this is bbc news. israel carries out fresh strikes on parts of gaza — as it tells palestinians to leave the southern city of rafah. meanwhile, the foreign office is investigating a hamas claim that british—israeli hostage, nadav popplewell, has been killed in gaza. more than 300 have died following devastating flash floods in northern afghanistan — relief workers struggle to deliver aid. voting is underway in catalonia where pro—independence supporters wanting to break away from spain are hoping to maintain their majority in the regional parliament. and after one of the most controversial eurovision song contests — switzerland are crowned this year's winners.

hello, welcome. israel has continued its airstrikes on several parts of the gaza strip even as it continues issuing controversial evacuation orders to palestinians. the israeli military said its troops had found many tunnels used by hamas at the rafah crossing into egypt. the israel defense forces have declared a narrow coastal strip at al—mawasi to be a safe humanitarian zone, but the un says it has no running water or proper sanitation. israel says that since monday, about 300 thousand palestinians have already fled rafah. the us is still urging israel not to mount a full—scale assault on the city. and in the north — there are evacuations in the city of jabalia as the idf says that it has been carrying out air strikes. it says hamas fighters are regrouping there. meanwhile a top eu official, charles michel, has condemned israel's evacuation orders, saying people are being directed

towards unsafe areas. the uk foreign office is investigating claims by hamas that a british—israeli hostage has died in gaza. nadav popplewell was seized with his mother on october 7th from the nirim kibbutz in southern israel. hamas claims that mr popplewell died of wounds sustained in an israeli airstrike more than a month ago. the israeli military is yet to comment. the uk foreign secretary, lord cameron, was asked about the claim on sunday with laura kuenssberg. like everyone else, i watched the video on twitter, x, last night, put out by hamas of nadav answering a question as to who he was. and i watched the video and you just think, what, you know, callous people they are to do that. to play with the family's emotions in that way. i met nadav�*s family, his sister, and i know the heartbreak they have been going through for over 200 days.

and when you see what hamas are prepared to do you just realise the terrible, dreadful, inhuman people, frankly, that we are dealing with. the foreign secretary there. 0ur diplomatic correspondent, paul adams, is injerusalem. these were claims that emerged yesterday when hamas, as it has done repeatedly throughout this crisis, released a video in which they said that nadav popplewell, who's 51, was killed in an israeli air strike. now, we have absolutely no way of verifying that. we don't know when the video that they released yesterday was shot. we need to be extremely careful about any assertions that hamas is making about the circumstances surrounding his death or indeed whether indeed nadav popplewell is dead. but that is what hamas said. we know that his brother was killed on october the seventh. they were both attacked

on october the seventh. their mother was also abducted, but she was released later in the first of the ceasefire hostage negotiations. the foreign office, as you say, is looking into this. but this is this kind of goes to the heart of one of the issues that still divides israel and hamas during these torturous negotiations aimed at getting a ceasefire organised, which is how many israeli hostages and dual national hostages are there, how many are still alive, how many are dead? over the months, tragically, the number of dead hostages has risen, while the expectations for the number of live hostages has diminished somewhat. and this is a very live issue because the israelis want much more clarity about what they can expect from hamas in terms of the release of hostages alive and dead in return

for a ceasefire deal. paul, we'll await any more comments from or any comments from the uk foreign office as it investigates those hamas claims about the british israeli hostage. just in terms of the evacuations itself, of course, flyers are being dropped. where are palestinians being told to move to? they're consistently being told to go west northwest to the al—mawasi area, which is an area along the coast, an area that the israelis identified right at the beginning of this campaign as a safe, secure humanitarian zone. and some of them are going further north to some of the middle areas of the gaza strip. either way, they are going to places that are profoundly unsuitable for human habitation. there are no provisions for them when they get there. no one is setting up tent encampments for them.

there is no water, no sanitation. getting food and other aid to them is increasingly difficult. we now estimate that, or at least following the israeli announcement last night, that 300,000 people have heeded the israeli warnings to leave, that i would say something close to a quarter of the population that have been crammed into rafah in recent months are now on the move. and that is just adding to the enormous pressure on those areas. al—mawasi and the middle part of the gaza strip, with parts of rafah now becoming something of a ghost town. so many people went down from the northern part and then from khan younis to rafah. over the months, huge tent cities sprang up along the rafah border with egypt. some of those tent encampments are now emptying and emptying fast as people who have moved three, four or five times already feel that

they're going to have to move again soon. and they're not waiting for the israeli military to arrive. they're packing up and they're leaving because they've seen it all before. paul adams there. ealier we spoke to humanitarian media specialist for action aid uk, isabella cipirska. right now in rafah there is just absolute fear and confusion and panic on the ground. hundreds of thousands of people have already fled, these are people who have had to flee carrying their belongings under a scorching hot sun, not knowing where they can go that is safe, that they can start a new life for themselves, and remember most of these people have had to flee multiple times. we are talking 5—7 times already. 0ur teams on the ground have spoken to some people who have arrived in deir al balah, which is one of the so—called safe zones, they have described

absolutely horrendous journeys, travelling by bus while bombardments took place all around them. they have talked about arriving in deir al balah and having more scenes of chaos greeting them, basically. none of the essentials that they need. one man told us that he was trying to build a tent for him and himself and his disabled mother, and he was unable to source the materials he needed because they were so limited in supply, and the prices had gone up so much. really the situation is utterly, utterly dire right now. there is so much uncertainty. so these areas that you describe, one, deir al balah, of course al—mawasi, and khan younis, they have been described as humanitarian zones but in your opinion they don't account for that? absolutely not. these are places that were already, before these latest evacuations began, already completely overcrowded. al—mawasi which is a tiny strip land

which is basically sand dunes was already home to about 400,000 people. there is just not the infrastructure to accommodate all of these new arrivals. there is no one to meet them, no one... there is nothing basically to give them. it is absolutely dire. in terms of actionaid, your organisation, how does it operate under these circumstances on the ground where there is so much need? as always we are doing everything we can but there isjust as always we are doing everything we can but there is just such difficult circumstances and things are changing day today. we have had some of our colleagues and partners already having to fully rafah. in the last few days of the situation has changed so quickly. right now the situation with getting and distributing aid is just incredibly, incredibly difficult. in rafah right now, rafah remember is the main area

through which aid arrives, two of made eight crossings are located in rafah, one of these, the rafah crossing, is still closed, the other, kerem shalom, has opened but it is not able to be delivered through that crossing because of the intensity of the fighting. 0f through that crossing because of the intensity of the fighting. of course it is so dangerous right now. the humanitarian situation in rafah, which was already incredibly on a knife edge, isjust which was already incredibly on a knife edge, is just deteriorating which was already incredibly on a knife edge, isjust deteriorating by the minute, really. the health care system is all but collapsed. 0ne the minute, really. the health care system is all but collapsed. one of the main hospitals in rafah had to evacuate earlier this week, that leaves just two smaller hospitals and a few other medical facilities which are warning that they are running out of fuel. due to the sustained lack of age, people in rafah are starving, they are hungry, they don't have enough water, 10% of

children under the age of two are acutely malnourished, it really is an incredibly dire situation. aid organisations like ours are doing everything they can but it is incredibly, incredibly difficult. spokesperson from actionaid supporting people in gaza describing the situation on the ground. we are getting some updates from the reuters news agency who are quoting the gaza health ministry, so i am just going to caveat that, these are figures coming from hamas, as to the number of people killed. the hamas run gaza health ministry are now saying that at least 35,000 palestinians have been killed and nearly 79,000 injured in israel's military operations since the 7th of october, since hamas�*s attacks on 0ctober, since hamas�*s attacks on israel.

just over 35,000 palestinians have been killed since the 7th of october. much more on this story and 0ctober. much more on this story and the background to it on our website. let's take you to ukraine now. more than four thousand people have been evcautaed from the kharkiv region. president zelensky says the country's troops are conducting counter—attacks for a second day. but he's admitted defensive operations are also continuing, given ongoing russian advances. he says elsewhere, in the eastern donestk region, the situation was "extremely difficult". and lithuanians vote in presidential elections today with the main candidates all agreed defence spending should be boosted amid fears about russia's intentions in the region. some in the small, mainly catholic, baltic state on nato's eastern flank, fear they could be next in moscow's sights after ukraine. thousands of canadians have been ordered to leave their homes

at fort nelson in the province of british columbia, which is under threat from a wildfire. the blaze began on friday and was described by officials as �*exhibiting extreme fire behaviour�*. wildfires have also led to evacuation alerts in the neighbouring province of alberta. voting is underway in catalonia where pro—independence supporters wanting to break away from spain are hoping to maintain their majority in the regional parliament. catalonia made a failed attempt to break away from spain in 2017 — and the election comes as the parliament in madrid is expected to approve a controversial amnesty law for separatist catalans facing legal action. 0ur correspondent, guy hedgeco, is in madrid. i asked him what choices the voters have in these regional elections. well, catalonia has quite an unusual political landscape because you have a division between the left and the right, which you see across the rest of the country. but it also has that division between those who want independence and those who don't.

so, for example, the party of prime minister, spanish prime minister pedro sanchez. the socialist party, which looks like it could win this election, is opposed to independence and self—determination. so that could mean that it makes it very difficult for it to form a new government after the election. even if it wins. there are two major pro—independence parties vying to be the main nationalist party in the region. but the big question is whether, together with those parties, together along with other smaller nationalist parties, whether they can hang on to that pro—independence majority, which pro—independence parties have had for about a decade and a half. guy, just talk us through, in your opinion, how much appetite is there for independence for the region? well, certainly support for independence is lower than it was back in 2017. you mentioned that failed attempt for independence back then,

led by carles puigdemont. around that time, support for independence was close to 50%. recent polls suggest it's more like 41, 42%. so there is less support for it. and we've seen that reflected in a way on the campaign trail. independence has been talked about to a certain extent by the nationalist parties and that the territorial issue. but there have been other issues which have sort of muscled in on the campaign agenda. there's a very serious drought in catalonia, the most serious drought the region has ever had. and that has been an important issue which the parties have had to talk about. also, there's a housing crisis in catalonia, the same as a housing crisis across the rest of spain. and the issue of education has been talked about a lot as well, because their concerns about catalonia's performance in education. so other issues have been muscling in on the campaign trail and that has pushed independence to one side slightly.

so it's still there, but it's really not a not the dominant issue. the taliban say 315 people have now died in devastating flash floods in the north of afghanistan. a spokesman for the interior ministry told the bbc that most of the casualties were in the province of baghlan. emergency teams have been sent to rescue those stranded by the floodwaters. on friday, a massive torrent of water swept away hundreds of houses in several villages. dozens of people are still missing. 0ur south asia editor, anbarasan ethirajan, has more. emergency teams have intensified their efforts to bring relief to thousands of people who have been displaced by these calamitous floods. on friday, rivers carrying water, mud and stone tore through many villages, sweeping away houses, livestock and vital infrastructure. and aid agencies estimate that

nearly half a million people have been severely affected, and dozens are still missing. and pictures on social media showed how desperate the situation was, where people were totally drenched in mud, they were rescued, women and children, rescued from these flood waters, at the same time people crying after seeing their entire houses wiped away. 0ne resident in baghlan province said his wife and four children were swept away by this torrent while he was watching helplessly from the other side of the river. so there have been very tragic stories, and all coming at a time in afghanistan where the economy is in tatters after the taliban took over in august 2021, so this repeated disaster has put the entire northern afghanistan in a very, very difficult situation. at the eurovision song contest final, pro—palestinian protesters

have clashed with police over israel's participation — and the israeli entrant, eden golan, was booed at the malmo arena in sweden. the build—up to the show also saw the dutch entry disqualified for a backstage incident. but ultimately, switzerland were crowned the winners of this year's competition — one of the most controversial song contests of recent times. 0ur arts correspondent, david sillito, reports from malmo. switzerland, winning one of the most extraordinary eurovision song contests of all time. fans had to file into the arena amidst a small melee of police and protesters, the presence of israel in the final has provoked demonstrations and discomfort from some of the competitors. but when israel's eden golan to the stage, it passed without incident and benjamin netanyahu said that her presence alone meant she already won. although there were jeers

from some parts of the crowd. for eurovision organisers, always anxious to try to keep the event politics—free, there was a close eye on what was on stage. island's contestant had been told to remove the word ceasefire from writing on her body. for the uk's 0lly alexander, the performance of dizzy was dizzying, and for the jury in the end, whatever the voters thought the uk's pride was intact. then the mysteries of eurovision voting began with booing and the politics of the evening leading to some last—minute changes of presenters. but it was soon apparent there was a runaway victor, switzerland with the spinning,

operatic the code, by nemo. the uk came 18th but after all the withdrawals and disqualification and protests, by the end, it feels very eurovision and very much switzerland's night. david sillito, bbc news, malmo. let's speak to chris west now, he's the author of a book called eurovision! a history of modern europe through the eyes of the world's greatest song contest. my my goodness, chris, when it comes to eurovision, this was arguably one of the most politicised, one of the most contentious. what are we learning when it comes to the history of europe from what we saw last night? it history of europe from what we saw last niuht? . ., , history of europe from what we saw last niuht? . . , .,, history of europe from what we saw last niuht? . ., , .,, ., history of europe from what we saw last niuht? . . , .,, ., ., last night? it certainly was one of the most politicised _ last night? it certainly was one of the most politicised ones - last night? it certainly was one of the most politicised ones i - last night? it certainly was one of the most politicised ones i can i the most politicised ones i can remember. so it is not new, there

has been plenty of controversy in the past. in the 60s there was a lot of controversy about franco and salazar being part of it. in the 70s there was a lot of fear of terrorist attacks, and obviously more recently we've had all of these issues with russia, starting with their invasion of georgia in 2009. so it has always been political, and it always will be. but i think it did hit a new high this time, paul aloe, depending on your view of it. what did we learn from it? i think one of the sad things about it is the relentless pressure of social media on the artists, which i think is new. this is changing fast. and i think the artists were really under a lot of pressure this time, which they have not been before. fix, lat a lot of pressure this time, which they have not been before. a lot of ressure, they have not been before. a lot of pressure. but _ they have not been before. a lot of pressure, but there _ they have not been before. a lot of pressure, but there is _ they have not been before. a lot of pressure, but there is also - they have not been before. a lot of pressure, but there is also a - they have not been before. a lot of pressure, but there is also a lot - they have not been before. a lot of pressure, but there is also a lot of| pressure, but there is also a lot of support for the artists. a lot of build—up and conversations when it comes to social media about the artists. do they find some sort of

solace or support there? i artists. do they find some sort of solace or support there?- artists. do they find some sort of solace or support there? i hope so, es. i am solace or support there? i hope so, yes- i am sure _ solace or support there? i hope so, yes. i am sure they _ solace or support there? i hope so, yes. i am sure they do. _ solace or support there? i hope so, yes. i am sure they do. but - solace or support there? i hope so, yes. i am sure they do. but there i solace or support there? i hope so, j yes. i am sure they do. but there is also a lot of criticism, particularly this year because of this business with palestine and israel, and artists saying things like we don't approve of what is happening in gaza, so people saying why are you appearing on the show? i think that is unfair, i think it is “p think that is unfair, i think it is up to the national broadcasters to sort this out. up to the national broadcasters to sort this out-— sort this out. that is interesting because i sort this out. that is interesting because i am — sort this out. that is interesting because i am sure _ sort this out. that is interesting because i am sure the - sort this out. that is interesting because i am sure the ebu, - sort this out. that is interesting l because i am sure the ebu, when sort this out. that is interesting - because i am sure the ebu, when they are looking back at what happened last night when you have people not giving results because they don't agree with the politics of some of the countries taking part, how do you balance that?— the countries taking part, how do you balance that? well, i think the ebu is going _ you balance that? well, i think the ebu is going to _ you balance that? well, i think the ebu is going to have _ you balance that? well, i think the ebu is going to have to _ you balance that? well, i think the ebu is going to have to have - you balance that? well, i think the ebu is going to have to have a - you balance that? well, i think the | ebu is going to have to have a good long think about how it deals with things. it has coasted along on this slightly sort of bland attitude of being nonpolitical which is never true and never has been truth. it has to sit down and think that eurovision is a brand, what are our brand values and how do we protect

them? that will have to involve, i imagine, cutting out some countries which are politically contentious. exactly, they did cut out russia, for example. exactly, they did cut out russia, for example-— exactly, they did cut out russia, for example. they cut out russia because their — for example. they cut out russia because their hand _ for example. they cut out russia because their hand was - for example. they cut out russia because their hand was forced i for example. they cut out russia j because their hand was forced by national broadcasters. it is a bit different. in 2022 when ukraine was invaded several national broadcasters said we really don't want to do this with russia, and this is the really important thing, to national broadcasters said we are not appearing on a stage with russia, end of story. at which point the ebu said they would throw them out. this time around nobody did that about israel. nobody said we don't want to be on stage with them, and nobody certainly said i am absolutely not going to. so it was much more difficult for the ebu this time around. to much more difficult for the ebu this time around-— time around. to be fair to them. absolutely- _ time around. to be fair to them. absolutely. it _ time around. to be fair to them. absolutely. it is _ time around. to be fair to them. absolutely. it is good _ time around. to be fair to them. absolutely. it is good of - time around. to be fair to them. absolutely. it is good of view - time around. to be fair to them. absolutely. it is good of view to | absolutely. it is good of view to kind of contextualise that background foreigners, because i guess they are balancing an awful

lot. but when we look at the songs and the kind of way the scoring happened, i wonder looking at the uk's entry, colleagues alexander scored no points when it came to the public vote. what are we reading into how society is changing or perhaps is not? i into how society is changing or perhaps is not?— perhaps is not? i don't know. i don't know _ perhaps is not? i don't know. i don't know the _ perhaps is not? i don't know. i don't know the answer - perhaps is not? i don't know. i don't know the answer to - perhaps is not? i don't know. i don't know the answer to that l perhaps is not? i don't know. i- don't know the answer to that one. to be honest. i think it was probablyjust bad luck to a certain extent. it was not a full on eurovision song. you have to have a big voice to really conquer eurovision. and his voice is more of a kind of, for a record that is played in a club or something like that. i don't think he had a big voice which is what really wins eurovision. why he got neil platt, i am really not sure. i don't know. i think it wasjust am really not sure. i don't know. i think it was just bad luck. i am really not sure. i don't know. i think it wasjust bad luck. i am very resistant to this idea that everybody in europe hates is at the

moment across the channel, this wall of loving. it is not true, it is absolute rubbish. i don't know what happened, maybe it was too explicit for some of the other countries, i don't know. for some of the other countries, i don't know— for some of the other countries, i don't know. well, we think he did very well- — don't know. well, we think he did very well. absolutely, _ don't know. well, we think he did very well. absolutely, good - don't know. well, we think he did very well. absolutely, good for i don't know. well, we think he did i very well. absolutely, good for him. intensive what _ very well. absolutely, good for him. intensive what happens _ very well. absolutely, good for him. intensive what happens next, i very well. absolutely, good for him. intensive what happens next, next l intensive what happens next, next yeari intensive what happens next, next year i guess, briefly when it comes to switzerland, how are they going to switzerland, how are they going to contend with what we sawjust now? i to contend with what we saw 'ust now? ~ �* to contend with what we saw 'ust now? ~' �* ., , ., , to contend with what we saw 'ust now? ~' �* .,, ., , ., now? i think the ebu has to sit down with someone _ now? i think the ebu has to sit down with someone who _ now? i think the ebu has to sit down with someone who understands i now? i think the ebu has to sit down| with someone who understands brand management and say what is our brand and how do we protect it? and that might mean saying to certain countries, sorry, you are too politically contentious, we can't have you in the contest this year. chris west, looking at the brands, thank you for sharing your insight into the eurovision song contest.

the skies may look a little threatening where you are today, thatis threatening where you are today, that is certainly not the case everywhere but storms are building across western parts of the uk. the warmer and sunnier weather will be further to the east across the country. let's see what is happening then in the second half of the afternoon. showers will be breaking out across more western parts of scotland but even here there will be quite scattered. the same goes for northern ireland under the same goes for other western parts of the uk. but where they do occur they won't be very big, they could only be a few miles across. torrential showers may occur and even flash flooding in

places. warmer and sunnier weather is reserved for more eastern parts of the uk. this evening, skies will be clear across some parts of the country and there is a chance again of seeing the northern lights, the aurora borealis. the problem is that there will be showers around and of course we are going back to work tomorrow so perhaps we would be inclined to stay up for too long. here is the forecast for the morning. temperatures into double figures and a distinct weather front with rain approaching. that really sets the scene for the week ahead. it is going to turn a bit cooler and showers are expected. when i say cooler, a chill in the air, temperatures still above the average it is just not going to be as warm as it has been. here is the weather front for tomorrow. it is going to be slow—moving so if you are stuck underneath this cloud and rain it may be a pretty miserable afternoon. call here, yes, 15—16 , but outward to the east in the sunshine temperatures will still have around

the lower 20s. for example across yorkshire and into east anglia. it is a very slow moving river front and the reason is this area of low pressure is basically packed itself in the south—west of these weather fronts are just rotating around the low, ratherthan fronts are just rotating around the low, rather than his whole weather system just barrelling across the uk. i think for all of us by the time we get to tuesday, temperatures will be typically in the high teens, which is not far off the average for the time of year. that alone will just sit around here until it fizzles out. high pressure will try to build into a to the end of the week but i think the overall message is one of shower clouds for the week ahead and those temperatures are still a little on the warm side for the time of the year. that is it from me. thank you for watching.

this is bbc news, the headlines: israel tells tens of thousands more palestinians to leave rafah — as it intensifies military operations in southern gaza, carrying out fresh strikes. meanwhile, the foreign office is investigating a hamas claim — that british—israeli hostage, nadav popplewell, has been killed in gaza. relief workers are struggling to deliver aid to those hit hard by devastating flash floods in northern afghanistan. the un says more than 300 people have died and thousands more have been injured after rivers of water and mud swept away houses. it is switzerland! cheering. and after one of the most controversial eurovision song contests — switzerland are crowned this year's winners.