live from london, this is bbc news. the first vessel to use the new maritime aid corridor to gaza is loaded in cyprus. 200 tonnes of supplies will be shipped. meanwhile, more aid is air—dropped into gaza, a method aid groups consider a last resort. a london fertility clinic has its operating licence suspended, after "significant concerns" were raised over errors in the freezing of embryos. in a major defeat for ireland's government, voters reject two referendum proposals on the definition of family and the role of women. and new life is springing from the sycamore gap tree. seedlings from the famously felled tree are starting to grow.

hello. i'm azadeh moshiri. you're watching bbc news. final preparations are under way to send the first shipment of aid by sea to gaza. humanitarian organisations are co—ordinating a delivery of about 200 tonnes of food and medical supplies, which will go via a maritime corridor with israel's agreement. but it's unclear how or where the boat will actually dock, and even if the aid does arrive, some groups are warning of problems in distributing the aid across gaza. wyre davies reports from jerusalem. in the cypriot port of larnaca, they have been working around the clock. the spanish ship, open arms, is preparing to tow a barge with 200 tonnes of food with medical aid all the way to gaza. it's a precarious, untested plan with obvious risks. translation: yes, we will tow this platform to gaza, _ where the last mile will be the most complicated operation.

the disembarkation will be done on a pier that is being built right now by the world central kitchen. how the aid will be unloaded into gaza, where there is no port orfunctioning harbour, is not clear. air drops and some land deliveries are often swamped by thousands of desperate, hungry people. some aid agencies say that the plan is misguided and ineffective. the humanitarian crisis is worsening by the day. the un says there is a danger of famine, and children are already reported to be dying from malnutrition. all of this is happening because israel and hamas have been unable to agree a ceasefire that would have allowed more aid in by road through israel — still the preferred, most effective route. and the fighting continues. at least ten people were reported to have been killed today in an air

strike on a refugee camp in central gaza. israel, despite growing international pressure for a truce, says the military campaign is not yet over. wyre davies, bbc news, jerusalem. meanwhile, supplies of aid continue to be dropped into gaza. these pictures were shot a few hours ago in gaza city, in the north of the territory. some 300,000 palestinians are believed to be there. the us dropped more than 41,000 meals and more than 20,000 bottles of water. the area was where the israeli military began its operations, following the hamas attack on the 7th of october, and there have been warnings of malnutrition and the possibility of famine there. several aid organisations have reported difficulties in delivering supplies to gaza's north, and there have been reports of chaos and violence when convoys of aid have driven there, as people struggle to secure food and other essential items.

aid organisations have warned that airdrops simply cannot meet the need on the ground. let's speak now tojoe english, who is emergency communication specialist at unicef. joe, thank you so much for your time, we really appreciate it. before we get to all the challenges here, could you remind us of the stakes, especially when it comes to children in gaza and children in the north? , ., ~ , _, ., children in gaza and children in the north? , ., ~ , ., , north? the stakes could not be hiaher. i north? the stakes could not be higher. ithink_ north? the stakes could not be higher. i think we _ north? the stakes could not be higher. i think we have - north? the stakes could not be higher. i think we have all- north? the stakes could not be| higher. i think we have all seen north? the stakes could not be - higher. i think we have all seen the absolutely heartbreaking images of children literally wasting away, you know, ten—year—olds, two children, you can imagine being a parent and bringing a new life into this world, just to see that life slowly seep out of them, the colour drain from their cheeks and drain from their eyes as he was then. so the stakes could not be higher, this is

happening now, so the absolute urgency is to get critically needed supplies, safe drinking water, food and nutrition supplies in today, tomorrow, this week. these children cannot wait. tomorrow, this week. these children cannot wait-— cannot wait. joe, you're talking about urgency. _ cannot wait. joe, you're talking about urgency, and _ cannot wait. joe, you're talking about urgency, and the - cannot wait. joe, you're talking about urgency, and the us - cannot wait. joe, you're talking about urgency, and the us has| cannot wait. joe, you're talking - about urgency, and the us has said that it would take approximately 60 days to build a floating port for that ship with aid to actually dock there. even the urgency you just described, what is your opinion on the timeline? —— given the urgency. every effort to scale this up, and thatis every effort to scale this up, and that is important, but what is even more important is the aid we can give, the only way we can do that...

a truck was sat at a checkpoint and was not able to get through, so all of these plans for the future are critical, we welcome them, but they will not stabilise children who are on the verge of death as we speak. joe, what you just mentioned there, the world food programme has reported similar delivery problems after suspending its operations, but once the aid gets there, it is difficult to have it travel safely. could you tell us about those security concerns?— could you tell us about those security concerns? there are, there are challenges _ security concerns? there are, there are challenges delivering _ are challenges delivering humanitarian aid in conflict everywhere, we work in somalia, in syria, we work in yemen, and so these are challenges that we face on a day—to—day basis, and we managed to deliver aid, that means

coordinating with the parties in the conflict on the ground to ensure that humanitarians, who was neutral, always there to support civilians, can do our work safely. the scenes of desperation we have seen, we want to be able to stop that level of desperation for children, families, parents trying to get food for their children, so we need to have the confidence of commuters so that when the ca delivery coming in, they are not thinking this is our only chance to get a bag of flour for my family, they think there will be aid today, there will be able tomorrow, so we need sustainable long—term access. and we repeat ourselves, i am sure must be getting old to people to hear this, the only way we can reach all of these children and families, there is no other option. we have been showing _ there is no other option. we have been showing pictures _ there is no other option. we have been showing pictures while - there is no other option. we have been showing pictures while you | there is no other option. we have - been showing pictures while you have been showing pictures while you have been talking of the airdrops, airdrops of age, could you explain

the concern around airdrops and why organisations like yours are saying they are simply not enough? it can onl ever they are simply not enough? it can only ever deliver _ they are simply not enough? it can only ever deliver a small _ they are simply not enough? it can only ever deliver a small knot of i only ever deliver a small knot of aid, it is also true that expensive to do. where we usually use aid drops is when families, communities are hundreds of miles from the nearest support, they are completely cut off by conditions or under siege. we know that humanitarian aid can save these children's lives, so ultimately airdrops are not going to be... they are only ever going to be a sticking plaster on what is a growing wound, so we need to get trucks in. there are crossings in the north of gaza that could be opened and would allow us to get in

with that kind of numbers that are needed, so we would like to use those. , ., . ~' needed, so we would like to use those. , ., ., ~ ,, needed, so we would like to use those. , ., . ~' ,, those. joe, thank you so much, really appreciate _ those. joe, thank you so much, really appreciate it. _ here, thousands of people joined a pro—palestinian rally in london. it was the tenth major demonstration in the capital since the seventh 0ctober attacks by hamas on israel. on friday, the uk government's counter—extremism commissioner, robin simcox, said weekends in london had become a no—go zone forjews. 0ur correspondent louisa pilbeam sent this report from central london. well, we're at the concluding part of the march here, just outside the us embassy. i must say that when we were with the start of the march, there were thousands of people which was significantly lower than in previous weeks. we have seen groups ofjewish people and jewish organisations here, and they have said that they feel

comfortable being here. the organiser also said that he feels that in response to policing numbers, there are around 1,500 police from across the country policing this kind of event week after week. upwards of £25 million has been spent since the first couple of months since the 7th of october hamas attacks on israel. and the organiser feels that this is overpoliced in his words. he said he feels that that actually creates a sense of anticipation of trouble. live pictures of anti—government protests in tel aviv, you can see they are holding placards holding faces of the hostages remaining in gaza. these protests have been taking place regularly as people campaign for the return of their loved ones. there has also been dissatisfaction as to the response of the government, especially when it comes to the way they are conducting the war, some people calling for fresh elections.

the uk's defence secretary grant shapps has posted video on his social media account of hms richmond shooting down two drones in the red sea. the incident happened last night after the royal navy frigate was attacked by iranian—backed houthi rebels. mr shapps said the uk and its allies will continue to take the action necessary to save lives and protect freedom of navigation. the us military says it has also shot down at least 28 uncrewed aerial vehicles — or drones — in the red sea between between about 4.00am and 8.20am local time. they added that no us or coalition navy vessels were damaged in the attack, and that no commercial ships reported damage. with the details, here's david waddell. the singapore—registered propel fortune is the latest commercial ship to be targeted by the houthi movement. the bulk carrier departed india just under two weeks ago, with her automatic identification system signalling that she was not connected to israel — supposedly to deter this kind of attack from yemen.

the uk maritime trade organisation said the captain reported no collateral damage to the ship and that she was bound for her next port. these attacks have been ongoing since october, both in the red sea and in the gulf of aden, causing many commercial ships, both freighters and passenger liners, to divert around the cape of good hope. this attack took place about 50 nautical miles south of the port of aden. here's the houthi description of what happened. translation: yemen's naval forces . and the air force carried out two l specific military operations. the first targeted the american ship propel fortune in the gulf of aden, with a number of suitable naval missiles. while the second targeted a number of american destroyers at the red sea and the gulf of aden with 37 drones and the two operations successfully achieved their goals. so the second attack was focused

on us warships which have gathered in the region in greater numbers since the red sea crisis began, led by the uss dwight d eisenhower. us central command said that us naval ships and aircraft shot down 15 unmanned aerial vehicles early in the morning. they regard this large—scale attack as an ongoing imminent threat to merchant vessels, the us navy and coalition ships in the region. a london fertility clinic has had its licence suspended because of "significant concerns" about the unit. the homerton fertility centre said there had been three separate incidents involving errors in the freezing of embryos. i asked our correspondent greg mckenzie to explain what had happened. the bbc understand as many as up to 150 embryos could be affected, involving about 45 patients. the hospital trust has not confirmed those numbers,

but it centres around the freezing process of embryos. some of them have simply not survived or were undetected when thawed. homerton fertility centre here in east london has said that it has called in external clinical experts to find out what has happened here, but up until now, they have not been able to determine the problems, and why this has happened. meanwhile, the uk fertility regulator has suspended the license here, the operating licence, for fertility treatment, and the trust has apologised to those patients involved, but says it has changed the way in which it works, and those changes will include having two staff members to crosscheck each other�*s work to find out what actually doing. the metropolitan police have also confirmed they have

been here to the unit, but have told us today that, as of now, they are not conducting a criminal investigation. greg, the process of freezing eggs, having eggs fertilised, it is externally difficult, extremely emotional. what has the bbc heard from people who are affected? one patient has spoken to the bbc, she has asked that her name remains anonymous, and she says she is absolutely devastated, as many other patients will be, and potentially this will prevent them from ever being able to have children themselves. many people involved, the trust here has said it has contacted all of those involved and they have sent their sincere apologies and said they hoped this

will not happen again. the uk fertility watchdog has said the licence will be reinstated once a full investigation is carried out. as of now, no new fertility cases are being taken on here, that is private and nhs fertility treatment here at the homerton fertility centre. there's been another mass kidnapping in nigeria, the third in just over a week. armed men abducted 15 students from their school in the northwestern state of sokoto in the early hours of saturday. four women were also taken. there is already a major search for the almost 300 students who were abducted by armed men on thursday. the nigerian army is leading the search for those children,

who were abducted in kaduna state. reports say students between the ages of 8 and 15 were taken, along with a teacher. the abductions have been blamed on a breakaway faction of the militant islamist group boko haram. and about 200 people were abducted in borno state on february 29th. victims of kidnappings usually pay a ransom to secure their freedom. a controversial law passed in 2022 made it a crime to make ransom payments, with a potentialjail sentence of at least 15 years. but many victims feel they have no choice but to pay. our west africa correspondent mayenijones has more. we don't know very much. all we know is that it happened very early this morning in sokoto in the north—west of nigeria. members of the local community told the bbc that gunmen came into the town shooting into the air, they took a number of women,

and as they were fleeing, they saw some students running into the dormitories and decided to abduct them as well. this comes at a height —— time of heightened tensions in the region. a search operation is under way to recover almost 300 students taken from their school on thursday. the military, the police and local hunters are combing the forest in the region are trying to recover the students. mayeni, sadly this is not a new issue for the country. what is behind this latest resurgence of kidnappings? it is not new, but we haven't seen these mass kidnappings involving children for a few years now, the last was in 2021, and many in the region thought that perhaps authorities had got the problem under control. a number of suggestions have been made for the reasons why this may be happening again this week.

one of them is that the holy month of ramadan is coming up, perhaps these children were taken to do menial work in the camps. the nigerian economy is particularly bad at the moment, inflation at over 30%. traditional these gangs have extorted local communities for money, but many of these now have no money to give, so it might be that they are turning to abducting children in a way to pressure the government to pay heavy ransoms. in a setback for ireland's government, voters have rejected two referendums — concerning the constitutional redefinition of family and women's roles. the prime minister leo varadkar described it as a "comprehensive" defeat, while the leader of sinn fein laid the blame squarely at the feet of the government. darran marshall reports from dublin. within minutes of the ballot boxes opening,

it was clear ireland had said no. voters were asked to approve two amendments to the 1937 constitution, one around the definition of family and the other on care. government leaders say they respect the decision but are disappointed. on behalf of the government, we accept responsibility for the result. it was our responsibility to convince the majority of people to vote yes, and we clearly failed to do so. i think we struggled to convince people of the necessity or the need for the referendum at all, let alone the detail and the wording. those who campaigned for a no vote say the government misjudged the mood of the electorate. these two amendments by the government were an exercise in virtue signalling. this was a government flying a flag of progressiveness while at the same time refusing to provide real bread and butter services to families who really need it. ireland has voted no to constitutional change, but already some of the political parties here say they will return to the issue after the next general election.

darran marshall, bbc news, dublin castle. the health ombudsman for england has warned that an overstretched and understaffed nhs is putting cancer patients at risk. rob behrens says exhausted workers are under "unsustainable pressure," and the government should invest in the workforce. ministers say their nhs long term workforce plan will boost the number of staff. our health correspondent dominic hughes has more. a recent analysis by the bbc suggested cancer waiting times in england last year were the worst on record. now there are new figures from the health ombudsman who investigates unresolved complaints against nhs england, government departments, and other public organisations. they highlight problems in cancer treatment, misdiagnosis, poor communication referrals, and end—of—life care. the ombudsman, rob behrens, says that while everyone deserves safe and effective care, patient safety will always be at risk in environments that

are understaffed and where staff are exhausted and are working under unsustainable pressure. i continually come across failures in service, despite the excellence of so many dedicated clinicians and staff in the nhs. and that's a reality we have to live with and confront. so being shocked is not enough. what we have to do is to create a learning culture in the nhs. mr behrens called for what he described as concerted and sustained action from government to make sure nhs leaders can prioritise safety. and a key part of that, he said, would mean a long—term investment in the workforce. a spokesperson for the department of health and social care said a record number of cancer patients had been seen and treated over the last two years. and the nhs long term workforce plan will boost the number of health care workers diagnosing and treating cancer.

dominic hughes, bbc news. the famous sycamore gap tree on hadrian's wall made headlines after it was chopped down last year, but horticulturalists from the national trust have successfully grown the first seedlings from it. harriet bradshaw reports. at a top—secret location in devon, a site of biosecurity, where the national trust is protecting the legacy of the nation's most famous trees. i've been invited to witness history, hope for the future of the sycamore gap tree. a lot of people might think, "well, it's just a sycamore," you know, a sycamore, but it is a really important sycamore. the sycamore gap tree in its prime. but last september, it was chopped down. everyone seems to have a story about how they connect to the tree. some people, literally, have been proposed to underneath it. other people just saw it as a way marker on theirjourney. and yet there are signs of life.

in a race against time, the national trust managed to rescue seeds from the felled tree. and now they're growing. within this mini greenhouse, within this secret greenhouse, is a tiny little seedling. and this was the first of the sycamore gap's seeds to pop up. and the team here say when they saw this growing, they knew there was hope. but raising seedlings isn't the only way the tree's legacy can be preserved. there is also another method called grafting, using living twigs. and nine of the 20 grafts are now showing signs of life. i think there's a great deal of relief. it is a race against time because, obviously, once you cut a tree down, it's physically dying straightaway. you know, there's a lot of pressure on us to actually get them growing. luckily we did. the grafting of the sycamore gap materials would have looked

something like this. this method means that we've actually used the original- material from that tree, - so we've got a genetic clone. so, basically, the sycamore gap can live on? yeah, it is the same tree. when they've grown up, the national trust says it'll be the community and the nation who decide where they're planted. for now, seeds of hope protecting the legacy of the sycamore gap tree forfuture generations. harriet bradshaw, bbc news, devon. some live pictures from tel aviv now, where anti—government protests have been taking place. these early pictures now. we seen anti—government protests in recent weeks, people have been calling for the resignation of prime minister benjamin netanyahu, in response to

the hostage situation. there is also a large police presence there. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. sunshine amounts have varied across the uk today. some areas got stuck with a lot of clouds and outbreaks of rain, but for others the cloud did break to reveal some sunshine. that was how it looked for one of our weather watchers in shetland. on the earlier satellite picture, you can see this swirl of cloud in the centre of which lies an area of low pressure that is dominating our weather right now. it will continue to do so. and because we are on the northern flank of that low, we have an easterly wind that winds staying pretty strong across northern areas through tonight, the wind easing further south. we will see outbreaks of rain pushing northwards, particularly across parts of england and wales. overnight lows generally between 3—9 celsius. so tomorrow, here's our area of low pressure still with us. but notice big gaps between the isobars in southern areas. so the winds here relatively light.

the isobars squeezed together further north. so it will stay quite blustery. and when you're exposed to that breeze, particularly across the east coast of scotland, it is going to feel decidedly chilly. many areas will see outbreaks of rain at times, but not all the time. certainly not a huge amount of sunshine for mother's day. best chance of brightness i think will be in the far north, also for parts of south and west wales, the south—west of england, and the channel islands. the winds will be lighter than they have been today in the south, temperatures in the south in any brightness 12—13 celsius, but exposed to that breeze, eastern scotland, only 5—6 celsius. that breeze still with us on monday, that easterly blowing in towards, say, the eastern side of scotland. but that wind generally easing off. monday will bring a lot of cloud. there'll be some bits and pieces of rain towards the south—east of england, also northern ireland. some bright or sunny spells and again, temperatures 6—11 or maybe 12 celsius. and for tuesday, the change is really only taking place very slowly. it won't be as windy on tuesday.

because of that, there could be some mist and fog patches through the morning. quite a lot of cloud, some sunny spells. i think many places will be dry. temperatures between 8—12 celsius. but the weather will change in terms of the feel of things, certainly, as we head through the middle parts of the week, because with areas of low pressure passing to the west or the north—west of us, we will develop winds from the south—west. and that will bring certainly a milder feel. from midweek onwards, temperatures getting up into the middle teens celsius, but it will often be cloudy, and there'll be some rain at times.

this is bbc news, the headlines. preparations are under way to deliver aid to gaza using a maritime corridor. 200 tonnes of food and medical supplies will be on board a barge towed by a charity ship. it's due to sail from cyprus. but it's not clear yet where the supplies will actually be unloaded, or how they'd even be distributed inside gaza safely. air drops of aid have continued in the meantime — here you can see supplies falling into gaza city. the us dropped more than 41,000 meals. there's still no agreement between israel and hamas over a ceasefire and the return of hostages. in a major defeat for ireland's government, voters reject two referendum proposals on family and women's roles. proponents wanted to amend the constitutional definition of a family to include people who were not married.