and one of the most decorated gymnasts in history, simone biles, has returned to competition to try to add to her four gold medals. welcome to this hour. the israeli air force says it's carried out strikes against the hezbollah group in lebanon, after a rocket hit a football pitch in the israeli—occupied golan heights, killing 12 young people. the rocket struck a druze arab town close to the border with lebanon. the israeli defence minister blamed hezbollah but the group has denied any involvement. today funerals have been taking place in the town of majdal shams. barbara plett usher sent this report impossible to count the losses when they are measured in the lives of your children.

villagers gathered in their thousands to mourn their unspeakable tragedy. this druze arab minority stayed in the occupied golan heights after israel captured it from syria — now part of the front line in israel's conflict with lebanon's hezbollah. so many children and teenagers killed, the youngest just ten years old. explosion. this is the moment the rocket struck — a football pitch in the middle of a game on saturday afternoon, with little warning and no time to run. rescue workers scrambled through the carnage to save who they could. translation: they heard sirens, they ran to shelter. _ it might have taken them, like, 15 seconds, but they couldn't reach the shelter because the rocket hit the site between the ground and the shelter. there were many people at the football pitch, so there were many casualties. the attack can't really be described.

israel's border with lebanon has been in conflict for months, fighting in parallel with the gaza war. but this strike marks a new and dangerous phase. hezbollah denied responsibility, but israel's not buying it — the defence minister personally consoling the residents and promising to hit back hard. translation: a terrible tragedy, innocent boys and girls, _ our heart breaks, and i told you, hezbollah is responsible for this, and they will pay the price. israel's leaders are talking now about what that will be. majdal shams is consumed with grief. many fear the tragedy could push a simmering conflict into a full—blown regional war. barbara plett usher, bbc news, jerusalem. our diplomatic correspondent paul adams is in the israeli occupied golan heights at the site of saturday's attack. one of the reasons we are continuing

to work so hard for a ceasefire in gaza is notjust for gaza but also so that we can really unlock an opportunity to bring calm — lasting calm — across the blue line between israel and lebanon. we are determined to bring the gaza conflict to a close. it's gone on for far too long, its cost far too many lives. we want to see israelis, we want to see palestinians, we want to see lebanese live free from the threat of conflict and violence. that was not our diplomatic correspondence, that was the us secretary of state antony blinken, who is in tokyo at the moment. he was commenting on the need for the conflict in gaza and the wider region to end, and of course he was speaking before we understand that talks about the ceasefire are to resume in rome. the uk foreign secretary, david lammy, has been

responding to the strike, condemning what happened, in this tweet — saying... meanwhile, in the last hour or so hezbollah says it has carried out two attacks on israeli soldiers close to the lebanese border — in response to the israeli retaliatory strikes into lebanon. let's speak to our correspondent in tyre in lebanon, hugo bachega. just bring us up—to—date on this latest news we are getting in about this new strike that is being reported. this new strike that is being reported-— this new strike that is being reorted. ~ ., ., , ., , ., reported. we had two statements from hezbollah saying _ reported. we had two statements from hezbollah saying they _ reported. we had two statements from hezbollah saying they carried _ reported. we had two statements from hezbollah saying they carried out - hezbollah saying they carried out attacks targeting israeli military positions. one of those attacks happened in the town in northern israel. it seems that the house was

hit but there have not been reports of casualties, so these attacks have continued today. about an hour ago we saw plumes of smoke near tyre in southern lebanon, we are about 30 kilometres from the border with israel. this was possibly the israeli response to these attacks that happened today. so here in lebenon and indeed across the region, people were waiting for that israeli meeting with top israeli officials including the prime minister benjamin netanyahu, a decision likely to be made about how to respond to an attack yesterday, the deadly attack in the israeli—occupied golan heights, an attack that the israeli authorities are blaming on hezbollah. hezbollah has denied it was involved in the attack but these attacks by hezbollah have been happening

everyday since october and even though both sides have given indications that they are not interested in a major confrontation there is always the risk of miscalculation and perhaps what we saw yesterday was just that, an attack that could trigger a major escalation of hostilities here. we have seen that. there have been intense diplomatic efforts to try to limit the israeli response, and even the lebanese foreign minister speaking with the bbc earlier today said the lebanese government is having conversations with hezbollah, trying to prevent any kind of response to a possible israeli attack and again trying to limit the possibility of a major escalation of hostilities here. you possibility of a ma'or escalation of hostilities here._ possibility of a ma'or escalation of hostilities here. you mentioned the lebanese foreign _ hostilities here. you mentioned the lebanese foreign minister, - hostilities here. you mentioned the lebanese foreign minister, who - hostilities here. you mentioned the i lebanese foreign minister, who spoke to the bbc in that interview and also said he didn't think hezbollah carried that strike out on saturday. the group has yet to claim responsibility although a lot of

people are saying they are behind that strike. w , people are saying they are behind that strike. .. , ~ ., people are saying they are behind that strike. , ~ ., . ., , that strike. exactly. again, claims and counter— that strike. exactly. again, claims and counter claims. _ that strike. exactly. again, claims and counter claims. what - that strike. exactly. again, claims and counter claims. what is - that strike. exactly. again, claims and counter claims. what is very i and counter claims. what is very interesting and important here is that before the scale of the attack became clear yesterday, hezbollah had claimed responsibility, had said it was behind an attack using an iranians made missile, targeting an israeli base in that area in the occupied golan heights, raising the possibility that this missile missed its intended target and ended up hitting this football field yesterday, killing at least 12 people. hezbollah says it wasn't behind the attack, the israelis are saying the evidence, all the intelligence available indicate that the group was indeed behind this attack. they say the fragments of the missile indicate this was an iranians made missile that has been

used by hezbollah in these attacks and they have been promising a very strong response. we have seen the israeli government, the israeli authorities have, for a very long time, been under pressure from some in israel, members of the public but also members of the israeli government, to act against these attacks. tens of thousands of israeli residents have been displaced because of these attacks. the authorities are saying the situation is unsustainable so we could see a major response from the israeli military, trying to stop these attacks coming from lebenon. hugo bachega, a middle east correspondent, thank you very much for bringing us up—to—date on what is a fast—moving story. we also heard from this resident of majdal shams, the town hit by the strike. translation: our children are not more precious or more innocent - than children killed anywhere else, including in southern lebanon and in gaza. our children are not

more precious than them. we are human beings, we want to live our lives in peace and tranquillity. we need to strive now to sign a deal and stop this war. we want to live, we don't want to die. while all this is going on, the latest round of talks aimed at reaching a ceasefire in gaza and hostage release deal are due to begin in rome. on saturday an israeli strike on a school in central gaza killed 30 palestinians, most of them children. it follows multiple airstrikes on schools sheltering palestinians in gaza, in which many more were killed. we heard from us secretary of state antony blinken, who said securing peace in gaza was the only way to prevent wider escalation and bring peace to the region. prime minister benjamin netanyahu has arrived back in israel after cutting short a trip to washington following saturday's rocket attack. he's attending an israeli

cabinet security meeting. avika eldar is a political analyst at the haaretz newspaper, and co—author of the book lords of the land: the war for israel's settlements in the occupied territories. he joins me from tel aviv. very good to have you with us here on bbc news. we have heard from benjamin netanyahu today. he said that hezbollah would pay a heavy price. what do you think that means? depends how you define heavy. you can put it on the scale, a raid on hezbollah units in southern lebanon, but this is yesterday's news. going to an attack on beirut at the headquarters of hezbollah, or something in between. what netanyahu

wants is, first of all, to flex his muscles and to prove to the israeli public that he is still a rambo, that he is mr anti—terrorism and israel is not helpless. on the other hand, he must listen carefully to what the secretary lincoln just said. —— secretary antony blinken. there is no interest in a regional war and we have exercised in the last few months attacks coming from iran as well as the houthis so it is a kind of russian roulette. if

hezbollah had missed majdal shams and hit a jewish city and killed 11 israeli jewish and hit a jewish city and killed 11 israelijewish kids... remember, israeli jewish kids... remember, majdal shams israelijewish kids... remember, majdal shams is, according to international law, part of syria, and the majority of the inhabitants have not accepted the israeli identity cards. so netanyahu has to be very careful now not to start his relationship with who may be the next president of the united states and even with former president trump, by focusing on the united states to get embroiled in a regional war a few months before the elections. let regional war a few months before the elections. ., ,~' , ., regional war a few months before the elections. . n' , ., , regional war a few months before the elections. ., ,~' , ., , . ., elections. let me ask you this. what is the mood — elections. let me ask you this. what is the mood amongst _ elections. let me ask you this. what is the mood amongst the _ elections. let me ask you this. what is the mood amongst the public - elections. let me ask you this. what is the mood amongst the public in i is the mood amongst the public in israel? you described mr netanyahu as still a rambo. we have seen in recent months many of the hostage families criticising his approach to

much of the conflict. but what would you say is the public mood now, particularly after that rocket attack? . ., ., , , attack? paradoxically, it may help me to move _ attack? paradoxically, it may help me to move the _ attack? paradoxically, it may help me to move the public— attack? paradoxically, it may help me to move the public away - attack? paradoxically, it may help me to move the public away from | attack? paradoxically, it may help i me to move the public away from the captives. there is a consensus not only in the israeli public opinion, also the security apparatus, the negotiating team. that netanyahu is the obstacle to a deal that like secretary antony blinken said, the key to a deal in lebenon and a key to stopping the escalation and bringing back home 65,000 israelis who have been uprooted from their homes and it became a kind of no man's land. the key to this is a deal with hamas which is on the

table, and what is missing is one signature and this is a benjamin netanyahu's is signature. signature and this is a ben'amin netanyahu's is signature._ netanyahu's is signature. avika eldar, thank— netanyahu's is signature. avika eldar, thank you _ netanyahu's is signature. avika eldar, thank you for _ netanyahu's is signature. avika eldar, thank you forjoining - netanyahu's is signature. avika eldar, thank you forjoining us | netanyahu's is signature. avika eldar, thank you forjoining us from tel aviv. thank you very much, we appreciate it. tel aviv. thank you very much, we appreciate it— tel aviv. thank you very much, we appreciate it._ as - tel aviv. thank you very much, we appreciate it._ as avika | appreciate it. thank you. as avika eldar the same, _ appreciate it. thank you. as avika eldar the same, a _ appreciate it. thank you. as avika eldar the same, a lot _ appreciate it. thank you. as avika eldar the same, a lot rests - appreciate it. thank you. as avika eldar the same, a lot rests on - appreciate it. thank you. as avika l eldar the same, a lot rests on those ceasefire talks which are understood to be resuming in rome in italy. we will stay across that story of course through the day on bbc news. reports from northern ethiopia say at least 19 people have drowned after their boat sank on saturday. the vessel was taking passengers across the tekeze river, which runs along ethiopia's northern border with eritrea. media access to northern ethiopia is heavily restricted by authorities. the region has seen recent clashes between the military and an ethnic amhara militia known as the fano. now let's cross live to the ethiopian capital — addis ababa — to speak to our reporter kalkidan yibeltal.

good to talk to you. bring us up—to—date on what more we know about this drowning. up-to-date on what more we know about this drowning.— about this drowning. yes, here is what we know — about this drowning. yes, here is what we know so _ about this drowning. yes, here is what we know so far. _ about this drowning. yes, here is what we know so far. as - about this drowning. yes, here is what we know so far. as you - about this drowning. yes, here is| what we know so far. as you said, there is little access to media organisations that information is coming up slowly, but what we managed to find from local authority so far is at least 26 people were travelling using a wooden boat and they were travelling from one village to another and they were crossing over at the tekeze, one of the middle rivers in northern ethiopia. it happened that there was a flash flood when they were crossing the river and the boat capsized and they drowned. so far the authorities have confirmed four of these passengers are dead because they have managed to retrieve their bodies from the river, but seven others were rescued and they were hoping for more people to swim to

safety on the banks of the river, but there are still several people who remain missing. there is a high possibility of them being presumed dead. that is what we know so far. the region is one of great political instability. the region is one of great political instabili . , , , . instability. yes, definitely since au . ust instability. yes, definitely since august last _ instability. yes, definitely since august last year, _ instability. yes, definitely since august last year, had _ instability. yes, definitely since august last year, had been - instability. yes, definitely since i august last year, had been conflict between local militias and the government in amhara and because of that ongoing conflict, the government was forced to declare a state of emergency for ten months. they only lifted that state of emergency a few months ago. the fighting has continued and that has impacted humanitarian access for other emergencies because this is not the only emergency in the region, there have been areas impacted by drought, leaving

millions of people dependent on aid. there's also the impact the conflict itself and now extreme weather events like this are happening but because of the conflict, providing aid quickly has been impacted and has been hampered.— aid quickly has been impacted and has been hampered. thank you so much for brinuain has been hampered. thank you so much for bringing us — has been hampered. thank you so much for bringing us up-to-date, _ has been hampered. thank you so much for bringing us up-to-date, kalkidan i for bringing us up—to—date, kalkidan yibeltaljoining us live from addis ababa. let's go now to our other main story today and the paris olympics. for the latest, on day two of the games — let'sjoin maryam moshiri in paris. thank you very much. welcome to paris, and day two of the olympic games — where, after days of torrential rain, which affected the opening ceremony on friday, the sun is finally shining. the beautiful weather has brought out the visitors, but it has come a bit too late for the triathlon athletes. their training session in the river seine had to be cancelled because the rain increased the pollution levels in the river. organisers said the levels should go back to normal by the actual event on tuesday.

let's take a moment now to bring you the top stories from the sports here, and there are plenty of medals up for grabs today and lots of sporting legends in action. team gb�*s adam peaty qualified fastest for tonight's final as he chases a sensational third consecutive 100m breaststroke gold in paris. he is aiming to become the second man after the us star michael phelps to win the same individual swimming event at three games in a row. in the tennis, andy murray begins the final tournament one of france's biggest olympic hopefuls, leon marchand, who comfortably qualify first in the individual medley and energised the crowd. in the tennis, andy murray begins the final tournament of his career as he competes with dan evans againstjapan. but cameron norrie has pulled outjust hours before he was due on court — it's thought the british number two has suffered an injury. meanwhile, rafael nadal makes his singles return which could set up a second round match with rival novak djokovic.

gymnastics star simone biles is competing today. the most—decorated gymnast in history had a difficult time in tokyo in 2020, but is back to her best and hoping to add to her 37 olympic and world golds. she bounced back with a dazzling performance. and if you like star spotting, then you will love the gymnastics venue in paris today — it is a veritable who's who of celebrities. mission impossible and top gun star tom cruise is there, as are wicked the musical actors ariana grande and cynthia erivo. anna wintour, editor in chief of british vogue, is also there to cheer on biles and all the other gymnasts competing today, as is olympic torch—bearer and rap superstar snoop dogg. they're all in attendance on a big day for gymnastics over at the bercy arena — a key culture and sport venue to the south east of the city, built back in 1984 with a distinctive pyramid—shaped design.

as well as sports events, it's hosted shows from stars like madonna, daft punk and paul mccartney. but it's one woman in particular taking centre stage today. simone biles has returned to the games in spectacular form for team usa, after pulling out of events at tokyo with a mental block known as the twisties. she produced an impressive performance — topping the all—round standings so far. we'll find out which finals she's made later in the day once everyone has competed. you can see the interest in herfrom this picture of the packed photographer pen as she competed. and this is what it looked like for other gymnasts. not as busy. you can feel the pressure almost on simone there. meanwhile, team gb who took the bronze in at the 2020 games are also waiting for the results —

after their efforts this morning. elsewhere at the games today — controversy at the men's beach volleyball as the dutch player steven van de velde — a convicted child rapist — made his olympic debut. he was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016, but was selected for the dutch team. fans outside the venue gave their reaction to his inclusion at the games. can i ask about stephen vande velde? i'm not going to comment. yeah, well, i don'tl want to answer that question. sorry. will you support him today? i will support matthew immers. i'm very astonished that a rape, as a that a raper, as a supporter, is playing the beach volleyball tournament. he should not be allowed to play. are you aware of the story? yes. i think it's no longer an issue. do you think it's right he was selected for the olympics? of course because he has been punished — of course because he has been punished and now it is over and he can continue — punished and now it is over and he can continue with his life.

we heard from our reporters who are there that there were some boos among the applause as he came out. more on that on the website. the games here in paris are the 33rd modern olympiad which have produced countless numbers of ups and downs which have become engrained in the memories of generations across the globe. david kohn is an author who's written about some of those moments at the olympics through the years. as the games here in paris get into full swing — he's been telling me about his top three all time best. we picked number one moscow 1980, british athletes ruled the world probably for the first time in history and these two absolute titans of running were competing

against each other, they had a fantastic competition in the 800, and then 1500 was surprisingly won by coe. that comes in at number one in the book. tell me about the other ones because there are a few more, including one involving usain bolt. indeed. he comes in at number two. you have to pick bolt, the biggest superstar in the history of the games. certainly surpassed any other athlete that has left. his record was extraordinary, but when he burst onto the scene in beijing with that incredible 100 metres, where he almost stopped running with 15 metres to spare and still smashed the world record. bolt is just a bigger figure than anybody and over those three olympics, when he won nine gold medals, when he won nine gold medals — i know it was reduced to eight — he was just fantastic and brilliant to watch. and finally, the 1936 games in germany feature very

highly in your book. tell me more about that. yes, indeed. i actually feature the story twice because i think the very fact that the games were held in berlin was a travesty, really. they should never have been there in the midst of nazi germany under the eyes of adolf hitler. but one guy who really gave him a slap in the face was the american athlete jesse owens. owens was already the world's greatest athlete at the time, but really demonstrated that any idea of aryan supremacy was utter nonsense. he won the 100, 200, long jump and then the 4x100, four gokd medals, and really that was a big slap four gold medals, and really that was a big slap in the face for hitler. we love a bit of history. india have

won their first medal of the games but the first olympic medal ever won by a female shooter, she has won bronze in that event. she nowjoins an exclusive club of indian olympic medallists. we were watching bbc news. i am medallists. we were watching bbc news. iam in paris, stay medallists. we were watching bbc news. i am in paris, stay with us for even more after this break. hello. sunny skies with temperatures well into the 20s across much of the uk, and whether you like it or not, the first half of the week will be really quite hot — particularly across southern and central areas of the uk. let me show you the satellite picture with the jet stream superimposed. here it is — this big ridge allowing the hot air to come in from the south, and the dip in thejet stream with the weather fronts there — that's the bad weather that recently affected paris and the opening ceremony.

here in the uk, admittedly it is not gin—clear everywhere, the blue skies are further south. in scotland and northern ireland here, it's a little more hazy with fair weather clouds, and cooler — around 21 in belfast and glasgow, but the rest of the country, typically inland, in the mid 20s. so after a warm and sunny day, it's going to be a warm and clear night, but just to the north—west this weak weather front is trying to push in, it doesn't make much progress. but maybe some cloudier skies and damp weather here in the far north—west. the rest of the country — it's a dry and sunny morning. and we do it all over again on monday, with high pressure in charge, and just weak weather fronts trying to move into north—western parts of the uk. so right from the word go, it is blue skies once again across many parts of england and wales. a little bit more cloud here in the north—west of the uk, and just the risk of a shower here and there. so cooler — around 20 or so — but the bulk of england and wales again well into the 20s and the high 20s expected across the south—east

and east anglia. and that heat will continue to build. as we head through the course of tuesday, we see that hot air spreading in from france, really quite oppressive for the olympics — in the south of france pushing a0 celsius, paris the mid 30s. here in the uk in the extreme case, we might even get around 31 or 32 in some southern and south—eastern part of the country. now i'm going to speed up the weather forecast — tuesday into wednesday, then wednesday night with the heat, we are going to see some showers and thunderstorms developing, i think more especially by the time we get to thursday. but trying to pinpoint where they are going to be at this stage is going to be very hard. but here is the summary, then, for the week ahead. this increasing cloud here on the weather apps, that's an indication of those storms starting to build by that stage. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines: funerals are taking place for a dozen people killed by a rocket attack in the israeli—occupied golan heights. israel has blamed the lebanese militant group hezbollah, which denies involvement. new video has emerged of the events leading up to a police officer kicking a man in the head — as he lay on the floor at manchester airport last week. the mayor of greater manchester called it a �*complicated situation'. venezuelan president nicolas maduro has cast his ballot in caracas in a crucial presidential election. he is seeking a third consecutive term in office, amid allegations that the opposition

has been harassed and the vote may he is seeking a third consecutive term in office. the biggest wildfire to hit california this year is continuing to spread rapidly, forcing thousands of residents to flee their homes. the so—called �*park fire' — which started after a suspected arson attack — has consumed over 350,000 acres of land. hello. we will have more of the day's news in a moment. first let's get more on the day's sport. we will hear more on the olympics today. yes, as you descend more on the olympics but first, england have one in edgbaston after a superb batting and bowling performance. captain ben stokes, who promoted himself to open up, finish the game off in style

after securing a place in the history books with