the thing that hostages released is the thing that will defeat hamas, a sustained military effort. nato hits back at remarks by donald trump that he would encourage russia to attack any nato ally that fails to meet its financial obligations to the alliance. the political blocs which came second and third in pakistan's election say they'll work together to try to form a government. and hosts ivory coast prepare to take on former champions nigeria in the final of the africa cup of nations. hello, i'm azadeh moshiri, welcome to the programme. we begin with israel's planned offensive in rafah. prime minister benjamin netanyahu has insisted it will go ahead, despite the fact that more than half of gaza's population has taken shelter there. in an interview with abc news, he said israel will give civilians safe passage to areas they've cleared north of rafah. the army has continued to target the city with air strikes,

which medical workers say killed more than a0 people in the last day alone. mr netanyahu claims israel's army has killed one hamas fighter for every civilian. he also says he believes "enough" of the 132 remaining israeli hostages held in gaza are alive to justify israel continuing its offensive. the armed wing of hamas says israeli strikes have killed two of those hostages in the last four days, and seriously injured eight others. a senior hamas official has threatened to halt hostage exchange negotiations if israel goes ahead with the assault on rafah. egypt has warned of "dire consequences", calling for all international and regional efforts to unite to stop israel targeting the city. barbara plett—usher reports for us from jerusalem. the aftermath of an israeli air strike in rafah — on a home sheltering people who'd fled the war. they were told they would be safe here in the south.

eight people were killed, including children. this is ines—amah. "i'm looking for my niece," she says. "she was two months old." so even here, there's dangerfrom the air, but it could get worse. israel's planning to send in troops to carry on its fight against hamas. victory is within reach. we're going to do it, we're going to get the remaining hamas terrorist battalions in rafah, which is the last bastion, but we're going to do it — and on this, i agree with the americans — we're going to do it while providing safe passage for the civilian population, so they can leave. and there's nowhere left to run. there are also israeli hostages at state, being held by hamas. any ground offensive would in the words

of hamas blow chances for a deal. for the people of gaza, there's nowhere left to run. they're crammed up against the egyptian border, living under plastic, food and water in short supply. more than a million people have crowded into rafah in the last four months, obeying earlier israeli orders. the united nations is unconvinced that an evacuation plan could work. that was the assessment of the un's humanitarian coordinator after a visit to gaza this week. it's very difficult to respond right now, where people are static. and people have come there because they're looking for safety. it's the last resort for many people that have come. do you have a contingency plan if there is, if the combat operations are extended? well, we had a contingency plan for them to arrive in rafah. that was the contingency plan we had. but now we're looking for another contingency plan, but we're struggling right now to address this contingency plan. and if there was to be an incursion into rafah, which is a massively over—populated city, it's got five times the population there was before the conflict. so everything is under pressure, we're under pressure,

and the population themselves have nowhere to go. israel says people can move back north, where soldiers are winding up their offensive, but this is what they will find. this crisis keeps building and building. barbara plett usher, bbc news, jerusalem. and barbara has been explaining more about the situation in rafah. he is trying to reassure his international critics, especially america, who have said they wouldn't support an incursion into rafah if there wasn't a proper plan for civilians. so he is saying, look, we will have an accurate —— we will have an evacuation plan. but he has the strong protests from the families of the hostages in israel, and they say the priority should be and they say the priority should be a truce and to get the hostages released, not to go charging into rafah. but you also have the extreme right—wing members of mr netanyahu's

coalition who might quit if he stops or even pause in the war. and you also have his own political fortunes. many israelis blame him fortunes. many israelis blame him for this crisis, him and his policies, and he going to have to face that when the conflict ends. some analysts are saying that encourages him to keep fighting. some breaking news, and an update on this story. it has come out that the white house has had a conversation with the israeli government, prime minister benjamin netanyahu has spoken to presidentjoe biden. according to the white house, mr biden has reaffirmed his view that military operations in rafah should not proceed without a plan to ensure the safety of more than i million people sheltering in rafah. he has also reiterated the need to continue providing humanitarian aid, given the crisis unfolding there in gaza. as we hear more about this, we will

keep bringing it to you. that line, thatjoe biden has spoken to benjamin netanyahu, reaffirming his view that the assault in rafah should not proceed without a clear plan to ensure the safety of the people sheltering there from the war. we will return to that story as soon as we have more developments, but let's look at the united states now. former president donald trump has said he told nato leaders he would encourage russia to quote "do whatever the hell they want" to countries that haven't invested enough in their militaries. that's been met by a fierce response from nato's secretary general. jens stoltenberg, said any attack on nato would be met with a united and forceful response, and that "any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security." now, nato countries are supposed to spend 2% of their gdp, their economic output, on defence. but not all of them do. at a campaign rally in south carolina, mr trump said he wouldn't defend nato members

who don't meet their financial obligations to the alliance. nato was busted until i came along. i said, everybody�*s got to pay. they said, if we don't pay, are you still going to protect us? i said, absolutely not. they couldn't believe the answer. they asked me that question, one of the presidents of a big country stood up and said, "well, sir, if we don't pay and we are attacked by russia, will you protect us?" i said, "you didn't pay, you're delinquent?" he said, "yes, let's say that happened." "no, i would not protect you." in fact, i would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. you've got to pay. you've got to pay your bills. so how many nato allies routinely hit their 2% obligation? aside from the us, with their huge $860 billion military budget, only 11 out of 30 members of nato achieved the 2% spending commitment. they include the uk, greece, and poland, which commits a record li% of its gdp to defence,

as well as a number of other central and eastern european states. but many long—time nato members, including some of its founders, such as france, germany, spain and italy, do not currently meet the 2% threshold, causing concern on the other side of the atlantic. so how concerned should europeans actually be about mr trump's comments? we asked robert pszczel, a senior fellow at the center for eastern studies. he's a former nato official who led the alliance's information office in moscow until 2015. certainly when it comes to frontier states, poland and baltic countries, bulgaria and romania and also finland and sweden, who havejustjoined nato, all those countries are spending... poland spending li%. it's a very serious issue because we are notjust talking about former president trump...

he knows how nato works, but it relies on credibility of its collective defence. for the frontier states and others, there is unity in nato right now. we are facing a predator state russia, and other helpers, which needs to be confronted with a united action and there have been various decisions taken, and that is the reason we have new defence plans, essentially the presence of the military on the eastern and southern flank, but we need to work on other issues and it's true that defence spending is still not high enough, particularly in a number of g7 countries, such as germany, canada and italy. so, yes, perhaps pressure should be spent on them, but this is a different matter that trump puts in doubt the collective defence.

that's sacrosanct. that's why the secretary general has reacted how he has. let's look at pakistan now. against the odds, independent candidates backed by pakistan's jailed former prime minister, imran khan, have won the most seats. but the second and third largest political blocs say they have started formal discussions about forming a government together. the two parties, led by nawaz sharif and bilawal bhutto zardari, formed an alliance to oust khan from power in 2022. they've issued a statement saying they plan to work together to bring political stability. if they do form a government, it's likely to anger mr khan's followers. his pti party was barred from taking part in the election, forcing its candidates to stand as independents. our correspondent carrie davies reports from islamabad. two sides are claiming victory in pakistan, but there is still no new

government. both need more seats to get a majority. this is part of imran khan's pti party's plan. inaudible. we will keep protesting until a stay order is granted. we will fight our case on 45 and 47 and not let those selected and not elected to take the oath. ., ., , , , oath. the authorities deny these allegations- _ oath. the authorities deny these allegations. security _ oath. the authorities deny these allegations. security has - oath. the authorities deny these allegations. security has been i allegations. security has been stepped up wherever the pti said they would appear. this is the road outside the election commission in rawalpindi, if you hundred protesters have gathered, it is not massive at the moment but the idea is that it keeps pressure up while the pti work out what to do next. in the pti work out what to do next. in the crowd, this man from oxford. this country has been in this situation for the last decade, it's been going on like this and imran khan is the only hope for the country to get out of this mess. mit?

country to get out of this mess. why did ou country to get out of this mess. why did you want — country to get out of this mess. why did you want to _ country to get out of this mess. why did you want to come down today? it's just to did you want to come down today? it'sjust to aid did you want to come down today? it's just to aid our peaceful protest. _ it's just to aid our peaceful protest, that we need to have respect — protest, that we need to have respect for people's mandate. the people _ respect for people's mandate. the people have shown their desire towards — people have shown their desire towards imran khan. ~ . ., towards imran khan. meanwhile, imran khan's political — towards imran khan. meanwhile, imran khan's political rival _ towards imran khan. meanwhile, imran khan's political rival nawaz _ towards imran khan. meanwhile, imran khan's political rival nawaz sharif - khan's political rival nawaz sharif is publicly looking for alliances. today he met with karachi —based party n quebec letter m. frustration is growing among imran khan's supporters. —— n quebec letter m. we have just been pushed we havejust been pushed back we have just been pushed back by a cloud of tear gas used on the protesters outside, now completely dispersed. you can see the reaction of everybody behind me as well.

pakistan has already faced months of political dispute, and there is no answer yet as to who will lead the country. here in the uk, a vigil has taken place in warrington to remember the murdered teenager brianna ghey. her family, friends and teachers were among those in attendance. brianna, who was 16, was stabbed to death in a park near the town a year ago today. two teenagers have beenjailed for life for her murder. her mother, esther ghey, spoke at the event. i really didn't think that i was going to be able to come on stage today. but after seeing all of brianna's really brave, lovely friends come out and do that for her, i thought i'd better push myself as well. so as you've all heard, brianna was an amazing, unique and joyful teenager. i will be forever thankful that i was lucky enough to spend 16 years with her. she taught me so much and gave me so much happiness and love. if there's one piece of advice that

i can give to any parent, it would be to hug your children tight and never stop telling them that you love them. i want to thank you all for coming here today to pay respect to brianna. i hope that wherever she is now, that she can feel the love that we've created by joining together today. thank you to the golden square and to all involved making this vigil happen, thank you. applause. a man and a woman have been arrested after an eight—year—old boy was seriously injured in bootle when he was bitten on the head by a dog, believed to be an xl bully. merseyside police say the boy was attacked yesterday afternoon. he's in hospital in a serious but stable condition. the two people arrested are not

related to the child. king charles has attended church in sandringham in his first public outing since buckingham palace announced his cancer diagnosis. charles, who's 75, said all those affected by cancer knew "such kind thoughts" were "the greatest comfort and encouragement". around 100 well—wishers gathered on sunday as the king walked into church. our correspondent louisa pilbeam sent this update from sandringham. well, we saw king charles walk into sandringham church with his wife, queen camilla. they walked in and king charles waved once or twice to a crowd that had gathered. there were around 100 people who had come up to the gates here on the sandringham estate and were hoping that he might come and speak to them, so that they could give their warm, kind words that they wanted to, to the king. but he went straight in, he spoke to the vicar and then he went into the church service. on the way out, the security here had actually opened the gates, and then there was some hope

and quite a lot of excitement, actually, that they might be able to speak to the king and give them their warm well wishes. but on the way out, the king and queen camilla actually went past, gave a couple more waves and then went back to the private sandringham estate. so people here, perhaps a little bit of disappointment, they told me, that they didn't get to speak directly to the king. but a sense of understanding that perhaps he wanted a private day. and also perhaps the king felt that he had given his warm message from the heart. he released a statement last night saying that he was, he felt gratitude to people for their warm wishes and said that it meant a lot to him that he has this support from the public. we wa nt we want to return to our top story, comments made by the former president of the us donald trump that he would encourage vladimir putin, the president of russia, to

do whatever the hell he wants to nato allies not meeting their spending commitments when it comes to defence. let's go to washington, dc and our correspondent will vernon. what has been the reaction from the white house? the vernon. what has been the reaction from the white house?— from the white house? the white house releasing _ from the white house? the white house releasing a _ from the white house? the white house releasing a statement - from the white house? the white i house releasing a statement earlier calling these comments appalling and unhinged, and accusing mr trump of encouraging invasions of our closest allies by murderous regimes. we have heard this kind of thing from mr trump before, he is a notorious sceptic of nato and other international alliances. while in office, he was criticised for heaping praise on vladimir putin, for calling nato obsolete and saying it was an unnecessary strain on america's resources. but we should remember, these comments were made at a campaign rally. this was mr trump trying to portray himself as a

tough international statesman, standing up for american interests. a lot of his supporters, that's what they want to hear, that will appeal to them, that message. his words will be very worrying for a lot of european allies, especially those on nato's eastern flank. the ones most vulnerable to russian aggression. the war continuing in ukraine. the nato secretary general today seeking to send a message of reassurance. nato said, any attack on nato will be met with a united and forceful response. but this comes, doesn't it, at a very sensitive time. in kyiv, they are desperately low on weaponry and ammunition. in washington at the us congress, some republican lawmakers pushing back on a crucial will at the moment in congress. that bill will grant $60 billion of military aid to ukraine. last night a crucial bill. i

billion of military aid to ukraine. last night a crucial bill.- billion of military aid to ukraine. last night a crucial bill. i want to ask ou last night a crucial bill. i want to ask you about — last night a crucial bill. i want to ask you about some _ last night a crucial bill. i want to ask you about some news - last night a crucial bill. i want to ask you about some news we - last night a crucial bill. i want to | ask you about some news we had earlier in the programme, that the white house has spoken to president netanyahu about the war in gaza and that president biden urged prime minister netanyahu not to start his offensive until there is an evacuation plan for the more than 1.4 million gazans in rafah today. how is the white house balancing its relationship to israel as a staunch ally, as an offensive like this is being planned? yes, just now we have had that readout of the call between president biden and benjamin netanyahu, reaffirming their shared neta nyahu, reaffirming their shared goal to netanyahu, reaffirming their shared goal to see hamas defeated. mention of the release of hostages and

humanitarian assistance. but interestingly, _ humanitarian assistance. but interestingly, it _ humanitarian assistance. elf interestingly, it talks about how president biden reaffirmed his view that a military operation in rafah should not proceed without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety of more than 1 million people sheltering there. i think that is the key, isn't it? it's the first phone call between president biden and benjamin netanyahu since january. just a few days ago, president biden at the white house gave his most striking criticism of israel to date, saying that he thought their military operation in the gaza strip was, quote, overthe operation in the gaza strip was, quote, over the top. this call comes just a few days after us secretary of state antony blinken has returned from another diplomatic tour around the middle east. he met key regional leaders, discussing what the us had presented as a potential pause in fighting, a potential ceasefire plan for the war in gaza. that, as we

know, was rejected by israel. so an interesting moment for the two leaders to have this phone call. thank you so much for your time. now something quite different. excitement is rising in ivory coast, where the final of the africa cup of nations is set to kick off injust over an hour and a half. the hosts will take on fellow former champions nigeria. the super eagles are aiming for a fourth afcon crown, while the ivorians are looking to add to their triumphs in 1992 and 2015. in saturday's third place play—off final, south africa beat the democratic republic of congo 6—5 on penalties. now, in london, preparations are under way for the game. let's speak to our news reporter simi jolaoso, who is there right now. it looks so colourful behind you, it looks like you are in a nightclub. what is the atmosphere there? there

is a real buzz — what is the atmosphere there? there is a real buzz in _ what is the atmosphere there? there is a real buzz in the _ what is the atmosphere there? there is a real buzz in the air. _ what is the atmosphere there? there is a real buzz in the air. i _ what is the atmosphere there? there is a real buzz in the air. i am - what is the atmosphere there? there is a real buzz in the air. i am with - is a real buzz in the air. i am with ivory coast fans in south london, in a restaurant where they have gathered ahead of the game tonight. everyone is expecting it to be thrilling. it's been a tournament full of drama. ivory coast, the hosts of this year's tournament, they have won two titles, the last one in 2015, and they are hoping to win this one. at the beginning they were seemingly a sinking ship after losing 4—0 against equatorial guinea in the group stages, but they made a comeback, beating the defending champions senegal, mali and congo. sebastien haller was diagnosed with cancer in 2022 but is tonight seen as the biggest threat against nigeria. also simon adingra, the striker who scored one of the winning goals against mali. i am here with some fans. sissy and

kirsty. you watched some of the games in ivory coast and now you are in london for the final. what you expect tonight from the elephants? we lost against nigeria before but we're _ we lost against nigeria before but we're not — we lost against nigeria before but we're not going to do that today, we must _ we're not going to do that today, we must win _ we're not going to do that today, we must win. ., . we're not going to do that today, we i must win._ 10096. must win. you are determined? 10096. the head coach — must win. you are determined? 10096. the head coach had _ must win. you are determined? 10096. the head coach had to _ must win. you are determined? 10096. the head coach had to be _ must win. you are determined? 10096. the head coach had to be replaced - the head coach had to be replaced after the group stage loss, but since then the ivory coast has performed well, do you think they will continue tonight? i’m performed well, do you think they will continue tonight?— will continue tonight? i'm pretty sure they will — will continue tonight? i'm pretty sure they will continue, - will continue tonight? i'm pretty sure they will continue, because they started _ sure they will continue, because they started slow, _ sure they will continue, because they started slow, but _ sure they will continue, because they started slow, but it's - they started slow, but it's about how you — they started slow, but it's about how you finish. _ they started slow, but it's about how you finish. a _ they started slow, but it's about how you finish. a lot _ they started slow, but it's about how you finish. a lot of- they started slow, but it's about how you finish. a lot of people i they started slow, but it's about. how you finish. a lot of people said we have _ how you finish. a lot of people said we have risen— how you finish. a lot of people said we have risen from _ how you finish. a lot of people said we have risen from the _ how you finish. a lot of people said we have risen from the dead. - how you finish. a lot of people said we have risen from the dead. we . how you finish. a lot of people said i we have risen from the dead. we are going _ we have risen from the dead. we are going to _ we have risen from the dead. we are going to take — we have risen from the dead. we are going to take the _ we have risen from the dead. we are going to take the cup! _ we have risen from the dead. we are going to take the cup! you _ we have risen from the dead. we are going to take the cup!— going to take the cup! you can hear a lot of excitement _ going to take the cup! you can hear a lot of excitement here. _ going to take the cup! you can hear a lot of excitement here. what - going to take the cup! you can hear a lot of excitement here. what are | a lot of excitement here. what are your predictions?— a lot of excitement here. what are your predictions? 2-0. ivory coast. 2-0, your predictions? 2-0. ivory coast. 2-0. simple. _ your predictions? 2-0. ivory coast. 2-0. simple. easy. _ your predictions? 2-0. ivory coast. 2-0, simple, easy, light— your predictions? 2-0. ivory coast. 2-0, simple, easy, light work! -

your predictions? 2-0. ivory coast. | 2-0, simple, easy, light work! who are ou 2-0, simple, easy, light work! who are you looking _ 2—0, simple, easy, light work! are you looking forward to seeing 2—0, simple, easy, light work!“ are you looking forward to seeing on the pitch? are you looking forward to seeing on the itch? ,, , are you looking forward to seeing on the itch? . , . are you looking forward to seeing on the itch? ,, , . ~ . the pitch? sebastien haller, max gradel l, the pitch? sebastien haller, max gradel l. yes- — the pitch? sebastien haller, max gradel l, yes. everyone - the pitch? sebastien haller, max gradel l, yes. everyone who - the pitch? sebastien haller, max gradel l, yes. everyone who can| the pitch? sebastien haller, max - gradel l, yes. everyone who can help us win the game _ gradel l, yes. everyone who can help us win the game tonight. _ gradel l, yes. everyone who can help us win the game tonight. a _ gradel l, yes. everyone who can help us win the game tonight. a lot - gradel l, yes. everyone who can help us win the game tonight. a lot of- us win the game tonight. a lot of confidence on the fans for this final game against nigeria. shill final game against nigeria. all ri . ht, final game against nigeria. all right, thank you! to another major sporting event — it's superbowl night in the us, where the kansas city chiefs take on the san francisco 49ers. las vegas is hosting the sporting event, and fans have been pouring into the city. millions of people tune in to watch every year, all over the world. super bowl sunday, and taylor swift has been stealing the pregame headlines. he is behind the umbrellas here, after racing back

from her tokyo concert to watch her boyfriend, travis kelce, play in the big game. a baker in the uk has created something special for the occasion. a life—sized taylor swift cake which took 38 hours to make, using almost 130 kilos of ingredients. keep watching. laterwe willspeak ingredients. keep watching. laterwe will speak to a super bowl fan in the uk, in sheffield. stay with us on bbc news. hello there. very pleased to say it's been a quieter weekend of weather for most of us, but there's still a lot of waterlogged fields and pavements out there, as you can see by this weather watcher picture sent in from hull a little earlier on. now, as we go through the week ahead, we might start off quite optimistic with some sunny spells

around, but it will turn increasingly unsettled with the showers turning to longer spells of rain, breezy at times, but it will be mild, particularly through the middle part of the week. this has been the story today. we've had some nuisance rainjust clinging onto the far east coast of scotland and northeast england. some brighter spells and a few scattered showers out to the west. now, those showers will continue to feed in across west—facing coasts overnight. but with some clearer skies, temperatures are likely to fall away. it's going to be a chilly start to our monday morning. low single figures for many, perhaps in rural parts of scotland, below freezing, a touch of ice not out of the question where we've got those lingering showers. low pressure dominates the scene as we move into monday, the wind direction coming from a northwesterly, slightly fresher source and that's going to continue to drive in plenty of showers closest to that area of low. so northern ireland, scotland, perhaps northwest england as well. and some of the showers to the tops of the mountains once again could be wintry in nature. but there will be some sunshine elsewhere and those temperatures

are likely to peak between six and ten degrees. as we go through monday evening and into tuesday, we've got this little ridge of high pressure keeping things quiet. but all the time this weather front is approaching from the southwest, that is going to gradually spill in more cloud ahead of it. so after a bright start, clouding over. a few scattered showers in the far northwest, more persistent showery rain develops across the channel islands, south west england, wales and eventually into the midlands, north west england and northern ireland by the end of the afternoon. 7 to 11, our overall highs. so as we move out of tuesday into wednesday, it's here where the showers potentially could merge to longer spells of rain as it stays pretty unsettled. the wind direction there coming from a south—westerly, so a very mild direction and that is going to just push that milder air further north across the country. so it does mean that we could see temperatures perhaps into the mid—teens as we go through the middle part of the week. but it stays pretty unsettled for many of us.

take care.

israel prime minister insists he will press ahead with an offensive in rafah. us presidentjoe biden has told netanyahu you should not

proceed without a plan to ensure the safety of the 1.5 million palestinians thought to be sheltering there. nido has hit back at remarks by donald trump that he would encourage russia to do whatever the hell he wants to any nato ally that fails to meet its financial obligations to the alliance. the white house condemned the comments as appalling and deranged. final results in the election in pakistan showed independent candidates allied to former prime minister won the most seats but the political blocks coming second and third say they will work together to try to form a government. now, the sports.

hello and welcome to sportsday — i'm jane dougall.