gaza for the first time. on the move again — palestinians flee the city in southern gaza where hundreds of thousands have been sheltering since the start of the war. tonight, fresh reports of people being hit by air strikes as they were fleeing the city. also tonight, the economy takes centre stage on the campaign trail. the conservatives focus on pensions. labour says they're the party of business. and the lib dem leader makes a splash with the first full week of campaigning now under way. greater manchester police say no further action will be taken against labour's deputy leader, angela rayner, following allegations that she broke electoral law. the pope apologises for using insulting language when speaking about gay men. and on the beaches of normandy, this 103—year—old woman tells us

about her vital role in the d—day landings ahead of the 80th anniversary. and coming up on sportsday later in the hour on bbc news — we'll get the latest from roland garros, in what's been a bad french open for british players so far. can katie boulter reach the second round? good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. israeli tanks have reached the centre of rafah in southern gaza for the first time — the city where hundreds of thousands of displaced people have been sheltering. the hamas—run health authority says at least 21 have been killed today after an explosion in a tented evacuation zone on the outskirts of the city. it comes two days after dozens more were killed when an air strike triggered a blaze on another tent camp near rafah. internationaljournalists are prevented from entering gaza

by israel and egypt. lucy williamson is in jerusalem for us tonight. israel's allies have warned for months against any operation in rafah that would put siblings at risk and israel has been moving slowly through the city carrying out what it calls a precise and limited operation —— civilians at risk. it now seems to be moving into these key areas of the city in the west and centre and the sight of a million refugees on the move again out of the city has triggered international criticism. tonight, more reports of some of those people being hit by air strikes as they fled. rafa h was rafah was once gaza's refuge, the safest place in a dangerous war. today, the city's west and centre was emptying, those still sheltering

here fleeing again amid air strikes and artillery fire. taking whatever they need to survive, whatever they can't leave behind. there has been no evacuation order from israel's army and for many, no sense of where to go. translation:— to go. translation: i'm “ust walking in the street. — to go. translation: i'm “ust walking in the street. .— to go. translation: i'm 'ust walking in the street, i don't h to go. translation: i'm just walking in the street, i don't know _ to go. translation: i'm just walking in the street, i don't know where - to go. translation: i'm just walking in the street, i don't know where to i in the street, i don't know where to 90, in the street, i don't know where to go, there is nowhere safe. where should we go? this is not a life, this is not a life.— this is not a life. they were ”ackin this is not a life. they were packing up _ this is not a life. they were packing up also _ this is not a life. they were packing up also in - this is not a life. they were packing up also in the - this is not a life. they were - packing up also in the displacement camp to the west of the city, still scarred by fires triggered in an israeli air strike on sunday. dozens dead, survivors spent. there is more than one way to lose a life. israel says its operation in rafah is key to defeating hamas and that the

strike on sunday on hamas commanders in the camp was carried out with precise munitions that would not, by themselves, have caused so many deaths. we themselves, have caused so many deaths. ~ . . ~ themselves, have caused so many deaths. ~ . ., ~ ., deaths. we are talking about munition with _ deaths. we are talking about munition with a _ deaths. we are talking about munition with a 17 _ deaths. we are talking about munition with a 17 kilos - munition with a 17 kilos of explosive material, the smallest munition that ourjets can use. following this strike, a large fire ignited for reasons that are still being investigated. our munition alone could not have ignited a fire of this size. alone could not have ignited a fire of this size-— of this size. while people fled toda , of this size. while people fled today. gaza's _ of this size. while people fled today, gaza's health - of this size. while people fled today, gaza's health ministry| of this size. while people fled - today, gaza's health ministry said more than 20 were killed in fresh air strike to the west, over half of them women. as far beyond these borders, three european nations officially recognise a palestinian state, and gaza's last urban centre begins to fall under israeli control. lucy williamson, bbc news,

jerusalem. the economy has taken centre stage on the campaign trail today. the prime minister says he will protect pensioners from a tax hike if the conseravtives win the next election. rishi sunak launched what's being called the "triple lock plus" plan which will increase pensioners�* personal allowance to prevent more people paying income tax. labour says the plan is not credible. meanwhile the shadow chancellor rachel reeves has said that labour is the "natural party for british business" and unveiled a list of 121 businesses who are supporting them at this election. faisal islam reports. the prime minister was inspecting china in the potteries today, but there are no delicate ming vases in his campaign. the conservatives' strategy appears to be move fast and break things, with bold policies. today's new offer — no tax for those on the basic state pension. for people who work hard all their lives and put in, then we need to make sure

that they have the dignity they deserve when they have finished. and that is why i have already protected pensions and the triple lock and you have seen our announcement today, the triple lock plus, where we will raise the threshold, make sure that pensioners get a tax cut and they will never pay tax on the state pension, as well as the triple lock going up. 30 miles down the a50 at rolls—royce in derby, labour's top two are also talking economics. at britain's world beating exporter ofjet engines, the shadow chancellor, rachel reeves, heralded the support of over 120 business executives for a change of government. i can say with confidence that this labour party is the natural party of british business. it is take off for the election campaign with big calls being made by the two main parties. the conservatives are making almost daily policy announcements that involve tax and spend, without being fully accounted for. labour say they don't want to follow the conservatives down what they say is a rabbit hole and have a singular

message of stability, stability, stability, and they are trying to remind the electorate of what happened under liz truss with the mini budget. no tax rises, says the shadow chancellor, rachel reeves. but nor will she match the pension tax cut. what you won't get from me, either in this election campaign or if i become chancellor of the exchequer in a few weeks' time, is any commitments that is not fully costed and fully funded. because if you do that, you are going down the liz truss route and we saw the damage that she did to our economy. rishi sunak is going down that route, i never will. but you can address pensioners who are thinking about where to cast their x in the ballot box in six weeks' time and at the moment they have an offer from the prime minister and the current chancellor which is, if you are on the state, basic state pension, you won't get taxed on it if you vote for them whereas with labour, you would. well, pensioners are only looking at paying tax on the basic state pension because of what the conservatives have done.

people should not believe these promises from the government because unless a plan is fully funded, you shouldn't have any confidence it is going to be delivered. in the lake district, some other opposition parties were chasing floating voters, perhaps. the lib dems leader, sir ed davey, said the state pension move was a u—turn. the last thing pensioners need is another dose of conservative government. the last thing the country needs. liberal democrats have some really attractive policies for pensioners. not only are we behind the triple lock, as the ones who began it in the first place, we want to make sure the health service that pensioners rely on is properly funded, that there is a care system there. of course we want to see investments in peoples _ of course we want to see investments in peopies pockets _ of course we want to see investments in peoples pockets and _ of course we want to see investments in peoples pockets and making - of course we want to see investments in peoples pockets and making sure . in peoples pockets and making sure pensioners— in peoples pockets and making sure pensioners are _ in peoples pockets and making sure pensioners are seeing _ in peoples pockets and making sure pensioners are seeing a _ in peoples pockets and making sure pensioners are seeing a benefit to l pensioners are seeing a benefit to any economic— pensioners are seeing a benefit to any economic improvement - pensioners are seeing a benefit to any economic improvement in - pensioners are seeing a benefit to any economic improvement in the i any economic improvement in the situation — any economic improvement in the situation in — any economic improvement in the situation in the _ any economic improvement in the situation in the country _ any economic improvement in the situation in the country faces - any economic improvement in the situation in the country faces butl situation in the country faces but we are _ situation in the country faces but we are seeing— situation in the country faces but we are seeing the _ situation in the country faces but . we are seeing the consequences of situation in the country faces but - we are seeing the consequences of 14 and a _

we are seeing the consequences of 14 and a half— we are seeing the consequences of 14 and a half years— we are seeing the consequences of 14 and a half years of— we are seeing the consequences of 14 and a half years of austerity - we are seeing the consequences of 14 and a half years of austerity that - and a half years of austerity that both _ and a half years of austerity that both labour— and a half years of austerity that both labour and _ and a half years of austerity that both labour and the _ and a half years of austerity that both labour and the tories - and a half years of austerity that both labour and the tories are l both labour and the tories are committed _ both labour and the tories are committed to— both labour and the tories are committed to continuing. - at a bowling club in leicestershire, the pm pressed his case with what has been a dependable demographic for his party. the question is whether older voters prefer a tax cut offer for those on the state pension or believe the promise of stability under a changed government. who is on target with this argument could well determine the winner injuly. faisal islam, bbc news, in the east midlands. so how would the conservatives' pledge on pensions work? ben chu has been taking a look at the details. the conservatives claimed today that their plan for a "triple lock plus" would be a tax cut for pensioners. let's examine that. first, some context. the personal allowance is the amount someone can earn before they have to pay income tax. and it's been frozen byjeremy hunt and rishi sunak at around £12,500 until 2027. that's an effective tax rise, because as people's wages increase

over time, more of their income goes above the personal allowance and they pay more income tax than they would otherwise. one group who would have been set to be hit by this tax rise were people receiving the new state pension. in 2027, that's currently expected to rise above the level of the personal allowance, meaning people receiving the new state pension would pay income tax on some of it. the conservatives propose to raise the personal allowance forjust pensioners to more than £13,000 per year. they say it would save some pensioners around £300 a year by 2029 and prevent pensioners who rely solely on the state pension from paying income tax but it would only say that latter group around £29 per year. but experts argue this is not so much a tax cut, as preventing pensioners feeling the impact of a tax rise that this government has already put in train. and bear in mind that this new personal allowance would only be for pensioners.

everyone else would still, apparently, be hit by the planned tax rise due to the frozen personal allowance. greater manchester police say no further action will be taken against labour's deputy leader, angela rayner, after an investigation into her living arrangements. she was facing allegations that she may have broken electoral law in connection with a property that she owned in stockport. this evening she said she welcomed the confirmation no further action would be taken and thanked those who stood by her. our correspondentjoe pike reports. is the tale of two houses which has dogged the labour deputy leader for months. i dogged the labour deputy leader for months. ., ., . ., , months. i got bad advice that is cateuoric months. i got bad advice that is categoric that _ months. i got bad advice that is categoric that i _ months. i got bad advice that is categoric that i do _ months. i got bad advice that is categoric that i do not - months. i got bad advice that is categoric that i do not owe - months. i got bad advice that is categoric that i do not owe any | categoric that i do not owe any capital gain tax on the property —— i got that advice. find capital gain tax on the property -- i got that advice.— i got that advice. and as far as the olice is i got that advice. and as far as the police is concerned, _ i got that advice. and as far as the police is concerned, that _ i got that advice. and as far as the police is concerned, that is - i got that advice. and as far as the police is concerned, that is now i police is concerned, that is now over. �* ., _ police is concerned, that is now over. , , over. i'm obviously believes they have come _ over. i'm obviously believes they have come to — over. i'm obviously believes they have come to a _ over. i'm obviously believes they have come to a conclusion, - over. i'm obviously believes they have come to a conclusion, i - over. i'm obviously believes they i have come to a conclusion, i never doubted _ have come to a conclusion, i never doubted angela had done anything wi°ii9~ _ doubted angela had done anything wronu. ., ~ ., .,

wrong. tonight angela rayner had welcomed the _ wrong. tonight angela rayner had welcomed the news, _ wrong. tonight angela rayner had welcomed the news, saying - welcomed the news, saying conservatives reported her to distract from their record in government. so far the tories have not commented. the row is about whether she was honest about where she lived and when. the first home is vicarage road in stockport where angela rayner bought a property in 2007, eight years before becoming an mp. in 2010 she married mark rein who owned his home around two miles away and appears to have registered all of their children at his address but on the electoral register, she continued to be listed as living at her house, creating confusion as to where she legally lived. it matters because of capital gains tax. you don't pay it when you sell your main home but married couples can only count one property as their main home. keir starmer�*s tea will likely be relieved that the police investigation has been dropped. minimising the chances of difficult headlines later in the election campaign. for months, the party's long time attack dog has been under attack herself but perhaps now she

will be unleashed. nigel farage has said reform uk is becoming a "brand new conservative movement" and attacked a "lack of debate" between the two main parties. speaking at his first campaign event in dover in kent, mr farage said that the numbers arriving on small boats was a "slow motion d—day in reverse". mr farage said he will be camapgning throughout until polling day. chris mason was there. maybe you love him. sorry to keep you. maybe you really don't. but make no mistake, nigel farage is one of the most influential politicians of his generation. i've got a brolly. he's never been an mp. he's not even standing himself at this election. but he's going to have plenty to say. welcome to dover. welcome to the front line of the great national debate on immigration.

and it's the front line of this campaign that mr farage is attempting to get onto, arguing he was first to warn a few years ago about people crossing the channel in small boats. so i said that i thought unless something dramatic was done that there would be an invasion. now, of course, for using that word, i was called all the names under the sun. and he reckons millions have been let down. to brexit voters, what is happening in the english channel is a serious affront and they see, frankly, us allowing it to continue as being a betrayal. he claims immigration poses a national security emergency and he's been accused of islamophobia for saying war in the middle east is prompting a small but growing number of people to vote based on religion. i never thought i'd see sectarian voting in england. i saw it in northern ireland and didn't like the look of it there very much. and it's happening because and there's no debate about it because and they're all cry foul at me because labour started

this with a completely irresponsible immigration policy and the conservatives have accelerated it. take on the critique that says you're a divisive contributor. what do you say to those people directly? well, i'm willing to say things that others aren't. .. and which some find inflammatory. no, they find embarrassing and difficult and awkward. help out our viewer or listener who thinks, hang on a minute, one minute it seems that nigel farage is flirting with the conservative party. the next minute he wants to destroy it. which is it? i have not flirted with the conservative party. all right. many of their mps and peers and members have flirted with me because they want the conservative party to have the same ideas as i do. nigel farage in the fray. the politics of small boat crossings prominent. we've got a bold plan, the rwanda scheme, to ensure that if you come here illegally, you will not be able to stay and you'll be returned. that's how you create a deterrent. i'm not going to comment on anybody i else's campaign in this election. i what we've got in the labour-

campaign is confidence, assurance. the lights are on, the lights are on. nigel farage has made it his life's work to disrupt, delight, dismay, horrify and he reckons he's not done yet. and we'll be focusing on some of the other parties throughout the campaign. chris mason is here with me now. chris, we're pretty much a week in to this campaign now. how do you assess where we are? all the parties have stretched their legs all the parties have stretched their lens and all the parties have stretched their legs all the parties have stretched their lens and found all the parties have stretched their legs all the parties have stretched their lens and found their all the parties have stretched their legs all the parties have stretched their lens and found their voices all the parties have stretched their legs and found their voices and all the parties have stretched their legs and found their voices and we can hear all the time the cacophony of voices all over the uk but the pace will quicken. the noise will allow dinner. let's unpick the strategies of some of the parties. the conservative party policy has been to grab attention with a conversation about pensioners and the liberal democrats have a knowing sense of fun in their campaign,

illustrated today as we saw a few minutes ago with ed davey�*s encounter with the drink as he fell into windermere and i think we might get more of that, not falling into windermere, but speak to that sense of fun. labour have a sense of vigilance, trying not to be drawn in, as ed davey lands in the water again, by the conservative date and what they are announcing. and some dark clouds clearing for labour as far as angela rayner, their deputy leader, that had the potential to be a political thunderstorm in this campaign and it looks like that is receding if not entirely gone, but it looks like it has receded as far as the campaign is concerned. a final thought about the scottish national party. they have today written to the labour and conservative leaders, saying there should be a recognition by the uk of palestine as a state. and it tells

you something about the forthcoming weeks on the context of reporting today from rafah, the power of events to shape what is ahead on the power of campaigns to change things and there is plenty more campaigning to come. the time is 6:18pm. our top story this evening. palestinians flee rafah, as israel steps up its military offensive in the southern gaza city where hundreds of thousands of people had been sheltering. and coming up... as the d—day landings near their 80th anniversary, we meet two royal navy �*wrens, who were instrumental in the planning. and coming up on sportsday in the next 15 minutes on bbc news — managers on the move. chelsea are closing in on leicester's boss, enzo maresca, to replace mauricio pochettino, who they sacked last week.

police investigating the murder of a woman on a beach in bournemouth on friday night have released cctv images of a man they want to speak to. 34—year—old amie gray was stabbed to death. a 17—year—old boy arrested on sunday has been released without charge. here's duncan kennedy. from first light to this afternoon's fading light, police have been searching for clues. it was near these cliffs that the woman named locally as amie gray was fatally stabbed. today, officers prodded the undergrowth, looking for evidence to help find who killed amie and attacked her friend. but it's notjust been in the surrounding cliffs that the police have carried out their investigation. they've sealed off hundreds of yards of this beach for three days as part of their enquiries, including forensic officers working at this spot looking for more evidence. the police say this is their main suspect. they haven't given any details about his age or height, but say the public should not approach him.

they've put on extra patrols which have been welcomed by the public here. i think generally local people feel better if they can see somebody doing something locally. wherever it's in from warrington. so that's really, really good to hear if they are. fingers crossed, everybody'll be safe. the 38—year—old woman stabbed in the same incident remains in a serious condition in hospital. four days after amie died, her friends continue to pay tribute, with one saying today "we are all heartbroken." duncan kennedy, bbc news, in bournemouth. ahead of the election, we're getting the latest from our political reporters right across the uk — finding out about what is at stake in their constituencies and the key issues concerning people locally. tonight, we are going to the west midlands and to lincolnshire. emma thomas is in wolverhampton.

but let's start with sharon edwards in boston. welcome to boston, the town that recorded the highest brexit vote in the eu referendum and in skegness, the eu referendum and in skegness, the use of hotels to house asylum seekers has caused local disquiet. so immigration will be a key issue in this general election, and as we now know, the reform uk leader is standing here but it's by no means the only issue. the economy is key, particularly in boston, where there is a sense there are too many empty shops and a feeling at the town is becoming to run down. and access to public services is another key issue with the recruitment issues, particularly affecting areas like dentistry, social care and gps. this area has been given tens of millions of pounds in levelling up grants, but many people here are starting to ask when they will start to see the discernible benefits on the ground. sharon, thank you. these...

these are the four candidates for boston and skegness, so far. the bbc news website will have the complete list when they are all confirmed. now let's head to wolverhampton and emma thomas. as the home to wolverhampton wanderers, molineux is no stranger to contests between two teams and the stadium colours may be gold and black but in this city onjuly the 4th it will be the reds versus the blues and labour will be keen to regain the red wall seats they lost, while the conservatives will be keen to cling onto those seats that they took from labour in the 2019 general election. due to boundary changes, the stadium sits in a new constituency called wolverhampton west and takes in much of the city centre and i was there this afternoon asking voters what is on their minds ahead of polling day. the cost of living came up numerous times and average earnings in wolverhampton are lower than across

the uk. nhs services, the new cross hospital is around a mile from me and suffers from many of the same pressures as others but there's also a sense of a lack of clarity and a feeling from voters that they don't yet know which if any of the parties best serves their needs and lives. as it stands, two of the three mps representing wolverhampton are conservative, and one is labour and as the campaign season continues, the fight to win here in wolverhampton will be a closely fought match. there are six candidates so far for wolverhampton west. again, the bbc news website will have the complete list, once they're confirmed. the pope has apologised for using an offensive word for gay people during a meeting with a group of bishops during which he was asked if gay men should be allowed to train for the priesthood. our religion editor aleem maqbool is here with me.

the pope was seen as someone who had changed the catholic church's tone on gay rights. where does this incident leave that reputation? well, he certainly had to change the tone and you have to remember popes before him talked about homosexuality as a disorder but right from the beginning he talked about welcoming gay people into the church which is why these comments have caused so much shock, surprise in a lot of quarters and this happened at an italian bishops conference and he was asked, should 93v conference and he was asked, should gay men be allowed into the priesthood, and i am paraphrasing, but he said no, because there —— there is already too much of that kind of thing around. the way he said that kind of thing was by using offensive slur, one as offensive as you can when it is referring to gay men. so he has issued something of an apology from the vatican saying he did not mean to offend and use homophobic language, and he apologised for the hurt caused by

using a word that was reported by others. and it has been interesting talking to catholic gay groups in this country and there are some who say that this has been a huge step back and they cannot forgive him. but there are others who say that they can because of the progress that he has made over the years in the face of a lot of conservative criticism, but you have to remember that a lot of someone like the popes —— the pope says, has a profound impact, a profound impact, much further afield thanjust impact, a profound impact, much further afield than just gay catholics. a man is to appear in court charged in connection with the deaths of ten giant tortoises. their remains were found in a national trust forest in devon earlier this year. guy priddle, who's 56 and from exeter, will appear before magistrates on thursday.

dozens of d—day veterans will be travelling to normandy next week to mark the 80th anniversary of the allied invasion. on 6thjune, 1944, they stormed the beaches of northern france to re—take occupied europe from the nazis. john maguire, has been to meet two royal navy �*wrens�* who helped to plan the landings. one of them, 103—year—old christian lamb, helped to create maps of the coastline for the troops who'd be going ashore. she tells us about her role that day. she spent countless hours scrutinising every inch of this coastline, but today, after 80 years, christian lamb is seeing it for herself for the very first time. it looks absolutely wonderful. so clear and so blue, and it's so attractive. i don't suppose it looked like that then, really. one was very worried about it and expecting ghastly things to happen. must have been armour in sight of all kinds.

christian is fast approaching her 104th birthday. but in 1944, as preparations for the allied invasion of normandy ramped up, she was a young wren in the royal navy — based in whitehall, creating maps to be used by landing craft. are these what i'm supposed to have made? these are the maps you made. amazing. this will have saved lives. i hope so. there will have been so many lives lost... ..but perhaps one or two saved. we were visiting a submarine... joining christian on the trip is pat owtram, also a former wren. as a german speaker, herjob was to eavesdrop on the enemy navy. i really wouldn't have wanted to miss that chapter in my life because i happened to know german and i could intercept and listen to their messages. although secrecy was their

watchword, and neither were aware of exactly when the invasion would begin, both believed what they were doing, the part they played, was absolutely vital to the war effort. wherever they go, pat and christian are feted by the french people they meet. merci! why did you go to war- when you were so young? and to the delight of the children, their questions — asked in english — are answered in french. ma grand—mere a parle tres bien francais. lovely surprise. extraordinary. yes~ - they came here both to visit the beaches and towns their top—secret work had helped to liberate and to meet the people, 80 years on, whose freedom was secured, and who are eternally grateful. john maguire, bbc news, normandy. applause. time for a look at the weather. here's elizabeth rizzini

i hope that is what has been and is not what is coming.— not what is coming. a bit of both, i'm afraid- — not what is coming. a bit of both, i'm afraid. this picture _ not what is coming. a bit of both, i'm afraid. this picture was - not what is coming. a bit of both, i'm afraid. this picture was taken | i'm afraid. this picture was taken in east ayrshire earlier today and we saw heavy rain tracking east but more heavy and thundery showers are to come in the forecast unfortunately. behind the band of rain, yes, we saw the thunderstorms develop but also sunny spells and at this time of year it doesn't feel too bad in the sunshine and it won't be raining all the time but the general theme is set to continue. more heavy and thundery downpours but also some brightness and sunshine and there will be some dry weather about as well but the ground is already pretty saturated for many of us and you can see this band of rain clearing into the north sea and this is the radarfrom earlier today. we still have the thunderstorms across northern ireland and southern scotland heading through the first part of the evening but the showers to the north—east of england will start to fade away so lots of dry weather

developing with variable cloud and a few clear spells and it is a mild start to the day tomorrow. and tomorrow is another day of scattered, heavy downpours but also some bright and sunny spells and it will feel a little warmer tomorrow thanit will feel a little warmer tomorrow than it was today for most of us but this time the focus of the thunderstorms will be across central and eastern areas of scotland. these heavy, thundery showers will be slow—moving because of the light winds so there could be quite a lot of rainfall in the short space of time may be leading to flash flooding and thunderstorms as well across north—east england and down through lincolnshire and east anglia but it will dry out towards the end of the day towards the south and the west and temperatures will be that little bit higher. a few changes into thursday. low pressure clears away nice area of high pressure builds from the west on this spells good news in time for the weekend when things will be a bit drier and more settled but not quite yet. thursday, more showers to come in the forecast but mostly towards the south of the uk, a little review and