live from london, this is bbc news. the head of the un agency for palestinian refugees says israel has told him it will no longer approve its food convoys to enter northern gaza. russia's president putinjoins a day of national mourning, lighting a candle for victims of the concert hall attack where 137 people were killed. ireland is set to have its youngest ever prime minister, with simon harris declared as fine gael leader. and jasmin paris, the first woman to complete one of the world's most gruelling races, speaks to the bbc. any woman that wants to take on a challenge and maybe doesn't have the confidence, the idea that i might have inspired them to believe in

themselves and have a go, that's huge. this hello, welcome to the programme. we start this hour in the middle east. the head of the united nations agency for palestinian refugees says israel has told him it will no longer approve its food convoys to enter northern gaza. in a post on social media, unrwa's head philippe lazzarini described the move as outrageous. he said israel's decision meant many more people would die of hunger, dehydration and lack of shelter. there's been no word from israel. it comes as the country's defence minister yoav gallant is set to travel to washington, with israel leadership under increasing pressure from the us to halt its planned assault on rafah in southern gaza. israeli forces continue to carry out ground and air attacks in northern and central gaza, including around al—shifa hospital. juliette touma is from unrwa. she says if aid from the organisation is blocked

from entering gaza, famine will take hold. it is simply outrageous. the clock is ticking, and with this recent decision, the clock will be ticking even faster towards famine. there is more than a quarter of a million people who depend on unwra's food assistance in the north, and we haven't been able to reach them for the past two months. we are talking about the vast majority of the population that has been forced to flee their homes or their places of refuge, and unwra alone are hosting over a million people who live in the united nations unwra shelters. they lost everything, and they need everything, and they need the basics. they lost everything, and they need everything,

and they need the basics. and right now the most important commodity that people need is food. i would also say that they need safety and they need protection above all, and a ceasefire, which is very, very much overdue. our correspondent in jerusalem is mark lowen. i asked him about the role unrwa plays in getting aid into gaza. they are essential, because they are they are essential, because they are the biggest mission, they employ 30,000 staff, so without unwra getting the aid in.— 30,000 staff, so without unwra getting the aid in. another agency has managed _ getting the aid in. another agency has managed to _ getting the aid in. another agency has managed to get _ getting the aid in. another agency has managed to get three - getting the aid in. another agency has managed to get three trucks i getting the aid in. another agency| has managed to get three trucks in the last few weeks, but without the help from unwra, that is not enough. the head of unwra, philippe lazzarini, said that what he described as a very direct attack by israel on the functions of that un agency, and he said that since january he has not had any contact

with the israeli government correct. why is that? injanuary, the israeli government accused some members of staff of unwra of participating in the 7th of october hamas attacks on israel. that prompted some western governments to suspend funding of that un body, and it really prompted the biggest crisis in relations between the two sides, the israeli government and unwra, in decade, and i think this decision today, if confirmed by the israelis, but it seems to be because unwra has announced it, it would be another step in the breakdown relationship between the two sides, and it comes in exactly the same time as the head of the un, the secretary general of the un, antonio guterres, is in egypt criticising the israeli government for its conduct in the war and of depriving girls of aid, so it seems to be an attack on the un itself. ~ ., ., so it seems to be an attack on the un itself. ~ . ., ., un itself. meanwhile we have had more attacks _ un itself. meanwhile we have had

more attacks overnight _ un itself. meanwhile we have had more attacks overnight and - un itself. meanwhile we have had more attacks overnight and that i more attacks overnight and that israeli operation around the al—shifa hospital is continuing. yes, they have killed many people around the al—shifa area and around the hospital, and have detained people they describe as members of hamas and palestinian jihad which people they describe as members of hamas and palestinianjihad which is a movement of hamas. it bodes very badly for the israeli military policy and military offensive in gaza that there are still such heavy fighting in northern gaza and al—shifa, because the israeli defence forces stormed al—shifa back in november when the accused it of being a hamas command centre, which has always been denied by hamas, and the fact that for months on they are having to go back into al—shifa and there is an intense battle run suggest that israel's war strategy in gaza is not going to plan. mark lowen in jerusalem. _

to russia next. the country is observing a national day of mourning today, for the victims of friday's attack on a concert venue, just outside moscow. president putin lit a candle in a church at his residence outside moscow, in memory of the victims. the authorities now say at least 137 people died in the attack on concertgoers in the crocus city hall. the islamic state group has released graphic footage which appears to back up its claim that it was behind the attack. here's our russia editor steve rosenberg. in moscow, wherever you looked, wherever you turned you could see this was a country in mourning. and in shock. across russia, flags flew at half mast for the victims of the concert hall massacre. and at the scene of friday's attack, crocus city hall, the queues grew longer and longer. the national day of mourning experienced most acutely here. there was an outpouring of sympathy, a mountain of tributes to the dead. as well as leaving flowers

and candles, people have also been bringing soft toys and sweets because amongst the dead there were children. they have also been leaving messages. one is addressed to the attackers and it reads, "you are scum, we will never forgive you." among the crowd there was a mixture of grief and anger. it was a big shock because i live nearby and i saw it from my windows. it is horrific. and the big tragedy. "such a terrible loss, i'll never forgive or forget." bring back the death penalty for terrorists. for sure. he says. this is how the attack had begun. with gunmen in the foyer and

desperate attempts to take cover. the attackers moved on to the auditorium. by the end of this, more than 130 people were dead. four suspects have been arrested. russia claims they were captured trying to flee to ukraine and had contacts there. kyiv fiercely denies any link to the attack. the islamic state group says it was behind the shooting. and on this day of mourning, silent prayers from a sombre—looking president putin. the kremlin says he lit a candle for the victims in church at his country estate. and russia is praying that there will be no more attacks. if there are, that will test people's faith in the president to keep them safe. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow.

joining me in the studio is our security correspondent, frank gardner. if it is the islamic state group, why would they attack russia? there are a number of reasons. one is syria, so is have in the past put out statements, and quite recently, saying we will never forgive and forget because russian forces are fighting is, as are the americans. secondly there is afghanistan, where the taliban are fighting is k, which is the branch of isis which operates in afghanistan in that area, and backin in afghanistan in that area, and back in september 2022, isis attacked the russian embassy in kabul. so they consider that the russian government is an ally of the

taliban, and that alabama is their enemy. and also there are a number of disputes that they have got with regimes in that part of the world. the third reason i think which is perhaps the most pressing is that there has recently been quite a crackdown, clampdown, by the fsb, russia's domestic security agency, against suspected jihadists inside russia. of course, russia is at war with ukraine, so it is officially a special military operation in russia, but it is a war by any other name, and that is where the attention of the military has been, so i think there is a legitimate question to be asked as to whether russia took its eye off the ball here, because remember there was this warning two weeks ago from the us which was put down propaganda, but it does seem that the us had intercepted communications which it passed to russia, directly to moscow, even that two countries, the two governments can't stand each other, they shared that warning, it was dismissed and it does seem that

this was a genuine threat. meanwhile president putin _ this was a genuine threat. meanwhile president putin and _ this was a genuine threat. meanwhile president putin and the _ this was a genuine threat. meanwhile president putin and the russian - president putin and the russian officials are pointing the finger gently at ukraine, saying that the four have been arrested were heading to ukraine. find four have been arrested were heading to ukraine. �* ., ., , to ukraine. and not that gently, i think they are _ to ukraine. and not that gently, i think they are very _ to ukraine. and not that gently, i think they are very keen - to ukraine. and not that gently, i think they are very keen to - to ukraine. and not that gently, i think they are very keen to divertj think they are very keen to divert any criticism that this was a lapse in domestic security into saying that this was an attack on russia. at the moment there is no information. when i saw this attack unfold, i thought i hope the ukrainians haven't done this, because this is a terrorist attack. this is war, it is a terrorist attack, and these are absolutely innocent civilians, and honestly innocent civilians, and honestly innocent civilians, and honestly innocent civilians have died already on both sides of the border, but this is a particularly hideous and premeditated calculated attack on civilians, and it bears, and i refuse to you use the word hallmark,

but it bears the signs of a typical jihadist attack,. it doesn't look like a state attack by ukrainians or any other government.— like a state attack by ukrainians or any other government. frank gardner, any other government. frank gardner, a security correspondent, _ any other government. frank gardner, a security correspondent, thank - any other government. frank gardner, a security correspondent, thank you i a security correspondent, thank you very much for your time. ireland is set to have its youngest—ever prime minister. one of the country's main governing parties, fine gael, has declared simon harris, who's 37, its new leader, replacing leo varadkar. he'll be formally appointed as prime minister, or taoiseach, when ireland's parliament reconvenes next month. mr harris has just been speaking to the media, and he was asked whether a general election might be on the horizon. it is my view and my intention that this government should run full term. i am very conscious that governments take on a rhythm of their own, and i'm conscious that all people need to act in good faith, and events can happen in irish politics, of course they can. but we've a lot of work to do and i don't think there needs to be any mystique around when i headed out.

i'm planning for this government, should i be lucky enough to form one, and to become taoiseach. i would like to see this government run full term, and that is intention as of now. let's speak to pat leahy, political editor of the irish times, who is in athlone where the announcement was made. how did simon harris�*s speech go down? it went down with raucous enthusiasm was how— it went down with raucous enthusiasm was how they greeted it, and a packed — was how they greeted it, and a packed hotel ballroom, 700 delegates here, and _ packed hotel ballroom, 700 delegates here, and of course the result was a foregone _ here, and of course the result was a foregone conclusion. everybody knew he was _ foregone conclusion. everybody knew he was the _ foregone conclusion. everybody knew he was the only candidate, but it was formally declared leader of fine gael today, and he gave a barnstorming speech touching on things— barnstorming speech touching on things that fine gael members love to hear— things that fine gael members love to hear about, he spoke about the importance — to hear about, he spoke about the importance of law and order, the importance of law and order, the importance of law and order, the importance of rural ireland, a few things— importance of rural ireland, a few things like — importance of rural ireland, a few things like that, one or two attacks on sinn _ things like that, one or two attacks on sinn fein, and the delegates

tapped — on sinn fein, and the delegates tapped it— on sinn fein, and the delegates lapped it up, as you would expect them _ lapped it up, as you would expect them to — lapped it up, as you would expect them to. but i think he would know that a _ them to. but i think he would know that a more — them to. but i think he would know that a more important audience for him at _ that a more important audience for him at home will be the audience who don't necessarily attend fine gael conventions. and he will have a chance — conventions. and he will have a chance to — conventions. and he will have a chance to speak to those people who will he _ chance to speak to those people who will be looking in, the new taoiseach being elected on a couple of weeks. _ taoiseach being elected on a couple of weeks, but for now the fine gael faithful— of weeks, but for now the fine gael faithful here were loving it today. and what — faithful here were loving it today. and what challenges does he have going forward? he and what challenges does he have going forward?— and what challenges does he have going forward? he has got a number of oli going forward? he has got a number of policy issues _ going forward? he has got a number of policy issues that _ going forward? he has got a number of policy issues that this _ of policy issues that this government has really struggled to come _ government has really struggled to come to— government has really struggled to come to terms with, and the most significant — come to terms with, and the most significant one is a housing crisis that has— significant one is a housing crisis that has been going on for more than the lifetime _ that has been going on for more than the lifetime of this government and still sees _ the lifetime of this government and still sees a — the lifetime of this government and still sees a chronic housing shortage and really difficult for people — shortage and really difficult for people to get on the housing ladder. sky-high— people to get on the housing ladder. sky—high rents, especially for young people. _ sky—high rents, especially for young people, many people emigrating for a few years _ people, many people emigrating for a few years at least. so i suppose that is _ few years at least. so i suppose that is the — few years at least. so i suppose that is the number one issue for

this government. he also has to pick the date _ this government. he also has to pick the date of— this government. he also has to pick the date of the next election, and we saw— the date of the next election, and we saw today where he moved to say that there _ we saw today where he moved to say that there is — we saw today where he moved to say that there is no question of a snap election— that there is no question of a snap election now. it was generally assumed _ election now. it was generally assumed that if it wasn't held before — assumed that if it wasn't held before the summer which was unlikely, _ before the summer which was unlikely, that the election would be in the _ unlikely, that the election would be in the autumn. that would have been against _ in the autumn. that would have been against the _ in the autumn. that would have been against the wishes of his coalition partners — against the wishes of his coalition partners that he has moved to say no, the _ partners that he has moved to say no, the government will go its full term, _ no, the government will go its full term, we — no, the government will go its full term, we won't keep talking about the timing, — term, we won't keep talking about the timing, we will get on with more substantial _ the timing, we will get on with more substantial work. so i think that would _ substantial work. so i think that would he — substantial work. so i think that would be appreciated certainly by his government partners. gk, his government partners. 0k, pat leah , his government partners. 0k, pat leahy, political — his government partners. 0k, pat leahy, political editor _ his government partners. 0k, pat leahy, political editor of - his government partners. 0k, pat leahy, political editor of the - his government partners. 0k, pat leahy, political editor of the irish | leahy, political editor of the irish times, thank you forjoining us. let's return now to the israel gaza war. as the conflict approaches the milestone of six months, there are calls from the far right in israel forjewish settlers to return to gaza.

the idea has support from ministers in israel's hard—right government including the minister for public security itamar ben—gvir. a prominent settler leader has told the bbc that she already has 500 families "signed up who are ready to move immediately". israel pulled out of its settlements in gaza in 2005. settlements are held to be illegal under international law. israel disputes this. from the west bank, our senior international correspondent 0rla guerin reports. the hills of the west bank. palestinian land, eaten away for decades by illegal israeli settlements. they are an obstacle to peace, the un says. but now many on israel's far right want to bring settlements back to gaza. like this man who has raised ten children in a settler outpost on the west bank. he lived in gaza in the past, and claims a god—given right to return. do you want to go back? do think that others will go back?

we must do it. it is part of the israel area. this is the land that god gave us, and you couldn't go to god and say, you give me, i give other people. no. these at the 21 gaza settlements that were demolished in 2005. but daniela is already mapping out a new gaza without the more than 2 million palestinians who live there. the 78—year—old is the grandmother of israel's settler movement. gaza arabs will not stay in the gaza strip. who will stay? jews. africa is big. canada is big. the world will absorb the people of gaza. how will we do it? we encourage it. palestinians in gaza who wish to remain in gaza, are you saying that they should be

forced to go? palestinians in gaza, the good ones, will be enabled, i'm not saying forced, i'm saying enabled because they want to go. if they don't want to go... they want. the arabs want to go. if they don't, what happens? the normal people don't want to live in hell. what you are talking about sounds a plan for ethnic cleansing. you can call it ethnic cleansing, you can call it refugees, whatever you want. if you want to call it cleansing, if you want to call it apartheid, you choose your definition. i choose the way to protect the state of israel. also embracing a return to gaza, itamar ben—gvir, israel's far right security minister, a settler himself.

he was among about a dozen ministers at this conference entitled settlement brings security. it's time to go back home, he says. it's time to return to the land of israel. most israelis oppose going back to gaza, but since the hamas attacks on october the 7th, it is being talked about out loud. and some already have their eyes on prime real estate in the utter devastation of gaza where the death toll among palestinians is 32,000 and counting. i have friends in tel aviv, so they say, don't forget to keep for me a plot near the coast in gaza, because it is a beautiful coast, beautiful golden sands, beautiful place. it's beautiful no more, after almost six months of israeli bombardment.

jewish settlers may never get to the beachfront, but much of gaza has already been erased. 0rla guerin, bbc news, in the west bank. here in the uk, the chancellor has confirmed that the conservatives will commit to keeping the so—called triple—lock on pension increases in their election manifesto. under the current government system, state pensions rise every year in april in line with whichever is highest out of inflation, average wage increases, or 2.5%. jeremy hunt confirmed the plans on bbc 0ne's sunday with laura kuenssberg. 0ur political correspondent iain watson has more. they say a week is a long time in politics. just five days ago the chancellor suggested future increases in the state pension would be kept under review. now he says they will be guaranteed. but will the triple—lock be in the tory manifesto this time round? i can confirm it will be, yes.

why did he spell that out? pensioners groups had called for certainty and older people are more likely to vote than younger people. so perhaps an election year was a good time to remind them of the government's record. when we came to office in 2010, pensioners were more likely to be in poverty than other income groups. now, because of the triple—lock we introduced they are less likely. labour also wants to put together policies which appeal to pensioners. they have attacked the conservatives long—term plans to abolish national insurance, saying it could cost £46 billion in benefit only those in work and not those who have retired. but would they also commit to the triple—lock? yes or no, it will be in the labour manifesto? we will set out those plans i for our manifesto in detail... we don't want them to be threatened by the £46 billion black hole - but unfortunatelyjeremy hunt had threatened with the national-

insurance changes. we didn't fear a manifesto commitment from labour in keeping the triple—lock today, but party sources have been telling me it would be inconceivable of them to go into the next general election pledging to dismantle it. but some experts are warning politicians of all parties that if they keep this potentially costly policy could lead to some unintended and unwelcome consequences. one of the main risks as i see it is if we keep the triple—lock and it does make the state pension more expensive, we might respond to that by pushing up the state pension age by more than what we would otherwise be. i think it would be rather unfortunate if we have a more generous pension at the expense of having the highest state pension age. the triple—lock is costing the chancellor around £11 billion and future costs are uncertain. but in any battle between politics and economics, there is only ever one winner. iain watson, bbc news. now to the story ofjasmin paris,

from midlothian, the first woman to complete one of the world's most gruelling races — the barkley marathons, in tennessee. 100 miles up and down hills, through rugged terrain. she finished with just 99 seconds to spare before the 60—hour cut—off. jasmin has finally recovered her breath — and her voice — and spoke to the bbc. it wasn't until the last kilometre that i really sort of doubted that it was going to be possible. and at that point i was just so desperate to stop, to stop running and to walk. i knew that i couldn't because i wouldn't make it. i think it was just the thought that if i didn't make it this time it was going to be by seconds and then i would have to come back and do the whole thing again. because i would never have let it rest. i was so oxygen deficient when i reached the end and the last few hundred metres i couldn't even really see anybody. cheering and applause. i knew there were people kind of cheering me on and there was lots of noise and... but i was just aiming for the gate

and everything else sort of went blurry at the edges of my vision and ijust needed to make it to the gate. at which point i just sort of collapsed down in a gasping, kind of heap on the ground. cheering and applause. i did it for me and i am super happy that i achieved what i set out to do. i am really glad i kind of did it for women worldwide as well. notjust runners, but maybe any woman that wants to take on a challenge, and especially all the young girls, how hard it is to keep young girls in sport. this year there was a new section of the course which involved a lot of kind of brambles, really thick ones that slashed your legs. so my legs were actually far worse but i got quite a few scratches on my arms and hands.

but this is nothing compared with my legs. i guess the next thing i'm going to do is the scottish highlands peaks race. but really i think i will have a bit of arrest well deserved. congratulations to her. now, tourists in paris today might have found themselves in the unusual position of having to dodge hundreds of waiters and waitresses swarming the streets trying desperately not to spill trays of coffee and croissants. take a look. a century—old tradition has returned to the streets of paris — the waiters' race through the city. for the first time since 2011, 200 competitors wearing aprons and carrying trays loaded with a coffee, croissant and a glass of water made their way through the french capital. there's no running — it's a brisk walk only. points are awarded for speed — and deducted for spills. runners were split in different categories given age group and gender.

the mayor of paris revived the race, after it was put on hiatus in 2008 due to high costs. and here is the winner of the main race — sprinting his way to the finishing line, stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. sunday didn't turn out too badly with a bit of spring sunshine, just one or two showers. but through the next few days, the weather is looking quite changeable, decidedly unsettled, spells of rain, often windy, and it will be cold enough for snow over high ground in scotland. now let's take a look at the rainfall we're expecting to accumulate over the next five days. wet for hills in the west, very wet for eastern scotland. but while i say rainfall, actually some of this will fall as snow across scotland because certainly over the next couple of days, we've got to hold on to some rather cold air across this northern half of scotland. in the short term, well, through this evening and tonight, we see cloud and rain spreading from the west across northern ireland, western england, wales, pushing its way a little bit

further northwards and eastwards. ahead of that, a slice of clear sky, one or two mist patches, and temperatures dropping away — but out towards the west, as the night wears on, those temperatures will climb a little bit. so, 9 degrees in plymouth, for example, as we start monday morning with the cloud, with the outbreaks of rain, all associated with this area of low pressure, and a frontal system swirling its way in from the west. now, i think there will be parts of east anglia and the southeast that stay dry with some hazy sunshine throughout the day. northern scotland will hold on to some spells of sunshine, one or two wintry showers, but elsewhere we see the cloud, we see the outbreaks of rain moving quite erratically northwards. temperatures on monday afternoon across south wales, southern england, 10, 11, 12 degrees, but northern scotland, just 5, 6 or 7 degrees — and it's as the wet weather runs into that cold air that we will start to see some quite significant snow. 0verfairly modest hills

i think we could see snow, but above 300 metres elevation we could be looking at 20 centimetres of snow — and at low levels close to the east coast, parts of aberdeenshire, angus, fife, maybe up to 50 millimetres of rain. so that brings with it the risk of flooding and disruption. and the weather across scotland on tuesday only very slowly improving, the snow levels lifting, the rain and snow tending to peter outjust a little bit. windy in the far north, really cold, as well, struggling to get above freezing for some. further south, northern ireland, england and wales, sunny spells, the odd shower, highs of 11. temperatures climbing a little bit, actually, through the week ahead, into the easter weekend, but there will still be some rain at times.

this is bbc news, the headlines... the head of the united nations agency for palestinian refugees says israel has told him it will no longer approve its food convoys to enter northern gaza. meanwhile, at least 14 people have been killed as israeli forces carried out ground and air attacks in northern and central gaza. president putin lights a candle for victims of the concert hall attack — where 137 people including three children were killed. large numbers of russians continue to lay flowers at a makeshift memorial near crocus city hall, as the country marks a day of official mourning. the islamic state group says it was behind the attack. and simon harris has been elected the new leader of the irish governing party, fine gael. he's set to become the republic of ireland's youngest prime minister — at the age of 37 —

after leo varadkar�*s surprise resignation.