north and west, it is quieter, some clear spells, maybe one or two fog patches, and overnight temperatures down to about 3—7 degrees. this area of low pressure is still with us as we go into sunday,

bringing further showers. and this little feature here, running up towards the north and east, that will bring outbreaks of rain on sunday morning. it will gradually move away to the north east. then, there will be sunny spells, followed by showers moving in from the west. and maximum temperatures round about 7—11 degrees. not as cold across the far north of scotland. we lose that colder air. going for the rest of the week, that area of low pressure moves away. we still have the influence of the atlantic, so we will see some areas of rain moving their way in, with low pressure close by. but for monday, for most of us, it is looking relatively dry. there will be some sunny spells. some showers coming into the north and the west, those will be wintry, just over higher ground really, not down to low levels. maximum temperatures about 7—10 degrees celsius. just a little bit below the average for the time of year. and then, during the rest of the week, temperatures perhaps coming up a bit — 14 celsius in southern areas. mixed, though, as we can see, with some areas of rain at times but also some sunny spells.

that's it from me. bye.

this is bbc news. the headlines. as the united nations warns of looming famine in gaza, people in isolated northern areas

tell the bbc they're having to use animalfeed to make bread. growing panic in rafah, after israel's prime minister orders the military to prepare for an offensive in as the united nations warns of looming famine in gaza, people in isolated northern areas tell the bbc they're having to use and police in london start searching the river thames for the body of a chemical attack suspect. and... an explosion of colour as china celebrates the lunar new year and welcomes in the year of the dragon. those are the top headlines here on bbc news. housing charities have warned that new legislation could miss the chance to fix what is being called a crisis

for private renters. the government promised to ban no—fault evictions —