with warnings of famine looming in much of gaza — our correspondentjoins a us aid drop. they're just opening the hatch ready to release the aid down into gaza. there is no organised distribution system down there. there it goes. political leaders say stability in northern ireland won't be affected by the arrest and resignation of the head of the dup. and — a possible breakthrough in the diagnosis and treatment of sepsis. artificial intelligence could be the key. hello. the un peacekeeping mission in lebanon says three of its observers and a translator have been injured by an explosion near the israeli border. a unifil statement said the peacekeepers were on a foot patrol when the blast occured — they've been taken to hospital.

the un said it was investigating the origin of the blast, and warned the targeting of observers was "unacceptable." it comes as reports say the biden adminstration has cleared the way for the transfer of bombs and fighter planes worth billions of dollars to israel. our correspondent yolande knell is injerusalem. a shell exploded near these un military observers while they were on a foot patrol in southern lebanon, along the blue line, which divides that area from the north of israel. now unifil, the peacekeeping mission in that area, says it's investigating the cause of the blast. but this is an area where israeli forces and the lebanese armed group hezbollah regularly exchange fire. we've seen an increase in tensions in that whole area in just the past few weeks, and that has really raised fears about further escalation related to the war in gaza. now, when it comes to those reports in the washington post and reuters

about arms transfers worth billions of dollars being made from the us to israel, these are listed as 1,800 2,000lb bombs, 500 500lb bombs and 25 f—35 fighterjets. most of that already approved by the us congress. but the palestinian foreign ministry in the west bank has come out accusing the biden administration of holding contradictory positions here because, of course, the news of these weapons transfers comes at a time when we have been hearing washington raising more and more concerns about the high numbers of civilians being killed in gaza. with famine looming in much of gaza, the second ship carrying supplies has left cyprus for the territory. while both the uk and the us military have airdropped food supplies into gaza. 0ur bbc middle east correspondent lucy williamson, was on the us plane. aid drops into gaza are expensive, inefficient,

and increasingly controversial. these ready prepared meals from the us army are being flown more than 1,000 miles from a us airbase in qatar. there's plenty of food just a short drive from gaza's borders, but this american aid is being flown right across the middle east. 80 crates of food on board two c—i7 transport planes, dropped into a population the un says is on the brink of famine. it's not perfect. we know that there's upwards of two million people who need food on the ground, who are hungry, innocent civilians who didn't ask for this conflict, and we are dropping meals in the tens of thousands, but at least it's something. so does it feel like a drop in the bucket? maybe a little bit, but if you're a family on the ground who have got some of this aid, it can be a life—saver. 12 people were reported to have drowned this week trying to retrieve packages from the sea. six others crushed in a stampede. what are you doing to try and mitigate those risks? literally everything we can.

so i know you spoke with the colonel earlier. we use a chute that falls at a slower rate to give the gazans more time to see the parachutes and make sure that they are out of the way. we also have assets overhead that clear the drop zone, so we will not drop if there's any sort of groupings of people there. after three hours in the air, the ramp opens on gaza's devastated coastline. theyjust opened the hatch ready to release the aid down into gaza. there's no organised distribution system down there. there it goes. a drop of aid in an ocean of hunger. getting aid in this way is a last resort, but a growing number of countries are doing it. how much do these eye—catching flights relieve pressure on gaza's civilians, and how much the pressure on governments elsewhere? lucy williamson, bbc news, qatar.

let's speak to aaron david miller — he's a us foreign policy expert and a senior fellow at the carnegie endowment for international peace. as we see that aid is being dropped and there are reports in the washington post that the us has green—lighted delivery of £2000 bombs and fighterjets stop what does that tells about the relationship that the ticket was quite strange between the us and it is strange, but this president, perhaps alone amongst modern american presidents, has a deep and abiding equipment to the people of israel and the security of israel. doesn't mean he is not angry and frustrated that benjamin netanyahu. this particular shipment was triggered by the visit of minister for defence. there is a supply line issue with a 35. it reflects a

reality. having worked for half a dozen administrations, presidents do not like fighting with israeli prime ministers, particularly during a crisis. since this crisis began, we are almost six months into it, the administration could condition and restrict military supply to israel, it hasn't done that. changing voting posture in new york, in order to vote for or abstain, on a resolution highly critical. it hasn't done that. and orjoin the international committee in demanding a of facilities. hasn't done that. and i don't think it will. joe biden needs to change the pictures on gazza, and he needs to do it relatively quickly. the only way to do that is to figure out a way to do that is to figure out a way to do that is to figure out a way to work with benjamin netanyahu and get an israeli— hamas deal, de—escalate israeli military campaign. he cannot do that if he

renounces the key decision maker of this israeli government. however objectionable and extreme this israeli government is. in the meantime that is the big issue of aid and the humanitarian situation in gaza. the us has been trying to pressure israel to distribute more but there is also reports about the possible tea of an arab peacekeeping force going in there to help distribute the aid. how likely is that to happen, and how quickly could it happen if it were possible? itruiith how quickly could it happen if it were possible?— how quickly could it happen if it were ossible? ~ ., were possible? with enough political will that could _ were possible? with enough political will that could happen _ were possible? with enough political will that could happen relatively - will that could happen relatively quickly, but it is a heavy lift. i don't think any arab state, certainly notjordan, morocco, they are not going to do this if gaza first is gaza only, they will need commitment from united states that there is a political horizon that when the shooting stopped there will

be a serious effort to deal with that resolution of the israeli— palestinian conflict. and equipment from the israelis at some point to withdraw from gaza. that'll be a very heavy lift. it goes beyond american humanitarian assistance. there are serious discussions in washington about the possibility of creating some sort of gear security force that would support palestinian governance in gaza, because that will be critically important to stabilising the situation there. it is fascinating idea, but it is extremely difficult under these circumstances to implement. in terms of the progress of how this is going for the israelis, one of the key elements of what they wanted to achieve was to capture or kill the leader of hamas in gaza, and that hasn't happened yet. but also he is presumably that guy who has been negotiated with indirectly for the release of hostages, so if they

do kill him what are the prospects of getting hostages out? where does that leave how they handle this? we don't know how he is communicate with external leadership. 0ne we don't know how he is communicate with external leadership. one of the reasons these negotiations have been so slow is because the key palestinian decision—makers are ensconced properly 20 or 30 metres below ground in a tunnel structure. how are they communicating? and you know the israelis are looking for any signal intelligence to identify and determine where he is. so if you are on the verge of a hostage release and what if the israelis actually knew we are that leader was, what decision do they make, to kill him, orfacilitate release was, what decision do they make, to kill him, or facilitate release of at least 45 hostages in return for 45 days of quiet? i wonder. do you see this turning into a long—term contract or do you think it will be a resolution fairly

soon? ., ., , ., ., ., , soon? you need an israeli- hamas dealto soon? you need an israeli- hamas deal to de-escalate. _ soon? you need an israeli- hamas deal to de-escalate. the _ soon? you need an israeli- hamas l deal to de-escalate. the negotiators deal to de—escalate. the negotiators are resuming the talks. that is the key to at least a limited de—escalation. six months of this war. i see no end in sight. thank you for your thoughts. live now to doctor tanya haj—hassan, who works in paediatric critical care and has just come back from an emergency medical team trip to al—aqsa hospital, in the middle of the gaza strip. she is also co—founder of gaza medic voices and has recently the situation is catastrophic. this is not a humanitarian crisis. calling it that implies a humanitarian solution. what we are seeing here is a far more catastrophic than any humanitarian crisis that i or any of my colleagues have experienced before.

the situation in the hospital, i can paint a picture, the situation in the hospital, i can painta picture, mas the situation in the hospital, i can paint a picture, mas casualty coming in at a mass casualty. almost exclusively civilians, entire families, burned, dismembered, maimed, it happens with an instant, their entire family killed, sometimes one survivor, sometimes you don't have a survivor. 0ften sometimes one survivor, sometimes you don't have a survivor. often the only survivor is a child, a mother, or a father. it is devastating. it is an unbearable injustice. i am frankly ashamed that we are coming to that six month mark of this massacre, and we still have this completely irrational irony of countries like the united states delivering weapons, but then air dropping aid, when you have the border, when you could stop the

massacre, very quick with political solutions that prioritise our humanity, and not warmongering, and open the border and get the edin thatis open the border and get the edin that is needed. there are hundreds if not thousands of trucks at rafah that were prevented from crossing. tracks with the type of aid that it is at the hospital where i was working, the type of aid needed in the north of gaza. when you think about what has happened in gaza so far, that the entire strategy through which this war has been waged, with complete support of many western countries, including the united states, united kingdom, you see how everything that is indispensable to human survival, to civilian survival, is being targeted. water supply, health facilities, health and health infrastructure and health care workers have been a predominant target of this war. this has never happened before. iam

target of this war. this has never happened before. i am telling you this is somebody who has worked in this is somebody who has worked in this field for quite some time. and a summary who works for organisations who function under these circumstances. this is unprecedented. this exceptionalism to international humanitarian law, to international humanitarian law, to the protection of health care, the protection of civilians, has to stop. ijust want stop. i just want to bring you stop. ijust want to bring you back stop. i just want to bring you back to hospitals that you have worked on, how many of the hospitals in gaza are able to function in a relatively normal way at the moment, if that is possible to say?— possible to say? zero. zero are functioning _ possible to say? zero. zero are functioning in _ possible to say? zero. zero are functioning in a _ possible to say? zero. zero are functioning in a normal- possible to say? zero. zero are functioning in a normalway. i possible to say? zero. zero are l functioning in a normalway. the possible to say? zero. zero are - functioning in a normal way. the two largest hospitals in gaza strip, have been bombed, besieged, targeted in multiple ways over the past six months, sometimes repeatedly. that applies to many other hospitals. the majority of hospitals in gaza are in the north and central area of gaza. most of those hospitals, if not all,

are completely out of function, and you are left with new smaller hospitals like al—aqsa hospital where i was based, that would not normally be a central referral function for entire gaza strip, that are operating at 300, 400, 500% capacity, and are overwhelmed. if the entire health care system of c london, if the entire health care system in london and its suburbs was fully functioning i don't think that health care system could handle that mass casualties that are coming in, that have been coming in, in gaza. i will paint a picture of mass casualty where i was working at al—aqsa. 20 or 30 patients coming in at the same time requiring various levels of assassination. there are no beds. most ers has capacity to resuscitate one, two, three patients. when i see resuscitate, the kind of intensive resuscitation thatis the kind of intensive resuscitation that is an entire team, and a space,

and equipment. we are resuscitating them on the floor. after each one of these mass casualties. i wish i could beat showing pictures of what we have experienced they are, during this programme, but we are literally wiping out what looks like a slaughterhouse. it is horrific. it is not anything i ever want to have to reflect on in my memory again. and the fact that this has been going on for six months, that media has been prohibited, foreign media is essentially prohibited from functioning on the ground in gaza strip, that's local media is targeted, so that all these things are happening in the dark, i genuinely think if anybody watching this programme spent five minutes we were working they would be doing everything in their power, like myself and my colleagues who have just let that gaza strip, to make this stop. thank you for sharing your experiences there.

the israeli military say they're investigating the shooting dead of a palestinian youth during a raid by israeli soldiers in the occupied west bank. the 13—year—old boy was killed in the town of qabatiya nearjenin, during a pre—dawn army raid. the israeli military said a number of palestinian gunmen had shot at its troops, who returned fire. now it's time for a look at today's sport. we've had our first result from the day's 8 premier league matches. newcastle united came from 3—1 down against west ham to win 4—3 a st james' park. harvey barnes was their matchwinner, coming off the bench midway through the second half and scoring in the 83rd and 90th minutes. alexander isak also scored two penalties including newcastle's early opener. goals from antonio, kudus and bowen looked to have put the hammers in control before that late double from barnes.

we were getting hit today left, right and centre. i—0 we were getting hit today left, right and centre. 1—0 up, looked relatively comfortable. a player gets sent off, player goes off, a catalogue, one after the other. the players we brought on made a positive impact for us. that is the beauty of their squad. we were disappointed to find ourselves where we were in the game. we had _ ourselves where we were in the game. we had a _ ourselves where we were in the game. we had a bit _ ourselves where we were in the game. we had a bit of a mountain to climb. this is— we had a bit of a mountain to climb. this is about — we had a bit of a mountain to climb. this is about team spirit. never give _ this is about team spirit. never give up — give up. the way we play, give up. — the way we play, you always think you will— the way we play, you always think you will get another chance, these opportunities are going to come, especially— opportunities are going to come, especially when you have got the crowd _ especially when you have got the crowd behind you. at 3—2, the crowd -et crowd behind you. at 3—2, the crowd get up. _ crowd behind you. at 3—2, the crowd get up. the — crowd behind you. at 3—2, the crowd get up, the players can see, the content — get up, the players can see, the content is — get up, the players can see, the content isjust lifts, you can almost _ content isjust lifts, you can almost feel that next goal coming. it almost feel that next goal coming. it was _ almost feel that next goal coming. it was some game to be involved in. five other games are under way in the premier league. forest looking to move out of the

bottom three after that points deduction that they are appealing against. palace had taken the lead they are. tottenham could move into the top four but they have gone behind at home to luton. very early stages of those three o'clock kick—offs. coming up later, villa against wolves, brentford against manchester united. bayern leverkusen can stretch their lead in the bundesliga to 13 points. xabi alonso's side are just about to reach half—time against hoffenhiem — and they are 1—0 down. elsewhere rb leipzig are looking to temporarily jump in to the top four, goalless against mainzlater, it's der klassiker, bayern munich against borrussia dortmund, harry kane's back for bayern after missing the international

break with an ankle knock. their hopes of retaining the title are fading fast but a match of this magnitude should give them plenty of motivation translation: the positions in the | table are obviously what they are. | we cannot change them. we can obviously win this game. by the time we arrive at the stadium it will feel normal, like always. it is an emotional match and a charged match and a very important match in the bundesliga with a great rivalry and history. there is no difference there. the women's final at the miami 0pen is to come on saturday, as elena rybakina takes on unseeded danielle collins later. in the men's singles, gregor dimitrov will be underdog againstjannick sinner despite knocking out carlos alcaraz and alexander zverev. dimitrov is up to ninth in the atp rankings, securing his return to the top ten for the first time since november 2018.

sinner was far too good for third—seed daniil medvedev, winning 6—1 6—2 injust over an hour in hsi semifinal. the italian's only defeat this season was to carlos alcaraz in the indian wells semifinals earlier this month. it's the second round of the women's six nations this weekend, scotland later grand slam champions england face wales in bristol. the red roses put 50 points on them last year but the welsh are hoping to be more competitive this time round. last year we showed for 30 minutes we could hold them off, but we need to continue that momentum and make it an 80 minute performance. discipline is going to be key and i think we have really got to go and work hard this weekend and leave everything at the park and no regrets, really. chelsea have taken the lead against burnley at stamford bridge in the premier league. and that's all the sport for now.

now to northern ireland, where politics has been thrown into turmoil following the news that the leader of the democratic unionist party, sirjeffrey donaldson, has resigned after being charged with rape and other historical sexual offences. he was arrested on thursday along with a 57—year—old woman who's been charged with aiding and abetting additional offences. they'll both appear in court next month. sirjeffrey is northern ireland's longest serving mp at westminster. he says he'll strenously contest the charges. we can cross live to belfast and our correspondent there, dan johnson. people are still absorbing this shocking news from yesterday which took everybody by surprise. people are trying to get their heads around what it may all mean for politics here. we had a statement on the last couple of hours from emma little pengelly, deputy first minister here at stormont in the power—sharing executive stop she represents the party that sirjeffrey donaldson was the leader of until yesterday, indeed she was nominated to herjob just last month by him as leader of the party. she says in her

statement, i know many people are deeply shocked and devastated by this news. she says, the victims must always have the best opportunity forjustice. this must be fully respected and supported. she says her thoughts are with those suffering who have put their faith in the criminaljustice system, and that that process must be protected. she says she wants to reassure people that she is determined to do all she can to provide stability, working closely with the new party's interim leader. we have also had a statement from the police service in northern ireland which has called on people not to speak later about this case on social media, and not to stray into the realms of identifying the alleged victims who have come forward to police in this case. they of course have anonymity, their identities are protected, because of the sexual nature of these allegations. the case against sir jeffrey donaldson will be heard first at a magistrates�* court, that healing will not be until the 24th of april. he says he will contest these charges, he will defend himself. that process will have to

work its way through. in the meantime people are now asking what this means for power—sharing here, for unionism, for a body that represents people who want northern ireland to stay within the united kingdom. the hope is that with determination, commitment, hard work, that can keep things on the road here, having got this power sharing agreement back in place after so much disruption, but the risk is that politics here in northern ireland, being so fragile, balancing so many different interests, as it could be destabilised by this. who comes next after sirjeffrey donaldson to lead this party in the longer term? what does that mean for the dup movements in future? will the change of emphasis on the party have an impact on power—sharing here or on the wider cause of unionism in general. potentially groundbreaking research into sepsis suggests that artificial intelligence could help diagnose the infection faster and single out patients at the highest risk of severe complications. sepsis can be difficult to spot and causes around 50,000 deaths

each year in the uk — but scientists in sweden say this new approach could save thousands of lives. let�*s speak to adam linder, associate professor at lund university who carried out the research. how big a problem sepsis is? can you repeat the question? how big a problem is sepsis? sepsis is a major public health problem, estimated to be around 50 million sepsis cases every year around the globe. in europe at least, 3.5 million cases. you can see that sepsis is as common as cancer, and as dangerous as acute myocardial infraction. what was your research about? what did you discover? 0ne did you discover? one of the issues with sepsis as it

is very important to identify patients at risk of sepsis early. but we also have clinical science of sepsis, but those are quite unspecific. so we need blood tests for sepsis. unspecific. so we need blood tests forsepsis. so unspecific. so we need blood tests for sepsis. so far we have only investigated one blood test, or one protein at the time. but there has been huge developments in technology, with, for instance, mass spectrometry, where you can measure a lot of proteins at the same time. now... apologies, professor, we are going to have to leave you there. stay with as on bbc news.

hello. well, the weather�*s a lot quieter today compared to the last few days. there�*s certainly more sunshine around, fewer showers, a much drier day. feeling a little bit warmer, too, in a southerly breeze. but come monday, further rain clouds on the way. indeed, the week ahead is looking quite unsettled. now, let�*s have a look at the satellite picture and you can see this gap of fine weather. it�*s not very big — rain clouds to the east, to the west, but the winds are coming in from the south, so it�*s that slightly warmer direction. showers have been breaking out in a few areas, though, so it�*s not a completely dry day, but primarily a dry day. temperatures around about 12 to 15 degrees celsius. nothing spectacular. now, tonight, there will be some rain brushing the southwest, eventually ending up in northern ireland. but for most of us, it�*s a clear and a calm night. a touch of frost in some northern areas and mist and fog forming, i think, around central parts of england as well, all the way down towards the south as well. now, another thing that�*s certainly worth mentioning is the british summertime change. so the clocks go forward at 1am.

i�*ll leave you to work that out. here�*s the forecast for tomorrow, then. so some sunshine across many western areas, but notice this bank of cloud pushing in on an easterly breeze off the north sea. it�*s going to be quite a chilly day on the north sea coast around east anglia, the east and west midlands and generally this part of the country often cloudy, little bits and pieces of rain. it�*s not going to feel quite as warm tomorrow across the east of the country. and then come monday, a weather front sweeps in. and that, of course, spells rain. exactly where this rain is going to fall is still a little questionable. it might be a little bit further north. there might be a little less of it or perhaps a little bit more. but the broad message is a rather cloudy day and certainly a chance of catching some rain, at least across this part of the uk, perhaps drier further towards the northwest. and those temperatures, again, a little disappointing for some of us. and then tuesday, wednesday into thursday, more weather systems, more weather fronts are sweeping in on the strengthening south—westerly breeze.

and take a look at this weather outlook. these weather icons, pretty much a chance of encountering some rain every day next week. that�*s it from me. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. the headlines... the un peacekeeping mission in lebanon says three

of its observers and a translator have been injured by an explosion near the israeli border. in a statement, the un said it was investigating the origin of the blast and that the targeting of its observers was "unacceptable." a second ship carrying food aid to the gaza strip has set sail from cyprus. the vessel is towing a platform loaded with 400 tonnes of supplies. 0n the first maritime mission, a ship carrying 200 tonnes moored alongside a makeshiftjetty off the gaza coast. affected by the arrest and resignation of the dup leader, sirjeffrey donaldson, after allegations of rape and historical sex offences, which he denies. the new interim leader of the dup says the revelation has been devastating. let�*s get more now on northern ireland, where politics has been thrown into turmoil with the news that the leader of the democratic unionist party,

sirjeffrey donaldson, has resigned after being charged