a new hate crime law comes into force in scotland, but is it protecting minorities or blocking free speech? and germany decriminalises cannabis. the government tries to tackle the black market trade — we have a special report. hello, i'm luxmy gopal. we start this hour with breaking news out of israel, where the military has confirmed it's completed its operation at gaza's biggest hospital, al—shifa, and has begun withdrawing troops from the area. the hospital had been under siege for two weeks. the hamas—run health ministry and palestinian witnesses had earlier reported tanks pulling back from the heavily bombarded hospital complex in gaza—city. israel has previously said it was carrying out precise

operations against hamas and islamichhad fighters, and had killed 200 of them. meanwhile, hundreds of israeli protesters have spent the night in tents outside parliament injerusalem to press their demand for prime minister benjamin netanyahu to step down. thousands of people rallied in jerusalem for what they're calling the largest anti—government protest since the war in the gaza strip began, nearly six months ago. on sunday, mr netanyahu had surgery for a hernia — his office reporting it had been successful. let's go live tojerusalem and our middle east correspondent yolande knell. can i start with those reports that israeli forces have withdrawn from the gaza strip�*s biggest hospital, al—shifa. what do you know? videos are circulating on social media that show this vast medical complex now as a set of burnt out

buildings. many of them heavily damaged, all of the verge of collapse. and the area around it, much of that has been raised, apparently, by israeli air strikes over the past couple of weeks. the duration of the raid, of course, the second was carried out by the israeli military on al—shifa hospital, which it has been calling a command and control centre for hamas in the past. it said hamas returned to the site after it earlier withdrew, and was acting on precise intelligence, they sent forces in their to make a few weeks ago and they say in the course of operations, one of the most successful, they say, of the war, they killed some 200 palestinian armed gunmen, members of hamas and islamichhad. they rounded up several hundred, including, they say, senior members of both of those organisations. they say they have important intelligence as a result of all of this. for palestinians, though, they say that many innocent lives have been lost in the course

of this operation. hamas said doctors and patients were killed. certainly we could see at various points there were large numbers of displaced people, hundreds of them that were caught up in the fighting that were caught up in the fighting that went on at close quarters in the hospital and the area around it, before most of those were able to flee. there were residents of the area that were complaining that they were unable to get any water, they were unable to get any water, they were unable to get any water, they were unable to get food, and that was leading to dire conditions in the area around the hospital as well. ~ . , , ., , ., well. we have been seeing images of the big anti-government _ well. we have been seeing images of the big anti-government protests, i the big anti—government protests, with hundreds of people spending the night in tents outside parliament. how does that compare to some of the anti—government protests we have seenin anti—government protests we have seen in past months? 50. anti-government protests we have seen in past months?— seen in past months? so, really, there were _ seen in past months? so, really, there were not _ seen in past months? so, really, there were not for _ seen in past months? so, really, there were not for the _ seen in past months? so, really, there were not for the last - seen in past months? so, really, there were not for the last six . there were not for the last six months such significant anti—government protests as we have seenin anti—government protests as we have seen in the last couple of days. that's really because they were put

on hold, these big protests against the government plans to change the judiciary, that we saw throughout most of last year. that was in reaction to the 7th of october attacks, the demand to have the country pull together. but then what we have seen is, in the past few days, anti—government protests coming back, with some of the protests related to the hostage families. combining their efforts, and really calling for new elections and really calling for new elections and mr netanyahu, the israeli prime minister, to resign. but also for much more to be done to bring home the hostages. there are those that blame mr netanyahu for prioritising, in their eyes, his political survival over a deal to bring the hostages back.— survival over a deal to bring the hostaaes back. ,,, ., ~ ., hostages back. speaking of the prime minister, yolande _ hostages back. speaking of the prime minister, yolande, _ hostages back. speaking of the prime minister, yolande, mr— hostages back. speaking of the prime minister, yolande, mr netanyahu - hostages back. speaking of the prime minister, yolande, mr netanyahu has| minister, yolande, mr netanyahu has undergone hernia surgery. how has that affected the chain of command, in the interim? it

that affected the chain of command, in the interim?— in the interim? it was really only for a very _ in the interim? it was really only for a very short _ in the interim? it was really only for a very short time _ in the interim? it was really only for a very short time he - in the interim? it was really only for a very short time he was - in the interim? it was really only for a very short time he was out | in the interim? it was really only l for a very short time he was out of action. he was taken to hospital after we were told the hernia was discovered during a routine medical checkup a day earlier. he is now said to be in hospital, talking and backin said to be in hospital, talking and back in control. prior to his hernia surgery, he did say that he really had a message to those that were protesting against him, and said it was, for him, his heart was breaking over the plight of the hostage families. he blamed hamas, saying it was hardening its position and that is what had made it impossible in recent days to secure a deal for a truce in gaza, that would also see some of the hostages coming home. in relation to the demand for early elections, he said the first to commend this will be hamas, and that says it all. commend this will be hamas, and that sa s it all. ., ~ commend this will be hamas, and that sa s it all. ., ,, commend this will be hamas, and that sa s it all. ., ~' ,, ., commend this will be hamas, and that sa s it all. ., ,, ., , says it all. thank you for bringing us an overview _ says it all. thank you for bringing us an overview of _ says it all. thank you for bringing us an overview of events - says it all. thank you for bringing us an overview of events there. l us an overview of events there. yolande knell, injerusalem.

turkey's president erdogan has been dealt a major political blow, in local elections there. his ak party suffered its biggest defeat in municipal elections across the country. correspondents say voters appear to be punishing his party for the spiralling cost of living. the main opposition chp achieved its largest victory in 45 years. it won six of turkey's eight largest urban centres — including the country's biggest city istanbul. and for the first time in 25 years, they won more municipalities than the governing ak party. president erdogan described his party's worst—ever defeat as "not an end, but a turning point" translation: we will not disrespect the nation's decision in any way, - we will avoid being stubborn, acting against the national will and questioning the judgment of our nation. as we have done so far. we will take the necessary steps by analysing the messages given

by the nation at the ballot box, most accurately and objectively within the reason and inner conscience. opposition supporters say although these are local elections, victories in big cities are a significant show of force against erdogan�*s governing ak party. this was the scene in istanbul, where thousands publicly celebrated the opposition party's win. the city's incumbent mayor, ekrem imamoglu, declared victory after securing more than 50% of the vote — well ahead of his nearest rival. mr imamoglu became istanbul's first opposition mayor in 2019. he's now seen as the best placed opposition candidate before the next presidential vote in 2028. he told supporters the result signalled a very important message to the world. translation: in this world unfortunately .

democracies were weakening, while these democracies were weakening authoritarian regimes came to power, many articles around the world asked we were coming at the end of democratic regimes. 31st of march 2024 is the day when democratic erosion and turkey ended and democracy is rising again. let's speak to bbc monitoring's turkey specialist william armstrong, who's in istanbul. william, what do you think is behind this unexpected result? weill. william, what do you think is behind this unexpected result?— this unexpected result? well, a number of _ this unexpected result? well, a number of factors _ this unexpected result? well, a number of factors at _ this unexpected result? well, a number of factors at play, - this unexpected result? well, a number of factors at play, i - this unexpected result? well, a i number of factors at play, i think, in this election. a number of pundits are pointing to those factors as being crucial in effecting the result. as you say, this has been a really strong result for the main opposition party, the chp. it was really unexpected, there were a lot of predictions before the election but with fragmentation in the opposition they would really struggle to even measure up to the previous performance in 2019 local

elections. but they surpassed it very much and there are a number of factors at play there. a lot of people are pointing at the economy. turkey headed to the elections with inflation at 67%, calculated in february, and the interest rates are at 50% at the moment. so, for a long time, people have been really struggling. that caused a lot of disillusionment in government voters. i think we saw a bit of that lack of enthusiasm yesterday. that was also reflected, i think, in the turnout, which fell. it was still quite high. it was calculated at over 75%. quite high. it was calculated at over75%. but quite high. it was calculated at over 75%. but that's actually quite low turnout is always very high in presidential elections, last year it was over 88% in the first round. so that was a significant drop of over ten percentage points in turnout. thatjust ten percentage points in turnout. that just reflects the disillusionment of some voters who perhaps previously voted for the government, but this time didn't vote for them. that has opened a

door for vote for them. that has opened a doorfor a really new vote for them. that has opened a door for a really new picture to emerge in the electoral map. another couple of factors i would mention as well, the strong performance from the new welfare party, basically an upstart islamist party, quite a hard line party that has really sought to rally support, both on economic discontent, but also on a number of social issues, particularly with the war in gaza at the moment. they have really tried to rally support, saying the government is not doing enough on that issue, erdogan is taking a stance on that, but not really taking strong action. so that is partly why we saw the results last night. is partly why we saw the results last niuht. , last night. given the dissatisfaction - last night. given the dissatisfaction with l last night. given the i dissatisfaction with the last night. given the - dissatisfaction with the cost of

living crisis, could this be seen as a protest vote, or does it spell long—term disaster for president erdogan? long-term disaster for president erdouan? , , ., , erdogan? good question, it is something — erdogan? good question, it is something that _ erdogan? good question, it is something that we _ erdogan? good question, it is something that we are - erdogan? good question, it is something that we are trying | erdogan? good question, it is i something that we are trying to pass, what are the long—term implications? it won't be clear for a long time. we will have to wait and see how the opposition of the government respond to the election result. we are seeing gains for the chp, beyond their traditional strongholds. traditionally they have been strong in the west of the country and coastal regions, but when you look at the electoral map, they have really started to make inroads in central anatolia, even provinces where the akp of president erdogan have been strong and seen them at their own strongholds. they have lost district in istanbul as well. they have been in control of those were over two decades, really. the question is now, whether that indicates a massive sea change in

the political dynamics, whether this is almost an inevitable end of a particular era in turkish politics, whether it is a new one, or whether it is just, whether it is a new one, or whether it isjust, like whether it is a new one, or whether it is just, like we say, a whether it is a new one, or whether it isjust, like we say, a number of discrete factors that are contributing to this, may be a combination of the two. erdogan is a 72 years old, he is looking older on the campaign trail. he really campaigned hard ahead of the local elections, he attended a lot of rallies, daily rallies, multiple rallies, daily rallies, multiple rallies every day across the country, really getting very pugnacious speeches, trying to rally his supporters. ultimately, this result will be seen as a bit of a repudiation, i think of that tactic. the question now is, what is a erdogan�*s future as well? people talk about this being a local election, but there are national implications of this. erdogan is now looking at four years until the next presidential election, 2028, and the question now is turning to who will be the opposition candidate. the

istanbul mayor, imamoglu, is being touted as one of his potential rivals in that endeavour. again, it's very early to see.— rivals in that endeavour. again, it's very early to see. thank you for that analysis. _ a new and controversial hate crime law has come into effect in scotland. the law creates a new offence of stirring up hatred in relation to personal characteristics including age, disability, religion and sexual orientation. the government says it will protect minority groups from prejudice and hatred. but critics argue it will undermine freedom of speech — and police fear the legislation could be weaponised for political purposes. let's speak to bbc scotland political correspondent david wallace lockhart. first of all, it is quite a broad remit, it would seem. can you tell us what this law does cover? this law was actually _ us what this law does cover? ti 3 law was actually passed back in 2021, but it'sjust law was actually passed back in 2021, but it's just coming into

force today, hence the big publicity campaign going on at the moment, encouraging people to report a hate crime. it was already illegal in scotland to stir up racial hatred, but what this new law does is it criminalises threatening or abusive behaviour aimed at stirring up hatred towards more groups of people, that is based on age, disability, religion, sexual organisation served orientation, transgender identity or somebody being intersex. it is all based on what a reasonable person would consider stirring up hatred. there are staunch critics, one is that biological six is not included, so concerns that women are not offered enough protection. the scottish government says it will bring forward separate legislation on that front. it concerns about freedom of speech, some very prominent and famous critics of the legislation include elon musk, who owns the social media platform x, and jk rowling, the author of the harry

potter books. the government says that protections are built into the bill, people are allowed to say things that are shocking or offensive, they say that has not changed. there are also concerns for what this means for the police in scotland, the force is stretched and they have committed themselves to investigating every allegation of hate crime under this new law. but it's at a time when the police are not investigating every low—level crime in scotland. that's proving quite controversial. the scottish government saying police do have the resources and they do have the training to oversee the new law. i suppose that is a question, how feasible it is, with limited resources. what about the volume of social media posts that could come into question as a result of the law? , ., ., , , into question as a result of the law? , . ., , , ., into question as a result of the law? , . . , , . ~' , into question as a result of the law? , . , . ~' , law? yes, that has been a key part of this debate, _ law? yes, that has been a key part of this debate, as _ law? yes, that has been a key part of this debate, as we _ law? yes, that has been a key part of this debate, as we have - law? yes, that has been a key part of this debate, as we have been i of this debate, as we have been preparing for the legislation to take effect. people being concerned that, as of today, a flood of complaints could come to the police

about social media posts that people think contravene this law, but defenders of the bill think that those concerns are not really justified, because it's all based on the idea of what a reasonable person would regard tb staring up hatred, threatening and abusive behaviour towards these protected groups. they think it is a high criminal bar to reach and it is not going to lead to much more police action in this area. but where the police time and resources can be taken up as investigating complaints. we know so much of the debates and quite controversial issues takes place online these days, and that is where a lot of the complaints could come from. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

from today, people in germany can

legally smoke cannabis in public. hundreds of people filled berlin's brandenburg gate at midnight for a "smoke—in" as the new law came into effect. the part—decriminalisation follows decades of contentious debate. the rules around medical marijuana are also being relaxed. our berlin correspondent, jessica parker, reports from dresden. it's out in the open. adults in germany can now possess up to 25 grams of cannabis in public — enough to make dozens ofjoints — and grow up to three plants at home. while people like marcel are planning newly permitted cannabis social clubs. not for tourists, though — just german residents. and every gram of cannabis which goes from the cannabis social club is one gram that's not on the black market. what do you say to people who say, look, cannabis is addictive and it is harmful, especially to young people?

everything have dark sides. and you have to know about the dark sides and only when it's not illegal, you can freely talk about these dark sides. but these cannabis clubs in cities like dresden won't pop up overnight, and come with their own rules — exacerbating fears that demand will quickly outstrip legal supply. translation: we assume that the black market - will be strengthened, particularly at the beginning in the chaos phase, when demand would be great because of the signal this law sends. the black market and criminal networks will adapt and they will also infiltrate the social clubs. into the highly secure halls of a medical cannabis grower, who are also seeing some deregulation. cannabis will not be a narcotic any more in germany. it will be just as any other pharmaceutical product, which makes it much more easier for patients to get it from a doctor

and to get it from the pharmacy. they keep this room at around 23 degrees, but it's also really quite humid. now, there are 650—ish plants in this room and they are almost ready to be harvested. and the psychoactive substances... the benefits of medical cannabis are debated, while the relaxation around recreational use has been contentious. this is an argument in germany that likely hasn't yet reached full maturity. jessica parker, bbc news, in dresden. proposals to criminalise rough sleeping in the uk are facing criticism — and the bbc understands the prime minister is in talks with conservative rebels over the plans. the bill would give police the powers to fine, move on, orjail homeless people deemed to be a nuisance. with more on this i'm joined now by our political correspondent georgia roberts.

the phrase deemed to be a nuisance, how would the police powers apply? this is a broad ranging bill, talking of the criminaljustice bill, first introduced by the former home secretary suella braverman, it is part of government efforts to project a message you're being tough on crime ahead of the general election. you might recall around the time when this was being introduced, the former home secretary landed herself in a bit of hot water with some of her language around homelessness. she described homelessness as a lifestyle choice. what are these proposals were doing at this bill is a gift police and local authorities the power to move on, find, potentially in the region of thousands of pounds, and sometimes jail rough sleepers who are deemed to be a nuisance in england and wales. there is concern

about the punishing element of this. conservative mps are concerned that potentially rough sleepers who have no choice but to sleep on the streets could land themselves in trouble, or those that look like they could intend to sleep on the streets too. conservative mps, being led by the long—time homelessness campaign at bob blackman, looking at this i'm looking to strip the powers away from the criminaljustice bill. we understand that bob blackman is being supported in those efforts by the former conservative party leader iain duncan smith. one backer of these changes to the bill told the bbc that negotiations with the government are ongoing, and there has been nothing concrete from them yet. speaking to number 10 sources this morning, they say negotiations and talks are happening in the usual way, when bills such as this go through the process of parliament.

certainly, a rebellion within his party would be damaging for rishi sunak. this comes at a time when chatter of unhappiness about his leadership within the party doesn't seem to be going away. and given what appears to be quite widespread discontent surrounding the plans proposed in the bill around homelessness, some movement perhaps from number 10 would be inevitable, if they want to avoid looking weak in the face of their own mps. georgia, thank you. let's get some of the day's other news now. salvage crews at the us port of baltimore have removed the first section of the bridge that collapsed when it was hit by a container ship six days ago. a statement from the coastguard said a first section of the francis scott key bridge, weighing 200 tonnes, had been cut free. it's being transferred onto a barge, which will take it ashore. in ecuador, at least eight people were killed and eight others injured when gunmen opened fire in the port city of guayaqui. it is the second mass killing

ecuador has suffered in two days. russian artists in buenos aires who tried to paint a large portrait of the late russian opposition figure alexei navalny were stopped by local police shortly before finishing it. dozens of supporters chanted "navalny" and put flowers beside the mural. the kremlin critic died on 16th of february in an arctic penal colony where he was serving a 19—year sentence. let's recap on our top story this hour. israeli forces are said to have withdrawn from the gaza strip's biggest hospital, al—shifa, two weeks after launching their second major operation at the site. palestinian witnesses say that israeli tanks and armoured vehicles streamed out of gaza city s large medical complex in the darkness.

the hamas—run health ministry says they left behind dozens of bodies while locals say nearby residential areas have been razed. last night, israels prime minister, benjamin netanyahu said al—shifa hospital had become a terrorist lair and that israeli forces surprised hamas with precise and surgical action there. israeli's military has not yet commented. those are live images and we will bring you updates on that breaking news, and any developments as we get them. hello again. the weather this week remains fairly unsettled. it will be wet and windy at times. but it is going to turn that a bit milder. you can see how we have the yellows and

then the ambers across much of the country. still the blues across the north of scotland, until we get to the end of the week, then you can see the yellows and the amber pushing that further north turns a little bit warmer. what we have today across the central swathe of the country is a lot of cloud and some rain, slowly edging northwards. to the south of that, some sunshine. but some showers, some of them heavy and thundery. the dry and sunny conditions will be across the far north and north—west of scotland. feeling cooler in the breeze, coming in from the north sea. top temperatures today up to 15 degrees. through this evening and overnight, that band of rain continues to push northwards across scotland. cloudy and damp for northern ireland. for england and wales we have some clear skies, some mist and fog patches forming and breezy with showers, moving across the english channel. temperatures falling away under the clear skies to one or two across northern and eastern parts of england, as well as wales. into tomorrow, we start off with this rain across scotland, brisk wind

here. a variable amounts of cloud tomorrow, with one or two showers and some sunny skies. we also have the next batch of rain coming in from the south—west, with the wind also picking up. temperatures six to 15 degrees, north to south. as we head to the middle of the week, we got low pressure pushing eastwards, dragging rain with it. as we push further north, we are looking at quite a bit of cloud. rain on and off and snow in the mountains. come south, there will be some brighter skies, but also some showers and temperatures five to about a0 degrees. heading into thursday, quite a messy picture. for scotland, the cloud and rain will be on and off. for england, wales and northern ireland we are looking at cloudy conditions, with some rain or, indeed, some showers. temperature—wise, five in the north, 16 in the south. slowly, temperatures are starting to rise. as we head into friday, it looks very much like its going to be wet and also very windy, and the

forecast beyond that does remain unsettled, but slightly warmer than it has been.

welcome to our viewers on bbc1.

the question is what is wrong with the a&e? the reason we are doing this is because new stats show more than 250 patients each week may have died needlessly for waits to be seen. the problem is there aren't the beds. there is a lack of capacity. the government say they are spending £200 million on urgent recovery plan. as we heard from the royal college of emergency medicine that still isn't enough. it is a short fall of 11,000 beds. please get in touch.