hamas has before it a proposal that is extraordinarily, extraordinarily generous on the part of israel. forte is possibly the closest bt sites have come to a truce deal in months, but the clock is ticking. if there is no deal, israel wants to push ahead with its offensive in rafah. scotland's first minister, humza yousaf, resigns, throwing the future of the scottish nationalist government into doubt. as flooding intensifies in kenya, dozens of people have been killed after a dam bursts. an unseen photograph of the prince and princess of wales is released, as the couple celebrate their 13th wedding anniversary.

hello, i'm annita mcveigh, welcome to verified live, three hours of breaking stories, and checking out the truth behind them. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, has said he's hopeful that hamas will accept what he described as an "extraordinarily generous" gaza ceasefire offer from israel. mr blinken, who is attending talks with his regional counterparts in saudi arabia, was speaking as a delegation from hamas attended parallel ceasefire negotiations in cairo. after weeks of impasse, hamas is reported to have "no major issues" with a revised plan approved by israel. it's said to include new wording on a cessation of hostilities. mr blinken reaffirmed us opposition to a planned israeli offensive on rafah city, saying he's seen no plan that protects civilians there. 20 people died in the latest

israeli airstrikes. at this moment, the only thing standing between the people of gaza and a ceasefire is hamas. they have to decide, and they have to decide quickly. so we are looking to them, and i'm hopeful that they will make the right decision, and we can have a fundamental change in the dynamic. the uk's foreign secretary, meanwhile, has given more detail on the ceasefire deal on the table. it does seem to me there is now, let's be frank, a very generous offer of, you know, a sustained 40—day ceasefire, the release of potentially thousands of palestinian prisoners in return for the release of these hostages who have now been in captivity for over 200 days. sol hope hamas do take this deal, and frankly all the pressure in the world and all the eyes of the world should be on them today

saying, take that deal, it will bring about this stop in the fighting that we all want to see so badly. live now to jerusalem, and our security correspondent frank gardner. frank, hello to you. it certainly is a critical moment with a real sense of momentum, it seems?- a critical moment with a real sense of momentum, it seems? there really is. i of momentum, it seems? there really is- i mean. — of momentum, it seems? there really is. i mean, although _ of momentum, it seems? there really is. i mean, although it— of momentum, it seems? there really is. i mean, although it is— of momentum, it seems? there really is. i mean, although it is right - of momentum, it seems? there really is. i mean, although it is right at - is. i mean, although it is right at the end of passover, there is a feeling that there could be a real breakthrough here, because both sides, hamas and israel, they have made concessions, no question about it. hamas had originally insisted on an end to the war, and israel is not agreeing to that, but it is agreeing to withdraw some of its forces and to withdraw some of its forces and to allow the passage of the return of palestinians who are currently basically cackled right into the south, in rafah, to their homes in

the north of gaza, and that has been a key demand. they have also dropped their insistence that there has to be at least a0 hostages, the figure thatis be at least a0 hostages, the figure that is being talked around is lower than that, around 33. so there is some gave here, because there is enormous pressure on both sides, from the qataris, from the egyptians, from the americans, from the french, to get this deal through. rememberthat through. remember that behind—the—scenes here, through. rememberthat behind—the—scenes here, the war cabinet in this country, israel, is divided. you have got those who don't want to see any deal at all with hamas, they want to see the israeli military go in hard, smashed their way into rafah, and eliminate their way into rafah, and eliminate the last remaining few battalions of hamas, the people who carried out the atrocities of october the 7th. but the us has made it very clear, they are opposed to any operation in rafah as it stands at the moment,

because they don't think that israel is capable of protecting all those civilians that are currently sheltering there. 50 civilians that are currently sheltering there.- civilians that are currently sheltering there. civilians that are currently shelterin: there. . , sheltering there. so we have been heafina sheltering there. so we have been hearing about _ sheltering there. so we have been hearing about this _ sheltering there. so we have been hearing about this phrase, - hearing about this phrase, sustainable calm, frank, and i wonder, does potentially a a0 day ceasefire represent that, or something more? well, look, what everybody is hoping for is to be able to bring an end to this thing altogether. able to bring an end to this thing altogether-— able to bring an end to this thing altogether. able to bring an end to this thing altoaether. ~ . ., , ., , , altogether. what nobody outside this country wants — altogether. what nobody outside this country wants us _ altogether. what nobody outside this country wants us to _ altogether. what nobody outside this country wants us to see _ altogether. what nobody outside this country wants us to see this - altogether. what nobody outside this country wants us to see this truth - country wants us to see this truth end and for the whole thing to begin all over again. end and for the whole thing to begin all overagain. now, end and for the whole thing to begin all over again. now, there are people, certainly in the israeli military and intelligence and security establishment, who say, look, we have got unfinished business in gaza. the architect of the october the 7th attacks and others are still at large, probably in the tunnels underneath rafah, and if we do not go into rafah, it is

unfinished business, and it will just pop up like a hydra and we will face the same threats all over again. but the sheer humanitarian, the depth and extent of the humanitarian crisis in gaza, being pushed to the brink of famine, has really galvanised the international community to try and end the hostilities, or at least bring a temporary pause to them, some respite. and there is great progress on the humanitarian front, much more aid is getting into gaza, this great pontoon being built in central gaza thatis pontoon being built in central gaza that is going to reach out like a kind of finger out into the eastern mediterranean sea, for off—loading tonnes of aid, more crossing points are opening, more trucks are getting in, but that of course is just a band—aid, just a sticking plaster for the greater problems, which are the palestinians still do not have a

state, and there is no sign from this israeli government that it wants to ever give them a kind of route map to that end state. ok. route map to that end state. 0k, frank, route map to that end state. 0k, frank. thank— route map to that end state. 0k, frank, thank you _ route map to that end state. 0k, frank, thank you very much, frank gardner, security injerusalem. joining me now is mark kimmitt, former us deputy assistant secretary of defense for the middle east and a former brigadier—general. what is your reading of this intensive diplomatic activity, first of all? ~ ~ , of all? well, i think there is in rouress of all? well, i think there is in progress being _ of all? well, i think there is in progress being made, - of all? well, i think there is in l progress being made, otherwise antony blinken would not be appearing at these conferences. he is putting his personal reputation on the line, and somehow he has brokered a deal between israel and egypt and qatar. so i think we are just going to have to say, as your

previous correspondent said, there does seem to be some enthusiasm, but if it is a0 or less hostages, i think we have got a long way to go before a true, lasting ceasefire will be in place.— before a true, lasting ceasefire will be in place. and can whatever is bein: will be in place. and can whatever is being talked _ will be in place. and can whatever is being talked about _ will be in place. and can whatever is being talked about stop - is being talked about stop and offensive on rafah? we have heard secretary blinken say that he has seen no evidence yet of solid plans to protect civilians there in rafah. well, again, i don't think it will stop the war, i think it will delay the attack, the assault into rafah. as you remember, some time ago, benjamin netanyahu said, before he conducted an operation into rafah, there would be sufficient housing, food, water, medicine for the refugees who would come out of rafah. but as secretary blinken said, there is no evidence that that has been completed yet. so said, there is no evidence that that has been completed yet. 50 a said, there is no evidence that that has been completed yet.— has been completed yet. so a long wa from has been completed yet. so a long way from the _ has been completed yet. so a long way from the irreversible - has been completed yet. so a long way from the irreversible pathway | has been completed yet. so a long i way from the irreversible pathway to a two state solution that the jordanian prime minister has been talking about. i jordanian prime minister has been talking about-— jordanian prime minister has been

talking about. i don't think we even have a pathway _ talking about. i don't think we even have a pathway to _ talking about. i don't think we even have a pathway to the _ talking about. i don't think we even have a pathway to the end - talking about. i don't think we even have a pathway to the end of- talking about. i don't think we even have a pathway to the end of this . have a pathway to the end of this war, much less a two state solution. 0k, war, much less a two state solution. ok, so, what is next, then? some sort of temporary cessation, not the sustainable calm that has been mentioned?— sustainable calm that has been mentioned? no, i think you are exactly right. — mentioned? no, i think you are exactly right. i _ mentioned? no, i think you are exactly right, i think _ mentioned? no, i think you are exactly right, i think this - mentioned? no, i think you are exactly right, i think this will. mentioned? no, i think you arej exactly right, i think this will be a pause, not a cessation. it is clear that prime minister netanyahu's objectives have not changed, the destruction of hamas, the destruction of the infrastructure, the return of the hostages. this may be a milestone, but there are a lot of milestones that need to be accomplished. the return of the hostages, the defeat of hamas, and unless he steps down, those will remain his war aims. finally and briefly, you think the idea of senior hamas figures and those responsible for october the 7th leaving gaza, do you think that is likely? 7th leaving gaza, do you think that is likel ? ., ., . , 7th leaving gaza, do you think that islikel? ., ., . . , is likely? horizontally, certainly not vertically. _ is likely? horizontally, certainly not vertically. thank— is likely? horizontally, certainly not vertically. thank you - is likely? horizontally, certainly not vertically. thank you very i is likely? horizontally, certainly - not vertically. thank you very much for our not vertically. thank you very much for your thoughts _ not vertically. thank you very much for your thoughts today, _ not vertically. thank you very much

for your thoughts today, mark - for your thoughts today, mark kimmitt, former deputy assistant secretary of state for the middle east. there have been dramatic political developments in edinburgh, where scotland's first minister, humza yousaf, has announced that he's resigning. he's been under growing pressure after he ripped up a power—sharing deal with the scottish green party. as a result, he had been facing two separate votes of no confidence this week. let's take a listen to the moment he announced his resignation. i am not willing to trade my values and principles or do deals with whomever simply for retaining power. therefore, after spending the weekend reflecting on what is best for my party, for the government, and for the country i lead, i have concluded that repairing our relationship across the political divide can only be done with someone else at the helm.

i have therefore informed the snp's national secretary of my intention to stand down as party leader and asked that she commences a leadership contest for my replacement as soon as possible. that was humza yousaf announcing his resignation just a little earlier today. let's speak to bbc scotland news reporter steven godden. steve, a lot of emotion there, clearly a difficult situation, a very difficult situation for him, but he didn't have a lot of room for manoeuvre, did he? h0. but he didn't have a lot of room for manoeuvre, did he?— but he didn't have a lot of room for manoeuvre, did he? no, that's right. it was an emotional _ manoeuvre, did he? no, that's right. it was an emotional statement - manoeuvre, did he? no, that's right. it was an emotional statement this i it was an emotional statement this morning, you heard the early part there, and a real emotion came towards the end when humza yousaf started talking about his family, his pride in doing thejob, the support that he's family had given him, and the fact that the bruising

nature of modern politics, but there was a sense this morning that there was a sense this morning that there was inevitability, that we were moving towards this moment. there was intense speculation over the weekend about humza yousaf�*s future as first minister, he has been the first minister of scotland for 13 months now, but he has now announced that he will step down and a successor will be found. how did we get to this point? really, the key moment came last week, when humza yousaf took the decision to end what is known as the bute house agreement, that is the agreement between the snp, the largest party here at holyrood, and the scottish greens, and essentially that gave them, as the government, the numbers that they needed to get legislation through. but there had been increasing tensions between the scottish greens and the snp, not least over the decision to ditch climate targets, and we reach this point whereby humza yousaf took this decision to end the bute house

agreement. any days earlier, he had said the agreement was worth its weight in gold, but he changed that, the greens did not take that role, and ultimately they said they could not support him in a vote of no confidence due to be held in the parliament this week, and with that, he had really run out of road, he had nowhere to go. on friday, he was still insisting he would fight on and lead the snp into the holyrood elections of 2026, but he said he had taken time to reflect over the weekend and that is what led to the decision today. coloured very briefly, could there still be a vote of no—confidence in the scottish well, we wait to see what happens tomorrow when parliament resumes, those votes are still scheduled to go ahead, as far as we know. the big question is, who comes next? two my name is coming to the fore, john swinney, a former leader and deputy first minister, and the other is

kate forbes, who was his rival in the contest to succeed nicola sturgeon as first minister. so already a lot of speculation about where that might go, we will wait and see in the coming days. joining me now is stuart nicolson, former adviser to nicola sturgeon. thank you very much forjoining us on bbc news. alex salmond, leader of the pro independence alba party, says that humza yousaf did want to do a deal with his party but forces within the snp were stopping him, suggesting that mr yousaf did want to try and stay as first minister, what are you hearing?— to try and stay as first minister, what are you hearing? well, i have no particular— what are you hearing? well, i have no particular insight _ what are you hearing? well, i have no particular insight into _ what are you hearing? well, i have no particular insight into what - what are you hearing? well, i have no particular insight into what alex j no particular insight into what alex salmond was saying there. i think it is a fact that had humza yousaf sought to do a deal with alba, relying on ash regan's vote, there

would certainly be a substantial number of people within his own ranks, within the snp, it would be deeply uncomfortable with that, given the history of relations between the parties. so i think, in essence, humza yousaf found himself pretty much boxed in with nowhere to 90, pretty much boxed in with nowhere to go, and obviously, as he said himself, he spent the weekend reflecting, essentially trying to see if there was a way out of this. but there was no obvious way out, as soon as the green party, the scottish greens made clear that they were going to vote in favour of this motion of no confidence in him personally, i think it became increasingly clear that there was nowhere to go on the game was up. for so many years, the snp has been a dominant force, seemingly unassailable dominant force in scottish politics, but then came power—sharing with the greens, and now this. is the dominant era over? i think people should be quite

cautious about making any bold assumptions on that front. the snp's polling has fluctuated in recent months, both in terms of voting intentions for westminster in the next uk election, and also for the scottish parliament. but i mean, one thing in the background which perhaps doesn't, understandably at the moment, get much focuses polling on independence, support for independence seems pretty much locked in at 50—50 or thereabouts. on that point, sorry to interrupt you, that sort of leads us to the question of independence for scotland, how does what has happened to humza yousaf and the implications for the snp, for the party, how does that have a knock—on impact on the quest for independence but the snp has been behind?— quest for independence but the snp has been behind? well, i think what isn't perhaps — has been behind? well, i think what isn't perhaps realised, _ has been behind? well, i think what isn't perhaps realised, as _ has been behind? well, i think what isn't perhaps realised, as i - has been behind? well, i think what isn't perhaps realised, as i say, - has been behind? well, i think what isn't perhaps realised, as i say, is i isn't perhaps realised, as i say, is the fact that independent support remains at historically very high

levels, and that is, for the snp, obviously a good thing. but the problem the snp have had in recent times, and certainly the latter part of nicola sturgeon's leadership as first minister, was trying to give political and democratic effect to that was becoming increasingly difficult, because you had a uk government that was intent on saying no, regardless of electoral mandates, regardless of election wins at westminster or holyrood, it was just saying no. wins at westminster or holyrood, it wasjust saying no. there wins at westminster or holyrood, it was just saying no. there ultimately has to be a way around that. in the short term, the leadership question, i don't think necessarily this snp leadership election will be overly dominated by the question of independence.— dominated by the question of indeendence. . ~ ., independence. thank you for your thou~hts independence. thank you for your thoughts today. — independence. thank you for your thoughts today, former _ independence. thank you for your thoughts today, former adviser i independence. thank you for your thoughts today, former adviser to nicola sturgeon. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

officials in central kenya say at least a5 people have been killed after a dam collapsed following torrential rainfall. a vast area of mud flattened houses and uprooted trees near the rift valley town of mai mahiu. it is feared that more people are buried under the debris. the kenyan authorities have postponed the start of the new school term by a week because of the flooding that's killed more than 120 people across the country. the bbc�*s africa correspondent barbara plett usher reports. what happened was a dam burst and this rush of water came came through this town in the middle of the night, three o'clock in the morning. so it cut this swathe right through town, gouging out this valley, as you can see, felling trees, sweeping away houses and many people as well. i spoke to a man earlier who said when he woke up, he could hear the sound of water. i said, well, what did it sound like?

he said, it was sort of like a roar. and he got his family out of their house in time. but 50, around 50 of the families where he was living lost their homes and some of them were taken away by the floods. he said he was able to rescue one little boy, but they're still looking for others who are missing. and around at least a5 people have been killed. and it's part of the heavy rains we've been having in kenya and other parts of east africa in the past month. and they're continuing and filling the dams. and so this is really quite ominous because there are other dams in other parts of the country that are filling up, filling up as well. and, of course, people here are gathered round looking to see what happened because it's so extraordinary and also just trying to find people. we spoke to one man who said two of his cousins were missing. they were living in a house sort of down this way.

and so he was hoping to see if he could find them or get any news of them. so it's very much a disaster scene. the french actor gerard depardieu is being questioned at a paris police station after being placed under formal investigation over two allegations of sexual assault. the 75—year—old has been accused of molesting two women on film sets. depardieu already faces a rape charge, as well as claims of assault by more than a dozen women — all of which he has strongly denied. the national crime agency has issued an unprecedented alert to all schools in the uk, warning about the danger to pupils of so called sextortion. that's when criminals trick young people into sharing intimate images of themselves online and then blackmail their victims for cash. police say there's been an alarming increase in the number of cases, as angus crawford reports. just 16, murray dowey ended his life. criminals posing as a girl online tricked him into sending compromising pictures. then they blackmailed him. he couldn't bear it. they've totally destroyed our family. murray was a happy, normal teenager.

he was driven to take his own life by whatever threats and awful things that the people that were trying to extort money out of him were saying to him. hey. how are you doing? what happened to murray is called sextortion. gangs pose as young men or women, send explicit videos or pictures to targets they identify via social media. they demand the same in return. then... the film will be shared with your friends, your family, your workmates... everyone you know... unless you pay. today, in an unprecedented move, the national crime agency issued an alert to schools across the uk about this growing threat. the nca is warning that criminals are increasingly targeting young people, especially teenage boys. it's mainly done by gangs based in west africa or south east asia. their aim — terrify children into handing over

as much money as they can. it can have an absolutely devastating effect on young people. this is why we are issuing this alert. we want people to take it extremely seriously, but we don't want them to panic. so there are definitely things that parents can do, conversations that can be had. it's really important that children know that they're never to blame. we've been reporting on the dangers of this for years... how scared were you at the time? oh, frozen. ..contacting the criminals online. so you're probably moments away from being scammed. yep, literally minutes away. in ivory coast, police showed us files full of british victims. we even met a man who made his living from sextortion. but you do real harm to the victims. but what's really disturbing for teachers and parents is how young the victims are now. keeping them safe on social media is a daily challenge. never presume

it couldn't happen here. presume it could happen. i think be vigilant, set up some really good, clear parameters. allow students to be part of that process, so that it's not being done to them but done with them. today's alert by the nca strikes a chord with ia—year—old josh. i think that's definitely a big step in the right direction, because i think people need to be made aware of this sort of thing. it is quite easy to get into these sorts of bad situations. from a mother who lost her son, a plea to other young people. my message would be, please don't do what murray did. nothing is worth taking your own life for — nothing. no matter how terrified and awful you're feeling at the moment, that will pass and this can be fixed. angus crawford, bbc news. finally, let's bring you this new image. it's a previously unseen portrait of the prince and princess

of wales, released it to celebrate the couple's 13th wedding anniversary. they got married in 2011. it shows the newlyweds smiling at buckingham palace after their ceremony. let's just take a look at our live page, a look at the indian elections, that is a story we are going to be covering in the next half hour, lots of stories on there, and we will be looking at the discussions between the uk and ireland over asylum seekers. stay with us on bbc news. hello there. the good news is that this week is going to be warmer, but it's not always going to be dry.

the warmer weather certainly today has been noticed across south—east england and also in east anglia, where we've got the sunniest of the skies. out towards the west, things are looking a little different. we've seen this area of low pressure pushing in this band of cloud, and that's been bringing with it the outbreaks of rain. so for western parts of the uk, temperatures haven't really changed a great deal. it's across these eastern areas that it is certainly warmer and drier, and the highest temperatures are where we've got the sunnier skies, more towards the south east. that's how we end the day here. this is cloud, though, affecting other parts of england and wales that will continue to bring some outbreaks of rain through the rest of today and into tonight. after it dries off in northern ireland for a while, we'll get more rain arriving by the end of the night. we've got some showers in scotland. lowest temperatures are going to be six or seven degrees. heading into tomorrow, then, and we'll see this heavier rain pushing its way back across northern ireland, and we'll see it getting wetter for a while in wales and the south west. some rain across the far western side of scotland, but otherwise we'll see some sunshine here. across many eastern areas, it will be drier. there will be more cloud coming

into east anglia and the south east, threatening the odd light shower. probably the highest temperatures will get pushed further north. it be a lot warmer in the midlands, northern england, and 16 or 17 is possible in scotland as well. we've still got low pressure out to the west of the uk. this weather front hanging around into wednesday as another area of low pressure developing further south across europe that will thicken the cloud across england and wales and starts to bring some rain from over the english channel. further north, some sunshine, maybe, just the odd shower around, as well. temperatures still getting up to 16 or 17 degrees in scotland and widely similar sort of temperatures across the midlands and eastern parts of england. we could well see some mist and fog affecting coastal areas of eastern scotland and north—east england because we're getting an easterly wind coming in by the time we get to thursday. that is bring in some warmer air, but it's coming in over the cold north sea. we should get some sunshine for scotland, northernmost parts of england.

a bit more cloud around elsewhere, maybe some rain around too. always going to be a bit cooler more towards the south—west of the uk on thursday, with the highest temperatures not in eastern scotland but in western scotland, 20 degrees in the highlands.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the race is on in india, as the world's biggest election

gets into full swing. british and irish ministers hold talks amid tensions over the number of asylum seekers travelling from northern ireland into the republic. protests take place in georgia over the government's controversial "foreign influence" bill — which is widely seen as russian—inspired legislation targeting media freedom and civil liberties. sport now, and a full round—up from the bbc sport centre. hello from the bbc sport centre. the english premier league has voted to approve the idea of a salary cap. a majority of clubs voted in favour of the issue at a meeting to discuss it. with the aim of making the competition fairer. the pfa have reacted to the vote and have said that they have always been clear they will oppose any measure that would place a hard cap on player

wages.