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. it is switzerland! and: after one of the most controversial eurovision song contests — switzerland are crowned this year's winners. hello i'm catherine byaruhanga. israel has continued its air strikes 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 today the un says a full scale offensive "cannot take place". 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. from jerusalem, paul adams reports. one by one, the people of rafah are leaving. outlying parts of the city

now all but deserted. "i wasn't planning on going," hassan says, "but since no one is left here, i decided to leave. i have to find out where my wife and daughter are." the un says 300,000 people have left already. that's almost a quarter of those sheltering in rafah. most are heading for the coast, to places barely able to sustain life, where exhausted, hungry people fend for themselves. zainab and her children have brought their makeshift tent to the beach. translation: they dropped leaflets on us four times. - after the fourth time, we came here. when i arrived, i found my tent was worn out. we stayed in it for five months in rafah. i want to try and stitch it, but it's no good. back in rafah, israel's ground operation is almost a week old. the military says it's destroying tunnels, killing hamas fighters

but acting cautiously. our operations against hamas in rafah remains limited in scope and focused on tactical advances, tactical adjustments and key military advantages and have avoided densely populated areas. but some israelis are not reassured. angry protests again last night. these people want the war to stop, and the government to go, and for much more to be done to bring hostages home. yesterday, hamas said a british israeli hostage, nadav popplewell, had been killed in an air strike — claims it's impossible to verify. in the southern city of ashkelon, evidence that palestinian groups can still launch rockets — three israelis lightly injured in this direct hit overnight — and no sign of any fresh negotiations to bring the war to an end.

let's speak to lazar berman, diplomatic correspondent at the times of israel. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. we see israel are ready to go ahead with its offensive in rafah despite international calls for it not to do so without a proper humanitarian plan. would you say there are any diplomatic consequences for israel to go ahead? we have already seen the most serious one, and that was from the white house, when president biden said openly on cnn: certain offensive weapons was not to be sent along. there has been pushed back within his party, so it seems the two sides are trying to get relations back on track. i think the full—scale offensive that people are afraid of that israel has been warned against and that we started to see in gaza city is not going to come about, certainly not anytime soon. this is an educated assessment on my part, but i expect the

operation to continue along the philadelphia corridor on the border between gaza and egypt, and the rafah crossing. but, it will avoid at the heart of rafa, i think. it will expand somewhat, but the larger operation is not... in the offing. why would you say it is not in the offing? the people in rafah, they are hearing orders to leave and are expecting the worst to happen. the 0 eration expecting the worst to happen. tue: operation is expecting the worst to happen. tte: operation is expanding and in those areas that are on the map where civilians have been evacuated from continue to be on the eastern outskirts of the city. i expect some other neighbourhoods to be evacuated as well, but i don't see the troops in place all the troop numbers built up in place all the troop numbers built up yet, so that operation, not to mention, as he talked about, the significant diplomatic pressure from israel's allies in europe and the us, and from the arab allies in the middle east. we hear that the peace

treaty for 40 years is in danger if israel continues in rafah stop i think that is only bluster, but that shows how intense diplomatic pressures can be. tn shows how intense diplomatic pressures can be.— shows how intense diplomatic ressures can be. . pressures can be. in the meantime, there have — pressures can be. in the meantime, there have been _ pressures can be. in the meantime, there have been efforts _ pressures can be. in the meantime, there have been efforts over - pressures can be. in the meantime, there have been efforts over the - there have been efforts over the past week to try to a ceasefire. i guess that as this offensive goes on, how does this affect the mediation efforts? especially for israel, as they try to get back the hostages being held by hamas. we saw that when israel _ hostages being held by hamas. we saw that when israel started _ hostages being held by hamas. we saw that when israel started to _ hostages being held by hamas. we saw that when israel started to show - that when israel started to show that when israel started to show that it meant business. it was actually going to start going into the outskirts of rafah. that is when hamas came forward and gave their own proposal for hamas came forward and gave their own proposalfor a hostage, for a ceasefire deal. military pressure is really the only card israel has to pat’- really the only card israel has to pay. the other card that they refuse to play is replacing hamas with some of the palestinian government, which would really be the palestinian authorities. the only car that they have left at a military offensive. hamas at least to give a counter

proposal, but they are demanding withdrawal of troops from the gaza strip, which actually, many ministers do quietly agree with i would be willing to leave, but it also includes an end to the war, which is really a non—starter. compared to the first ceasefire which was agreed this time, there are small significant conversations about the future of what happens in gaza. do you think that our focus is on how to end the conflict happening in gaza? once of the war ends, they know that they can easily retake the gaza strip civilly and the military can rebuild itself and there will be a clear victory. they will say that they slaughtered the israelis and will declare victory and that will do terrible things for the anti—irani and crow and pro—democratic forces in the area. for israel, the goal continues to be to get the hostages add to destroy hamas. no goal has been a long time in coming, seven months in the war,

and none of the goals have been achieved. there is pressure, like you said, and as we said in a report beforehand, that there is pressure to get hostages out. there is frustration on the street and within the military that the government is moving way to slowly and has, basically, the last few months, the war has effectively been over, they have been no advances on the ground towards either goal.— towards either goal. thank you very much, diplomatic _ towards either goal. thank you very much, diplomatic correspondent. towards either goal. thank you very much, diplomatic correspondent of| much, diplomatic correspondent of the times of israel. here in the uk, the mp for dover, nathalie elphicke, who defected from the conservatives to labour last week, has been accused of lobbying ministers over her former husband's sexual assault court case. her spokesman has dismissed the claims. our political correspondent nick eardley sent this report. the latest allegation is that nathalie elphicke effectively lobbied ministers before her then—husband's trial. the allegation if she spoke to thejustice secretary robert buckland and suggested that at the time of the trial should be moved to avoid extra publicity.

sir robert buckland, who was thejustice secretary at the time, has told the sunday times that she was told in no uncertain terms that it would be "completely inappropriate to speak to the judge about the trial at all. " the bbc has spoken to the robert and he has confirmed that account. ms elphicke, through a spokesman, has said the claims are nonsense, while the labour party has questioned why the allegations were only made after she defected from the conservative party to the labour party. it is another awkward question for the labour party about their newest mp. remember, many labour mp as were pretty uncomfortable with nathalie elphicke being allowed into the party. she was seen as being on the right of the conservatives and a lot

of labour mps were saying, "why she in the labour party now. 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. let's speak to anbarasan ethirajan, south asia editor for the bbc world service. what more do we know that the impact of these floods? figs what more do we know that the impact of these floods?— of these floods? as we speak, thousands _ of these floods? as we speak, thousands of _ of these floods? as we speak, thousands of people _ of these floods? as we speak, thousands of people have - of these floods? as we speak, | thousands of people have been of these floods? as we speak, - thousands of people have been left homeless, they are waiting for food, shelter, and other help from humanitarian agencies and the authorities. now, this calamitous flood on fridayjust swept through villages, taking down water is on

its way, houses, livestock, and livestock for many of those living in rural areas. devastating floods, we are talking about hundreds killed, and thousands injured. the economic impact is quite huge, because people's wealth in the rural areas is livestock, and weight of the livestock have been wiped out. when people return to their houses, they find they are full of mud, most of their belongings have been washed away, there are cracks, houses, so they are already suffering, the communities in the northern parts of afghanistan. they also had a very strong flood last month which killed around 100 people. aid agencies and are struggling to reach out to many of these people, because the transportation and the transport infrastructure has been severely hit, bridges, roads, and people are now unable to move from one village to another because there are still

flowing rivers with no means of crossing these hurdles at the moment. �* ., crossing these hurdles at the moment-— crossing these hurdles at the moment. �* ., ., ., moment. and how other taliban authorities _ moment. and how other taliban authorities responding - moment. and how other taliban authorities responding to - moment. and how other taliban authorities responding to the . authorities responding to the crisis? how prepared with a thorough disaster like this?— disaster like this? already, afghanistan _ disaster like this? already, afghanistan has _ disaster like this? already, afghanistan has been - disaster like this? already, | afghanistan has been facing disaster like this? already, i afghanistan has been facing a disaster like this? already, _ afghanistan has been facing a number of natural disasters over the past two years, for example, they had quite a few earthquakes last year, and then, unseasonable floods and rains. now, they are having this. the taliban are struggling. first of all, they don't have a very detailed infrastructure for emergency rescue efforts. they say that they are now deploying some helicopters to take food and material, but then, we are talking about four or five provinces. so, they are struggling to cope with the magnitude of this disaster. the humanitarian agencies are now calling for more help, they

are now calling for more help, they are also on the ground, but again, the scale is so huge. they are asking for help from other countries and also from other aid groups, but what people are struggling with now is how they can go back to their villages. many of them are still not sure about what happened to their relatives. dozens are still missing, and this is the kind of disaster where people hear and the taliban authorities are now facing. thank ou. prince harry and his wife meghan are in lagos as part of their 3—day visit to nigeria. they're there to promote the upcoming invictus games. one of their engagements today has seen the duke and duchess of sussex join a basketball clinic. our africa correspondent is in lagos with this update on what they've been up to. they spent theirfirst morning here in lagos, they were welcomed by the state governor in a private event and then they came to the school

here in an area where they met children who are being supported by a charity that they support through the foundation, the charity is called the giants of africa and they empower young people through basketball. they spent the morning here talking to them about the power of sport, and then prince harry also partook in some of the basketball drills with them. sport seems to be a sort of a running theme in their trip as later this afternoon they are going to be lagos polo club and there they will observe a charity match that is taking place to support another organisation that they support called nigeria unconquered. nigeria unconquered. and that organisation helps wounded service people and veterans through sport, which we know is something that is passionate to prince harry. as i mentioned, that charity that they are going to see at the lagos polo club is also in charge of putting together

nigerian�*s in victor's games team. nigeria became the first african country to partake in the games last year and that has led to their visit here. of course, we now know that megan herself is of nigerian heritage and actually, if you play those pictures of prince harry and meghan here at the court early this morning you will see that she was wearing a sort of traditional attire, and that attire is a blue wrap that is around her waist which is actually hand woven here in south—west nigeria. she was gifted that yesterday at a reception that they attended. even yesterday, she spoke about finding out that she is nigerian and she has called this experience humbling and eye—opening, saying that she feels that she is in very good company with other nigerian women. time for the sports news.

hello from the bbc sport centre. kick off is approaching at wembley, where manchester united and tottenham hotspur get under way in the next 15 minutes, for the women's fa cup final. neither club has won the competition before, so we're guaranteed a new name on the trophy. it's the biggest game in tottenham's history, whilst united were beaten by chelsea in the final last season. our correspondent katie gornall is there. one way or another, history will be made with manchester united and spurs are vying to lift their first major trophy. spurs are vying to lift their first majortrophy. i spurs are vying to lift their first major trophy. i am delighted to say that the vomit england international in here with me to talk on about it. you know what it is like to lift this trophy, you have played for arsenal and trek shall see, how big is it for the women's game that we will get a new name on the trophy? fantastic. it signals a growth in the women's game, that is a competitive league. a new winner on the trophy is fantastic.— the trophy is fantastic. manchester united were _ the trophy is fantastic. manchester united were beaten _ the trophy is fantastic. manchester united were beaten here _ the trophy is fantastic. manchester united were beaten here narrowlyl united were beaten here narrowly last season by chelsea. they have

had an underwhelming season, how much do they need this to salvage their campaign?— their campaign? yes, i think manchester _ their campaign? yes, i think manchester united - their campaign? yes, i think manchester united will - their campaign? yes, i think manchester united will feel| their campaign? yes, i think - manchester united will feel they really need this trophy, they need to lift it for themselves but also for their supporters, especially because of what they achieved last season, runners—up in the wsl, and obviously, getting to the fa cup final. ,,, , ., , ., final. spurs have never beaten manchester — final. spurs have never beaten manchester united, _ final. spurs have never beaten manchester united, they - final. spurs have never beaten manchester united, they are l final. spurs have never beatenl manchester united, they are so excited to be here, can they change that? can they do the business here today? t that? can they do the business here toda ? ., �* , , ., that? can they do the business here toda? ., today? i don't see why not. the cup final is a one-off _ today? i don't see why not. the cup final is a one-off game. _ today? i don't see why not. the cup final is a one-off game. it _ today? i don't see why not. the cup final is a one-off game. it is - today? i don't see why not. the cup final is a one-off game. it is about | final is a one—off game. it is about he shows up on the day, and all of the pieces coming together. i think tottenham will come with a bit of a fearless attitude today. i would expect. the pressure really is a non—manchester united. aha, expect. the pressure really is a non-manchester united. a sell-out wembley awaits. _ just one game in the english premier league today — and it's one arsenal have to win,

if they're to go back to the top of the table. manchester city lead the way after their 4—0 victory at fulham — which means if they win their final two games, they will be champions again. so arsenal go to manchester united this afternoon knowing a victory at old trafford is crucial. and their manager is feeling optimistic: my brain is always talking to the players, we are lifting the premier league. that is where my brain is going at the moment, i follow my brain and my gut, and this is how i feel and this is how i want everybody to think, and hopefully we can achieve it. one of the best teams, probably the best team, and you can discuss about this. is city the best team, is arsenal at this moment the best team? they are very ball secure. very good touches. we have to play to absolutely our maximum levels to get the result in, but we are capable of it. kick off injust kick off in just a couple of hours. rory mcilroy will go

into the final round of the wells fargo championship at quail hollowjust one shot off the lead. mcilroy posted four birdies and no bogeys on saturday to leave him on 11 under, and to heap pressure on leader xander schauffele. he'll start later alongside schauffele, who finished saturday's round on 12 under. schauffele hasn't won an event since the scottish open back in 2022. and nelly korda's bid to become the first players to win six consecutive lpga tour title look to be over as she sits 11 shots behind leader madelene sagstrom at the founders cup. sagstrum hit a a brilliant 66 to move to 19 under after three rounds. she is now one shot ahead of rose zhang going into the final day. and that's all the sport for now. that is all the sport for now and we will be back later on. studio: thank you very much. see you then.

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.(00v)catalonia made 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. our correspondent, guy hedgecoe, is in madrid. he told us 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 hedgecoe there. the first living patient to receive a genetically modified pig kidney transplant has died aged 62. surgeons at massachusetts general hospital carried out the operation in march. the hospital said it had no indication his death was as a result of the transplant. newly—released body camera footage shows the shock and confusion among police officers as they watched the collapse of a major bridge in the us city of baltimore. there is no bridge. there is no

bridge. the one—point—six mile long francis scott key bridge fell into the river after being hit by a container ship in march. six construction workers who were repairing potholes on it at the time, were killed in the incident. at the eurovision song contest final pro—palestinian protesters clashed with police over israel's involvement and the israeli contestant — 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. our arts correspondent, david sillito, reports from malmo. switzerland, winning one of the most extraordinary eurovision song contests of all time. fans had 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 took the stage, all passed without incident. the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, said her presence alone meant she'd already won. there were, though, jeers from some parts of the crowd at the end. for the uk, olly alexander's performance of dizzy was definitely dizzying. the cheer at the end, whatever the voters thought, the uk's pride was in tact. and then the mysteries of eurovision voting, which began with boos for the eurovision's martin osterdahl. booing what can you tell us about the result? and the politics of the evening led to some last—minute changes of presenters. but it was soon apparent there was a runaway victor — switzerland with nemo's spinning operatic the code.

for the uk, 18th place. but after the withdrawals, the disqualification and the protests, by the end, it feels very eurovision and very much switzerland's night. david sillito, bbc news, malmo. scott bryan is a tv critic and broadcaster. he looked back at what has been a controversial and politicised eurovision song context. a eurovision may be the ebu will be looking at and thinking, to themselves, my word. ifeel that in themselves, my word. ifeel that in the lead up to it, in the weeks running up to it, israel's participation has of course had protests and calls for a boycott whilst there have been many people thinking that the country should remain in a contest as well. i think that in the last 2a hours, spokespeople leaving the competition, not representing their

country, a disqualification in regards to one of the acts taking place, and of course, going for the person who runs the ebu towards the end of the ceremony. i think that it has been, you know, obviously, a very, sort of, difficult contest for them. i think though, as a piece of tv, it was rather smooth sailing, with no interruptions. it went pretty smoothly, and of course, at the end of it, they ended up having a very standout winner. i think it became about the music towards the last part of the contest, but it will be interesting, of course. this shows to me that eurovision has been terrific to ring up, and i think that i look ahead to next year, you wonder how it will be reflected in that by the time that we go to switzerland.— that by the time that we go to switzerland. �* ., . �* �* , switzerland. are watching bbc news. sta with switzerland. are watching bbc news. stay with us- — switzerland. are watching bbc news. stay with us- we _ switzerland. are watching bbc news. stay with us. we will _ switzerland. are watching bbc news. stay with us. we will have _ switzerland. are watching bbc news. stay with us. we will have the - stay with us. we will have the latest headlines after a short

break. the skies may look a little 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 they will be quite scattered. the same goes for northern ireland and 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 won't 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, not 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. cooler here, yes, 15—16 , but outward to the east but out toward 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 weather front and the reason is this area of low pressure is basically packed itself in the south—west of these back weather 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 low will just sit around here until it fizzles out. high pressure will try to build into towards 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. thanks for watching. hello sorry no i

this is bbc news. the headlines — israel tells tens of thousands more palestinians to leave rafah, as it steps up military operations in southern gaza, carrying out fresh strikes. 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 floods in northern afghanistan. the un says more than 300 people have died. 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.