the situation on ie! situation on the round the situation on the round in rafah and situation on the ground in rafah and wise some of the allies of israel are so concerned about a new offensive there. labour's candidate in rochdale has apologised for remarks he made about israel �*allowing' hamas to carry out the october 7th attacks. tributes for the american world record holder who has been killed in a car accident. in the uk, two new drugs to slow the progress of alzheimers could be licensed within months. we will talk life to our medical editor. hello, i'm matthew amroliwala, welcome to verified live. the israeli military has rescued two of the hostages abducted by hamas, during a raid in the gaza strip. the release of the hostages was announced shortly after israel carried out an intense aerial bombardment of the southern city of rafah. this was the scene after those israeli strikes.

a spokesman for the hamas—run health ministry says, at least 67 palestinians were killed. a doctor at a nearby hospital said it was unable to cope with the number of injured. returning to the line coming from the reuters news agency in the last five minutes reporting that the hamas armed wing is saying three israeli hostages were killed in those elitist israeli air strike. that is only being reported by reuters at the moment. just that one light and of course israel in the past has accused hamas of using psychological torture in just one of the strategies. so that is how they usually respond to those sorts of updates. but the hamas armed wing saying that three is really hostages were killed in those israeli air strikes. the two israeli hostages, fernando marman and louis har, have been reunited with their families and are said to be in good condition. the israeli prime minister said �*only continued military pressure'

will free more hostages. here's barbara plett usher. a family reunited, after 128 days of captivity. fernando marman on the left and louis har on the right, rescued last night. their lives torn apart on that traumatic day in october when hamas attacked their village and dragged them into gaza. now there is overwhelming relief, even a certain amount of joyful disbelief. when we saw them, the heart was beating on 200, maybe more. a lot of tears. hugs, not many words. just being together, surrounded by the family, and surrounded by our beloved people that were without us for so long, more than four months. explosions. israeli special forces made their move covered by a heavy burst of air strikes.

they'd been monitoring the location for some time in the southern gaza city of rafah. palestinians scrambled to rescue their wounded and to collect their dead. they'd been bombed here almost every night, but this time was so intense, they feared it signalled the beginning of a threatened israeli ground offensive. the war has gone on for more than four months. israel's prime minister says this is the best way to free the hostages. so this rescue is a significant success for him. but the families of the captives are pressing for a ceasefire deal that pauses the war to release all the hostages, more than 100 of them. so are israel's international allies. above all, what we want is an immediate pause in the fighting. and we want that pause to lead to a ceasefire, a sustainable ceasefire without a return to further fighting. that's what should happen now, we need to get those hostages out,

including the british nationals, we need to get the aid in. the best way to do that is to stop the fighting now and turn that into a permanent sustainable ceasefire. it's a very happy day for this family. but overall, little has changed. israeli hostages still trapped in gaza, palestinians trapped in a nightmare of destruction and death. barbara plett usher, bbc news, jerusalem. more reaction to the hostage releases in a moment. but we have received in the last little while pictures from the israel defense forces of that operation. it's tracking and aerial shot footage showing what, it says, is its overnight operation to rescue two hostages in the gaza strip. you can see the strike right on the specific area in rafah. and then on and then on the and then on the ground. and then on the ground. the and then on the ground. the special and then on the ground. the special forces moving in. the hostage is

said to be on the second floor of the building and retrieved after a long firefight. sharone lif—schitz�*s mother was one of the first hostages sharone lifschitz�*s mother was one of the first hostages released by hamas last october — but her 83 year old father remains captive. shejoined me on the programme earlier and shared her thoughts on the israeli hostage situation. it is wonderful to see the people that came back and the hostage families are so excited for them. i am, but it is two out of 134. three have been released through military effort in four months. we need another deal in order to release all the remaining hostages. i will come back to a deal, but your mother was released. what was the last bit of concrete information you had about your father? the release of the hostages

in the first deal, we knew he arrived in gaza alive, he was injured, so that my mum knew. he was alive for the first ten or 20 days, but we don't have any further news about him. nothing whatsoever? nothing. that must be incredibly excruciating. what do you make of the fact this rescue was done rafah? rescue was done around rafah? when you hear benjamin netanyahu talking about the upcoming full—scale offensive around that city, you hear others talking about revenge, emotionally what is that like? revenge is like a scream in my heart, it is like the collapse of everything i believe in. i think what happened on the 7th of october is horrendous. israel should find a way to protect itself. revenge is where people just get killed for the sake of it. we need diplomatic security, we need something that

bring us forward, release all the hostages. i think hamas cannot stay, but there's other ways of beating them. the strategy benjamin netanyahu keeps talking about, he keeps saying, the exerting of military pressure is working. you made the point only three hostages have been released so far successfully using that tactic. again, what do you think of the prospect of a larger operation in rafah if potentially there are more hostages there? i think today has probably made it more dangerous for all the other hostages. more dangerous? yes, because hamas would be easier on the trigger when it comes to anything that scares them and make them feel a military operation is under way. as a family of a hostage,

it increases my worry. our team at bbc verify has been looking at the attack on rafah in closer detail. here's nick eardley. israel's action in gaza has gradually moved south over the past few months. and as you can see on this map, rafah is in the very south of gaza, and as you can see on this map, just beside the border with egypt. it's become home to hundreds of thousands of displaced people. and we can give you a sense of what that looks like in reality. this a part of rafah in october, before the conflict began. and if we go across here, you can see the change. all of these constructions here are tents. let me just show you the difference. you can see in the middle here, hundreds and hundreds of tents appearing in this area.

now, to give you some more context about what's changed in rafah, the number of people has increased five—fold. it was around a quarter of a million before the 7th of october attack. it's now said by aid agencies it's around 1.4 million. geographically, it's roughly the size of walking in surrey, the size of woking in surrey, but it now has a population almost iii times that of woking. here's a sense here 1.4 million palestinians crammed into the area, that's according to the norwegian refugee council. now, here's a bit more of a sense of what that looks like on the ground. we've verified this video from a cemetery in south—west rafah. and if i play it here, you can see various tents have been set up in the cemetery itself, more in the background there. now, in recent days, israeli strikes in rafah have increased in theirfrequency.

have a look here. this shows the aftermath of one of those strikes and damage on the ground. you can see here what looks like tunnels have been destroyed. we've geolocated this image. it's about 200 metres away from what appears to be a refugee camp. we've also verified this picture here, which shows damage around a mosque. and there are fears amongst israel's allies of the impact that a renewed offensive would have. this is the uk's foreign secretary, lord cameron. what we are very concerned about what is happening in rafah, because let's be clear, the people there, many of them have moved four or five or six times before getting there. really, we think, is impossible to to see how you can can fight a war amongst these people. there's nowhere for them to go. that is a concern shared more widely to the us president. joe biden, for example, has said that israel needs a credible plan to protect civilians in rafah.

i want to return to that breaking news coming into us the reuters news agency reporting that the hamas armed wing telling us that three is really hostages were killed in those air strikes overnight. of course, we know two hostages were rescued. more detail. just a few lines worth bringing you. they say three of eight is really hostages who were seriously injured following those israeli air strikes had died from their wounds. which means another five, presumably, are seriously injured. we will postpone the announcements of names and pictures of the dead for the coming days until the fate of the remaining wound it becomes clear, they say. so clear from that additional information that eight hostages, hamas is saying anyway, were involved in the repercussions of israeli air strikes. three are

saying have died in the other five have been seriously injured. so those the latest lines being reported from the hamas armed wing. so we will keep an eye on that. if there is any reaction from israel we will obviously bring that to you in any more detail we will bring that to you as well. let's move to kenya. the kenyan government has announced that the marathon world record holder, kelvin kiptum, will be buried as a national hero. the 24—year—old and his coach were killed in a car crash in western kenya on sunday night. kiptum set the world record in the chicago marathon last year. from nairobi, anne soy reports. he was no doubt destined for greatness. at only 2a, kelvin kiptum had run three of the seven fastest marathon times in history. this is him in london last year. he broke away from the leading pack mid—race and went on to win and set a new course record. later in the year, he broke

the world record in chicago, shaving 3a seconds off his compatriot, eliud kipchoge's time. a world record means a lot to me. to beat a world record, it's so hard, you have to work hard. and that has been a long journey for me. he was going to attempt to run the rotterdam marathon in under two hours this april, but his promising career was cut short on sunday night. he was driving along this road near his birthplace in kenya's rift valley, when he crashed. kelvin lost control of the vehicle, it veered off the road and it entered into a ditch. he drove through that ditch for 60 metres before hitting a big tree.

tributes have been paid to him in kenya and across the world. it is a very dark morning, a very dark day for our country. a very dark day for the athletics fraternity. the world athletics federation ratified kiptum's record only last week. its president, sebastian coe, described him as an incredible athlete, who is leaving an incredible legacy. for a man who ran his first major competition in borrowed shoes because he could not afford a pair, he achieved far more than any ever will at his age. anne soy, bbc news, nairobi. before we take a short break let me tell you a few good stories coming up tell you a few good stories coming up in the next few minutes. british politics because of course that story of the labour opposition candidate in the forthcoming rochdale by election we have has apologised to remarks made during a local meeting. so the latest month

story from westminster. also we will talk with our medical editor on the programme with that fascinating story he has brought us on those new drugs for alzheimer's. so hejoins on the programme in a moment or two. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news here in the uk. double child rapist and murderer, colin pitchfork, will face a fresh hearing after challenging a decision to keep him behind bars. pitchfork was jailed for life for raping and strangling two 15—year—old girls in the 19805. he was granted parole but this was challenged by ministers and the parole board denied his release in december. schools are spending tens of thousands of pounds more a year, to meet rising costs of contracts with private firms. these private finance initiative schools, are locked into 25 to 30—year contracts, in which charges rise more than at other schools. pfi investors say the contracts give, long—term value for taxpayers' money.

police say they will take no further action against the conservative mp, andrew rosindell, after he was arrested on suspicion of rape, sexual assault and misconduct in a public office. scotland yard said the evidence threshold for criminal prosecution had not been met. a spokesperson for mr rosindell said he had been "completely exonerated". you're live with bbc news. let's get more on that story that has been dominating i westminster. labour's candidate in the forthcoming rochdale by—election has apologised for remarks he made about israel during a local meeting. in a secret recording obtained by a newspaper, azhar ali reportedly said the country had allowed hamas's deadly attack to go ahead in october so it could do whatever it wanted in response. let's speak to our political correspondent, ben wright.

ben, a straightforward question. why aren't labour sticking with this candidate? a, aren't labour sticking with this candidate?— candidate? a straightforward . uestion candidate? a straightforward question but _ candidate? a straightforward question but a _ candidate? a straightforward question but a complicated l candidate? a straightforward - question but a complicated answer i am afraid. the reason, i think, is the deadline that nominations have to go forward for the bye election has already passed. even if labour wanted to remove mr ali as their candidate in rochdale they cannot take his name off of the ballad paper. so that they are stuck with him. i think there is another reason as well. causing some concern in the labour party, they feel if they were to disown azhar ali at this point it could help one of the rival candidates, the former labour mp george galloway who is fiercely critical of the labour stance on gaza. there is a big muslim population in rochdale so i think thatis population in rochdale so i think that is one of the considerations as well. so labour is in an odd position here condemning a very strongly the words that were spoken by mr ali last month, words he has

described himself as deeply offensive, ignorant and false. but comments that the labour party front page today has tried to explain as the product of being sucked into in online conspiracy and they believe mr ali's excuse or claim that he was a victim of an online conspiracy and thatis a victim of an online conspiracy and that is why they are standing by their candidate. i5 that is why they are standing by their candidate. is it that is why they are standing by their candidate.— their candidate. is it possible to sa that if their candidate. is it possible to say that if this _ their candidate. is it possible to say that if this story _ their candidate. is it possible to say that if this story is - their candidate. is it possible to say that if this story is doing - say that if this story is doing labour harm and damage nationally? it is hard to say. i think sir keir starmer has made one of his core mission since he took over the party rooting out anti—semitism within the labour party. in this storyline provides questions around that, questions the conservative party are certainly keen to try and capitalise on. jewish groups, though, have praised her keir starmer for the success he has had in tackling anti—semitism and while thejewish labour movement today has said that

mr ali comments were reprehensible and certainly would not be campaigning for him in rochdale. they stop short of saying that he should be suspended from the party and his campaign should be stopped. so i think that limits the political damage that sir keir starmer could be facing from this. i think there are questions about if mr ali is elected the labour mp for rochdale after this by election. will labour party give him the party whip if he comes of the house of commons, will it reselect him as the party candidate in the forthcoming by elections, questions labourfront elections, questions labour front edges elections, questions labourfront edges are being asked, but the answers are not very clear. == edges are being asked, but the answers are not very clear. -- front benches. answers are not very clear. -- front benches- this _ answers are not very clear. -- front benches. this row _ answers are not very clear. -- front benches. this row does _ answers are not very clear. -- front benches. this row does not - answers are not very clear. -- front benches. this row does not show i answers are not very clear. -- front. benches. this row does not show much a sign of going away soon, does it? no. and it is also stoked internal tensions that have been in the party for a while since the israel gaza war started. among different factions of the labour party, there are some that think on the left of the party in particular, that sir keir starmer was very slow in

calling for a cease—fire. to labour and peace have had the whips suspended for comments that they made about gaza, one kate, who suggested that the conflict in gaza should be remembered along with others, along with the holocaust, holocaust memorial day a comment that saw her party whip immediately suspended in the left wing momentum campaign group has said today that she as a result of the party today, has had the whip suspended. so is rewrite all sorts of tensions there as well. . ~ rewrite all sorts of tensions there as well. ., ~ , ., rewrite all sorts of tensions there as well. . ~' , ., , rewrite all sorts of tensions there as well. ., ~ ,, , . as well. thank you very much, then i westminster- _ as we have been discussing today there are hopes that there are hopes that two new drugs aimed at slowing the progress of alzheimer's, could pave the way for the development of future treatments for the disease. the medicines are expected to be licensed in the uk within months, but charities are warning that the nhs isn't ready forthem, meaning many patients could lose out.

with me now in the studio is the bbc�*s medical editor fergus walsh. asi as i was saying, this is a really, really interesting story but let's rewind. tell me more about these two drugs and why would it be that some patients could lose out. so the two drugs are both antibodies engineered to clear a rogue protein that builds up to clear a rogue protein that builds up in the brain of patients with alzheimer's and it could take up to 20 years building up in the brain before symptoms emerge. they cleared the emma lloyd and they slow cognitive decline. up till now all of the alzheimer's treatment has simply, they have dealt with symptoms, but not the underlying disease. , , . , symptoms, but not the underlying disease. , , ., , , disease. this is actually the first dru: to disease. this is actually the first drug to slow _ disease. this is actually the first drug to slow dementia. - disease. this is actually the first drug to slow dementia. they - disease. this is actually the firstj drug to slow dementia. they are disease. this is actually the first - drug to slow dementia. they are not perfect by any means. they have side

effects in fact, in one of the trials, three patients died as a result of brain swelling and bleeds because of the treatment. so patients need very careful monitoring. but scientists regard them as a turning point because they herald this new era of treatment. we saw in your piece that we ran all new leave earlier, you talk to people involved in this research. the one thing that absolutelyjumped out and it was such a simple basic thing, it gave people more time. how much more time? fiser thing, it gave people more time. how much more time?— much more time? over the course of the 18 month — much more time? over the course of the 18 month trials, _ much more time? over the course of the 18 month trials, it _ much more time? over the course of the 18 month trials, it gave - much more time? over the course of the 18 month trials, it gave them, i the 18 month trials, it gave them, scientists said to me, it gave them around five months at a higher cognitive level. we don't know beyond the 18 months how much extra time they would give. but in the results, the big fees of three, final stage trials, it was about five months extra time. so if you

are wanting to go to your granddaughters wedding and still want to know who your partner is, you want to be independent, all of theissues you want to be independent, all of the issues that we take for granted, it gives patients more time. aha, the issues that we take for granted, it gives patients more time.- it gives patients more time. a final thou . ht. it gives patients more time. a final thought- just _ it gives patients more time. a final thought- just go — it gives patients more time. a final thought. just go back— it gives patients more time. a final thought. just go back to _ it gives patients more time. a final thought. just go back to bite - it gives patients more time. a final| thought. just go back to bite people perhaps might lose out. because normally when we see a development like this, there is a lot of choreography built—in, the licensee, recommending, the cost, that has all been worked out before you get to the stage. here, perhaps not in that is a worry. the stage. here, perhaps not in that isawor .�* , ., ., is a worry. because you have to confirm the _ is a worry. because you have to confirm the the _ is a worry. because you have to confirm the the presence - is a worry. because you have to confirm the the presence of - is a worry. because you have to confirm the the presence of the rogue protein in the brain so you need either specialists brain scan or a lumbar puncture in only 2% of alzheimer's patients currently get those because they are not a standard treatment on the nhs diagnostic at the moment so alzheimer's charities say patients could lose out. nhs pointing out

diagnostic rates are at the highest of three years in gearing up for when these treatments, should they be licensed, and then, should they be licensed, and then, should they be deemed cost—effective, because that will be a big issue for the nhs, it may cost between 500 million and £1 billion a yearfor the nhs. they are licensed in the us, lecanemab, £20,000 after the 26,000 pounds patients per year. b, pounds patients per year. a fascinating development so thank you for coming and explaining a little more detail. our bbc medical at a door. just a few more stores to bring you. the highly anticipated super bowl took place last night in las vegas with the kansas city chiefs clinching a narrow victory beating the san francisco 49ers 25—22 in overtime thriller. the chiefs trailed the 49ers by double digits in the first half, but a last—minute field goal by the chiefs pushed the game into overtime and in their

first possession kansas city sealed victory with a winning touchdown drive. usher performed the half—time show with many celebrity is in attendance including of course the p0p attendance including of course the pop star, taylor swift. so of course, though some pictures from the super bowl. let me trace a picture from the carnival there in rio. getting under way on a sunday night with flamboyant floats, tremors and dozens of performers dance in feathers in sequence. we will leave those pictures to the end of the programme. battling output the coveted carnival title champions. thank you for watching. hello. good evening.

rather showery today towards the northwest of the uk, but for many of us it was dry with some decent spells of sunshine and in the best of the sunny spells. then it felt rather spring light. but still a lot of standing water out there, particularly for central southern england and the midlands. we're only going to be adding to those rainfall accumulations too as we head through this week. big changes on the way. it will be turning wetter and also milder from the southwest. so the cooler air still in place through the day on monday. temperatures close to the seasonal average and then that milder air comes streaming through, displacing that colder air to the far north of scotland for still a few days to come. now, today, we've been seeing this little feature just run out west to east, piling some showers into scotland against some of the showers, wintry over the tops of the hills. and we'll still see some wintry showers over around 200 metres overnight tonight. again, a few showers just pushing into northern ireland and maybe through the pennines and into western wales as well. cloudier towards the south tonight, so here it's going to be a milder start to the day tomorrow, but still a frost possible from the north of england and northwards.

quite a sharp frost i think across parts of scotland. now as we head through tomorrow, we look out towards the south—west to see these weather fronts just push that milder air in. so temperatures will be rising throughout the day. there will be brisk south—westerly winds and quite a lot of thickening cloud as well. it's a warm front, mist and murk. outbreaks of rain on and off, the odd heavy downpour at times. that rain eventually pushing into the south—east of england and east anglia as we head through the afternoon, the bright start to the day across northern ireland, but it will cloud over here. the rain will arrive, maybe some cloud into southern scotland, but it's across scotland where we'll see probably the day's best sunshine. still some wintry showers, though, over the tops of the hills. and then that warm front continues to push northwards into scotland as we head through the day on wednesday. a sharp frost to start the day across northern scotland and then some of this rain likely to turn to snow as it bumps into the colder air. further south, outbreaks of rain on and off — misty, murky out there, some fog, maybe a slice of sunshine through the midlands into east anglia and north wales there. but temperatures will start to rise on wednesday to 13 or 1a degrees in the south and they could rise even further, perhaps as we head through thursday.

it's generally milder, wetter for the rest of the week. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. the headlines: joy as two hostages are rescued by an israeli raid in rafah and are reunited with theirfamilies. the hamas—run health ministry says at least 67 palestinians were killed in the rescue operation

labour's candidate in rochdale has apologised for remarks he made about israel �*allowing' hamas to carry out the october 7th attacks. talking of by—elections, i am nicky schiller live in wellingborough where voters say will go to the polls on thursday. john led to this half hour where we will discuss the issue of knife crime in the constituency. and schools in england face a budget crisis as charges from private firms soar. all of those stories coming up in a moment or two. sport and a full round—up from the bbc sport centre. here is gavin. there's one game in the premier league later — between two clubs lower down the table than they'd like to be. chelsea are 11th, and they travel to crystal palace who're 15th. manager roy hodgson will be taking

charge of this 200th premier league match but his palace side are nowjust