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.

hello. i'm nicky schiller. 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. well, it's simply outrageous. the clock is ticking, and with this recent decision, the clock will be ticking even faster towards famine. there's 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. i mean, we're talking about the vast majority of the population that has been forced to flee their homes or their places of refuge. at unwra alone, we are hosting over a million people who live in united nations unwra shelters. 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're essential, really, because they are the biggest un mission in the palestinian territories. they employ about 30,000 staff, and so without unrwa getting this the food in on the ground, there are few alternatives. i mean, another body, the world food programme, which is another un agency, has managed to get a few trucks in to northern gaza in the last couple of weeks. but this appears to be a very direct attack on unwra itself. i mean, the head of unwra, philip lazzarini, was actually blocked by the israelis from entering gaza last week. and i went to a briefing with him, i met him, and he said what he described was 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 direct. now, why is that?

well, because 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 actually suspend funding of that un body, unrwa, and it really prompted the biggest crisis in relations between the two, between the two sides — between the israeli government and unrwa — in decades. and i think that this decision today if confirmed by the israelis — but it appears to be, because unwra has announced it — would be another step in the breakdown in relationship between the two sides. and i have to say, it comes at 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 of the war and for depriving gaza of aid. so it appears to be a pretty direct attack on the un itself. yeah, meanwhile, we've had more attacks overnight and that israeli operation around the al—shifa hospital is continuing. yes.

i mean, the israeli defense forces are saying that they've killed 170 terrorists, in their words, at al—shifa, which was, which is gaza's largest hospital, and that they have detained close to 500 people who they describe as members of hamas and palestinian islamichhad, which is a system, a movement of hamas. now, it obviously bodes very badly for the israeli military policy and military offensive in gaza that they are, that there is still such heavy fighting in northern gaza and al—shifa, because the israeli defense forces stormed al—shifa back in november, when they accused it of being a hamas command centre, which is something that's always been denied by hamas. and the fact that four months on, they are having to go back into shifa and that there is this intense battle around that hospital suggests that israel's war strategy in gaza is not necessarily going according 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've 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's horrific, and a big tragedy. "such a terrible loss. i'll never forgive or forget." "bring back the death penalty for terrorists. for sure." 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. 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 spoke to the media and was asked whether a general election might be on the horizon. it's 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 very 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 my intention. 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 paul cunningham — political correspondent for rte — who can tell us a little more about ireland's latest premier. so he is 37, but he has been in politics for more than 15 years, hasn't he?— politics for more than 15 years, hasn't he? , w ., , ., hasn't he? yes, he actually “oined the -a hasn't he? yes, he actually “oined the party when i hasn't he? yes, he actually “oined the party when he i hasn't he? yes, he actually “oined the party when he was h hasn't he? yes, he actually “oined the party when he was 14 h hasn't he? yes, he actually joined the party when he was 14 years i hasn't he? yes, he actually joined i the party when he was 14 years old, he has gone on to be a member of parliament, td, junior minister, minister and now he will be the macro team leader confirmed today and as you mentioned taoiseach, that will be coming on the 9th of april. he is a young, energetic man, he is a good communicator, but he faces a wealth of problems including housing crisis and difficulties with the health service. so that is where he said he had a lot of work to do. he also stressed the importance of law and order and immigration reforms. are they big issues in ireland at the moment as well?— are they big issues in ireland at the moment as well? they are big issues and — the moment as well? they are big issues and that _ the moment as well? they are big issues and that is _ the moment as well? they are big issues and that is part _ the moment as well? they are big issues and that is part of - the moment as well? they are big issues and that is part of what - issues and that is part of what simon harris is doing, taking his hamas too and moving them a bit to the right. he wants to take sides, be seen to be on the side, to take further action in relation to migration. this is a shift by fine

gael and it is due to a rising sense among the population that there is much migration going on, but they don't think the system which applies is operating quickly enough. imilli is operating quickly enough. will there be pressure? we mentioned a general election. for him to have a general election. for him to have a general election? and how does it work with the coalition in power at the moment? his work with the coalition in power at the moment?— work with the coalition in power at the moment? his coalition has been in hower the moment? his coalition has been in power for — the moment? his coalition has been in power for four _ the moment? his coalition has been in power for four years, _ the moment? his coalition has been in power for four years, it _ the moment? his coalition has been in power for four years, it has - in powerforfour years, it has another year to go, so if it runs full term, you are going to have a general election in ireland in march next year. there are three parties in the coalition and the other two party leaders say they want to run full term as well, so it is seen ireland will be —— so it would seem ireland will be —— so it would seem ireland is 12 months away from the general election. i5 ireland is 12 months away from the general election.— general election. is he likely to chance general election. is he likely to change any _ general election. is he likely to change any policies, _ general election. is he likely to change any policies, do - general election. is he likely to change any policies, do you - general election. is he likely to - change any policies, do you think? there is a pogrom agreed by the three parties, so he is hemmed in a little bit with regard to what he can do. just programme. he cannot make significant change without agreement from the other parties, but he will put different emphasis on what needs to be done and within the ministry is his party controls,

you will see changes and one is justice, so one would imagine law and order, migration, areas where you see some change with regard to the irish government policy. we talk about domestic _ the irish government policy. we talk about domestic policies, _ the irish government policy. we talk about domestic policies, looking - the irish government policy. we talk about domestic policies, looking a l about domestic policies, looking a bit wider, any changes in dealing with the united kingdom perhaps? he: was asked with the united kingdom perhaps? he was asked at that same press conference about his attitude. he said, ireland is a european nation and continues to see its future with insider european union, but it is vital we have a strong working relationship between dublin and london. he intends to be in touch with the uk prime minister next week and hopes to meet him as soon as possible because even though there might be differences, whether it is trade justice issues, might be differences, whether it is tradejustice issues, a strong relationship is very important and no doubt a meeting will be happening pretty quickly. haul no doubt a meeting will be happening pretty quickly-— pretty quickly. paul cunningham, holitical pretty quickly. paul cunningham, political correspondent _ pretty quickly. paul cunningham, political correspondent for - pretty quickly. paul cunningham, political correspondent for rte, l political correspondent for rte, thank you very much forjoining us. you can get more on that story on the bbc news website and app.

let's return to the israel—gaza war, and 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 this 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, ok, you give me, i give other people. no. these are 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 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... no, no, 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're talking about sounds like 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... 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. you are live with bbc news. now it's time for a look at today's sport with 0llie foster. hello. it was a predictably one—sided match between italy and england in the women's six nations championship. the red roses, who are the defending grand slam champions, did make things more difficult for themselves, because they were down to 14 players after ten minutes when sarah beckett was shown a red card for a dangerous tackle.

they still ran in eight tries in parma, to win 48—nil. they top the table on points difference from france, who also won this weekend with a bonus point. there was a bit of imprecision from us, but i think italy capitalised on that. and there were loads of things that. and there were loads of things that were going right, but there were tiny execution points we were getting rang and italy seems to be jumping on those opportunities. so i have said that is what we needed to do after the half and that is when we started to turn the screw. and this is the first game in the six nations, there is a lot of movement to come from here and we have started at this point, so the only way is up from here. chelsea are back on top of the women's super league, after a 2—nil win over second—from—bottom west ham. aggie beever—jones�* goal in the second minute gave the visitors the lead, but it wasn't until two minutes from full time that they made sure of the points. a lovely goal from erin cuthbert. they have moved back above manchester city on goal difference. both sides have five games left to play this season. some other wsl results —

the merseyside derby was goalless between everton and liverpool at goodison park. tottenham beat bottom side bristol city. beth england scoring herfirst league goal of the season, after returning from injury. brighton came from behind against leicester to win 3—2. elisabeth terland volleyed the winner. aston villa are currently 1—nil up against arsenal in the day's late game. max verstappen�*s perfect start to the f1 season is over, after carlos sainz stole the show at the australian grand prix, capping off a remarkable return to form in melbourne. sainz started alongside world champion verstappen, who was on pole. but the dutchman handed him the lead, after having to retire his red bull with brake problems. the race finished under safety car conditions, after britain's george russell crashed his mercedes at the end. he was unhurt.

and sainz claimed victory, two weeks after having his appendix out. charles leclerc was second. the mclaren of britain's lando norris completing the podium. drama in the moto gp in portugal too — jorge martin has hhis first victory of the season but there was chaos behind him between his championship rivals last year's world champion francesco bagnaia collided with marc marquez whilst battling for fifth, ending both of their races with just three laps to go. and on the final lap, ducati's enea bastianini was able to steal second place from aprilia's maverick vinales after this crash. that allowed 19—year—old pedro acosta to finish third for his first podium in his debut season. but it was a great day for martin

who now leads the standings. a remarkable collapse from england handed new zealand a dramatic three—run victory in the third t20, as the hosts kept the series alive in nelson. england were cruising in pursuit of 156, needing only 29 runs from 29 balls with eight wickets left, but then lost six for 25. that left them needing eight from the last over, england lead the series 2—1, ahead of the fourth match in wellington on wednesday. credit to them. i think we got put under a lot of pressure and, today, we maybe didn't come up well against it. but i think that's a big learning curve. this team is always about learning opportunities and it's all right to make mistakes, but wejust have to learn from them. so i guess it's one to learn from, big time. keep up—to—date on the website or sport app. i would be back in the next hour, see you then. thank you. 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 the bbc 5 sunday with laura kuenssberg. what about the trouble? because you hinted this week the triple—lock which guarantees the income pensioners you hinted that might be but will the tory —— triple—lock be in the tory manifesto? but will the tory -- triple-lock be in the tory manifesto?— but will the tory -- triple-lock be in the tory manifesto? well, i can confirm it will _ in the tory manifesto? well, i can confirm it will become _ in the tory manifesto? well, i can confirm it will become a _ in the tory manifesto? well, i can confirm it will become a yes. - in the tory manifesto? well, i canl confirm it will become a yes. there are two— confirm it will become a yes. there are two important things i would say about_ are two important things i would say about that — are two important things i would say about that. when we came to office in 2010, _ about that. when we came to office in 2010, pensioners were more likely to be _ in 2010, pensioners were more likely to be in_ in 2010, pensioners were more likely to be in poverty than other income groups _ to be in poverty than other income groups. now because of the triple—lock that we introduced, they are less _ triple—lock that we introduced, they are less likely to be in poverty and i think_ are less likely to be in poverty and i think that — are less likely to be in poverty and i think that is very important social— i think that is very important social change because unlike adults of working — social change because unlike adults of working age, pensioners can't work, _ of working age, pensioners can't work. they— of working age, pensioners can't work, they have retired. so we need to respect— work, they have retired. so we need to respect that. but the second thing _ to respect that. but the second thing i— to respect that. but the second thing i would say is that is an expensive _ thing i would say is that is an expensive commitment. and you can only make _ expensive commitment. and you can only make that commitment if you are

confident— only make that commitment if you are confident that you are going to deliver— confident that you are going to deliver the economic growth that is going _ deliver the economic growth that is going to _ deliver the economic growth that is going to pay for it. the chair of the labour party also spoke to laura kuensberg. yes or no, will it be in the labour manifesto? — yes or no, will it be in the labour manifesto? we yes or no, will it be in the labour manifesto?— manifesto? we will set out those hlans for manifesto? we will set out those plans for our _ manifesto? we will set out those plans for our manifesto _ manifesto? we will set out those plans for our manifesto in - manifesto? we will set out those plans for our manifesto in detail. | plans for our manifesto in detail. however, we don't want them to be threatened by that 46 —— by that black which unfortunately, jeremy hunt has threatened with the changes he has proposed. 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. and 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 sort of collapsed down in a gasping, kind of heap on the ground. cheering and applause so i did it for me and i am super happy that i achieved what i set out to do. go, go, go! i'm 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, you know, 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, ithink i will maybe just have a bit i will maybe just have a bit of a rest. a dog once dubbed "britain's most unwanted" has

finally found a home. this is jake the lurcher. he arrived at dogs trust leeds aged one in 2015. he was found a home, but returned in 2019 as the owner's circumstances had changed. after spending more than four years at the centre, he has now been taken in by a couple from keighley. the team said it was "delighted" to see him happily rehomed. 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 higher 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'll 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, nine celsius 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 south—east 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—12 celsius, but northern scotland, just 5, 6 or 7 celsius — and it's as the wet weather runs into that cold air that we will start to see some quite significant snow. 0ver fairly 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 fourteen 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