in the market and people are not finding it. a six—year—old gazan girl who was trapped in a car by israeli fire is found dead — along with two paramedics sent to rescue her. iraq's foreign minister tells the bbc his country could be pushed into conflict by attacks on its territory by iranian—backed militias and us forces. and pakistan's army chief calls for unity after the leaders of two rival parties both claim victory in the election. hello, i'm frankie mccamley. we begin this hour in gaza, where the death toll has now passed 28,000 — according to the hamas—run health ministry — and 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 they're using animalfeed 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 being regularly blocked from reaching some areas. 0ur middle east correspondent lucy williamson has this special report. 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 2.2 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. let's continue to focus on the conflict in the region, and bring you the story of a six—year—old girl who went missing in gaza city 12 days ago

has been found dead, she has now 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. with more details, our correspondent injersualem, nick beake. there has been so much heartache, so much suffering in this war, if you think at the beginning, 1,200 people killed by hamas on october seventh, some 240 taken as hostages. since then, the palestinian health authority, run by hamas, say that now 28,000 people have been killed in gaza. but the story of this little girl, this six—year—old girl, seems has captured a lot of people's attention. and really struck a chord. we hear now that she has in fact died. a lot of people remember this audio recording because for about three hours,

she was on the phone to someone from the emergency services. all that time, herfamily members, her relatives, were dead around her, they had been shot. and what has happened today is that footage has emerged of the car that the family were in. it's got lots of bullet holes, a lot of damage and it is also right next to another vehicle which belongs to the palestinian red crescent society and that was holding two paramedics. they had gone to try and save hind. what the red crescent are saying today that the israelis targeted that particular vehicle. we have put this to the israeli defence forces but they haven't responded to this allegation. it is worth pointing out that on the day that they died, hind's family were actually trying to leave their part of gaza city and go to a much safer place. that is what they had been instructed to do.

and now if you look at the city of rafah, home to more thani million people, in the coming days, it is expected that they too will be asked to leave. it is not clear where they will go. america, israel's biggest, most strong ally, has said that it has a real concern about an operation if the israeli troops are coming in and you have all these palestinian by fiji is living there. troops are coming in and you have all these palestinian refugees living there. so a huge concern about what might happen in the days and weeks to come. pakistan's powerful army chief has called for unity after two former prime ministers claimed victory in thursday's election. the final results still haven't been announced. but candidates backed byjailed party leader, imran khan, appear to have won the most seats and say they're now trying to form a government. his pti party was barred from running by the electoral commission, forcing its candidates to run as independents. the party says it will hold

peaceful protests on sunday, if complete results aren't released by saturday night. 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. from lahore, our pakistan correspondent caroline davies has more. 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 have 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 now 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 also 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, it still not clear who will be governing the country. tim willasey—wilsey is a visiting professor at kings college and a former senior british

diplomat in pakistan. he told me how crucial the next few days are to the stability of pakistan. i think the next 72 to 96 hours are going to be crucial because as your correspondent reported, there's going to have to be a coalition arrangement. no single party has won enough votes. so there's going to have to be a coalition. and i think there'll be a temptation by the army to ask the second and third parties or to get second and third parties to form a coalition. that's nawaz sharif and benazir bhutto's son, bilawal. and i think that will be a real problem, because that would be keeping imran khan's party out of power. and i don't think the vast majority of the population is going to find that acceptable. after all, to have won something like 91 seats,

they had to have polled... in the circumstances that occur, they have to would have polled extremely well in a completely fair and free election. what kind of coalition could you see working in the country? well, i think what's going to have to happen is that the army is going to have to allow the independents who supported imran khan to take part in coalition negotiations. and i suspect what will happen is that benazir bhutto's son bilawal will come into coalition with imran khan's party. i think that would be quite a reasonable outcome. the other slightly more improbable outcome is nawaz sharif forms a coalition with imran khan's party. but of course that will then leave the extremely difficult question open about what happens to imran khan himself. after all, he'sjust been imprisoned for 14 years and the idea of a coalition of his party and nawaz sharif�*s party being led by nawaz sharif, i think, would be extremely problematic. does he still have much of a say from prison?

is he still clearly talking to candidates who are supporting him? i think what this whole election has shown is that, you know, it was assumed that by banning the party and banning the party symbol, you know, the party could not win. and i think what it has demonstrated, that the party is actually very adept at social media, very good online, and has actually, in a sense, it's been a sort of digital triumph over an analogue reaction, if you see what i mean. 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 huge fire, which spread to nearby home and cars. the governor says three of the dead were young children, killed in their home with their parents. at least 50 people were

rescued from their homes. kharkiv has been targeted more frequently by russian forces in recent weeks. 0ur correspondent sarah rainsford has more from kyiv. 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 houses were destroyed by fire and a number of people were killed. as you mentioned, that included some children. seven people were killed, three of them were children in one family. according to local authorities there, that is a child of seven, a child of four end a baby of six month, all of them boys. a child of four and a baby of six months, 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 then 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 that it is so close to the russian border, it is very difficult there for air defence systems to shoot down drones, to shoot down missiles. they come in very quickly, and the danger is very real for families, for civilians living in that area. now it's time for a look at today's sport with hugh ferris. lots of six nations and premier league action today. yes, to a dramatic ending in the first six nations match injust a second. manchester city are top of the premier league table, for the time being at least, after erling haaland helped them

to a win over everton at the etihad. city are a point clear of liverpool after the 2—0 victory, with haaland providing both goals — his first since returning from a foot injury. it took until the 71st minute before the champions struck, but it set city on the way to a 10th successive win in all competitions. i think we always work hard as a team, so fantastic performance, a difficult game and good to win. we are already on a good run, i think ten in a row in the competition, so we are already doing quite well, so there has to be something and it's a good thing. the team never drops, so we didn't concede _ the team never drops, so we didn't concede once. we are stable, the back_ concede once. we are stable, the back for— concede once. we are stable, the back for is— concede once. we are stable, the back for is moving really well together. we make a step forward in that sense _ together. we make a step forward in that sense and the guys who came from _ that sense and the guys who came from the _

that sense and the guys who came from the bench, kyle and kevin and jack, _ from the bench, kyle and kevin and jack, played perfectly. so many things. — jack, played perfectly. so many things. i— jack, played perfectly. so many things, i am very pleased with the win. liverpool will retake the leadif they beat burnley at anfield. it's currently i—i. it's currently 2—1 to liverpool . luton have gone back against sheffield united. brentford and brighton both currently have a way leads. it wasn'tjust in england that the day started with two points between the top two. and in both spain and germany those teams play each other on saturday. in la liga leaders real madrid host girona. and it's the same in germany, where bayern munich have the chance to go top of the bundesliga when they face bayer leverkusen. bayern are looking for a 12th straight title, and england captain harry kane knows a win would be massive towards achieving his goal

of claiming his first major trophy. i want to be winning team trophies and that is one of the things that is missing from my career so far. as always, i am not going to panic eitherway, i'mjust going to keep my head down and do my best for the team and hopefully that starts with a win on saturday. 0nto the international stage, we're into the second half of the asian cup final, where underdogsjordan are facing hosts and reigning champions qatar in doha. and it's qatar who lead i—0 — akram afif with a penalty in the first—half, his sixth goal of the tournament, making him thejoint top scorer. still qatar lead jordan by a goal to nil. not long until kick off at twickenham where england's winning start to the six nations is on the line against wales. it'll likely be a tense affair between the two rivals, as it was in the opening game of the day at murrayfield. france were behind for most of the game but eventually beat scotland 16—20. louis bielle—biarrey with the vital try late on. those two teams both

have a win apiece. a lengthy review via the video ref, there was a difference of opinion but as things stand, those two teams now have a win apiece. india will be without batsman virat kohli for the remainder of the test series with england. kohli missed the first two tests due to personal reasons, and that has been extended for the remaining three matches. the third test gets under way on thursday, with the series currently tied at 1—1. plenty of time left on the football to follow via the bbc sport website but that is it for now. police have been searching the river thames in central london, trying to find a man suspected of throwing a corrosive substance at his ex—partner and her two daughters. they believe abdul shokoor ezedi went into the water in the hours after the attack last month.

a police boat has been seen circling between chelsea and vauxhall bridges. the injured woman remains in a critical, but stable condition in hospital, and is unable to speak to police. 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 militia—men in iraq, as well as a drone strike in baghdad that killed a senior commander. dr fuad hussein spoke to our senior international correspondent, 0rla guerin, and told her he hopes both sides will 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 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 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 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'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. millions of people around the world are celebrating the lunar new year. from hong kong to peru, the new moon, which ushers in the year of the dragon, has been marked in many different ways.

courtney bembridge has more from the newsroom. ringing in the year of the dragon in beijing. this display marks the start of 15 days of celebrations, and big public events like this haven't been held in recent years because of the pandemic. as you can see, they're back with a bang. in taiwan, worshipers gathered to light incense and pray for prosperity for the new year. and have a look at this as a slightly different way to celebrate in hong kong. tattoo artists say there's been an increase in the number of people requesting dragon designs. well, big icons well known around the world — this is the tokyo tower — lit up in red to mark the occasion. you can see the empire state building in new york here, too. these pictures are from cuba. you can see the dragon front and centre here. it is considered to be the most auspicious of the 12 chinese zodiac signs. and these pictures are from lima in peru.

again, lots of street performances there and crowds gathering to celebrate. north korea has welcomed what's thought to be its first foreign tourists since it closed its borders in 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic. a small group of russians travelled to pyongyang airport from vladivostock. the governor of the russian region arranged the visit during talks at the end of last year. north korea and russia are keen to demonstrate closer ties. you are watching bbc news. plenty more on our app and our bbc news website. stay with us here on bbc news. it was a refreshing start their

weekend, quite with sunny spells. here was the lake districtjust a few hours a day. a few scattered showers but all in all, relatively quiet. we've got to get rid of his new since rain pushing up to eastern scotland overnight. some clearer skies, early morning sunshine the further west you are and as you go for the afternoon, a few scattered showers. so it's another day of sunny spells and scattered showers for many and temperatures around 7 to 11 degrees. we're starting to lose that really bitterly cold air now in scotland. there's more rain to come, though, as we look through the week ahead. the heaviest of the rain into the east to begin with. but then out to the west, we are likely to see a further 50 millimetres of rainfall perhaps in western scotland, wales and south west england. so more unsettled story to come. low pressure never too far away. and into monday, that low pressure will be sent into the north west, a weak weather front producing

more cloud ahead of it. the showers out to the northwest will be frequent across northern ireland, northwest scotland, and there'll be some snow to the tops of the mountains. england and wales dry with sunshine around. and again, those temperatures generally between six and ten degrees. now, as we move out of monday into tuesday, again, it'll be a relatively quiet start with this little ridge of high pressure, but all eyes down to the southwest as this next weather front will bring some rain slowly but surely into southwest england, wales and gradually across channel coasts towards the midlands by the end of the day. so the best of the drier weather will be northeast england and into scotland i suspect, on tuesday. and again, those temperatures pretty similar, seven to 11 degrees. south—westerly wind is going to continue to take over. that'll drive in more wetter weather potentially through wednesday and thursday and with tightly packed isobars, the breeze picking up. but with that south—westerly flow,

it will drive in milder aironce again. so milder still — we could see temperatures into the mid—teens by the middle part of the week for some. hopefully indications are something a little quieter into next weekend.

this is bbc news. the headlines: people living in the isolated north of gaza have told the bbc that children are going without food for days, as aid convoys are increasingly denied

permits to enter. some residents are grinding animalfeed into flour, and even that is running out. a six—year—old gazan girl who begged for help after being trapped in a car by israeli fire is found dead, along with two paramedics who tried to rescue her. police are searching the river thames for the body of abdul ezedi — the suspect in the clapham chemical attack. detectives believe the 35—year—old may be dead after going into the water near to chelsea bridge in west london. and iraq's foreign minister tells the bbc his country could be pushed into conflict by attacks on its territory by iranian—backed militias and us forces. now on bbc news, newscast. newscast. newscast from the bbc. hello.

it's james in the studio in westminster.