russia pushes on with the assault near kharkiv. you'll talk live in a programme to the former commander of the us army in europe. a key former post office lawyer won't cooperate with the investigation. and rare footage captures the moment a deep sea squid attacks a research camera. we start this hour with breaking news out of israel. in the past minutes the military revealed its retrieved the bodies of three hostages from gaza. chief military spokesman daniel hagari announced the news, saying the three people were killed

by hamas at the nova music festival on the seventh of october. he says their bodies were taken into gaza. it is with a heavy heart that i share the news that last night, the israel defense forces and isaf forces rescued the bodies of shani louk, amit buskila and itzhak gelerenter, who were taken hostage during the hamas massacre on october 7th and murdered, they were murdered by hamas. according to the credible information that we have gathered, shani louk, amit buskila and itzhak gelerenter were murdered by hamas while escaping the nova music festival on october the 7th and their bodies were taken into gaza. our correspondent paul adams has more.

it's the kind of news that some of the families fear more and more as this war drags on and as the prospects for a negotiated release of further hostages absent flow and right now they do not seem to be any meaningful conversations going on at all. when it comes to the three people talking about today, we all knew that the german israeli citizen was dead because several months ago a piece of her skull was found and it was decided that she could not have survived without it. so this is not going to be a surprise to anyone. it is a confirmation of what people have been saying for quite a long time. the other two named, i believe, were thought to be among the those alive and one of the

terrible features of this awful story is that the number of hostages known or believed to be alive has just dwindled over time as bodies have been found and evidence has been presented of hostages dying in captivity. no one knows exactly how many are alive but it is probably now substantially less than 100 although, obviously, negotiations are efforts to try to get negotiations going, to retrieve both the living and the dead, remain according to the government take top priority. if according to the government take top riori . ., ., , according to the government take top riori . . ., , ., priority. if there are any more details of _ priority. if there are any more details of developments, - priority. if there are any more - details of developments, reaction to that breaking story, we will obviously return but let's stay in the region and bring your right up to date with the other developments. well this comes as us troops have,

for the first time, used a temporary pier, to deliver humanitarian aid. these pictures from us central command show the structure. the first consignments were brought ashore a few hours ago. meanwhile, in a separate development, israel has accused south africa, of distorting reality, in its attempt to get the international court ofjustice, to force a halt to its military campaign in rafah, in southern gaza. here's dan johnson. this is a floating lifeline bringing aid directed gaza. built by the us military, so larger ships can deliver additional supplies under the supervision of the world food programme and is well�*s military. the americans stressed that his humanitarian work, there are no us military boots in gaza. listen to the insistence this should only supplement aid by road. the pier is temporary and not meant to replace land routes into gaza.

and the royal fleet auxiliary ship cardigan bay has helped open the new route. aid has been restricted since the main border crossing from egypt was closed last week when israeli soldiers moved into rafah. we have very little food and fuel coming through the border crossings in the south and we are always trying hard but failing, currently to bring in consistent volumes of food. hundreds of thousands of palestinians have been further displaced and the un warns of dwindling food and impending famine. getting aid to people in need into and across gaza cannot and should not depend on a floating dock far from where needs are most acute. land routes are the most viable, effective and efficient aid delivery method, which is why we need all crossing points to be opened. at the international court ofjustice, israel again has defended its conduct in the war, responding to further claims by south africa that its latest military action in rafah amounts to genocide. israel is engaged in a difficult

and tragic armed conflict. south africa ignores this factual context, which is essential in order to comprehend the situation, and also ignores the applicable legal framework of international humanitarian law. it makes a mockery of the heinous charge of genocide. military actions built in rafah over the last week but stopped short of an all—out assault. the prime minister told soldiers yesterday the operation was a vital part of the campaign against hamas. translation: the battle for rafah is critical. - it is notjust the rest of their battalions, it is also their oxygen pipes for escape and resupply. this battle, of which you are an integral part, is a battle that decides many things in this campaign. israel supported this construction to help ease palestinian suffering but there is a clear warning, it is still not enough

to feed gaza's people. ukraine's top commander has warned, heavy battles, are looming, on the north—eastern front, after russia's surprise advance, a week ago today. the kharkiv region has come under sustained attack. vladimir putin says, the country is trying to carve out a, buffer zone, in the area that borders russia. moscow says, it seized 12 villages in the past seven days. this video is from the town of vovchansk, which is facing the brunt of these intense russian attacks. guillaume ptak is a freelance journalist based in ukraine, just back from some of the areas, under russia attack around kharkiv. so, it was about three days ago with my colleague. we set out towards vovchansk which lies about three

kilometres from the russian border, to the north east of the city of kharkiv, to the regional capital. and the closer we got we could tell that the intensity of the fighting was pretty heavy, in the sense that you could make out huge plumes of black smoke over the horizon. you could see a lot of equipment, of troops, of ammunition being ferried back and forth from kharkiv. we initially intended to rally a small village about 15—20 kilometres south from vovchansk which was used as an evacuation part to evacuate civilians from areas. we mistakenly took a route that would have brought us closer to vovchansk so those at the checkpoint there said we recommend you do not take that and take another instead. and my colleague saw an artillery shell landed 300 metres away from the checkpoint and drove to the point that we shall go through that route so we took another one and you could see

a lot of buses with people being evacuated. you could see this incessant back—and—forth of police cars evacuating people. in one village, volunteers and the police had set up this kind of hub where civilians would be first brought from vovchansk and the front line areas to be taken care of, to be taken in charge first by psychologists. then taken into a processing centre in the city itself where they were given food and clothing and financial help if they needed it and provided with temporary accommodations if they did not have family members to take care of them. it a pretty grim situation, especially when you see that those residents, many of them did not leave because up until that point, they either wanted to stay because they consider that this is their home, their houses, are some of them are old, some of them are handicapped, some of them which is not in any shape or able to leave on their own volition. let's speak to former commander of the us army in europe,

retired lieutenant general ben hodges. welcome here to the programme. how critical do you think are the days and weeks in terms of stopping this russian advance.— russian advance. certainly, if you are a ukrainian _ russian advance. certainly, if you are a ukrainian soldier _ russian advance. certainly, if you are a ukrainian soldier or- russian advance. certainly, if you are a ukrainian soldier or civilian l are a ukrainian soldier or civilian in the area, it is terrible every day. founded by russian artillery and rockets or missiles flying into apartment building so it is terrible if you are there. but i would say, if you are there. but i would say, if we can step back from the intensity, what is happening right there on the ground, think about where we are. i mean, for six months, ukraine received no aid from the united states. europe did not step up and fill the gap left by the americans and russia was not able to exploit that. i think that russia actually does not have the

capability to knock ukraine out of the war so what is happening outside of kharkiv, i really do believe is more of an effort by the russian side to expand a buffer into the ukrainian side of the border and to draw off ukrainian forces from the east. i don't think that this is a major offensive with larger operational level objectives. three months ago, the russians finally captured an area and had barely moved west of there, a few kilometres. i think they have a lot of vulnerabilities and maybe there is too much giving going on on the ukrainian side. that is too much giving going on on the ukrainian side.— ukrainian side. that is interesting anal sis ukrainian side. that is interesting analysis because _ ukrainian side. that is interesting analysis because it _ ukrainian side. that is interesting analysis because it was _ ukrainian side. that is interesting analysis because it was only - ukrainian side. that is interesting | analysis because it was only about 18 months ago the white house was having discussions with the pentagon about perhaps russian forces collapsing they are now apparently said to be really worried about the momentum, the trajectory of this war has completely changed into russia's

favour. and in terms of recent comments coming both from the british and the americans, what you make of the softening of the words, the language used around any of the weapons being supplied by the west? potentially being used to hit targets inside russia.- targets inside russia. well, obviously. _ targets inside russia. well, obviously, that _ targets inside russia. well, obviously, that is _ targets inside russia. well, obviously, that is welcome | targets inside russia. well, - obviously, that is welcome news but it is also embarrassing that this was even an issue. this is reflection of the fact that my government, the german government and frankly, some other european governments, i'd never clearly defined that we want ukraine to win. so, in effect, we are not even trying yet. of course, there been billions of dollars of aid provided but we haven't declared, to our own populations, that it is in our strategic interest that ukraine defeats russia. instead we say nonsensical things like we are with you for as long as it takes which nobody really believes so if we were enforcing sanctions and if we were delivering nonstop what was needed,

and not ridiculous restrictions about you shouldn't go after russian oil and gas infrastructure or you shouldn't take shots at these large troop concentrations that are inside russia, this would be a completely different story.— russia, this would be a completely different story. yes. i think the situation is _ different story. yes. i think the situation is going _ different story. yes. i think the situation is going to _ different story. yes. i think the situation is going to change as more and more ammunition gets into play, but we shouldn't even be on this. we should be putting ukraine on the situation now. is should be putting ukraine on the situation now.— situation now. is interesting by sanctions have _ situation now. is interesting by sanctions have been _ situation now. is interesting by sanctions have been so - situation now. is interesting by. sanctions have been so ineffective and was seen only this week of vladimir putin meeting with the chinese presidentjust looking incredible confident and, of course, that backdrop certainly helping him in terms of strategy. a final thought, because i was listening to the former head of m16 here in this country talking to bbc radio saying it is not about the front lines, it is about production lines, in terms of military armaments. that is what the west has to get in place over the west has to get in place over

the coming months. is that analysis that you would agree with? completely. i think 2024 is the year of industrial competition and the west needs to win this competition. russia is able to do some things because they get a directly from china. that's got to be stopped. and they get ammunition from north korean drones from around. the economies, the combined economies of the european union plus the uk, canada at the us, dwarves russia. russia's economy is about the size of italy so there is no... there is no reason that they should even be a question that we cannot provide what ukraine needs but we have to get serious about it. we don't have the political will, there we do have the industrial capacity.— industrial capacity. agreed to talk to ou. industrial capacity. agreed to talk to you- thanks — industrial capacity. agreed to talk to you. thanks for _ industrial capacity. agreed to talk to you. thanks forjoining - industrial capacity. agreed to talk to you. thanks forjoining us - industrial capacity. agreed to talk to you. thanks forjoining us on . to you. thanks forjoining us on today's verified live. straight to breaking news. sports news. football news. in the premier league. because

it hasjust been news. in the premier league. because it has just been confirmed in the past few minutes, the new liverpool manager. the outgoing manager, he goes into this weekend for his final game in charge after confessing, just before christmas, he had run out of energy, saying he would leave his post and, of course, over the last recent weeks, the search for his successor has been gearing up and going on and that name there on your screen, arne slot has confirmed in a news conference that he will be liverpool's next manager. so that news are just coming in for us. we have a sports bulletin in about 15 minutes and we will bring you more on that breaking development. around the world and across the uk, you are watching bbc news.

you are live with bbc news. let's turn to another sports story.

let's turn to another sports story. world number one golfer scottie scheffler is back on course at the pga championship in kentucky after police handcuffed and arrested him before the start of the second round. these are the pictures of him being led away. scheffler was attempting to get to the course, to prepare for his round, police were dealing with a fatal road accident, not involving the golfer, and had stopped traffic. louisville police issued this mugshot of him, and charged him with four,, including assault of a police officer and reckless driving. the bbc golf correspondent iain carter told me more about the incident. to bring you right up to date, scottie scheffler is here, he is already playing in his second round.

he arrived at the course round about an hour before his tee time. these golfers usually have plenty of time to prepare for a round of golf. they will visit fitness trainers and the range and that sort of thing. it was a very hurried preparation and, obviously, in the backdrop of an extraordinary morning in which he was arrested, led away in handcuffs, and, as you say, now facing four charges, including, as his attorney has accepted, a felony charge of second—degree assault on a police officer. we have heard a statement from scottie scheffler shortly before he teed off here. he said "this morning i was proceeding as directed by police officers. it was a very chaotic situation. understandably so, considering the tragic accident that had occurred earlier, and there was a big misunderstanding of what i thought i was being asked to do. i never intended to disregard any of the instructions.

i'm hopeful to put this to the side and focus on golf today. of course, all of us involved in the tournament express our deepest sympathies to the families of the man who passed away in the earlier accident this morning. it truly puts everything in perspective". so that is the very latest from here at valhalla. breaking news from the reuters news agency. the taliban interior ministry spokesperson says three foreign nationals and one afghan have been killed in a shooting in the central province. no other details, just that one line. i will repeat it to you because it has come from the taliban's interior ministry saying three foreign nationals and one afghan person killed in a shooting in central afghanistan. so soon as we get that we will obviously return to that story. more now on the situation in the middle east. soldiers in israel's army are sharing images of palestinian detentions

in the occupied west bank, despite its pledge to act on previous misconduct revealed by the bbc. bbc verify has been looking at, merlyn thomas has this update. soldiers from israeli defence forces have been posting photos of palestinian detainees in the occupied west bank. on social media. the west bank is home to 3 million palestinians and is partially run by the palestinian authority. but there has been an israeli military presence there for decades. we have tracked and analysed over 45 social media posts by 11 idf soldiers operating in the west bank. it shows them arresting men, posing next to the detainees trait with the israeli flag, kneeling and blindfolded and posing in front of what appeared to be children with their mothers. a lot of the footage is taken indoors so it is difficult to locate, but some of it, like this one, is outside.

in this video we see a detainee being led into a shop and then you see this building in the background. this is actually the same as this building. it is a mosque. you also see the shop in this video. by comparing these videos on these details to satellite imagery we can see the same mosque and shop here in the village. the soldiers are uploading this content and they don't hide their identities, taking each other and naming these are from 9213 and they have been filming and uploading videos of detainees to social media across several platforms. we have mapped out some of their operations in the west bank. the most prolific of the soldiers shared several videos across different social media platforms. his videos, most of which appear to be bodycam footage of patrols, often show the men entering homes at night, detaining, binding and blindfolding several people at once. the israeli army told us that, in the event of unacceptable behaviour, soldiers were disciplined and even suspended from reserve duty.

additionally, they said, soldiers are instructed to avoid uploading footage to social media networks. we also attempted to contact these soldiers on a public social media accounts to put this to them. one appears to have blocked is on the others haven't responded. legal experts said filming and publishing such footage on social media may be a war crime. dr mark ellis, law expert said that the footage might violate the recognised rules for treating prisoners war which is that they must not be exposed to unnecessary humiliation or public curiosity. the israeli army said they would take action after a previous investigation into the conduct of those in gaza. despite pledges to change, there soldiers have been continuing to post these videos. all eyes have been on gaza and social media gives a unique access to the conduct of some soldiers in the west bank. merlyn thomas at their at bbc verify.

some amazing pictures to show you from the deep. have a look at this. this extremely rare video shows the moment a deep sea squid attacks a research camera. as you watch those pictures let's bring on our science correspondent. absolutely stunning, these images. just tell me a little bit more about how they got these pictures. what is the depth, festival, that we are talking about here? 50 festival, that we are talking about here? . festival, that we are talking about here? , , ., ':: :: :: , here? so this is about 1000 metres down so what _ here? so this is about 1000 metres down so what is _ here? so this is about 1000 metres down so what is that? _ here? so this is about 1000 metres down so what is that? .6 _ here? so this is about 1000 metres down so what is that? .6 of - here? so this is about 1000 metres down so what is that? .6 of a - here? so this is about 1000 metres down so what is that? .6 of a mile, j down so what is that? .6 of a mile, something like that. so you're getting to the limit of sunlight, hellfire sunlight can penetrate sea water. it is in the specific. pacific ocean very close to the equator. some might only gets down to about this kind of level and then it will go is pitch black and you will notice that squid beautifully coloured fad because the red colours, the bad light wavelengths are absorbed by sea light. if you another creature down about to be

eaten by a squid you would appear invisible with your own red colouring and, as you can see, it goes on to attack this camera. there is a bit of mackerel bait and the end of that camera frame that it is going but it misses. it grabs hold of the metalwork and beats a hasty retreat. it is on this landing frame. they put landers that go down to the water. they move at about 60 metres per minute. and then the squid short of chases after it was a beautiful animal.— squid short of chases after it was a beautiful animal. about two metres in [en . th. beautiful animal. about two metres in length- it— beautiful animal. about two metres in length- it is— beautiful animal. about two metres in length. it is really _ in length. it is really extraordinary footage. just as we watch it again, there are these headlights on the tentacles, what is going on there?— going on there? yeah, so this is a classic example _ going on there? yeah, so this is a classic example of _ going on there? yeah, so this is a i classic example of bioluminescence in nature. so the squid has what are called photo floors which are big lands, organs and the end of two of

its arms and they a like i let that come over them and what they do as they to various substances with oxygen to create light. i guess it is about a little bit like a rabbit in headlights that if you're coming in headlights that if you're coming in on your pray you flash these lights, they freeze, just for that moment, and then the squid goes in for the kill and if you look at that video you can see this line of hooks all in the insides of the arm so once you get caught in that deadly embrace there is no escaping. john. embrace there is no escaping. john, ureat embrace there is no escaping. john, treat to embrace there is no escaping. john, great to talk— embrace there is no escaping. john, great to talk to _ embrace there is no escaping. john, great to talk to you. _ embrace there is no escaping. john, great to talk to you. thanks - embrace there is no escaping. john, great to talk to you. thanks for - great to talk to you. thanks for taking us through that. amazing images that are pared to the website and you can see more of that but that brings us to the end of this half hour of verified live. thanks for will see you in a little while. hello.

through the weekend the weather isn't going to be changing very much so we've got spells of warm sunshine. a few showers but we won't all see them. the mist and fog patches too. for this evening and tonight we will see some of that mr low cloud and fog. some places cloudy for the western isles, parts of northern ireland committee. further south across england some patchy rain moving into the night as well but we start saturday at mild theme. quite a bit of mr and mark around. low pressure sitting across the new continent. a couple of areas of low pressure here but it is high—pressure dominating the weather for the next few days. this is how saturday starts. it got that sea fog about some of these coastal areas, that should bring back to the day. one or two showers across wales and south—west of england, south—west scotland. they could be heavy and thundery at times but they will be hit and mist so we won't all see

them. top temperatures 20—23 for many others. a touch cooler if you do keep hold of that cloud a little bit longer, north—east england in eastern scotland as well. through saturday night we see mist and fog reforming again, sea fog once again piling in. temperatures remaining on the mild side. frost free certainly heading into sunday morning. sunday is a very similar sort of day. predominantly dry. mist and fog which was slowly break up. a little bit more in the way of cloud across northern parts of scotland with one or two showers. the chance of the odd shower cropping up further south across england and wales. perhaps one or two into northern ireland but the vast majority actually looking dry. 21—22. living through into monday and we've got low pressure trying to move on from the atlantic but also from the new continent as well and there is more of a chance that that are going to bring rain

from tuesday and wednesday. i think a little bit more unsettled to the middle of next week and i think that things turn a little drier and warmer towards the end of the week. goodbye.

live from london, this is bbc news. israel's military says its retrieved the bodies of three hostages killed on october the seventh, whose bodies were taken into gaza. a life sentence for a moroccon asylum seeker who murdered a 70—year—old in hartlepool, last year. ahmed al—id told police the attack was over the israel—gaza war. fears of a crisis for children with special needs due to an insufficient funding. now with all the latest sport here's lizzie. we're starting with the news this afternoon, that arne slot has confirmed he will be the new liverpool manager. the feyenoord coach had already revealed he was in talks to replace jurgen klopp who announced injanuary that he would be leaving

anfield at the end of the season. injanuary that he would be leaving