begs the becomes, the more this begs the question. — becomes, the more this begs the question, no matter how important the goal. _ question, no matter how important the goal, can itjustify such terribly— the goal, can itjustify such terribly high costs, or are there other_ terribly high costs, or are there other ways _ terribly high costs, or are there other ways to achieve your goal. take _ other ways to achieve your goal. take the — other ways to achieve your goal. take the ground offensive in rafah. military _ take the ground offensive in rafah. military logic is one consideration, but there — military logic is one consideration, but there is a humanitarian logic as welt _ but there is a humanitarian logic as welt how— but there is a humanitarian logic as well. how should more than 1.5 million — well. how should more than 1.5 million people be protected, where should _ million people be protected, where should they go? i also spoke to the prime minister today— i also spoke to the prime minister today about the need to provide the people _ today about the need to provide the people in_ today about the need to provide the people in gaza with comprehensive humanitarian aid supplies. we cannot stand _ humanitarian aid supplies. we cannot stahd hy— humanitarian aid supplies. we cannot stand by and watch palestinians risk starvation — stand by and watch palestinians risk starvation. that is not as, that is not what — starvation. that is not as, that is not what we _ starvation. that is not as, that is not what we stand for together. —— that is _ not what we stand for together. —— that is hot — not what we stand for together. —— that is hot as _ not what we stand for together. —— that is not as. much more humanitarian aid is needed, continuously, reliably. ishared humanitarian aid is needed, continuously, reliably. i shared my concems— continuously, reliably. i shared my

concerns with the prime minister on the provision of aid into gaza and the provision of aid into gaza and the conditions must be urgently and massively— the conditions must be urgently and massively improved for distribution. we finally— massively improved for distribution. we finally need a hostage deal with a longer— we finally need a hostage deal with a longer lasting ceasefire. i know how difficult it is to reach an agreement with hamas terrorists but we understand the hostage families who say— we understand the hostage families who say after more than five months the time _ who say after more than five months the time has come for a comprehensive deal for saving those who are _ comprehensive deal for saving those who are still held captive. i want to express — who are still held captive. i want to express my appreciation for all the mediation efforts undertaken by the mediation efforts undertaken by the government of qatar as well as egypt _ the government of qatar as well as egypt. they have our full support. but also _ egypt. they have our full support. but also remains important, from my view, _ but also remains important, from my view, hezbollah must withdraw from the border— view, hezbollah must withdraw from the border area north of israel and we are _ the border area north of israel and we are working on this and the basis of un _ we are working on this and the basis of un security council resolution 1001 with— of un security council resolution 1001 with the united states and others — 1001 with the united states and others. regional military escalation

would _ others. regional military escalation would have unforeseeable consequences. we need to make any effort _ consequences. we need to make any effort to— consequences. we need to make any effort to avoid this. for me, as germah— effort to avoid this. for me, as german chancellor, one thing is essential. — german chancellor, one thing is essential, israel's security. it is at the _ essential, israel's security. it is at the centre of all my efforts and ports _ at the centre of all my efforts and ports here~ — at the centre of all my efforts and ports here. terror against israel must _ ports here. terror against israel must he — ports here. terror against israel must be fought consistently but tehhutt — must be fought consistently but tebbutt cannot be defeated with military— tebbutt cannot be defeated with military means alone. —— at the centre — military means alone. —— at the centre of— military means alone. —— at the centre of my— military means alone. —— at the centre of my efforts and thoughts here~ _ centre of my efforts and thoughts here we — centre of my efforts and thoughts here. we need a solution to this conflict — here. we need a solution to this conflict which ensure sustainable, tasting _ conflict which ensure sustainable, lasting security. sustainable security _ lasting security. sustainable security will not come from higher waits _ security will not come from higher waits and — security will not come from higher walls and deep ditches, it will come from a _ walls and deep ditches, it will come from a positive perspective for both people. _ from a positive perspective for both people, israelis and palestinians. a perspective for a future where palestinians can responsibly take care of— palestinians can responsibly take care of their own affairs themselves. the gaza strip and the west bank— themselves. the gaza strip and the west bank belong to the administration of the peace deal authority~ — administration of the peace deal authority. the palestinian authority

needs— authority. the palestinian authority needs to _ authority. the palestinian authority needs to be reformed and strengthened both in terms of infrastructure, self—government and palestinian — infrastructure, self—government and palestinian statehood can and must be designed to meet israel's security— be designed to meet israel's security needs. —— belong to the administration of the palestinian authority. there is no contradiction here~ _ authority. there is no contradiction here on _ authority. there is no contradiction here on the — authority. there is no contradiction here. on the contrary, lasting security— here. on the contrary, lasting security for the israeli people lies with a _ security for the israeli people lies with a solution with the palestinians, not against them, as part of— palestinians, not against them, as part of a _ palestinians, not against them, as part of a negotiated two state soiution~ _ part of a negotiated two state solution. this also includes that normalisation of israel with its neighbours, especially with saudi arabia _ neighbours, especially with saudi arabia. israel's strategic self security— arabia. israel's strategic self security lies in justinian self—government in partnership with saudi _ self—government in partnership with saudi arabia and other states in the region— saudi arabia and other states in the region with — saudi arabia and other states in the region with sustainable peace. germany's stance on israel as a partner— germany's stance on israel as a partner and — germany's stance on israel as a partner and a friend, we support you with actions — partner and a friend, we support you with actions and with honest words.

thank— with actions and with honest words. thank you. — with actions and with honest words. thank you, chancellor. i trust you know that israel seeks peace and israelis believe, all israelis in europe pray for peace because we know the consequences of war, both as a nation and as families who have lost loved ones. the cost of war is well known to us. we believe that the key to peace is security. many believe that the key to security is peace, peace is unsustainable without a strong israel and if we are offered a peace agreement or a path to peace that makes israel so weak and unable to defend itself, and our neighbours still adhering to the goal of destroying thejewish state, then obviously we will set piece backward and looked forward. we want to move peace forward and for that, we want to move peace forward and forthat, israel we want to move peace forward and for that, israel has to have the necessary security responsibility in this tiny area, otherwise, the radicals take over. this is

something we have discussed in detail and we will have other opportunities. i want you assure you that we value the support that germany has given us in international forums and elsewhere and we value your friendship and we look forward to continuing this conversation. the other thing i would say is that i assured chancellor olaf scholz that our goal in eliminating the remaining terrorist battalions in rafah goes hand in hand with enabling the civilian population to leave rafah. it is not something we will do while keeping the population locked in place. in fact, we will do the very opposite, we will enable them to leave because of our consideration for reducing and minimising civilian casualties which has guided us and will continue to guide us in the future. thank you, chancellor, and thank you, all. thank you very much.

those pictures coming into is from jerusalem. the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, and the german chancellor, olaf scholz, shaking hands at the end of that press conference and it is just past six in the afternoon injerusalem. i willjust rattle through what the two men had to say, fairly succinct from benjamin netanyahu who said the fight against hamas continues and this is an organisation willing to use people as human shields and they want to eliminate the state of israel. he also said israel is doing its best to continue to deliver aid to gaza but the distribution of aid is itself a problem because hamas interrupts those deliveries. he also said he met with hostage families and that one freed hostage told him that when they were released, they were told that hamas would be willing to do again what it did to israel on the 7th of october but ten times worse. olaf scholz then spoke and spoke of the 160 days of israeli

pain and its missing hostages but also the civilian suffering within gaza. he said germany stands by and he said a military operation is essential to fight hamas but it is not the only option. he said the cost of civilian casualties was rising and it reaches a point where it regardless of the goal of the operation, you have to question the cost that is being spent. he also voiced his concern at an operation that will take place in rafah, where 1.5 million palestinians are in refuge there, having fled their own homes. benjamin netanyahu then responded and said his government also wanted to help the civilians in rafah. this press conference comes after the health ministry in gaza, run by hamas, says more than 60 palestinians have been killed in israeli bombardment overnight. they said 12 members of one family were killed when their house

in deir al—balah in the centre of the territory was hit. israeli families of the 130 or so hostages are urging the government to do a deal to release them, before it is too late. our senior international correspondent 0rla guerin spoke to one mother about the agonising wait for her son, who was taken when hamas attacked israel on october 7th. as soon as i turned my phone on, two consecutive messages came in that had arrived at 8:11 from hersh. the first of the messages said, "i love you." and the second one immediately after said, "i'm sorry." this is rachel's son, hersh goldberg—polin, 23 and much missed. here he is in happier times with his parents. the american—israeli is still a hostage in gaza five months on, his mother still in anguish. every morning when i wake up, i make a concerted effort and say

to myself, "now pretend to be human," so that i can get up and try to save hersh, my son, and the other remaining 133 hostages. what i want to do is lay in a ball on the floor weeping, but that won't help them. hersh was caught up in this horror when a music festival became a killing field on october seventh. he sought refuge with friends inside a bomb shelter. but hamas was at the entrance, throwing in grenades. allahu akbar! he was last seen surrounded by gunmen, his left arm blown off, as hamas loaded hostages onto a truck. do you believe you will get him back? i really do. hope is mandatory.

and... ..i believe it — and i have to believe it — that he will come back to us. that's what all the families cling to, the belief that their loved ones will be back. they keep protesting, keep pressuring the government to do a deal. a sombre count in hebrew of every day the hostages have been held. rachel wants an end to the agony — and not only for israelis. i feel that so many people are suffering, notjust those families of the 134, but there are thousands and thousands of gazan... innocent civilians in gaza who are suffering. there is so much

suffering to go around. and i would love for our leaders, all of them, to say, "we're going to do what we have to do "so thatjust the normal people can stop suffering." everybody�*s going to have to give in. there's no perfect scenario. and we need the suffering to stop. that mother was speaking to the bbc�*s 0rla guerin. to the russian election. large queues suddenly formed at some polling stations earlier in an apparent show of dissent during elections designed to confirm vladimir putin in the presidency. allies of the late opposition leader, alexei navalny, had called on people to turn out at midday in moscow and other cities to spoil their ballots or vote for any other candidate. these were the scenes in moscow.

it is now just it is nowjust after seven o'clock in moscow. there've been no protest chants — the authorities warned that activists could be arrested. a rights monitoring group in russia says more than 70 people have been detained. vladimir putin is certain to win, giving him another six years in power. the kremlin has ensured he faces no credible opponent. here's bbc monitoring's russian editor, vitaly shevchenko with the latest on the polling. queues formed or got bigger at around midday which is when the widow of the late opposition leader alexei navalny called on people to be there.

however, nobody held any political posters or charted any slogans so this event, and i hesitate to call it a protest even, it looks like a queue and state media shared pictures from polling stations showing all these queues saying, look, citizens are turning out to vote, and frankly, it is difficult to say who is in the queue to support alexei navalny and who is there to vote. you touch on russian state media there, in advance of the election, what where people in russia hearing about the vote and about the candidates on the ballot paper? yet again, this election is presented in state media as a festival of voting. it is not about choice. the suggestion is that it is about validating or expressing support for the government policy. before that, for years, russians had been told about how effective president putin is, so right now, state media don't even have to try very hard to

convince people in russia to vote for vladimir putin. now, all these people who turned out at polling stations at midday, they will be going home shortly and the kremlin would be hoping that this is where it will end, this is where any signs of protest will stop. and tomorrow, russia is likely to wake up the same way it is now, ruled by vladimir putin. there is no organised opposition force right now in russia and the kremlin is determined to make sure it stays that way. polls close in around three hours' time.

how quickly can we expect a result to be announced? exit polls will be published this evening and we are hearing about exit polls in the far east of the country which of course say vladimir putin is firmly in the lead. there are also reports of preparations for a concert to be held in red square tomorrow evening which seems to be just a festive way of confirming vladimir putin victory. vladimir putin's victory. he is expected to address that concert so it seems that preparations are under way to anoint vladimir putin for a fifth term of office. protests were also held at russian embassies abroad. mr navalny�*s widow, yulia, was among those queuing outside the russian embassy in berlin to vote. there have also been demonstrations in the uk, france, tokyo and georgia.

these are the pictures from the french capital, paris, where demonstrators held banners. an effigy of president putin was burnt in prague in the czech republic. several dozen, mostly russian nationals, took part in the protest in the city's wenceslas square. our reporter frances read is outside the russian embassy in london. what is the picture at there? your back thousands of people have been queueing up a hit since midday and at the queue queueing up a hit since midday and at the queu— at the queue stretch is still as far as the eye _ at the queue stretch is still as far as the eye can — at the queue stretch is still as far as the eye can see _ at the queue stretch is still as far as the eye can see and _ at the queue stretch is still as far as the eye can see and that - at the queue stretch is still as far as the eye can see and that has l as the eye can see and that has really been the case for the last few hours. we have spoken to people in that queue and we have seen younger people, older people and families come out and they are all here to vote and all of the ones we have spoken to, and we have only spoken to a sample because there are thousands of people here and had been throughout the day, they all say they are taking part in what is known as the midday protest, so people of course encouraged to come out at midday and form these enormous queues, really, as part of an almost silent protest. of course,

it was that wife of the late russian opposition leader alexei navalny who told people to come out and either spoil their vote or right alexei navalny across that voting paper so a lot of people said they wanted to turn out in solidarity today, that thatis turn out in solidarity today, that that is their intention, of course, as i say, we have not spoken to everyone, it isjust as i say, we have not spoken to everyone, it is just a sample of those who are willing to speak to us today, but that seems to be the intention here. interestingly, what we don't know is whether everybody within this queue will actually get a chance to vote today, such as the length of the queue. around lunchtime, it was going back well over a mile or so with estimates of several thousand but the russian embassy here in london says that voting will remain open until eight o'clock this evening. fiifi voting will remain open until eight o'clock this evening.— o'clock this evening. 0k, frances read outside _ o'clock this evening. 0k, frances read outside the _ o'clock this evening. 0k, frances read outside the russian - o'clock this evening. 0k, frances | read outside the russian embassy o'clock this evening. 0k, frances - read outside the russian embassy in west london for us. as always, thank you very much, frances read. sources in ukraine have confirmed to the bbc that its drones hit an oil refinery in slavyansk—na—kubani

in southern russia overnight. it comes as the governor of the belgorod region says one person was killed, and 11 wounded in ukraine shelling there. ukrainian sources said refineries were being targeted to undermine the russian economy and its oil exports. time for a look at today's sport with hugh ferris. for the second time in two days, and fa cup quarter final was settled by two injury—time goals. and it's chelsea who are heading to wembley again after they beat ten—man leicester 4—2 at stamford bridge. the late goals came from substitutes carney chukwuemeke and noni madueke after chelsea had let a two—goal half—time lead slip. an extraordinary 30—yard own goal from axel disasi and then a much more intentional goal from stephy mavididi drew leicester level, but the game swung back towards chelsea after leicester's callum doyle was sent off with the championship side eventually made to pay in the 92nd and 98th minute. that is football and that is the beauty of the fa cup and we are involved in the fa cup.

yes, of course, i think that fist of all we really deserved the qualification for the semifinal and we got that. the team kept calm until the end and that is why the end was four—two. i'm so happy to go to wembley for the semifinal. in the final semifinal of the day, manchester united have the lead over liverpool at old trafford, liverpool have scored an equaliser and just before half—time, mo salah had his 13th goal in 1a games over his career against manchester united so two—won liverpool lead with that place in the semifinals up for grab at old trafford.

west ham had two goals disallowed for handball as they drew 1—1 with aston villa in the one premier league match of the day. after a big defeat for tottenham in the race for the top four, villa's point takes them three points clear in fourth, while west ham stay seventh. mikael antonio scored and had a second ruled out, while there were 104 minutes in the game after an injury time following a lengthy review. elsewhere bayer leverkusen have re—established a ten—point lead at the top of the bundesliga with a 3—1win at freiburg. meanwhile milan are three points clear ofjuventus in second in serie a after they beat verona and juve's goalless draw against genoa. manchester city are level on points with chelsea at the top of the women's super league after a 4—1victory at brighton. lauren hemp and mary fowler scored in the first half before khadija shaw and laura coombs made it four. city need to continue with similar score lines in the wsl as they trail leaders chelsea on goal difference. it's finals day at indian wells. the world number one iga swiatek will play greece's maria sakarri later.

meanwhile in the men's draw, the two—time grand slam champion carlos alcaraz has ended jannik sinner�*s19—match unbeaten run to reach the final. the defending champion dropped the first set 6—1 in a match that was interrupted by rain, but took charge of the second and third. this was the long rally on match point. he eventually won that. alcaraz is aiming to win his first title since wimbledon last year, and is the first man to beat the australian open champion sinner in singles this year. lam i am really, really happy to classify for another final. it means a lot to me to play such a great level and to be able to play another final and of course beating jannik sinner but we have had a really good rivalry and of course 16 match streak and to be able to win

something like this, it is incredible for me. alcaraz will play daniil medvedev in the final after the russian beat tommy paul in three sets. medvedev says he'll have to play 20 out of ten to beat alcaraz, who has won three of their last four meetings. the women's final is under wayjust over 90 minutes and at old trafford, liverpool do have a two—won lead against manchester united in that semifinal. today is st patrick's day, and thousands of people are gathering in towns and cities across ireland to celebrate. the event, which dates to 1762, is one of the world s largest irish heritage festivities. but it's notjust ireland — celebrations are happening in lots of places around the world. sofia bettiza reports. millions of people are coming together this weekend

to celebrate st patrick's day. now, this, for example, is new york, which has the largest irish community in the us. and you can see here a lot of people attending the st patrick's day parade on fifth ave. but one of the most iconic celebrations is here in chicago, where the tradition is that the chicago river is infused with about 40lb of green dye. everybody is saying happy paddy's day, happy paddy's day! it's great. and it doesn't matter who you are or where you're from, it is fab. yeah, it's absolutely... everybody wants to be irish today. and why not? we all are. but it is notjust the us. this is the spanish capital, madrid, where more than 500 bagpipers marched in the city centre. take a look. they even celebrate st patrick's day

injapan, which is on the opposite side of the world from ireland. these images here are from tokyo and you can see lots of people in green having a great time. so, why is it that so many people get involved in the celebration, even if they have no connection to ireland? well, st patrick's day was originally a religious holiday, but when it was imported to the us by irish immigrants, it transformed into a show of irish—american solidarity, and today, it has become a celebration of irish culture, music and dance — and, of course, enjoying a glass or two. steve harley, the frontman of cockney rebel, has died peacefully at home at the age of 73.

this track, his best known song, went to number one in the charts in 1975. the musician who had still been touring until recently, had cancelled dates to undergo treatment for cancer. steve harley there, 73 years old. the german chancellor, olaf scholz, and the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, are holding a conference injerusalem and olaf scholz says his country stands firmly with israel but cautioning against an offensive in rafah. hello there. after a lot of cloud, rain and drizzle across england and wales to start the day, we have seen things improving as that cloud moves away into the north sea and before we see some further bands of cloud and rain coming in from the atlantic, there is a bit of sunshine around through the rest of the day and those temperatures are higher than yesterday.

could make 17 degrees in the south east of england and in the sunshine in the moray firth, possibly 15 degrees here. still a few showers around, though, as we head into the evening, particularly across scotland. and we've got another band of rain moving into northern ireland, heading eastwards overnight. there won't be much rain on that at all and either side of that will have clearer skies. so it may well be a bit chillier than last night for england and wales and a few early mist and fog patches perhaps in the far south east. but you can see this band of cloud and what's left of the rain just dies out as it runs eastwards early on monday morning. so a lot of dry weather following with some sunshine. but then through the afternoon, the winds pick up in the irish sea, northern ireland and also in the far west of scotland. and we start to see some more rain arriving, but still mild on monday, temperatures widely 1a or 15 degrees. we've got southerly winds ahead of that weather system there. that's going to bring some more rain, but mostly for the northern half of the uk overnight, clearing away quickly as that low pressure moves away on tuesday morning. and then we're left with this trailing band of cloud and patchy rain heading down towards southern parts of england, brightening up elsewhere with some sunshine.

any showers should tend to fade away. a little bit cooler for scotland and northern ireland on tuesday, still 1a or 15 for southeastern areas, but a bit of rain later in the day for the south west of england. that will move northwards overnight and into wednesday, perhaps across wales, northern england, south east scotland, a lot of uncertainty about wednesday's weather. there's hardly a breath of wind. much of scotland, northern ireland may well be dry. so too, southeastern parts of england, where we've got the milder conditions hanging on here. but there is another weather system to continue this very unsettled theme as we head overnight and into thursday. this one coming in from the atlantic, bringing some wetter weather for northern areas. by thursday, that should have cleared — much of scotland and northern ireland with some sunshine for a while. and then increasingly light and patchy rain heads down across england and wales before it turns damp and cloudy later in northern ireland and western scotland. still, we've got temperatures

of 13 or 1a celsius.

this is bbc news, the headlines... yulia navalnaya, the wife of the late russian opposition leader alexei navalny has been in berlin at a protest against vladimir putin on the final day of voting in the presidential elections. there are queues at some polling stations in russia with opposition supporters taking part in a silent ballot box protest. benjamin netanyahu defies

international warnings not to go into the densely populated rafah, he said no pressure will stop him from continuing his planned offensive. ukraine has confirmed it hit an oil refinery in southern russia overnight, as part of a campaign to undermine the russian economy. the kremlin said the strike and other attacks were timed to disrupt the russian election and a state of emergency in iceland — after a fourth volcanic eruption in as many months. the village of grindavik is evacuated, only weeks after residents were allowed to return. now on bbc news...newscast. newscast from the bbc. hello. it's laura in studio. hello, it's paddy in the studio.

and henry at home. and today, paddy, i think we ended up basically doing a lot