live from washington, this is bbc news. at least 50 people, including children, are reportedly killed in israeli air strikes on rafah. the idf says it targeted a hamas—controlled compound. on the frontline in ukraine with the drone squads: we look at their influence on the course of the war. the un says rescuers in papua new guinea are racing against time after a massive landslide buries nearly 700 people. hello, i'm helena humphrey. glad you could join me. palestinian officials have accused the israeli military of carrying out a deadly air strike on an area for displaced people near rafah in southern gaza. video show a large explosion and intense fires burning. the hamas—run health ministry

in gaza says at least 50 people were killed — including women and children. the israel defense forces confirmed it targeted a hamas compound in the area. in its most recent statement, the idf said it killed two senior hamas commanders. in an earlier statement, it said: the us state department says it is aware of the reports and is gathering more information. earlier on sunday, hamas launched a missile attack on israel for the first time in months. the israeli military said at least eight rockets were launched from the rafah area towards tel aviv. all the projectiles were either intercepted by air defence systems or fell in fields. meanwhile, our partner cbs news is reporting that us diplomatic efforts to broker a deal to release hostages held in gaza by hamas and other allied groups are expected to continue soon. negotiators from qatar, egypt and the united states will be part of the talks.

cia director william burns last week travelled to paris to revive talks after negotiations in cairo stalled earlier this month. for more on these developments, i spoke to dr alterman, director of the middle east program at the center for strategic and international studies and former us state department official. in light of what we have been seeing now, do you think that might raise some questions? i do not think the operation today is what the united states was warning about. what seems to happen today, both sides are right — i think hamas probably launched — hamas did launch missiles into israel. i think israel was trying to attack the base where the launches came from and hamas operates out of civilian areas — that is what they have been doing for a very long time. the civilian death toll is not a bug of what hamas was doing but a feature. there is a broader issue,

though, that the united states has been concerned for months and months that the israelis have absolutely no endgame. that they keep try to hit hamas but hamas keeps hitting back. the images are getting worse and i think what the real tragedy here is that each side thinks it is winning and more people are dying and each side thinks that people dying is helping because its cause and i'm afraid it is going to go on. well, let's talk more about that and your assessment of the state of the war. you mentioned missiles going over to tel aviv. we've also said the idf of having to go back into the north of gaza. so, what does this tell us about what is being achieved here? well, certainly, there are hamas fighters who have been killed — the numbers i've seen are somewhere around the neighbourhood of 10,000—15,000, maybe a third to half of the hamas fighters.

maybe half of the tunnels have been penetrated by the israelis. they've figured out some of the tunnel network. but that means half the hamas fighters are around, half the tunnels are still unexplored and the ability of hamas fighters to continue to harass israelis — both israeli troops inside gaza and israelis who live in the area surrounding gaza and, as you saw today even israelis in many parts of israel, who would be vulnerable to hamas attack. we are not close to the end of hamas being a fighting force and the question for the israelis is how long can you sustain this, both in terms of weapons, in terms of israeli forces, but also, increasingly, in terms of rolling public opinion, which is turning increasingly harsh against israel? i want to touch a little bit on if there's any

potential for diplomatic breaks, at least. we have got negotiations which cbs news, our partner, is reporting expected to resume later this week. do you think anything can come out of that? i think they can. you certainly have seen american negotiators feeling the sides were close. the qatari negotiators felt the sides were close. the issue seems to be where does this go? the israelis want to ensure there is absolutely no role for hamas and hamas wants to ensure there is a role for hamas. i can imagine there are some ways you can fudge the difference but neither side at this point shows much willingness to fudge that difference. i want to also touch on these mornings we have been getting from aid organisations, including the united nations itself, about the prospect of a famine looming — and looming very close. it it comes to that, if that is declared by the united nations — and i believe that is something

that the state department as well can determine — if we get to that stage, what do you think that will mean for international pressure? for some kind of end to this war? and, as you say, that pressure we have seen growing on benjamin netanyahu and how this war is being prosecuted? i agree there is growing international pressure. what i don't see is that pressure really affecting the way israelis are talking about the war, feeling about the war. when you look at the hebrew—language press, it it remains really wholly uninterested in the civilian population in gaza and there are increasing reports there are vigilantes attacks again any food shipment towards gaza because there is a sense if you are supporting gazans, then you are supporting hamas, and hamas is the group that killed israelis.

so, it seems to me that there is an international view that is turning increasingly harsh and, indeed, the declaration of a famine would make the international community, i think, even more harshly aligned against israel. what i haven't seen yet is that starting to have an effect on the way israelis are talking about war aims, israelis talking about what they are doing. israelis say we are fighting for our survival and it is going to take more until hamas gives it up. and the famine is not a part of the israeli discourse that i've seen at all. the death toll from a russian bomb attack on a superstore in the eastern ukrainian city of kharkiv has risen to 16. russian forces hit the epicentr hardware superstore on saturday. police say six bodies have been identified, including two store employees and a 12—year—old girl who was visiting the city. ukraine says it's managing to hold back russian forces near kharkiv using artillery, but also drones. jonathan beale tells the story of one drone unit in the kharkiv region.

they are now one of the most potent weapons of this war — cheap, mass—produced drones being used to deadly effect. and here on the front, they're helping ukraine slow russia's advance. but still not enough. translation: we can hold them back with drones - and hurt them badly. but win with them? unfortunately, no. what do you call them? this is pea ky this is peaky blinders. it is what they call themselves — peaky blinders, after the cult tv series. but flat caps are where the similarity ends. they've been trained by western special forces. in just a few weeks, they've hunted down more than 100 russian soldiers. terror from the sky. today, they appear to be hiding, so they look for something else.

so, you are stealing russian rifles from the russians, yes? yes, yes. it is russian ak. it is the second time oleksander has fought for this territory, his home. he once farmed the fields nearby. then, he grew strawberries. now, he is planting bombs. but he knows what they are doing will not end this war. translation: right now, it's like two more or less l equal gladiators fighting each other and neither can defeat the other. yes, the conflict may be frozen for several years or decades, but this war will last a very long time. the russians are learning, too. when the peaky blinders tried to fly a kamikaze drone into a target...

tone beeps. ..their signal gets jammed. tone beeps. russian drones are as much a threat to ukrainian forces. gunfire most take shelter under trees — easy now but harder in the winter. explosion for both sides, it's a constant game of hide and seek. explosion ukraine says it has now slowed down the russian frontline. it has stabilised the situation. but there is still quite a fierce artillery battle going on. the much harder task will be to push the russians back. distant explosions they might just weather this storm with the arrival of more western weapons. distant explosions but what ukraine really wants is permission to use those weapons to strike inside russia.

just a mile from the border, they're doing the best to intercept russian resupplies, but they;re hamstrung. we can't stop the preparing of attack. so, you need to target inside russia to stop them advancing here? of course. but you're not allowed to? no. and does that make sense to you? ch uckles no. not at all. ukraine remains determined to fight but they're still looking to the west to give them the tools to win. jonathan beale, bbc news, kharkiv. well, for more, i spoke to javed ali, an associate professor at the university of michigan and a national security expert. he previously held roles at the fbi and on the national security council under the trump administration. how much of a challenge

to think that is for the ukrainians, to be confronting multiple fronts now? and do you think they will be able to push the russians back? helena, thank you for having me this evening helena, thank you for having me this evening and excellent question and based on all the reporting that is coming out, not only over the last 2a hours but the last several weeks, i would argue that it appears that russia has the tactical and operational advantage along this very long front on the eastern side of ukraine and it appears that in these different moments in time, the russians will try and probe and advance either from the air or on the ground and use these different tactics and weapons and try to really weaken ukrainians' defence. and ukraine is under a lot of pressure to maintain the line as it is right now but they are on their back foot forward in respect to resources at almost every level. so, right now, it appears

that russia has momentum but will they be able to break through and push further into the west in some of these other key strategic areas? that's unknown right now. and so, as you were saying there, ukrainians now are out manned, outgunned, facing multiple fronts. in that report from jonathan beale our reporter, he posed a question to the ukrainian troops. do you need to be able to strike within russia? we know that antony blinken, the secretary of state, has said ultimately, that is up to the ukrainians. do you think that is something ukraine needs to do to turn the tide in this war? well, that could be one thing that allows ukraine to regain some of that momentum because as you know, they are facing such severe shortages in all these different categories on the military side. but armed with some of the more advanced weapons system that will flow into ukraine

over the several weeks if not months, based on the recent aid package the us congress released, will some of those high—end weapon systems — if they are allowed to be used for strikes or deep strikes into russian territory against logistic nodes, troop concentrations, industrial sites where a lot of the russian military production is coming from — will that change the dynamic on the battlefield? maybe it will, maybe it won't. but we're still a long way away from that even happening — and again, what are the second and third order effects if that were to happen? and for the past 2.5 years, the united states has been worried that if those types of decisions were made with the us or western—supplied weapons by ukraine, would those cross red lines for president putin on the russian side? and that's another thing that nobody knows the answer to right now. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at another story making the headlines. an raf pilot who died

when his spitfire crashed during a battle of britain memorialflight has been named as squadron leader mark long. the vintage aircraft came down in a field near raf coningsby in lincolnshire on saturday. the prince and princess of wales have offered their condolences, saying they're "incredibly sad" to hear of the tragedy. a full investigation is underway. phil norton has more. squadron leader mark long served his country as a fighter pilot and relished the chance to honour wartime heroes. he was due to take command of the battle of britain memorial flight later this year. outside the hangar at the team's base at raf coningsby, where he took off from yesterday, a sign still shows the expected departure and return time for the spitfire he was flying. but the aircraft crashed into a field a short distance from the lincolnshire runway. this is the aircraft involved — spitfire mk356. it was among only a handful still flying which saw service during the second world war.

you're live with bbc news. rescue teams are searching for survivors following a huge landslide that swept away a village in papua new guinea. the disaster was sparked by an earthquake that hit enga province on friday, 370 miles from the capital, port moresby. the un says up to 670 people may have been killed. villagers are using sticks, spades and agricultural forks to search for bodies as vehicle access is limited. our correspondent katy watson has the latest. joining me now to discuss the efforts from port moresby is serhan aktoprak, chief of the un's iom mission in papua new guinea. that's the international office of migration. the aftermath of this landslide looks awful. we appreciate you joining us, especially at the time of emergency. tell us more about

what happened here? u nfortu nately, unfortunately, it's been just over almost unfortunately, it's beenjust over almost 3.5 days since the disaster hit and the relief efforts continue in spite of challenges operating on the site. inaudible is the land is still sliding, rocks are still falling from the mountain and the water flow underneath the debris between the debris, heavy bulk of landmass and the ground is basically creating additional risk for everybody working and also the people, the households in the surrounding area. we are therefore clear skies because rain can only make things worse at this stage. the humanitarian

convoyis at this stage. the humanitarian convoy is expected to arrive at any moment at the sites. they, again, left the inaudible about two hours ago and automatic a time to operate this in automatic and security concerns they have to do around a0 inaudible about 1:15pm png time and only about 2.5—3 hours to start the return journey because they cannot stay in the area that was hit by this so within this limited time and against all of the challenges, the government, humanitarian partners, un agencies and the international partners and civil society are trying to be a solution partner of the people affected. the national disaster centre of papua new guinea issued a request for international help. we welcome

this because it will enable the member states from a neighbouring countries and inaudible friends of papua new guinea to deliver the much—needed assistance. guinea to deliver the much-needed assistance. guinea to deliver the much—needed assistance. 0k. at much-needed assistance. 0k. at the much—needed assistance. 0k. at the moment, food is still a priority as well as water and shelter. ., ., .,, , shelter. you have those needs and ou shelter. you have those needs and you described _ shelter. you have those needs and you described the - shelter. you have those needs and you described the fact - shelter. you have those needs| and you described the fact that the ground is still shifting as well. very challenging environment to be trying to conduct any search and rescue operations in. you are mentioning is while the humanitarian convoy trying to get access and some security concerns. talk to us more about that because i understand in the area there has been recent tribal clashes as well. so this is a very complex situation, isn't it? �* , �* ., , ., isn't it? inaudible enga is not alwa s isn't it? inaudible enga is not always tribal — isn't it? inaudible enga is not always tribal inaudible - always tribal inaudible saturday morning too tribes

that are situated by the highway which is the lifeline of the province which is approximately at a location approximately at a location approximately 27 kilometres, roughly halfway between the capital of the province and the disaster site, started fighting each other and this is basically increasing risks as the humanitarian relief supplies and the convoy is moving back and forth. they are escorted by the proper new guinea defence force and normally, they may not be a target between the warring tribes but there may always be some opportunists who may wish to capitalise on the chaos that they may attempt car—jacking or looting and therefore, this is making it even more difficult and, of course, shrinking further the time frame within

which the movement and assistance need to be carried out. �* ,, ., out. all right, serhan aktowak. _ out. all right, serhan aktoprak, chief- out. all right, serhan aktoprak, chief of. out. all right, serhan| aktoprak, chief of the out. all right, serhan - aktoprak, chief of the united nations international office of migration mission in pop new guinea, thank you so much for updating us on the situation. —— papua new guinea. let's turn to some other important news around the world. 12 people on a flight from doha to ireland were taken to hospital with injuries after the aircraft hit turbulence. the qatar airways flight landed shortly after midday on sunday at dublin airport. the incident comes after a 73—year—old man died during severe turbulence on a singapore airlines flight last week. the parents of the pga tour golfer grayson murray, who died on saturday, say he took his own life. the death of 30—year—old murray was announced one day after the golfer withdrew from a competition in fort worth, texas, citing illness. in a statement, his family urged people to honour the golfer�*s memory by being kind to others.

there have been many tributes for one of hollywood's most successful songwriters, richard m sherman, who's died at the age of 95. he wrote more than 150 songs with his brother robert for classic films like thejungle book, chitty chitty bang bang, and mary poppins. victoria bourne reports. # it's supercalifragilistic— expialidocous. generations of families will be familiar with the work of richard m sherman. alongside his late brother robert, he won two oscars in 1965 for the score of mary poppins. # now, i'm the king of the swingers, oh! # the jungle vip. some of their best—known songs include thejungle book's i wanna be like you... # i wanna be a man, man cub. # stroll right into town. ..and chitty chitty bang bang. # chitty chitty bang bang, we love you. during his long career, he won numerous awards, including three grammys, and received 2a gold and platinum albums.

# tuppence a bag... he was described as being a key member of walt disney's inner circle of creative talents. the boss of the walt disney company, bob iger, paid tribute to him, saying, "his music captured the hearts "of generations of audiences." his musical legacy will no doubt be enjoyed by old and young for years to come. for more, i spoke to the musician and songwriter john titta, who sits on the board of the songwriters hall of fame. they started out as really pop—rock songwriter. their first song was you'r 16, you're beautiful and you're mine for johnny burnette and this brought them to the attention of walt disney. one of the greatest reason why these two guys were so great is because they would write these incredible standards by request. walt disney would specify

exactly what he would want and this is why he loved them — they would deliver it perfectly. and just talking about that talent — to go from something jazzy like the jungle book that we just heard like feed the birds, for example — really a feat of artistry, isn't it? these were two professional songwriters. they were really very talented. and you mentioned my favourite song, feed the birds, which is quite an incredible moment in the mary poppins movie. it is such a moving moment in that movie — one of my favourite films. i believe you had the chance to speak to robert sherman about feed the birds. what did he tell you? he told me this exact story

of how walt disney said, "you know" — it was a very uptempo soundtrack and score, "we need a moment here" and started talking about the character who sits outside the church and they told me that's how they crafted the song. and it is a pretty amazing tune. it really is. talking about his songwriting in some greater detail, he credited his success — richard — to some of his father's advice who said, "make them "singable, simple and sincere". now, you are a master of the craft yourself as well. that sounds simple on paper. it is not, though, is it? um, no. it's very difficult and that's why certain people get recognised, like richard and his brother, before — for their excellent and, as i always say, greatness. stay with us here on bbc news.

that's all from us in washington. our colleagues in london take over now. good night. hello. thanks forjoining me. the weather this bank holiday weekend has been a little hit and miss. this is what we had earlier on during the course of saturday — storms breaking out quite widely across england, parts of wales, some across the irish sea as well, and outbreaks of rain in scotland. now, further showers are expected notjust on bank holiday monday but, indeed, the rest of the week. temperatures will be near normal — nothing spectacular — but at least by the end of the week, it does look as though these low pressures should finally pull away as we see high pressure building. but the winds will still come in from the north, so there's certainly no major warm—up in the forecast. ok, let's have a look at the forecast, then, for the short term. so, by the end of the night through the morning, we will have had some clearer

weather in the south. further north, always more cloud and some showers first thing. and these are the temperatures around 7am — typically double figures in most of our major towns and cities. so, clouds will be bubbling up through the morning, there'll be plenty of sunshine in most areas right from the word go but storms will also develop, particularly across northern and eastern parts of scotland. now, the showers will be very hit and miss. as far as the temperatures go, no real change compared to what we've had in the last few days, so typically mid or high teens — a little on the cool side. now, the thunderstorms may continue into monday evening across parts of northern and eastern scotland. elsewhere, the sky should turn clear before the next area of low pressure rolls in first thing on tuesday morning. and you can see outbreaks of rain crossing the country as the weather fronts sweep in. i think the air�*s going to be quite close. temperatures on tuesday, despite the cloud, still getting up to about 18 degrees in some spots and, actually, later in the day, we'll probably see sunshine developing — or at least a little bit.

now, wednesday, midweek, we're expecting showers to develop almost anywhere but more especially across eastern parts of the uk. one or two rumbles of thunder can be expected. i think come the late afternoon, the skies should clear out towards the west and it should be a fine, sunny end to the day, for example, in cardiff, plymouth and along the south coast of england. so, here's the summary for the week ahead — plenty of shower clouds most days and those temperatures hovering near normal, perhaps a little below at times. that's it from me. bye bye.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. of all the potentially existential threats to life as we know it, from climate change to nuclear armageddon, here's one you may not have considered — a catastrophic collapse in the human birth rate. there's been a long—standing fear that a growing global population would outstrip our planet's ability to sustain it,

but now, data scientists and demographers, like my guest today, stephen shaw, say we're actually facing