an israeli airstrike kills the sons of hamas's political leader — but he says, that won't change his group's position in ceasefire negotiations. the us and japan announce �*a new era of strategic cooperation�*, with the building of a joint air and missile defence system. the upcoming paris summer olympics plan to use the river seine — after a massive investment in cleaning up the water, but has it worked? hello. i'm carl nasman. an israeli airstrike in gaza has killed three sons and four grandchildren of hamas�*s political leader ismail haniyeh. this video is believed to show him receiving the news in qatar, where he lives in exile. israel has confirmed the strike, describing the sons as "hamas military operatives". he's been actively involved

in negotiations to broker a ceasefire with israel, but he says the killing of members of his family will not change hamas�*s demands for a permanent end to the fighting, and the return of displaced palestinians to their homes. those negotiations have been at an impasse for months. and now, bbc�*s partner cbs news confirms that hamas says it is currently unable to identify and track down a0 israeli hostages who could be part of a ceasefire deal — raising fears that more hostages may be dead than publicly known. our international editor, jeremy bowen, reports from jerusalem. three missiles hit the car in the shati refugee camp in gaza city. ismail haniyeh's three sons and three grandchildren were killed, along with their driver. witnesses told local journalists that they were visiting bereaved families. the israelis said they attacked to stop the men committing an act of terror. the dead man's father is the senior hamas political leader deeply involved in ceasefire talks.

ismail haniyeh was in qatar when he was told his sons were dead. their blood, he said, was no more precious than that of any palestinian, and hamas would not change its position on the ceasefire. killing members of ismail haniyeh's family might strengthen suspicions that israel's prime minister does not want a ceasefire deal with hamas and will buy time by sabotaging the talks. for muslims, this day is supposed to be joyful. it is eid al—fitr, the celebration at the end of ramadan. even in gaza — this is rafah — where life was always hard, eid was a respite. this year, graveyard visits instead of presents, sweet treats and new clothes for the children. this woman is at her son hassan�*s grave, one of more than 33,000 palestinians killed by israel. translation: i'm asking god to take | revenge on israel and america.

may they suffer too. oh, god, have their children killed and their wives widowed. they destroyed our house. we live on the street. gaza is drowning in destruction, darkness and damnation. ben—gurion university, about 25 miles from gaza, looks tranquil. but more than 100 students and staff from here were killed or taken hostage on seventh 0ctober. 6,500 students were mobilised. among them, three young men just back from gaza after months in combat. tell me what the impact of 7th of october was on you. i think everybody here is related somehow to what happened. everybody knows someone that was kidnapped, that was killed. it's all around the country. i mean, you saw palestinian civilians inside gaza and they've been going through hell. what was going through your mind? i think many of them aren't

innocent, and i think it will be really hard to find those that are innocent. but it doesn't mean i think everyone should get hurt. and what's the future going to be, with the palestinians next door? i think that if you would have asked me this question on october 6th, then i would say definitely yes, i would just do a palestinian state, let them live over there, we'll live over here and we'll coexist and everything will be nice. but after october 7th, it seems clear to me that they don't want it as much as i wanted it. of course, i prefer to be here in the university to study, to go and drink my coffee instead of going fighting a war. like, war it's not fun going to fight in a war, but sometimes it's necessary. and in this situation it's necessary. it's a two way street. like, your question. i mean, like, it feels kind of israel's responsibility.

to not radicalise gazans, but where is gazans' - responsibility- towards us, you know? i mean, if we ever want to coexist, . if we want a two state solution, i we need responsibility on both sides, we need accountability. | at the north end of gaza, the fences that did not stop hamas have been repaired. last week, after international anger about the humanitarian catastrophe in gaza, israel promised to open this crossing, erez, to allow aid directly into the north, which faces famine. it is still shut. prime minister netanyahu is under a lot of pressure at the moment — from the americans who want a ceasefire and for him to open the gates of gaza to unlimited amounts of humanitarian aid. from the hostage families who want a deal with hamas, to get their people back. and from the ultra nationalists in his own coalition who have said that if that offensive into rafah doesn't go ahead, then they will bring down his government. north gaza, gripped

by hunger and disease, is on the other side of the wall. when the siege was imposed, the israeli defence minister said they were fighting human animals. six months on, israel's allies say its 1,200 dead on the 7th 0ctober did not give it license to kill and destroy so much. as iran vows to retaliate against israel for a deadly airstrike in syria, antony blinken and told the israeli defence minister that washington will offer support against any threat from tay rana or its proxies. despite recent tensions president biden also promised what he described as �*ironclad' support for israel again iran. 0ur north america correspondent will vernon sent this report. president biden warned that iran was threatening to attack israel and us officials fear this could happen any day now. there is a lot of concern here

in washington about the increasingly belligerent rhetoric coming from officials in tehran. the iranians have vowed to retaliate over the airstrike on anna rainey and embassy building in damascus on april one. it is widely believed that the israelis carried out that airstrike although they have not publicly admitted to doing so. in his comments earlier, mr biden said that american support for israel is ironclad and he said that washington would do everything it could to protect the security of its ally in the middle east. that warning from mr biden was very public and very clear i think for two reasons. first of all, because this is one of the most dangerous moments in the middle east since the war in gaza began. and washington will want to deter iran from taking any dangerously escalator reaction that could further ignite conflict in the region. the second reason is because there have been disagreements in the

public as agreements between joe biden and the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu over the conduct of the war in gaza recently. and i think washington will want to send a message to iran, a clear message to iran, a clear message that despite those differences of opinion, america remains a firm supporter of israel and any attack on israel by iran will be met with a forceful response from washington. live now to former communications director of us central command, joe buccino. thank you for being here. i want to start with the killing of several family members of hamas�*s political leader. where do you think that leaves these negotiations over a ceasefire? does that throw a wrench into the plans at all? i does that throw a wrench into the plans at all?— the plans at all? i think it does. the plans at all? i think it does- i — the plans at all? i think it does. i think _ the plans at all? i think it does. i think that - the plans at all? i think it does. i think that that - the plans at all? i think it does. i think that that is l the plans at all? i think it| does. i think that that is a little bit of what netanyahu is going forward. netanyahu wants an unending war here. he wants

an unending war here. he wants an unending war in gaza, the same thing ironically that they want on the other side. and this moves back the opportunity for hostage negotiation. i think this significantly changes the calculus on the side of hamas and i think that is what netanyahu is wanting. we also saw a suspected israeli strike on a consular building in syria earlier this month that killed several irani and military officials. what do you make of these separate incidents now was to mike as this potentially part of a new strategy you have with israel? i think it is. i strategy you have with israel? ithink it is. ithink strategy you have with israel? i think it is. i think part of what netanyahu is hoping for is that there is a very significant response that comes from the north, that comes from lebanese hezbollah, the iranians proxies to the north.

if that happens here it is anticipated in the next 24—72 hours, that will give netanyahu the opportunity to do what he has been trying to do since october ten which is to start a 0ctober ten which is to start a second front to this war, to go into the north. d0 second front to this war, to go into the north.— into the north. do you think israel wants _ into the north. do you think israel wants to _ into the north. do you think israel wants to open - into the north. do you think israel wants to open up - into the north. do you think israel wants to open up a i israel wants to open up a second front in the war? that is absolutely _ second front in the war? that is absolutely right. _ second front in the war? that is absolutely right. he's - second front in the war? twat is absolutely right. he's been trying to do a second front here for months and i think this would give him an opportunity to do so. what about the _ opportunity to do so. what about the threat _ opportunity to do so. what about the threat of - about the threat of retaliation? the united states says that iran could retaliate in the next several days but how capable is iran of mounting any kind of capable or powerful response here?— response here? iranians has below is _ response here? iranians has below is very _ response here? iranians has below is very capable. - response here? iranians has - below is very capable. hundreds of thousands of rocket missiles there on the border that can reach all the way into southern israel. that is the fight that would really, that is the fight

that the israel defence forces was really afraid of, much more capable lebanese heaven that make hezbollah much more capable than hamas so they have the capability to do significant damage into israel. if we do see at least some fighting breaking out, some sort of retaliation, we heard from president biden there reaffirming ironclad support on behalf of the united states, how do you think the us may respond if there were a retaliatory attack either from iran or hezbollah in coming days? i iran or hezbollah in coming da s? ~' ., days? i think we would probably resond days? i think we would probably respond with — days? i think we would probably respond with strikes _ days? i think we would probably respond with strikes against - respond with strikes against iran's ts proxies in the region, we would probably leave it to israel to respond to lebanese hezbollah and we would respond against iran's proxies in iraq and syria which is the weather biden administration has been adjudicating this since october.—

has been adjudicating this since october. �* �* ., , , since october. the bbc has been heafina since october. the bbc has been hearing from _ since october. the bbc has been hearing from several— since october. the bbc has been hearing from several current - hearing from several current and former us state department officials to say there is internal dissent within the government, disagreementabout government, disagreement about how government, disagreementabout how to proceed and numbers of people who are not happy with the way that the biden administration has been handling the response to this conflict. how big a warning sign is that and how common is that to see this level of dissent oiling over within the halls of government? it is very significant _ halls of government? it is very significant. right _ halls of government? it is very significant. right now - halls of government? it is very significant. right now in - halls of government? it is very significant. right now in some| significant. right now in some ways hamas has already won. in the sense that israel is completely isolated on the world stage with the exception of the united states and president biden is kind of going back and forth here. it is unclear where he is in terms of the way he adjudicates this war. today he said that the united states will provide unwavering support to israel. that does not cohere with what

he said the last week about remanding a more precise and a more precision targeted approach to the war. you know, this is a tough subject within the united states but really in the united states but really in the region it is really causing the region it is really causing the saudis, thejordanians, the uae, to question american values and i am told from leaders in us european command that even in europe leaders in europe are questioning american values here. europe are questioning american values here-— values here. thank you for your time. here in washington, presidentjoe biden is hosting japanese prime minister fumio kishida at a state dinner. the visit began with a welcoming ceremony on the south lawn, where biden hailed the relationship between the countries as a cornerstone of peace and security. the leaders announced what they call a new era

of strategic cooperation — with the building of a joint air and missile defence system. speaking alongside the visiting japanese prime minister, biden said the upgraded military pact was strictly defensive in nature. he also announced a japanese astronaut would become the first non—american to walk on the moon. for his part, mr kishida emphasised the importance of a free and open indo—pacific region based on the rule of law, amid a perceived growing threat from china in the south china sea and around taiwan. this is the most significant upgrade in our alliance since it was first established. i'm pleased to announce that for the first time japan and the united states and australia will create a network system of air missile and defence architecture. we are also looking forward to standing up a trilateral military exercise that when japan and the united kingdom. translation: confirmed that unilateral attempts to change | status quo by force

is absolutely unacceptable wherever it may be and that we will continue to respond resolutely against such action through cooperation with allies and like—minded nations. for more onjapan and the us�*s dealings with china, the bbc spoke to former director for asian economic affairs at the national security council, eric altbach. it has been remarkable, the increasing alignment between the two countries on china. this has a lot to do with china's expansion of its military capabilities and increasing assertiveness particularly in areas where it has contested territory such as the senkaku islands where japan has to deal with incursions by chinese ships and aircraft. it has to do with china's increasing assertive stance around the waters of taiwan and as we will see highlighted in the discussion with the philippines,

serious concerns about china's activities in contested territories. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some stories making news in the uk. more than 7,000 complaints were made to police in the first week after scotland's new hate crime law came into operation. the law created a new offence of stirring up hatred against what are known as protected characteristics, including age, sexual orientation, and transgender identity. police scotland said the "vast majority" of the reports were anonymous and in most cases no further action is being taken. some 7.4 million uk adults are still struggling to pay bills due to the high cost of living according to a survey from the financial conduct authority. the number has fallen from last year, but many households still feel "heavily burdened". its survey suggested one in nine adults had missed a bill payment in the six months to january. britain's most successful gymnast, max whitlock, has announced that he will retire after the olympics

in paris this summer. the 31—year—old is bidding to become the first to win four 0lympic medals on the same apparatus when he competes on the pommel horse. at rio 2016, he became team gb's first individual 0lympic gold medallist in gymnastics. you're live with bbc news. south korea's liberal opposition party has won a landslide majority in the general election in the country to retain control of parliament. south koreans were voting to elect all 300 members of parliament, not the president, but it was seen as a mid—term referendum on the current president was been in powerfor two years. current president was been in power for two years. south korean media reports the prime minister and most senior staff at the presidential office offered to resign after those results came out. here now is our correspondent. this is a landslide,

as we said, for the liberal opposition party. yes, they did when this many seats in the last general election back in 2020 but the circumstances were very different than. there was a very popular liberal president in office. so this defeat for the ruling party is being seen as a vote of no confidence in the current president and it weakens his authority, even though it may look as if not much has changed on paper, when you look at the votes. if you look at the day—to—day politics, what it means is that he is going to struggle to pass laws and he will struggle to push ahead with his agenda because the smaller parties will now be able to team up to push ahead laws that they like and block the laws they do not. it will be more difficult for his government to tackle the urgent issues faced by south korea including a slowing economy and a rapidly ageing society. it comes to foreign policy the government that meant parliament has less say so we may see him focus more on this. he has made some radical changes to foreign policy during his time. taken a tough

stance on north korea and build up stance on north korea and build up his relationship with the united states and japan in order to counter north korea and china. crucially he had the authority to do so because he had just won the presidential election. now he has, in effect, lost an election and that will let weaken his leadership and give him less power and make it more difficult for him to push ahead a foreign policy that does not have populace support here in south korea. measures to reform the eu's rules on migration and asylum have been approved by the european parliament. the package of ten laws is designed to speed up the asylum process and to increase the return of irregular migrants to their home countries. eu member states will also be required to share the responsibility for hosting asylum seekers. the bbc�*s sofia bettiza has more. this is a make—or—break attempt by the eu to control migration. so how does it work? well, at the moment very few european countries — spain, italy and greece — deal with the vast majority of asylum applications.

now, this new agreement brings in a solidarity mechanism. essentially, it's a trade off. so the countries that receive most migrants will build new detention centres on the eu's external border. migrants would be screened as soon as they arrive and authorities will have the option to detain them until their asylum claims are assessed. and if those claims are rejected, they can be sent to a third country deemed safe. but in return, other european countries like france, germany or poland will have to take in more refugees or send extra money for border infrastructure. now, most ngos dealing with migration have called this pact cruel. for example, amnesty international says that it will lead to a surge in suffering for asylum seekers.

the worry is that this agreement could lead to more detentions, especially of children and families. but the eu says that this could be a breakthrough because a higher number of asylum applications being fast—tracked at the eu's external border could lead to a quicker and more efficient way of sending back illegal migrants. with just over 100 days to go until the paris 0lympics, there are concerns that the triathlon event could be delayed — or the swim leg even cancelled, because of poor water quality in the river seine — that's despite more than one billion euros spent, trying to improve it. from the banks of the seine, our correspondent hugh schofield sent this update. the big picture is a good picture. it's a positive picture. the big picture is that the river has been cleaned up

extensively over the last 20, 30 years. it's far, far healthier than it was in the �*60s when there were three species of fish left in it. now there are 30 or a0 species of fish. so the general picture is a very good one, but the specific picture is rather more worrying. the specific picture is this bid to get the river swimmable in by the olympics, which was a commitment that the olympics organisers, which president macron made, and which they insist is still on track. but there have been now these findings from an ngo which looks into water quality, which are troubling. this ngo called surfrider has found that in a series of readings it took over the winter, the bacteria levels are too high, they're above the norms and it's all scientifically kind of organised. above a certain level, you can swim... below a certain level, you can swim, above, you can't. and the levels were above that level. so there are assurances coming from the organisers, saying, "don't worry, winter water

is worse than summer water." there are all sorts of things that have yet to happen which will continue to clean up the river in time. but one can't help thinking that they must be worried. and in the same way that there are concerns expressed about the opening ceremony on the river seine, the security, people are now saying perhaps there should be a plan b in case the water isn't clean enough by the end ofjuly. i think the plan b, as i understand it... i mean, there are three events. there's the triathlon, there's the swimming marathon, and then there's the paralympic triathlon as well. so three events. as i understand it, the fallback plan, if things go badly wrong, is that they can shift the date, they can move it around. they planned it to take place early in the games, and so if early in the games — and they last for two weeks — it looks like the river is not up to snuff, then they'll push it back later. but if that doesn't work, i don't think there is another plan, and of course that's why

there are all these assurances that they have things under control. but, you know, i think anyone watching is feeling a little niggle now that maybe they're talking confident, but they're not as confident as they look. ever since the modern 0lympics were created in 1896, the tradition has been that athletes don't get a penny in prize money. well, now things are changing. world athletics will become the first international sporting federation to offer prize money to gold medallists in track and field at the paris 0lympics this summer. athletes in 48 track and field events who win gold in paris will each receive $50,000. world athletics has set aside a total prize money pot of $2.5 million. this money comes from the revenue share allocation given by the international olympic committee, and received every four years. so far, there'll only be prize money cash for winning a gold, but there's a plan to extend it to silver and bronze medallists at the los angeles games

in 2028. and finally, take a look at this. a two—storey houseboat — complete with a white picket fence — was towed through san francisco bay after the owners were asked to leave redwood city marina. the floating home took the precarious journey across the bay to san rafael. the boat was apparently one of dozens told to leave the marina as they were blocking public access to a state waterway. as part of an ongoing legal battle, the council offered compensation for the move. quite a nice floating health there. we will have plenty more news coming up at the top of the hour. stay with us here on bbc news.

hello. well, some of us are in for a fine day. thursday's expected to bring warm, sunny spells to many northern and eastern parts of the country. certainly won't be like it everywhere — in fact, farfrom it in the morning across many western and southern areas of the uk. right now, a lot of cloud shrouding the uk. weatherfront is crossing us, bearing rain and dribs and drabs possible anywhere through the night and in some areas even quite heavy for a time. but this weather front is caught in a current of very mild air streaming in from the southern climes, quite a breezy end to the night is expected as well. but i think by the time we get to around 6:00 in the morning, you can see the skies are clearing across many eastern and some western areas of the uk as well. temperatures will be in double figures in most major towns and cities. so here's the morning, then, the forecast.

you can see still a fair amount of cloud across some southern and western areas, dribs and drabs of rain, but already sunshine across, say, many northern and northeastern parts of the uk. the temperatures very pleasant indeed — widely, i think, into the high teens or 20 degrees across england, eastern scotland, around 18 and out towards the west, around 1a to 17 degrees celsius. but the west will always be more cloudy. now into friday, the south of the country is closer to an area of high pressure. so i think brighter skies here, but i say brighter, not necessarily all that sunny, because we still have that relatively mild and murky current southwesterly wind, in fact, bringing some outbreaks of rain to northwestern areas. so the sunny, brighter skies will always be further towards the east and south and every bit as mild or warm, 20 degrees widely in some areas — mid or high teens. now, that warmth isn't going to stick around. in fact, saturday night into sunday, we're expecting this slightly cooler air mass or much cooler air mass drifting in out of the west and the north atlantic and brought also by this area of low pressure, which is expected to sweep in some rain to many northwestern areas of the uk.

so, yes, we've got three days of relatively mild if not warm weather given some sunny spells, but by the time we get to sunday and certainly into monday, it's all change — colder and outbreaks of rain from time to time.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme.