our report shows evidence of abuse, including beatings, carried out by israeli troops. these are very disturbing pictures and reports that have come out from this hospital and we need to get to the bottom of what exactly happened. the us state department has also seen the investigation. we'll have the latest. also tonight... downing street now says comments about the mp diane abbott allegedly made by a prominent tory party donor were racist and wrong. social media influencer andrew tate, along with his brother, can be extradited back to the uk over rape and human trafficking allegations. can i just ask you if you have faith in the british legal system? because you said today you had faith in the romanian system. well, we're going to find out. nhs england says children will no longer be prescribed puberty blockers at gender identity clinics. and...they came from far

and wide to ride the waves of the river severn. and on newsnight at 10.30pm — we'll go deeper behind the headlines and speak live to key players on today's big stories. plus, a first look at tomorrow's front pages. good evening. there's been a strong international response to a bbc investigation, highlighting the ill—treatment of palestinian medical staff, by the israeli defence forces, at a hospital in gaza last month. our reporting includes evidence of people being detained, beaten and prevented from carrying out vital medical duties. the foreign secretary, lord cameron, says the report is "very disturbing," and he's called for "answers from the israelis".

and the us state department has also seen the imnvestigation. israel says it took over the nasser hospital in khan younis last month, believing hamas fighters were based there. several israeli hostages, who've been released, say they were held on the premises. israel says "any abuse of detainees is strictly prohibited". orla guerin is live injerusalem with the very latest. this was a lengthy detailed forensic investigation by bbcjournalists carried out over several weeks, the details were checked and cross checked and they spoke to doctors, nurses, pharmacists, people who were displaced and living in the hospital grounds. allegations that emerged were very specific and those specific allegations were put to the israeli army and they did not reply to the allegations in specifics and they did not make any denied of the specific allegations of mistreatment

but they told the bbc in general terms, that medical staff at nasser hospital were not ill treated during their operation. not for the first time in this war, israeli soldiers have been filmed standing over stripped and kneeling detainees. but these are medical staff detained after the israeli army overran the nasser hospital in khan younis. most are still being held. for weeks, the medics had witnessed israel's advance as it closed in around the hospital. the fighting in khan younis was fierce. thousands of people who had sought refuge in the grounds fled under fire. even a hospital wasn't safe. one nurse was shot inside an

operating theatre through a window. another person shot at the main entrance. the hospital was under siege. then, on february 15th, after giving warnings, israeli tanks rolled in. inside, utter chaos. patients rushed from collapsing wards. israel says it found hamas weapons and medication, which it says supports accounts from israeli hostages that they were held here. in the idf�*s own footage, you can see hospital patients detained outside in their beds and wheelchairs with their hands zip—tied. and this was the treatment for medical staff. at least 49 of them forced to leave their posts and remove their surgical clothing.

israel says it was searching for concealed weapons and that among the 200 arrested at nasser were terrorists posing as medics. dr amira azoulay had remained at nasser throughout the siege. before israel's incursion, she risked her life to save others as people were shot inside the grounds. later, she witnessed what happened to her fellow doctors at the bar. translation: it was tough for us to see how the doctors who had bravely stayed at the hospital despite the dangers, were stripped and beaten. their hands were tied behind them and they were left in the sun for hours. dr ahmed sabah is one of very few medics to have since been released. he shows the positions

they were forced to adopt for hours and says they were also tortured. his hand was broken by an israeli soldier, he says, and muzzle dogs were set on him. translation: they forced us to kneel down with our eyes blindfolded. there was a pit in the ground and we thought they would execute us — we said our prayers, but they were just intimidating us. the hospital manager who dealt with the israelis during the raid says with so many staff detained, patients died. translation: doctors and nurses were left treating 250 patients. you can imagine the level of care we could give with no water

or electricity in the hospital at that point. during this time, 13 patients and injured people died. israel says any abuse of detainees is against idf orders and is strictly prohibited. the bbc investigation into how israeli troops treated staff and patients at nasser hospital was raised today in the house of commons and the house of lords. the foreign secretary now calling for answers. these are very disturbing pictures and reports that have come out from this hospital and we need to get to the bottom of what exactly happened. and we need answers from the israelis about that. and when we have those, then it'll be easier to comment. in washington, two questions are being asked about the bbc investigation. has the us raised it with israel? i have only seen the report. i don't know if we have raised it, but i would expect that we would as it's the type of cases

that we often raise with them to seek more information and to make clear, as we always have, that any detainees should be treated in strict compliance with international humanitarian law. the israeli army says it operated within nasser in a precise and focused manner, and it provided equipment enabling the hospital to function and to treat patients. but with the war continuing, and more than a0 medics still detained or missing, the hospital has been closed for weeks. orla, lord cameron wants answers from israel. is he likely to get them? we have been trying to get some answers ourselves tonight. after the call by lord cameron. we contacted the foreign ministry and the office of the prime minister but they had nothing to say and the prime minister's office referred us back to the army. we have to look at how israel has responded to its closest ally the us in the last few months,

we have had president biden as far back as december criticising indiscriminate bombing and at the weekend he spoke about a disregard for the loss of innocent lives. israel has not changed the conduct of the war in response to those remarks and if it is not listening to the white house, there is less chance that it will listen to london. the foreign office said it wants accountability and transparency and amnesty international said today that ministers are being naive or disingenuous if they think that the israeli army can credibly investigate itself and critics would say, over the last five months, there have been 30,000 plus palestinians killed in gaza, the vast majority of whom are women and children, many killed in broad daylight, many crushed to death in the rubble of their own homes, and there has been no transparency or accountability for any of that so far. ., «a

accountability for any of that so far. . ~', ., ., , and you can read more about the bbc�*s investigation into events at nasser hospitalfrom our senior journalist, alice cuddy. that's online at bbc.co.uk/news. downing street now says comments allegedly made by a prominent conservative party donor about the mp diane abbott were racist and wrong. for much of the day, there'd been no such acknowledgement from number 10, indeed one member of the cabinet said the alleged words, while clearly inappropriate, were not gender or race based. the guardian newspaper claims that frank hester said ms abbott made him "want to hate all black women" and that she "should be shot". he's admitted he was rude about her in a private meeting five years ago, but insists his comments had nothing to do with her gender or skin colour. ms abbott says she finds the remarks "worrying" and "frightening". here's chris mason. just over a week ago the prime

minister use the stage of his office to warn against racism and extremism in politics. atill" to warn against racism and extremism in olitics. ., _ , , in politics. our democracy itself is a tar: et in politics. our democracy itself is a target nova _ in politics. our democracy itself is a target now. council _ in politics. our democracy itself is a target now. council meetings i in politics. our democracy itself is l a target now. council meetings and local events have been stormed, mps do not feel safe in their homes. now the guardian — do not feel safe in their homes. now the guardian reports that frank hester, a multimillionaire doughnut to the conservative party, said this in 2019 -- to the conservative party, said this in 2019 —— donor. all day downing street did not call these alleged remarks racist. until tonight when they did. the prime minister's spokesperson saying...

the bbc has not independently verified that mr hester, seen here on the right with david cameron in 2016, made the alleged comments. but he is not denying it. diane abbott is a political pioneer. first elected nearly a0 years ago, she was the first black woman mp. whatever else happens after this, i think nobody can take this moment away from the black community.

what did happen after that is she rose to bejeremy corbyn�*s shadow home secretary after being subjected to year after year of abuse, which multiplied in the era of social media. diane abbott said the reported remarks were worrying, frightening, and alarming. herfriend agreed. i’m and alarming. her friend agreed. i'm anxious and alarming. herfriend agreed. in anxious and upset on her behalf, and i think she is incredibly brave. she's braver than i am, and she is one of the bravest people i know. but i think we also reflect on where our politics is, nearly a quarter of the way into the 21st century, this is not where i thought we would be. i think we have taken a step backwards. the position of the government on frank hester and his remarks has zigzagged all day. this was one cabinet minister this morning... the critical point here is i don't think what he was saying was a gender—based or race—based

comment, but it was clearly inappropriate. he has apologised and i think we need to move on from that. then his cabinet colleague kemi badenoch disagreed with him, and also outflanked the prime minister. two hours later, downing street said the same thing. it is two hours later, downing street said the same thing-— the same thing. it is staggering that rishi sunak _ the same thing. it is staggering that rishi sunak has _ the same thing. it is staggering that rishi sunak has taken - the same thing. it is staggering that rishi sunak has taken so . the same thing. it is staggering i that rishi sunak has taken so long to recognise that these were racist comments, they are reprehensible comments. rishi sunak should now apologise to diane abbott and the £10 million the tory party have taken from this individual, rishi sunak should order that money to be paid back. sunak should order that money to be aid back. , ., ~ , sunak should order that money to be aid back. ,., ~, .,, ., paid back. diane abbott has now re orted paid back. diane abbott has now reported frank _ paid back. diane abbott has now reported frank hester's - paid back. diane abbott has now reported frank hester's alleged | reported frank hester's alleged comments to the police. so, chris, mr hester has donated £10 million to the conservatives — some are suggesting they should give it back? what are the chances? the questions

are cranking — what are the chances? the questions are cranking up _ what are the chances? the questions are cranking up along _ what are the chances? the questions are cranking up along those - what are the chances? the questions are cranking up along those lines - are cranking up along those lines because there are further developments and the guardian reporting this evening that frank hesterjoked at a crowded staff meeting that there was no room for the indians and suggested staff should climb on a train roof. they quote him as saying that, i make a lot ofjokes about racism, about our different creeds and cultures, but i want to assure you that that is the most abhorrent thing. in a new statement this afternoon, frank hester said, statement this afternoon, frank hestersaid, hatred statement this afternoon, frank hester said, hatred of others based on race, religion, gender, sexuality or geography is odious and disgusting and racism in particular is a poison. if you take a step back to my, this is about money and power and institutions, and also about language and labels and their capacity to cause hurt and anger and horror. diane abbott herself is not

a member of the parliamentary labour party any more, having accused of anti—semitism for which she has apologised, but the big question tonight is for the prime minister over hisjudgment today tonight is for the prime minister over his judgment today in taking a long time to come to the view that these remarks were racist whilst his cabinet said various things throughout the course of the day including outflanking him, and then on the central question, about what the prime minister does next, every likelihood that there are more revelations to come and that big question from the opposition party is about the money, does he in the end hand it back?— end hand it back? chris mason, thanks for— end hand it back? chris mason, thanks forjoining _ end hand it back? chris mason, thanks forjoining us. _ two people have been released on bail, after police removed 35 bodies and a quantity of ashes, from a funeral parlour hull. detectives say they're investigating a truly horrific incident and families are understandably distraught and heartbroken. officers say they've received more than 1,000 phone calls from concerned members of the public. nick garnett is in hull tonight. what's happened today, nick?

the police know this will be a difficult and comp located investigation which will go on for several months. the coroner's office involved, medical experts are involved, medical experts are involved as well as a specialist teams and forensic scientists pulled over 120 police officers in this one investigation which is focusing on this building, the headquarters of legacy funeral directors where police have uncovered 35 bodies. this is an extremely complex and sensitive investigation with heartbroken families at the core of it. we are determined to ensure that we keep families at the centre of everything that we do.

i have been speaking today to relatives who have been coming down here and laying flowers and they just want answers really and they talk about this all the time, one of them saying he was heartbroken and angry, he thought his relativity had been cremated injanuary and another said he was heartbroken, that he had scattered the ashes of both his parents at the base of a tree but now he does not know if it was them. one more said that the firm delivered what they said were his wife's ashes after the funeral in december but now he does not know if they are hers. two people were arrested over the weekend and questioned on allegations of fraud and the prevention of a proper burial. both those people were released from police custody on bail while the investigation continues. nick, thank you for that, from hull. the controversial social media influencer andrew tate has told the bbc tonight, that he has "nothing to fear" after a court in romania ruled he and his brother tristan can be extradited to the uk.

they face several allegations, including rape and human trafficking, over a number of years. they "categorically reject" the claims. nick beake is in the romanian capital, bucharest. you caught up with mr tate, what did he say? you caught up with mr tate, what did he sa ? ,., ., ., you caught up with mr tate, what did hesa? ., , he say? good evening, of course andrew dajabon _ he say? good evening, of course andrew dajabon is _ he say? good evening, of course andrew dajabon is one _ he say? good evening, of course andrew dajabon is one of- he say? good evening, of course andrew dajabon is one of the - he say? good evening, of course l andrew dajabon is one of the most googled people on the planet and backin googled people on the planet and back in the spotlight again today —— andrew tate. tonight he and his brother are back at home having been allowed to return and they claim thatis allowed to return and they claim that is a victory in itself but still he faces extremely serious allegations both here in romania and also in the uk with now the possibility, the prospect of extradition, as i caught up with them earlier and he was defiant. back at his house in bucharest after another day in custody. andrew tate and his brother praised the romanian court for letting them come home, for now.

the uk now, as they had seen we were going to be found innocent in romania, have decided to try and weaponise romanian courts to put us back in jail and that has failed and justice has come through tonight for us, which is fantastic. but the romanianjudge did not find them innocent. instead, she agreed to an extradition request from british police who are investigating allegations of rape and human trafficking. as i put to andrew tate tonight. if you may have looked at someone wrong or spread in a car in 2012, they are going to try and put you injailfor it. bedfordshire police are looking at very serious allegations. you must accept they are very serious allegations. if you interrupt me again, sir... please. so what happens is, when you get to a certain level of fame, they go through your entire life forensically and try and destroy you. earlier they had been brought before a judge to hear that they will be sent to the uk, but not until after a romanian court has itself tried them on similar, and related charges, and if found guilty, any prison sentence has been served.

—— unrelated charges. both men have denied all the charges against them. andrew tate is loved by his many fans for his pronouncements on how men should act. his detractors say his message represents a danger to women. females... ..are barely sentiment. —— barely sentiment. in his own words, andrew tate describes himself as absolutely a misogynist. it doesn't matter whether a woman wants to be a lawyer or a house maker or a webcam girl, unless she has a man directing her, she bleep. they are just not built to be completely independent creatures. andrew tate claims his words are often misinterpreted but the police, teachers and women's rights groups say his influence is toxic. in the uk, some women have spoken about their experience meeting him, including evie, not her real name, who spoke to the bbc last

year, and whose words are voiced by an actress. there is enough evidence out there to show that, you know, these women that he has harmed do exist. so i think he needs tojust get a bit of a reality check and admit what he has done. the brothers may be home but can't travel abroad. andrew tate once praised what he described as romania's more lenient approach to sexual assault claims. he's now fighting such claims both here and in the uk. nick beake, bbc news, bucharest. nhs england says children will no longer be prescribed puberty blockers at gender identity clinics. the drugs, which pause the physical changes of puberty, such as breast development or facial hair, will now only be available to children as part of clinical research trials. hugh pym is here with me. what is the background to this? nhs encland what is the background to this? nhs england says — what is the background to this? hhs england says there has been a very polarised debate on this issue which

has been reflected in its consultation process. it was set up last year after this policy was first flagged up to stop the routine prescription of puberty blockers. now nhs england says the process has ended so the policy will go ahead from now, so children coming forward for treatment will not be prescribed these drugs. there are about 100 already on courses of treatment which will continue but in future prescription will only be for clinical trials, prescription will only be for clinicaltrials, one prescription will only be for clinical trials, one of which will start at the end of this year. all this at the time of an independent review which has already said there are gaps in evidence about the effect of these drugs and there should be a transformation of care in gender identity services. the tavistock and portland trust in london that they will have gone up from 250 per year to about 5020 22 and services they will end at the end of this month and to meet new centres will be set up in london and liverpool. centres will be set up in london and liverool. ., ~ centres will be set up in london and liverool. . ~ , ., haiti's prime minister has agreed to step down following weeks of mounting pressure

and increasing violence in the country. ariel henry is currently stranded in puerto rico, after being prevented by armed gangs from returning home. will grant is on the haitian border with the dominican republic for us tonight in dajabon province. you are on the frontier having reached the border so is there any sense of the chaos inside haiti where you are? we sense of the chaos inside haiti where you are?— sense of the chaos inside haiti where ou are? ~ . , ., ., where you are? we have seen today at this border crossing _ where you are? we have seen today at this border crossing behind _ where you are? we have seen today at this border crossing behind me - where you are? we have seen today at this border crossing behind me into - this border crossing behind me into haiti, which is now largely closed, the dominican authorities deporting haitians back into a country in the grip of its worst and most acute humanitarian crisis since the 2010 earthquake. and notjust a humanitarian crisis but a political one as well a political vacuum after prime minister ariel henry stood down following a meeting of the caricom nations and the us state department. for his part, the

foreign secretary lord cameron placed the blame at a failure to hold elections, calling that an aggravating factor. so what happens now? unfortunately for haiti, things can get a far worse. the gangs who forced out mr henry will feel emboldened and they already control around 80% of the capital port—au—prince, and hopes for an international security force led by kenyan personnel are beginning to run into difficulties up to the kenyan foreign ministry said it would not be putting police on the streets of port—au—prince without a sitting administration. qm. streets of port-au-prince without a sitting administration.— sitting administration. 0k, thank ou for sitting administration. 0k, thank you for that _ sitting administration. 0k, thank you for that from _ sitting administration. 0k, thank you for that from the _ sitting administration. 0k, thank you for that from the dominican l you for that from the dominican republic and haitian border. when you think of surfing, hawaii or california might spring to mind. surely not the river severn. well, kayakers, paddleboarders and surfers from across the world have been drawn to the severn bore tidal wave, described as "the greatest ride on earth."

it's a six—foot—high rush of water during high spring tides, and today's was the first to occur in daylight for several years. phil mackie reports. this is a bucket list experience if you're a hardcore surfer. dodging each other and avoiding a mouthful of muddy water is a small price to pay for the experience of a lifetime — even if you do get wiped out. the severn bore happens when there's a high when there's a high spring tide and the wave it creates funnels upriver. i'm 67 injune, i reckon i'm the oldest boy in here. it's so rare, even the oldest hands are drawn back. it's because you're surfing the wrong wave up a river, inland, isn't it? and this is the one to do. it's great. i must go, because i'm going to miss that one. richard was on a body board, some were in kayaks... laughter. ..some on surfboards. others had brought

their paddle boards. it's the experience, it's the anticipation, it's, i don't know, waking up at the crack of dawn. it's like a stupid adventure and quite surreal as well. here we are, first thing in the morning, waiting for some wave to appear out of nowhere. there's nothing else like it. well, not everyone has been able to catch the waves that they wanted to, but this is one of the great sights that you can see in this country, and the first daytime five—star bore on the severn for a long time. thousands lined every available viewing point, including lots of first—timers. i really like when the surfers go on it and it carries them down the river. one day, will that be you? no! laughter. there's even time to ride the bore more than once. the river is windy but the road is straight, so you can drive a few miles up river, get back out of the car and back into the water. there were hazards aplenty. gilles, who is on the blue board, had come all the way from canada. it's just one of those natural phenomenons.

it's kind of like last shot in the game, too — you get one chance at it and then that's it. and howard and nick's second ride was a success. it got up really quite steep and i said, "this is going to be great," and then itjust picked up high and threw me straight off. it's the biggest i've seen it. five star, then? i'd say so, yeah. now, it's going to be board back on the roof and back in the car. and off they went for a third time. phil mackie, bbc news, gloucestershire. football, and arsenal's hopes of reaching the quarter—finals of the champions league have gone into extra—time after tonight's match with portuguese side fc porto ended 1—0 to the gunners in 90 minutes, but 1—1 on aggregate. joe wilson has been watching the action. commentator: well, the last 16 has been a nightmare for arsenal... - a famous clock has overlooked arsenal's modern era. it was, on this night, about time. to finally return to the real business stage of european football they had to beat porto. well, early misses. odegaard with the drive! porto were 1—0 up after the first leg.

what if they scored again? a warning. and now tension ticked from manager's face to hands of fans. relax. odegaard delivered the perfect pass. it deserved trossard's finish. just before half—time, arsenal half way. the tie was level. 67 minutes, arsenal through, the ball for odegaard, his finish... except, it wasn't. the officials saw enough of havertz�*s hand gripping the defender�*s shirt there to say, "foul — no goal." arsenal were now throwing themselves into attacks. one goal would do to go through to the quarterfinals. close was not enough. extra time, agonisingly, would happen. joe wilson, bbc news. and with a few minutes still to play, the score remains 1—1 on aggregate — with a penalty shootout potentially to come. time for a look at the weather. it was a very wet february and the

rain is continuing to fall into march as well, particularly across south—eastern england where it has been much wetter than normal with 50 millimetres in places, two inches of rain which is more than the march average and were not halfway through the months. of the good news is south—eastern parts should be drier in the next few days, some rain elsewhere and we draw into milder air with winds coming from a long way south. but with that we are seeing a lot of cloud, still some rain and drizzle from the earlier radar picture but the wetter weather is focused more towards the uk and thatis is focused more towards the uk and that is the front which is bringing rain into northern ireland and scotland and that will stumble down through the irish sea into north wales and northern england. south—westerly wind picking up and behind that rain, a bit cooler but i had a bit, very mild, temperatures are likely to stay in double figures over night. tomorrow, the rain will stick for a while in north wales and northern england, clears much of northern ireland and scotland where there will be some sunshine, winds

picking up and bringing showers later in the far