live from london, this is bbc news. these are the latest pictures from damascus, where syrian state media says two people have died in an israeli strike on an apartment block. the test launch of an unarmed trident missile, which holds the uk's nuclear warheads, fails — for the second time in a row. spanish farmers take their tractors to madrid's streets today, joining colleagues across the eu in protesting rising costs and taxes. hospitals in england could introduce martha's rule from april — giving easier access to an urgent second opinion, if a patient�*s condition gets worse. hello, i'm azadeh moshiri.

we start with reports just coming in from syria. state media there say two people have been killed, when several israeli missiles have hit the kafr sousa district in syria's capital damascus. the neighbourhood is known to host several security agencies and was targeted in an israeli attack in february, last year. well, let's go straight to our correspondent, jenny hill, who is injerusalem for us. what more do we know? actually, in the last half— what more do we know? actually, in the last half an _ what more do we know? actually, in the last half an hour— what more do we know? actually, in the last half an hour or _ what more do we know? actually, in the last half an hour or so, _ what more do we know? actually, in the last half an hour or so, syrian . the last half an hour or so, syrian media outlets are now saying three people have been killed in what they believed to have been an israeli strike on this district. you will have seen the pictures of the apartment block which appears to have been targeted. syrian media sources are saying that this particular building has been in the past frequented by senior iranians and hezbollah figures. we don't have very much more detail than that at this stage, certainly nothing from

the israelis, who as you say, did almost actually a year ago exactly to the day target this particular district, killing five people and reportedly iranians military experts. we will have to wait to see if there is any word from israel. the israeli troops have also not responded to accusations from the medical charity, doctors without borders, who say that overnight, two family members of their staff were killed and six other people injured in a strike on the place where they were sheltering, quite close to the city of khan younis in the south of the gaza strip. we have contacted the gaza strip. we have contacted the israeli authorities for a comment on that and are still waiting to hearfrom comment on that and are still waiting to hear from them. comment on that and are still waiting to hearfrom them. in comment on that and are still waiting to hear from them. in the meantime, the bombardment of gaza has continued overnight. we know that the israelis have continued to strike targets around khan younis. but in gaza city, which is in the north of the strip, they have now told people in two particular

neighbourhoods, in the centre of the city, to leave immediately for their own safety. city, to leave immediately for their own safety-— own safety. meanwhile, there is still that warning _ own safety. meanwhile, there is still that warning about - own safety. meanwhile, there is still that warning about an - still that warning about an offensive in rafah and there has been some movement when it comes to un draft resolutions, can you give us an update on that?— un draft resolutions, can you give us an update on that? yes, there has been a lot of— us an update on that? yes, there has been a lot of outrage _ us an update on that? yes, there has been a lot of outrage overnight - us an update on that? yes, there has been a lot of outrage overnight from | been a lot of outrage overnight from countries including china that the us vetoed a draft resolution put forward by algeria, calling for an immediate ceasefire in gaza. this comes amid cute international concern about the human cost of israel's military operation in response to the hamas attacks in october the 7th. the uk abstained on that boat. the us and uk both say that boat. the us and uk both say that actually what they would rather have as a temporary ceasefire and thatis have as a temporary ceasefire and that is something which the us has proposed as an alternative draft resolution. they want israel, they

won that resolution to call on israel to impose a temporary ceasefire as soon as is practically possible. they are israel's closest ally, the us. they are increasingly alarmed at what is happening in gaza and they are particularly concerned about that planned ground offensive in the southern city of rafah, which at the moment is sheltering well overi million displaced palestinian civilians. their draft resolution also calls for restraint and calls on israel to rethink that plan at the moment, saying any ground offensive there would not only cause further harm and further displacement of civilians sheltering there but would also jeopardise peace and security in the region. that is what has happened overnight at the un. we don't actually have a timetable for the us draft resolution. we expect it will be talked about in the coming days. in the meantime, israel has shown no sign of bowing to any of that international pressure, insisting that if hamas does not return its hostages within the next three

weeks, it will go ahead with the attack on the southern city of rafah. ,, ., ., rafah. the us when it vetoed that resolution from _ rafah. the us when it vetoed that resolution from algeria _ rafah. the us when it vetoed that resolution from algeria said - rafah. the us when it vetoed that resolution from algeria said it - rafah. the us when it vetoed that resolution from algeria said it was concerned it would jeopardise negotiations for a ceasefire, but has there been any word on progress on those diplomatic talks or negotiations?— on those diplomatic talks or neuotiations? �* , ., ., negotiations? any word we have received has _ negotiations? any word we have received has been _ negotiations? any word we have received has been pretty - received has been pretty pessimistic. the qataris have been really driving those talks had said they were not looking good at all. having said that, the political leader of hamas is in cairo today for talks with an egyptian minister and the us has now batched its senior middle east adviser dispatched it senior. expected in egypt today reportedly before moving on to israel later in the week. so there is certainly movement behind—the—scenes. whether it will

result in the kind of arrangements whereby some kind of temporary ceasefire, release of hostages can be brokered at this stage remains to be brokered at this stage remains to be seen. , , ., ~ ,, well let's look closer at the humanitarian situation in gaza, and speak to melanie ward who is the ceo of medical aid for palestinians. thank you so much for your time. you heard jenny earlier talking about the potential offensive in rafah. rafah before the war only had about 250,000 people there. could you describe what conditions are right now? ., ., , ., ., ., , describe what conditions are right now? ., ., , ., ., now? conditions in rafah, as across the whole of — now? conditions in rafah, as across the whole of gaza, _ now? conditions in rafah, as across the whole of gaza, are _ now? conditions in rafah, as across the whole of gaza, are absolutely i the whole of gaza, are absolutely desperate but rafah is particularly serious because it is overcrowded and this is because early on in this war, the israeli military told palestinians in gaza to move to the south, encouraged them to move to the south and particularly to rafah in the belief this would be a safe

place to be. so there are overi million people crowded into gaza right now. there is not enough shelter for them. right now. there is not enough shelterfor them. we right now. there is not enough shelter for them. we as humanitarians are unable to shelterfor them. we as humanitarians are unable to provide the right kind of shelter because it's almost impossible to get the right amount of aid supplies in. people are crowded into the streets, they are fashioning shelters out of anything they can find. in some cases, the israeli military have removed the tent poles so people are trying to build tents out of pieces of wood, pieces of nylon. they are not weatherproof. the vast overcrowding means prices of anything available have rapidly shot up anything available have rapidly shot up and there is not enough food to start with. so my own staff don't have enough to eat. they and their children have all lost weight. because of the unhygienic conditions, children have lice and things like nappies are as expensive as $40 or more for a packet. so people cannot afford these things. conditions are absolutely desperate and everyone is terrified about an offensive on rafah. where are they supposed to go? there is nowhere

thatis supposed to go? there is nowhere that is safe to go.— that is safe to go. apologies for interrunting. — that is safe to go. apologies for interrunting. i _ that is safe to go. apologies for interrupting, ijust _ that is safe to go. apologies for interrupting, i just want - that is safe to go. apologies for interrupting, i just want to - that is safe to go. apologies for interrupting, i just want to flag | that is safe to go. apologies for i interrupting, i just want to flag we are showing some pictures on air right now. the world health organization was given access by the israeli army to the nasa hospital complex and that is of course after an israeli raid there and one un doctor actually called it a dead zone and right now in those pictures, we can see doctors evacuating patients by torchlight. could you tell us broadly what the health system actually looks like right now in gaza?— right now in gaza? there are no functioning _ right now in gaza? there are no functioning hospital _ right now in gaza? there are no functioning hospital is - right now in gaza? there are no functioning hospital is left - right now in gaza? there are no functioning hospital is left in . functioning hospital is left in gaza. this is the most dangerous place in the world to be a civilian. almost 30,000 people killed, over 70,000 injured and there is not a single functioning hospital because health care has been systematically dismantled. i saw those pictures from nasser. we had doctors working

in nasser hospital last month. i have been there myself. it is the biggest hospital in the south of gaza and the fact it is no longer functioning, that it has been targeted in this way is devastating to the civilian population. i know a number of health care workers there have also been arrested and a number of the patients there died because the electricity and the power generation for the hospital was cut off during that military raids. hoss doubles as supposed to be a protected place, even in times of war. —— mcgrath hospitals are supposed to be. the way they are systematically taken apart are devastating to the population and another reason why an israeli assault on rafah cannot be allowed to take place. doing such a thing without functioning health care, the numbers of deaths will be in the tens of thousands. it would be a complete bloodbath and it cannot be allowed to happen. find complete bloodbath and it cannot be allowed to happen.— allowed to happen. and the israeli defence forces, _ allowed to happen. and the israeli defence forces, the _ allowed to happen. and the israeli defence forces, the israel - allowed to happen. and the israeli defence forces, the israel defense forces say that they don't target hospitals, they say that what they do is rather enter specific areas to

neutralise hamas' infrastructure equipment whilst acting with great caution. a statement given to the bbc. and they say they did instruct the military to keep nasser hospital functional. are those assurances not good enough for you? the functional. are those assurances not good enough for you?— functional. are those assurances not good enough for you? the facts would su: est that good enough for you? the facts would suggest that something _ good enough for you? the facts would suggest that something different - good enough for you? the facts would suggest that something different is i suggest that something different is happening. people can see for themselves all over the media, all over social media about what is really happening. you can see it there yourselves in those pictures. hospitals in the darkness, patience, oxygen systems are failing because the power has been cut off. medicines, medicalsupplies the power has been cut off. medicines, medical supplies are not being allowed. if we take the case of the north of gaza in particular, which has been under almost a double siege since this collective punishment of palestinians ramped up in early october, the israeli military control is everything that goesin military control is everything that goes in there and almost all of the

humanitarian convoys that have tried to take medical supplies to hospitals in the north of gaza have been denied. those are the facts of the situation. we ourselves are sending international doctors to go and help in gaza's hospitals because the system has basically collapsed. there is no health care to speak of and this isn't an accident. in all of this, we have to look at the facts of what is really happening and we have to look at international law because international humanitarian law is all we have. it has to be the guide to what can happen in these situations. it says hospitals and patients have to be protected and is clearly not happening in this case. thank you for that. i happening in this case. thank you forthat. i did — happening in this case. thank you for that. i did put _ happening in this case. thank you for that. i did put some _ happening in this case. thank you for that. i did put some of - happening in this case. thank you for that. i did put some of those i for that. i did put some of those concerns to an israeli government spokesperson a couple of days ago and they have said that they are screening aid is necessary given that they are fighting hamas. but obviously the humanitarian situation in gaza is still deteriorating. well, here in the uk, parliament will vote later today on the call for an immediate ceasefire in gaza.

now the language is important here. the government wants an "immediate humanitarian pause", but the scottish national party has accused israel of war crimes, something israel strongly denies, and says the only way to protect civilians is for the fighting to end now. our chief political correspondent henry zeffman joins us now. so what are we expecting today? you have three parties setting out in parliamentary language their positions on the conflict in israel and gaza. this has all been prompted by the scottish national party, as you say. they have tabled a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire. you have a labour amendment to that motion which also, for the first time since october the 7th, calls for an immediate ceasefire that makes much more emphasis than the snp motion does on both sides to the conflict. they say you can't have a lasting ceasefire unless hamas lays down its weapons and it says that

israelis have a legitimate expectation that the horrors of october the 7th cannot be repeated. so substantively, they are calling for the israeli government to do a similar thing to what the snp is calling on them to do but they also are making more calls on hamas. then you have the government's amendment, which doesn't call for a ceasefire at all but an immediate humanitarian pause, although they share the same concerns as the labour and snp motion about an israeli ground invasion in rafah. what can we expect in the house of commons? i'm afraid that gets into complicated questions of parliamentary procedure because it is not at all clear the labour amendment will be called by sir lindsay hoyle for a vote. if it is, i would expect almost every labour mp to unite behind sir keir starmer�*s position. if it is not called for a vote, you might have them divided again on how to vote for the snp motion.— them divided again on how to vote for the snp motion. prince william has called for _ for the snp motion. prince william has called for an _ for the snp motion. prince william has called for an end _ for the snp motion. prince william has called for an end to _ for the snp motion. prince william has called for an end to the - has called for an end to the fighting as soon as possible, what

impact will the statements he has made having westminster if any? i think certainly a lot of people are struck by the fact that the prince of wales has made a political, of sorts, statement, a geopolitical statement almost. although my sense is people on all sides of this debate westminster are taking it mostly as a humanitarian statement. he talks about the loss of civilian life on both sides. he calls per piece, he doesn't sorta get into the specifics as political parties sort of do about how that might be brought about and what a peaceful settlement might look like. but certainly the fact you have the house of commons debating this today and the fact that simultaneously the prince of wales has made a public statement on it i think shows that this is something that is occupying the minds of people at the very top of british public life.— of british public life. henry zeffman. _ of british public life. henry zeffman, thank _ of british public life. henry zeffman, thank you - of british public life. henry zeffman, thank you for - of british public life. henry| zeffman, thank you for that of british public life. henry - zeffman, thank you for that update. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

let's look at some other stories making news. nikki haley says she won't drop out of the presidential race, even if she loses in south carolina. the republican presidential candidate has vowed to remain in the race, regardless of the outcome of saturday's south carolina primary, where she is badly trailing donald trump. the wikileaks founderjulian assange will continue his latest attempt to fight extradition from the uk to the united states. he's wanted in the us for disclosing secret military files more than a decade ago. if he fails, assange will have exhausted all appeal routes in the uk and will enter the process of extradition. a livestock ship blamed for causing a foul smell that's engulfed cape town in south africa is departing for iraq. an animal welfare group assessed the cattle on board and described the conditions as "abhorrent". the cows have been on the ship for more than two weeks — and several have been euthanised due to injuries.

you're live with bbc news. and, of course, there is more reporting and analysis on our bbc news website and app. let's first look at a test firing of a trident missile from a royal navy submarine that failed and for the second time in a row. the ministry of defence has insisted that the system used to carry britain's nuclear warheads remains "safe, secure and effective." our correspondent, louisa pilbeam joins me now from outside the ministry of defence in westminster. louisa, what more can you tell us? well, this is a concerning incident and it is embarrassing for the ministry of defence and for the uk government here. that is because this is a nuclear capability of the uk. it's the most powerful weaponry

that the country has. its last line of defence in order to protect itself. things have not go well in terms of these tests. what we know is this test was carried out at the end of last month on the east coast of the us and a royal navy submarine launched a missile, a nuclear missile, that was unarmed for this test. and this was meant to be launched into the middle of the atlantic, in between brazil and the west coast of africa but it actually ended up going into the sea right by the royal navy submarine. so a complete disaster in terms of that test, but the ministry of defence here, i have spoken to them this morning and they had said to me that this was an anomaly, as they are calling it, in terms of the test. they are basically saying that if this was an aerial situation, wouldn't have happened. they say it was "event specific". they say they

are no implications for the reliability of the wider trident missile system. the trident system is the uk's nuclear missiles, those submarines that are dotted around in secret locations around the world and as you mentioned, it is the second time that this has happened. the first missile went off course, that was also an armed, as they are in these situations, but it is embarrassing because it is the way that the uk's defence is portrayed to the world. but as i say, the ministry of defence, they are saying that this was a test that meant that it is only in terms of... it is not a real situation, basically. they are saying this was a specific incident that happened within this test environment and that we shouldn't be worried in terms of the uk for our safety.— uk for our safety. thank you for that mediate —

well, let's a closer look at this with hamish de bretton gordon, a former british army colonel, and a chemical and nuclear weapons expert — and director for doctor under fire. thank you so much forjoining us. i hope you were able to hear my colleague louise. she used the word embarrassing several times. i would love to get your perspective. is this just embarrassing or is love to get your perspective. is thisjust embarrassing or is it love to get your perspective. is this just embarrassing or is it also a real national security concern? it is certainly embarrassing. this sort of information should never be in the public domain. i gather the ministry of defence will be looking at how it leaked out. also, the journalist who published the story need to think about whether it was in the best interests of this country, because nuclear deterrents is all about perception and if putin now believes that the british nuclear deterrent doesn't work, then that will guide his thinking. i also find it rather strange that the person responsible for the defence

of britain, the defence secretary grant shapps, who was at the bottom of the ocean in recent days, when the threat of russia has never been higher and the middle east is about to explode but when it comes to the reliability of trident, is an old weapon. 30 years old. it is due to be replaced fairly soon but probably as politicians and others can't comment, when you fire inert missiles and inert weapons, there are always intrinsic problem is that you never get with the real thing. when you consider a vanguard submarine has 16 trident nuclear missiles on it, each one probably has a warhead with about 100 kilotonnes, which would clutter moscow, so this is a embarrassment rather than detriment to defence in this country. but it sort of underwrites, we have heard a lot about the beleaguered british army and the ministry of defence short of

funding. it really underwrites that with the threat so high at the moment that you clearly described in the middle east, we know what is happening in ukraine as well, it is essential our defence is up to defending this country and the nuclear part of it is key to that. to the exact point because you could argue that is very much in the public interest and a commons defence committee raised questions about the budget cuts you are talking about. so in your view, what is the state right now when it comes to the state of the uk armed forces and the defence capabilities we have,is and the defence capabilities we have, is this indicative of a bigger problem here?— problem here? well, it is potentially. _ problem here? well, it is potentially. i— problem here? well, it is potentially. i think - problem here? well, it is| potentially. i think people problem here? well, it is - potentially. i think people should be reassured that i believe our nuclear deterrent is absolutely as it should be. with the threats of russia and nuclear tactics, it is key that it is. looking at wider defence, absolutely. this is something the political parties really need to consider. when you consider the russian army has lost

350,000 soldiers dead in the last two years, that is five times the size of the current british army. and when we look forward to other capabilities, we know that the navy have had a few issues with some of their ships and we are, we have got very few fighter aircraft squadrons that we did at the height of the cold war. if one accepts as i do that the threats are higher now than they were in the cold war, we really need to make sure our defence is up to it. chief of the defence staff has absolutely highlighted these issues. ben wallace, who really knows about these things, also has stated we need to re—evaluate, re—equip and make sure that we are spending enough on the deterrents of this country, notjust nuclear but also our conventional deterrents to make sure people like putin don't ahead any further west than ukraine.

hamish de bretton gordon, thank you for your time and expertise on this. ministers are expected to make a statement about what happened in the house of commons later today. the nhs in england will begin to introduce martha's rule from april — giving access to rapid critical care reviews if a patient�*s condition worsens in hospital. the scheme is named after 13—year old martha mills, who died from sepsis when doctors failed to respond to her parents' concerns. our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson, reports. it was in 2021 at king's college hospital in london that martha's parents went through the agony of watching their daughter deteriorate while their concerns were ignored by staff. she'd fallen off her bike, injured her pancreas and developed sepsis. but she never received the life—saving treatment she needed. merope mills, her mother, has fought hard for this initiative, martha's rule, and says it will save lives. since martha's death, i've said to people who've gone into hospital, if you're worried,

if you think something is going wrong, you should scream the ward down because that's what i didn't do. and i regret it, i will regret it for the rest of my days. but the very existence of martha's rule says you don't need to scream the ward down. what you need to do is call this number because you've got martha's rule. martha's rule will be an escalation process in england, which will allow patients, families and nhs staff to call for a rapid review from an independent critical care team 24 hours a day if they want an urgent second opinion. nhs england says at least 100 hospitals, that's two thirds of those with critical care units, can now apply for funding for awareness schemes, which may include printing posters and information leaflets. but questions remain about whether the initiative will be standardised across hospitals and if it will continue to be called martha's rule. sophie hutchinson, bbc news.

ijust want i just want to bring you ijust want to bring you some breaking news. the european union on wednesday, just a few moments ago, issued new sanctions over the war in ukraine. those sanctions are for russia and it is the 13th package of sanctions. it was a nearly 200 entities as well as individuals added to the list. the eu, as there will be no fresh sectorial measures. those are sanctions from the eu against russia. it is the 13th package of sanctions and it adds 200 entities and individuals to that list. of course, we will bring in more updates as they come in and there is plenty more on all of our top stories are now bbc news website and app. please keep watching bbc news.

hello, you are watching bbc news. the families of three people who were fatally stabbed in nottingham last year say they are optimistic that a review of the killers sentence will provide justice. he admitted the murders and was handed admitted the murders and was handed a hospital order. the attorney general says that was unduly lenient. duncan kennedy reports. barnaby webber, grace o'malley—kumar and ian coates were killed in nottingham lastjune. barnaby and grace had been walking home after a night out when they were stabbed. ian coates was stabbed in a different location in the city. three other people were struck by a van. they were all attacked by valdo calocane, who admitted manslaughter. he was given a hospital order

after he was found to be suffering from paranoid schizophrenia at the time. but that sentence is now to be referred to the court of appeal after the attorney general intervened. victoria prentis said the nation have been shocked by the case and that... members of the victims' families yesterday met the attorney general in private and said afterwards they were glad of her decision. i did cry. i think it's been a very long, very difficult... well, since it happened injune, but particularly the last few weeks, it's been very publicly done. i think there was a sense of being listened to. and the fact that we were online with the coates family and the o'malley—kumar family, there's just a real sense of the beginning of hopefully

justice being done here. the court of appeal will now look at the case under what's called the unduly lenient sentence scheme. the judges can keep the sentence as it is, increase it or refuse the attorney general�*s application. the victims' families say the current sentence doesn't reflect the planning or premeditation of the attacks and that a hospital order was insufficient. they say they hope the court of appeal will provide some of what they call appropriate justice. duncan kennedy, bbc news. next, a bbc investigation has found that disrepair repairing nhs hospital buildings has caused hundreds of potentially harmful incidents in england in the last financial year. the event such as sewage leaks, floods and ceilings partially collapsing led to clinics being cancelled and patients sent

home. our health editor hugh pym reports. similar issues are having a serious impact on patient care across england. a bbc investigation has revealed more than 1300 potentially harmful incidents in hospitals last year, caused by failures in the hospital environment. they included sewage leaks, floods and broken heating systems. this is queen elizabeth's hospital in kings lynn, built in parts using poor quality aerated concrete, which sparked concerns last year that a ceiling could collapse. rebecca and her six—year—old daughter go there frequently because of cleo's hyperglycaemia. frequently because of cleo's hyperglycaemia— frequently because of cleo's hyperglycaemia. frequently because of cleo's h eral caemia. ., ., ., hyperglycaemia. you want to feel you can ut all hyperglycaemia. you want to feel you can put all your _ hyperglycaemia. you want to feel you can put all your trust _ hyperglycaemia. you want to feel you can put all your trust into _ hyperglycaemia. you want to feel you can put all your trust into the - can put all your trust into the hospital and when you are seeing workmen and scaffolding and timber beams holding up the roof, it

doesn't give you that sense of safety and security. but doesn't give you that sense of safety and security.— doesn't give you that sense of safety and security. but the roof was not rebecca's _ safety and security. but the roof was not rebecca's only - safety and security. but the roof was not rebecca's only concern. safety and security. but the roof. was not rebecca's only concern. a year ago, she saw sewage leaking on hospital grounds. this year ago, she saw sewage leaking on hospital grounds.— year ago, she saw sewage leaking on hospital grounds. as we walked up to the door, hospital grounds. as we walked up to the door. we — hospital grounds. as we walked up to the door, we noticed _ hospital grounds. as we walked up to the door, we noticed a _ hospital grounds. as we walked up to the door, we noticed a really - hospital grounds. as we walked up to the door, we noticed a really foul- the door, we noticed a really foul smell and we looked down and there was sewage coming out of the manhole cover that was about four foot away from the door that leads into the hospital. as we stood there and we could see the sewage, there was rats running around. a trust spokesman said it worked immediately to clear the blocked drain and that all work to reinforce raac concrete is now complete. the department of health and social care said... significant sums have been invested to upgrade and modernise nhs buildings, including £4.2 billion this financial year, adding that trusts are responsible for prioritising this funding to maintain and refurbish their premises — including the renewal and replacement of equipment. at torbay hospital in devon, the issue is how to prioritise

so many problems, which can impact so many patients.