president zelensky reveals 31,000 ukrainian troops have been killed in the two—years of war with russia. thousands of people rally in support of former brazilian president, jair bolsonaro. he's hitting back at claims he plotted a coup to stay in power. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu tells us television they are "weeks" away from "total victory" in gaza. hello. we start in the uk, where the conservative party is finding itself under increasing pressure, after an mp made comments described as �*islamophobic,

anti—muslim and racist�*. lee anderson was suspended from the party after saying london's mayor was controlled by �*islamists�*. the suspension was not for the comments but for refusing to apologise. the party's leadership was drawn further into the argument on sunday — the deputy prime minister refusing to say whether he thought the comments were islamophobic. 0ur political correspondent iain watson reports. he's known for speaking his mind, but lee anderson kept his lips firmly sealed following his suspension from the parliamentary conservative party. here are the comments about london's mayor that got him into trouble. i don't actually believe these islamists have got control of our country, but what i do believe is they've got control of khan and they've got control of london. lee anderson was quite literally in the doghouse this afternoon. it's a pub in his constituency. sadiq khan and labour described his remarks as islamophobic. but the deputy prime minister seemed keen to avoid that specific accusation.

i don't believe that lee anderson was intending to be islamophobic, but nonetheless, i understand the concern about, particularly in relation to the mayor of london, how those words have caused offence, and because of that, that's precisely why he was given the chance to apologise, and when he failed to do so, action was taken. but were the comments themselves islamophobic? i think i've been clear that they could be taken that way. he also said if lee anderson had apologised, he'd still be a conservative mp. ceasefire now! the conflict in the middle east is having a profound effect on uk politics. labour had to kick out their candidate in the forthcoming rochdale by—election over anti—semitism, and are now keen to move the focus on to the prime minister and the problems in his party. what's unfolded in the conservative

party, the absolute poison that's been allowed to seep into their political debate, and a prime minister that's seemingly unwilling to even acknowledge the term islamophobia, let alone stand up to senior politicians in his party dragging our politics into their sewer. rishi sunak, shame on you! against a backdrop of demonstrations, the prime minister today warned against polarisation in politics. his critics say, though, he needs to get his own house in order, and openly challenge statements made by his own representatives. naveed asghar is the deputy chair of the conservative muslim forum — the only muslim group directly affiliated to the conservative party. he told us what the group thought of lee anderson's comments. we as a party do not accept these comments and we are against anybody with the party or any mps elected from different parties to come out with comments which can be seen

to be misaligned with the british muslim population. some in your party have called mr anderson's comments islamophobic. would you say they are? you can call them that, anti—muslim hatred. however you term them, they were there to cause upset to the muslims. they have caused upset and we've been inundated with messages from our members, stating we have to take action. i am glad the prime minister has taken action and the whip has been removed. in your statement on this controversy, you have written on the forum that it is vital for all leaders to stand firmly against racism and to muslim hatred and islamophobia. what do you make of the fact in his statement, the prime minister did not mention anti—muslim hatred or islamophobia? this is a conversation we will have this week with the prime minister's

office and try to understand where they are coming from and the reasoning behind it. as a muslim organisation, these are words which deeply hurt and... ...it makes it difficult for us to represent muslims when it comes to conversations like this. i will go back to this, it comes down to the prime minister is not a muslim and neither is the deputy prime minister, so maybe they don't understand the effect of the words. but to people of the muslim faith, these are deeply worrying. we have 70 years of muslims in britain, and we are looking to get young british muslims to come into office, councillors, members of the scottish parliament and welsh parliament and the uk, whatever role. when issues like this

arise, it becomes difficult when politics is polarised. let me ask you, the prime minister, the deputy prime minister said the party was quick to act in suspending mr anderson. is the party in slow in understanding their grievances over islamophobia in the party? the government definitely needs to give space for moderates, like ourselves, and to speak to counter the views of the far east —— far right and not late extremists win. it takes a long time to get to where we are. there is still work to be done, but that goes for every political party. we aren't alone in it. the conservatives have won the last three elections, and we've done fantastic work. we have british muslim mps in position, british muslims in the house of lords, through the work done over the past few decades.

i hope this will carry on going forward. president zelensky has said 31 thousand ukrainian troops have been killed so far during the two years of war with russia. it's the first time in many months that figure has been revealed. he said tens of thousands of civilians in the russian occupied territories had also died. speaking at a news conference to mark saturday's second anniversary of russia's invasion, mr zelensky said he couldn't reveal the number of people injured because that information would help russia, but the loss was very painful. he was hopeful of a peace summit in the spring, and was �*sure�* the us congress would pass its aid package for ukraine. speaking at a press conference in kyiv, president zelensky stressed the importance of western support if ukraine

is to defeat the threat from russia. translation: we cannot lose. what it will mean if ukraine loses, it means there will be no us, no us in existence. definitely, this is not the end of our existence that we like. if ukraine loses, if it becomes complicated, the number of victims, it will depend on you, on our partners and the western world. if we are strong with the weapons that we get, this and that, we won't lose the war. we will prevail. 0ur correspondentjames waterhouse also attended president zelensky�*s marathon news conference and told me more about it. well, it was a bit of an endurance event today. president zelensky knows how to draw a crowd. his profile is at the level of him being one of the most famous world leaders.

so his government announced this nine hour press conference where 28 officials and ministers spoke and president zelensky talked about the delay to western aid. now, it is true that ukraine has received a substantial amount to date, but the issue for kyiv has always been the speed at which it has arrived. he talked about forging relationships with european partners to a greater extent to potentially fill a gap left by the us if it was to further withdraw support. although he said he's confident that won't happen, i asked him how he felt about the delays of aid to this point. translation: frustrated. well, losing time means losing money. that's my biggest frustration. longer with the war, the more are the casualties. that second thing. and casualties, they can be different.

they could be civilian casualties, military casualties, children. and the more people are staying in the occupied territories, the more ukrainians are being deported or taken somewhere to russia. the longer the war, the more countries are starting to kind of balance, and the time is not in favour for everyone. so what else can it be disappointed with or frustrated with? i'm grateful for this help to maintain. it's important that this assistance come on time. the war is a technological one, and you're really waiting, for some weapons for some armoured vehicles. but by the time it arrives, we fight with drones. you start then you waiting a lot for the long range weapons, when it arrives, the people are already, you know, fighting with different means and missiles are the war when maybe, let's say, we cannot lose the time.

it's interesting. his defence minister said half of the delivered western aid to date had been delayed. so it's clearly a frustration being held. but what's interesting is i was at that press conference this time last year where there was a different atmosphere and the subject was one of an upcoming counter offensive and ukraine had just liberated swathes of territory in two different areas. the country had the wind in its sails. this time around, the talk is around long term security agreements, recovery, possible peace plans, forging relationships with other allies. it's a different kind of war now, and it's a different kind of foreign policy challenge for president zelensky. and you feel that he and his country and his military are preparing for a long war with an outcome

which is farfrom certain. the former brazilian president jair bolsonaro has addressed a huge rally in sao paulo, as he hits back at allegations that he plotted a coup to stay in power. he told tens of thousands of supporters he had been the victim of tireless political persecution since leaving office just over a year ago. he said it was time to forget the past and let brazil move on. 0ur south america correspondent, ione wells was at the rally and told me what bolsonaro had to say. this rally was really called in response to an ongoing investigation into mr bolsanaro, into whether or not he incited thousands of his supporters last year to storm the presidential palace, congress and the supreme court, calling for a military takeover and for the election result to be overturned.

now in his speech today at this rally, he called allegations of an alleged coup a conspiracy and also asked for an amnesty for a supporter of his who ended up and was arrested and put in prison as a result of looting government buildings last year. we see the large crowds in sao paulo. more broadly, how is mr bolsanaro seen in brazil? he is a polarising figure. clearly from the crowds today he still does have a large fan base. there are still the right wing supporters of his who do believe that he should still be allowed to run for office again, even though he is currently banned for running from office for the next eight years. brazil is still politically polarised between those who support the former president and those who loathe him and disagree with everything he did while in office, but also what he has attempted to do since the election took place.

just a couple of weeks ago on the same avenue in sao paulo, there was a counterprotest against the former president in support of the current left—wing president lula and that was marking the riots that took place in brazil last year and these were criticising both for him calling the election fraudulent, and there was no evidence to suggest that, but also certainly it was kind of in support of the current president lula and his left—wing policies as opposed to the crowds we are seeing today. just tell us a bit more about the investigations against the former president and what is expected to happen next? how would they proceed? we don't know yet the result of the investigation but that is certainly why he wanted to come out here today to try and really show the support he still has amongst its followers. the main investigation at this rally that it has been called in response to his whether he deliberately incited an alleged coup last year, and this was partly because him

and a lot of his supporters at the time had made claims of electoral fraud and said the election was rigged, even though there was no evidence to suggest that was the case. there are also allegations he is being investigated for whether or not he instructed military chiefs to enable an alleged coup last year, so those are some of the charges that have been brought against him, so far as part of the investigation he's had his passport confiscated and also been subjected to police raids and some of his properties and we don't know what the result will be but certainly some feel there will be enough evidence to potentially land him injail which could lead to him being arrested, but the result of the investigation is not yet clear and he has used his platform here today to defend himself and claim that those allegations are part of a big conspiracy against him.

now it's time for a look at today's sport with 0lly foster hello from the bbc sport centre. liverpool have won the league cup for a 10th time, extending their own record of wins in the competition. they beat chelsea 1—0 in the final, with their winner coming in the final two minutes of extra time. with that defeat, chelsea have secured an unwanted record, they have lost their last six cup finals. our sports correspondentjoe wilson was at wembley it was liverpool's vastly experienced captain virgil van dijk who rose to head the decisive goal in extra time, remembering the headed goal by van dijk that was disallowed early in the game. but when he turned to celebrate with his team—mates, he would have seen teenage liverpool players who are only on the fringes of the first team at the start of the season. this is a liverpool team so beset by injuries, so to win in those circumstances, i am sure, will be especially

memorable forjurgen klopp in his farewell season. it might be a glimpse of liverpool beyond him. chelsea supporters i'm sure will be tired of people like us referring constantly to the amount of money they have spent. in truth there were very expensive players on the pitch in the final who did not look like matchwinners. conor gallagher was central to chelsea's best moments and almost won the game twice near the end of 90 minutes but when chelsea needed something extra in extra time, in fact, they faded, and that might be the most disappointing element of this cup final for chelsea fans as they trudge home in the north london drizzle. liverpool can still win another three trophies bewteen now and the end of what isjurgen klopp�*s final season at the club, but because of his depleted squad and his fringe players that stepped up at wembley, the manager says this win will be hard to beat. i got told outside that there is an english phrase that you don't win

trophies with kids. i didn't know that. yeah? right, i knew. in my more than 20 years, easily the most special trophy i've ever won. it's absolutely exceptional. just one match in the premier league on sunday, and sheffield united remain bottom of the table, losing at wolves i—0. pablo sarabia with the first half winner — his third goal of the season. the result lifts gary 0'neil�*s side up to eighth in the table and boosts their hopes of appearing in europe next season. sheffield united did create some chances, but they stay bottom, eight points off safetey. sheffield united are a direct team, long throw all the time, a real big threat from corners and the way the lads stood up to that stuff was excellent. and the way they kept going, even when we made mistakes, you know, when we turned the ball over, there was no disappointment, there was a team that was together, desperate to make up for it, desperate to defend the goal.

so there's loads of different ways that you need to win premier league games and today we had to dig in, we had to scrap, and we were below our best, and managed to get three points, which is very important to us. india should clinch the test series after bowling england out forjust 145 in their second innings in the fourth test in ranchi. ravichandran ashwin took five wickets and india were a0 without loss at stumps, needing another 152 to go 3—1 up in the series with one to play. skipper rohit sharma is unbeaten on 2a, with yashasvi jaiswal on 16. italy were just inches away from one of the biggest upsets in the history of the six nations championship. after fighting back to draw level against 1a—man france in lille, paolo garbisi kicked what would have been the winning penalty against the upright. it finished 13—13, the first draw between the two nations. and that's all the sport for now.

israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu has vowed to go ahead with an offensive in gaza s southernmost most city rafah — whatever happens in hostage negotiations. he insisted that such a military operation would put his country within weeks of total victory over hamas. he was speaking to the bbc�*s media partner in the us, cbs news. meanwhile, gaza's health ministry says more than 90 people were killed on saturday night. in the israeli city of tel aviv, police used water cannon for the first time to disperse anti—government protesters demanding the release of the hostages held in gaza by hamas. paul adams reports. tel aviv last night. israel's deep divisions on raw display. these streets are used to protests,

but they are bigger now, angrier. for the first time since october, the police resorting to tougher measures. the loathing for israel's prime minister and his hardline cabinet goes back more than a year, but it's spurred on by the war in gaza and the fear that their government is more interested in defeating hamas than freeing hostages. we cannot keep on doing the military solutions, because they are not working. it is becoming worse. a lot of people are dead on both sides. we are waiting for any development and we want them home. the government here says the talks aimed at getting the hostages back are making progress, something hamas denies. the process is due to continue in qatar this week, but the government is also saying it is about to approve plans for an assault on rafah. the israeli military, which released these pictures, is still fighting in nearby khan yunis. an assault on rafah

could be weeks away. israel has yet to signal any real preparations. speaking on american television today, mr netanyahu said it was just a matter of time. if we have a deal, it will be delayed somewhat, but it will happen. if we don't have a deal, we will do it anyway. it has to be done because total victory is our goal, and total victory is within reach. if israel and hamas do strike a deal on hostages, which families and friends so desperately need, the shooting could stop before the start of ramadan in two weeks' time. it would be the first respite since the end of november. a chance for everyone to draw breath and figure out what happens next. paul adams, bbc news, jerusalem. our special correspondent fergal keane has been looking at what any ceasfire could mean for the million and a half

palestinians sheltering there. you may find some of his report distressing. it is mostly a story of exhausted waiting. each long minute, the children seek anything to fight the pain of hunger. and when it is served, the thin soup is eagerly gathered up. hunger, along with so much else. two—month—old mahmoud is one of the vulnerable victims. the doctor examining him told us how he had died. israel says it allows aid into northern gaza and that the un is failing to organise distribution. but the un says law and order has collapsed with the war.

drivers are terrified of being attacked and aid looted. in israel, opinion polls suggest many support the views of this man, whose son is a hostage in gaza, and who opposes any aid being sent without the return of the hostages. that sounds very, very harsh, when you are talking about civilians, babies, children dying. yes, but we have babies and women and the elders, 0k? it's very, very simple. give us our people, and we will give you food and medicines. the un is warning of famine. this is rafah at the southern end of the gaza strip, where11—year—old mohammed spends every day seeking food for his family. when i go back to my

family with this food, he says, they are happy, and we all eat together. there is also sickness at home. mohammed's mother has bone cancer. this is a family stranded, where history and hunger have trapped them. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. sunday was a fine day for much of the country. some good sunny spells around after that very cold start. it was a chilly afternoon,

but at least there was the sunshine to compensate. southern parts of the uk continued to stay wet and windy as that area of low pressure to the south of the uk continues to push towards france. so it stays at wet and windy here through the night for central, southern and southeastern parts of england. further north, a few showers will drift southwards into central northern scotland, a few along some north sea coast of england. these will be wintry, certainly over any higher ground. but a chilly night to come, northern and western areas, some frost around, once again. less cold in the southeast because of the wind and the rain. now, as we head into monday, we've got a ridge of high pressure toppling overfrom the north, that'll spread southwards. that area of low pressure will continue to pull away to the near continent, taking the wind and rain with it. but we'll be in a colder air mass once again on monday, so another chilly day to come, turns windier later in the day across the north and the west of scotland. so we start off rather windy, grey across the far south east. the rain eventually clearing away from sussex and kent, but it does stay quite cold and windy across large parts of england and wales. a few showers running

into the north and the east. otherwise, it's a fine, sunny day thanks to that ridge of high pressure, lighter winds in the north, brisk in the south. and that really will take the edge off the temperatures. 0n the thermometer, we're looking at around 6—9 celsius, but it'll feel more like 2—3 celsius across the southeast when you factor in the cold northeasterly wind. through monday night, it looks like it turns drier under that ridge of high pressure. many of the showers die off. so, it's going to be a cold one, i think, for england and wales where we have the clear skies, light winds, because the weather front will be pushing into scotland, northern ireland with increasing winds. so not quite as cold here as what we'll have further south. and with light winds, there could be some mist and fog to start tuesday. this weather front will be moving southwards and eastwards on tuesday, but as it moves into the area of high pressure, it will weaken quite rapidly. so some pretty heavy rain for scotland, northern ireland at first, some snow on the hills, then it weakens as it pushes across england and wales, bringing a lot of cloud here. skies will brighten up for scotland, northern ireland into the afternoon,

but there will be some blustery showers, wintry on the hills. temperature wise, we're looking around 7—10 celsius. around the middle part of the week, and to end february, it looks like it's going to turn a little bit milder. it stays very unsettled. and then as we head into the first part of march, it looks like the temperatures cool down again.

this is bbc news, the headlines the conservative party is under increasing pressure after suspending an mp over claims of racism.

lee anderson said "islamists" had "got control" of the mayor of london. but the deputy prime minister won't say whether he considered the comments to be islamophobic. president zelensky reveals 31,000 ukrainian soldiers — and tens of thousands of civilians — have been killed in the two years of war with russia. it's the first time in months that official casualty figures have been released. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu has told us television that his country's forces are "weeks" away from a total victory in gaza the former brazilian president, jair bolsonaro, has addressed tens of thousands of his supporters, in the biggest opposition rally since leaving office just over a year ago. he's being investigated over an alleged coup plot.

here in the uk — the deputy prime minister, 0liver dowden, has defended the way the conservative party has handled the suspension of its former deputy chairman, lee anderson. the mp had refused to apologise for suggesting the mayor of london, sadiq khan, was controlled by "islamists". mr dowden said his words were "wrong" and action had been taken. earlier i spoke to shabna begum, interim ceo of the runnymede trust, a british race equality and civil rights think tank. she says the conservative party has a problem with islamophobia. the events of the last few days confirm what we have known for many years that the conservative party does indeed have a problem with islamophobia. not only it is about the outrageous remarks made by sadiq khan by anderson, but prior to that we've also seen suella braverman, her telegraph article talking about islamists taking over britain, we had robertjenrick earlier in the week in parliament talking

about islamists intimidating the streets and people not being to walk freely and safely in the streets because of islamist bullies. i think there is a really toxic narrative coming out of the conservative party that is extremely dangerous, and this is sadly not new. a baroness who was part of the conservative party, has for many years talked about the fact that the conservative party had a deep problem with islamophobia. and shabna, wow do comments like these impact the muslim community in the uk? they have a devastating impact. they have the devastating impact in the direct sense. we've seen a report from last week that told us there had been a 335% increase in racist hatred attacks towards muslims. we know from previous episode where borisjohnson in 2018 described muslim women as letterboxes, again in an article in the telegraph.

we had a 375% increase in attacks on muslims in the days and weeks that followed that. we know these comments, these narratives are dangerous and incite violence and hatred and sow division. what do you make of comments from senior conservatives including the prime minister that there needs to be a focus on extremism amongst some groups? they mentioned in particular pro—palestinian actors who they say are targeting mps. so the conservatives say as well as dealing with these prejudicial comments, according to some people, they say it is important to look at some aspects of extremism in the country. that is part of the problem. right now we have this narrative where we are conflating what are peaceful pro—palestinian demonstrations that have been stated by the metropolitan police, and we have had hundreds of thousands of people gather for national demonstrations with minimal numbers of arrests, and yet we have this wild conflation between the pro—palestinian

demonstrations and this idea that islamist bullies are taking over the country. it's those sort of narratives that are deeply dangerous and irresponsible and reckless and are islamophobic. to the war in ukraine now and president zelensky has said 31 thousand ukrainian soldiers have been killed in two years of war with russia. mr zelensky also said tens of thousands of civilians had died under russian occupation, but the exact number was unknown. he was speaking at a news conference marking two years since the full—scale invasion where he spoke of his frustation over the delays in receiving aid. angela stent is senior fellow at the brookings institute and author of �*putin's world: russia against the west and with the rest�*. i asked what she thought about those

comments. well, he's quite right. the us congress or the speaker of the house will not put forward a bill which we know majority of people in the house of representatives support, as they did in the senate, to give $60 billion of aid to ukraine and also supply more weapons. and zelensky said in that press conference, "if ukraine doesn't get these weapons within the next month, the situation could get quite dire". as we heard from your correspondent and from zelensky, they need the long range missiles. they need the advanced weapons, which only the us can supply to them. they're getting quite a lot from other european countries, but zelensky is, i think, recognising the fact that ukraine is in an extremely difficult position, and if it doesn't get more assistance then things are going to get worse during this year. and ms dent, how do you think this plays out in russia when russia sees this confusion as to when ukraine might get its next delivery of arms? how does that play out in russia?

well, i think the kremlin is very pleased at what's happening within the united states, people arguing with each other and not able to come to any decisions. and also, to a lesser extent in europe, people arguing about how much one should support ukraine. putin is in this for the long game. he is waiting for the november elections, presidential elections in the united states, where he hopes that the next president will cut off all assistance to ukraine. and so the kremlin must think that things are going its way. this, i think, was putin's calculation from the beginning. he was shocked by the extent of western solidarity at the beginning of the war, an agreement on sanctions. but he always thought that if he waited long enough, that solidarity would fray. and we see that happening now. but this war has come at a great cost for russia. we don't know the exact number of soldiers who've died, but it's estimated to be tens of thousands. the cost, the impact on the economy.

how long can mr putin carry on with this conflict? well, first of all, i mean, i think the british have calculated that the russian losses could be as much as 350,000 people — that's dead and then severely wounded. russia can continue this war as long as it reaps revenues — which it still does from oil and gas — as long as it gets its ammunition from north korea, the drones from iran, it's stepping up its own production of its own weaponry. its economy had the highest growth rate in europe last year. now, that's because it's on a war footing. and in the long run, the economy will overheat and there'll be problems. but for the moment, certainly for 2024, they can probably keep this up. and do you think it's simply, the the equation is simply that if president biden wins the next election, then more aid will go to ukraine? is it as simple as that or would

there have to be more negotiations? well, if president biden were to win the presidential election, then we have to see which party controls the senate and which party controls the house of representatives in terms of voting on all of this assistance. i mean, a new biden administration would certainly continue to support ukraine, but most people believe that in the coming years it would not get the level of support that it has had up till now from the united states. we're also running out of some of the weapons that we're supplying to ukraine, and we would have to ramp up our own production. that was angela stent from the brookings institute. donald trump has won a convincing victory in the south carolina republican primary, beating his only remaining rivalfor his party's presidential nomination — nikki haley — in her own home state. will vernon reports from south carolina. # proud to be an american...#.

another victory, another landslide. donald trump didn't even mention his republican rival tonight. he's already got his sights set on the presidential election in november. we're going to be up here on november 5th and we're going to look atjoe biden, and we're going to look him right in the eye — he's destroying our country — and we're going to say, "joe, you're fire, get out. get out, joe, you're fired." this is yet another resounding win for donald trump, who is steam—rolling towards victory in this primary contest. here in south carolina, mr trump was looking to bolster his position as the undisputed, unassailable frontrunner in this race. and that's exactly what he's done. y'all are a rowdy bunch. cheering. despite trailing trump by a wide margin, nikki haley was defiant, vowing to continue her campaign. there are huge numbers of voters in our republican primaries who are saying

they want an alternative. i said earlier this week that no matter what happens in south carolina, i would continue to run for president. i'm a woman of my word. i think that she's a great proponent for women and women's rights, - and i think that it's really important for our- generation to support her. she'll bring normalcy to america and to the world. defeat here will be a personal setback for mrs haley. she was born in south carolina and served two terms as state governor. the two most disliked politicians in america — trump and biden. i i have a different style and approach. 0n the campaign trail, she has portrayed herself as the younger, more stable alternative to both donald trump and joe biden. over a dozen states will hold their primaries, but with his huge lead in the polls, donald trump's supporters say this race is effectively over.

will vernon, bbc news, columbia, south carolina. let's look at the israel—gaza war now. after the october seventh attacks israel pledged to "eliminate" hamas, which is considered a terror organisation by the uk and us governments. but more than four months later — fighting is still taking place across the gaza strip. bbc news arabic�*s dalia haidar looks now at how feasible the rest of israel's mission is, and if the current conflict could mobilize a new wave of fighters. the israeli military assault on gaza in response to the october 7th attacks by hamas has the highest rate of death of any conflict of the 21st century. most of the deaths from both events have been civilians, but israel remains steadfast in its mission.

but can hamas really be eliminated? and with worldwide calls for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, what are israel's chances of victory? tensions have grown over the scope of israel's military campaign and the need for a lasting solution. this can only come through a regional approach that includes a pathway to a palestinian state. yet prime minister netanyahu has openly defied the us. with no road map to peace, the conflict has already escalated, with fears of a wider middle east war. despite accusations of breaking international law and committing genocide, which israel says are profoundly distorted, mr netanyahu refuses to back down. in its mission to eliminate hamas, has israel set itself an unobtainable goal?

months since the conflict erupted, israel, whose army far outstrips hamas' military capabilities, is still facing resistance in gaza. before the 7th of october, hamas' armed wing was thought to have up to 30,000 fighters. the israel defence forces claim they have killed almost a third of them. it estimates 16,000 hamas fighters are wounded. us agencies think the figure is lower, up to 11,700, and many could return to battle. if those figures are accurate, it would amount to a significant reduction in capabilities. we put them to hamas, which rejects the figures.

former israeli colonel miri eisin, who once worked as a media adviser for the pm's likud party, gives her assessment of israel's military campaign. their commanders have been killed. caches of weapons have been found. that does not mean we have killed every single terrorist. we are systematically blowing up the underground, subterranean terrorist system. but some military analysts are more sceptical about the level of damage to hamas. they could fairly easily recruit new fighters. that is probably not the most important metrics that we are looking at in this. the tunnel network is a lot larger than previously estimated, so destroying or neutralising the tunnels is where you might describe it as... there is still a long way to go for the israelis. initially, they started off and they were blowing up the shaft of the tunnel to try to stop people popping out of them.

but because there are so many shafts linking to the network, that is relatively futile. so do you go down and blow up the whole tunnel? but then there could be hostages down there. so it is a really difficultjob. either way, it is a critical question for israel. hamas is one of two dominant political groups. the other is the more secular fatah, which dominates the palestinian authority governing in the west bank. hamas won the elections in 2006, rejecting the pa from gaza by force the following year, and they have governed there ever since. the pa are seen by many as corrupt and collaborators in israeli occupation.

under their governance, jewish settlements in the west bank, deemed illegal under international law, have drastically increased in numbers. although the pa has publicly condemned this, it has still fuelled anger amongst palestinians. backing for hamas seems to be growing, according to a poll of palestinians in the west bank and gaza from late 2023. it suggests support for hamas doubled during the fourth quarter of 2023, from 22% to 43%. still less than half of palestinians but outstripping their long—time rivals, fatah. the rise in support for hamas comes almost entirely from participants in the west bank. 72% of respondents overall agree with the hamas decision to launch an offensive on the 7th of october. and the poll suggests 63% support armed struggle as the best means of ending israeli occupation. again, the majority of the support comes

from participants in the west bank. the polling organisation say that support for hamas usually arises temporarily during or immediately after a war. academic and critic of israel dr ibrahim fraihat gives his view of palestinian support for hamas. they are living with no hope, with no future, and hamas gives them the alternative which is through confrontation and through revolution that would bring to them a different approach on that level. so hamas enjoys the largest support, not only in palestine but in the entire arab and muslim world. we don't have data to verify support for hamas regionally but there are also many arabs who oppose them. hundreds of palestinian activists took part in a online event at the start of 2022, criticising hamas governance of the gaza strip, where under israeli blockade, people

were already living under dire conditions and there was high unemployment. hamas says it has engaged in armed struggle against israel to end occupation and create a palestinian state. they are considered a terrorist group by much of the west, with many pointing out its leaders still call for israel's destruction — but a resistance movement in parts of the arab world. the hamas agenda is limited with the palestinian agenda. it does not have a global message that advocates religion and islam for the world or for other countries. it is a national liberation movement that limits its objectives, its agenda, to the end of occupation and establishment of a palestinian state. they started carrying out attacks mostly targeting israeli soldiers in 1989.

but after 29 palestinian worshippers were killed by an israeli settler in 1994 at ibrahimi mosque, also known as the cave of patriarchs, hamas upped the violence, starting a campaign of suicide attacks targeting civilians. over the following three decades, the levels of violence from both sides got progressively worse. and the failure of peace talks, which had once looked promising, continue to have a defining impact. there is another context to the 7th of october, and none of this is to justify the atrocities. that is the context in which gaza has been under israeli blockade since hamas took over the strip in 2007. it is a context in which israel's occupation remains entrenched, including in the west bank, where israel has been consolidating what the european union has called a one state reality of inequality and potential conflict,

which many human rights organisations refer to as apartheid. israel says the blockade is necessary because of the threat from hamas. however, to many palestinians, the occupation renews their grievances and observers argue it could reenergise resistance, a concern expressed by a palestinian psychologist who grew up in gaza. i am a psychologist and i would say i am sure that there are a lot of kids who want revenge for the death of their parents. i am sure, you know, they want revenge for their siblings who have been killed. and with what has been happening in gaza nowadays, i don't know how many, you know, fighters israel made that support hamas now. a worry also voiced by the irish foreign minister, who reportedly told the israeli president on a recent trip to israel...

how worried are israelis about the war influencing radicalisation? they are already so radicalised, our response in that sense is first and foremost to try to eliminate the capabilities. the ideology is already there. it won't make the ideology worse than it already is. they did that on the 7th of october and they have said they want to do it again. israel have never been as explicit as they are now about their intention to eliminate hamas. yet earlier experiences highlight how challenging this is. hamas is notjust a military group and nor is it just a political group. it is an ideology and that ideology will not be eradicated, certainly not through israeli force of arms. during the second intifada from 2000—2005, an uprising following the failure to establish a palestinian state,

israel killed some of the leaders and the founder of hamas and his replacement. but hamas continued to gain support from many palestinians. in 2014, a war erupted in the gaza strip. israel claims to have dealt a significant blow to hamas. however, a former israeli soldier benzi sanders who fought in the war claims it ended up strengthening hamas. i know for a fact that many civilians were killed in the area that i was in. and i was left after that experience kind of questioning what it all accomplished. did it actually strike hamas, did it weaken them, did it actually prevent the risk of that happening again? what i realised in the years

afterwards was no, it didn't. not only that, hamas got stronger. we don't know if israel will succeed in its mission but even its allies argue that a lasting settlement between israelis and palestinians is the only way to guarantee peace in the future. some suggest it could be the best way to weaken hamas. if one truly wants to marginalise and weaken hamas, then the only way that can happen is through the creation of a viable political tract. but israel, shocked by the brutality of the 7th of october attacks, remain firm in continuing to prevent a palestinian state, and are defiant on eliminating hamas. ijust can't see a victory day for the israelis. so they can massively degrade hamas but the key thing is how do you prevent hamas re—emerging in the sort of aftermath of the major military operation?

so when i look at the day after, i think that israel will very much control the continuation of the campaign to eliminate hamas capabilities. they are always going to show something but the bulk of them, the threat of them, that will be gone. under mr netanyahu, who leads the most right—wing government in israeli history, israel plans to retain security control for the foreseeable future. a stance amounting to long—term occupation, supported by ministers and parliamentarians in benjamin netanyahu's coalition government. some of them openly say they want to see jewish settlements settlements in gaza, but this postwar vision is not one endorsed by the us. following pressure from the biden administration for a day after scenario, the defence minister yoav gallant outlined a plan.

critically, it satisfied the us by ruling out the us by ruling out settlements in gaza. prime minister netanyahu has since confirmed local officials would run gaza's civil affairs but has not said he would allow the palestinian authority to return. israel would retain complete freedom to conduct military operations there. how post—war gaza is governed remains an open question. as does the prospect of a lasting peace deal, but without an alternative to the status quo, there is a real risk of more extreme violence in the future. you're watching bbc news with me, i'll be back at the top of the hour. hello there. sunday was a fine day for much of the country. some good sunny spells around after that very cold start. it was a chilly afternoon,

but at least there was the sunshine to compensate. southern parts of the uk continued to stay wet and windy as that area of low pressure to the south of the uk continues to push towards france. so it stays at wet and windy here through the night for central, southern and southeastern parts of england. further north, a few showers will drift southwards into central northern scotland, a few along some north sea coast of england. these will be wintry, certainly over any higher ground. but a chilly night to come, northern and western areas, some frost around, once again. less cold in the southeast because of the wind and the rain. now, as we head into monday, we've got a ridge of high pressure toppling overfrom the north, that'll spread southwards. that area of low pressure will continue to pull away to the near continent, taking the wind and rain with it. but we'll be in a colder air mass once again on monday, so another chilly day to come, turns windier later in the day across the north and the west of scotland. so we start off rather windy, grey across the far south east. the rain eventually clearing away from sussex and kent, but it does stay quite cold and windy across large parts of england and wales. a few showers running into the north and the east.

otherwise, it's a fine, sunny day thanks to that ridge of high pressure, lighter winds in the north, brisk in the south. and that really will take the edge off the temperatures. 0n the thermometer, we're looking at around 6—9 celsius, but it'll feel more like 2—3 celsius across the southeast when you factor in the cold northeasterly wind. through monday night, it looks like it turns drier under that ridge of high pressure. many of the showers die off. so, it's going to be a cold one, i think, for england and wales where we have the clear skies, light winds, because the weather front will be pushing into scotland, northern ireland with increasing winds. so not quite as cold here as what we'll have further south. and with light winds, there could be some mist and fog to start tuesday. this weather front will be moving southwards and eastwards on tuesday, but as it moves into the area of high pressure, it will weaken quite rapidly. so some pretty heavy rain for scotland, northern ireland at first, some snow on the hills, then it weakens as it pushes across england and wales, bringing a lot of cloud here. skies will brighten up for scotland,

northern ireland into the afternoon, but there will be some blustery showers, wintry on the hills. temperature wise, we're looking around 7—10 celsius. around the middle part of the week, and to end february, it looks like it's going to turn a little bit milder. it stays very unsettled. and then as we head into the first part of march, it looks like the temperatures cool down again.

live from london. this is bbc news. a party under pressure. conservatives are criticised

after suspending an mp in the uk over claims of racism, but the deputy prime minister won't say whether the comments were islamophobic. president zelensky reveals 31,000 ukrainian troops have been killed in the two years of war with russia. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu tells us television they are "weeks" away from "total victory" in gaza. thousands of people rally in support of former brazilian president, jair bolsonaro. he's hitting back at claims he plotted a coup to stay in power. hello, i'm catherine byaruhanga. we start in the uk — where the conservative party is finding itself under increasing pressure after an mp made comments described as �*islamophobic,

anti—muslim and racist�*. lee anderson was suspended from the party after saying london�*s