in an airstrike in beirut. israel says mr shukr, who has been hezbollah's top military leader for years, was responsible for an attack that killed twelve children and young people in the israeli—occupied golan heights on saturday. israel's retaliation on tuesday struck a beirut suburb. lebanon's health ministry says at least three people have been killed and 7a were injured. lebanon's prime minister condemned the strike as a "criminal act", calling it a "clear and explicit violation of international law". israel's defence minster yoav gallant has said mr shukr "has the blood of many israelis on his hands". but the iran—backed group has denied responsibility for the golan heights attack. as the region braces for a larger—scale israeli retaliation grow, there are fears a serious escalation with hezbollah could dash hopes of a ceasefire in gaza. our correspondent quentin somerville sent this update from the scene of that beirut strike.

israel's response came just before sunset — a drone attack, three strikes on a building in beirut�*s southern suburb of dahiyeh. explosions could be heard across the city, an attack that lebanon has been bracing itself against for days. the target, a hezbollah commander israel blames for the attack on majdal shams, in the occupied golan heights. emergency services here are still working to rescue the injured — at least one woman died and dozens have been left wounded. it's not known if the commander was killed. this is the building that was struck by an israeli drone. we believe, three rockets hit the building. as you can see, this is a heavily built—up civilian area, but israel says it had the hezbollah commander it holds responsible for the majdal shams attack in its sites. there are mixed reports about whether he actually made it out alive, but we know there's been at least one woman

killed and a number of people injured here tonight. this area of southern beirut was the same area in which a hamas official was targeted and killed by israel back in january this year — the big question now though is, what comes next? because israel has said its response will be severe, and it would take a number of days. so this strike here in beirut may not be the end of it. a new footage has emerged tonight of saturday's attack in the golan — children playing quietly, then an air raid siren. there was no time to take cover. it left 12 dead, all children and young adults, watching a nearby football match. hezbollah, which has fired thousands of rockets and missiles into israel in the last ten months, denies it was behind the attack. the iranian—backed group stands shoulder—to—shoulder with hamas, but it's far better armed and its fighters more formidable. the conflict here was mainly contained to border areas and military targets —

the unwritten rules of this almost—war. but saturday's attack on the golan on civilians has pushed lebanon and israel to the brink. the united states and others had been working to contain things. how hezbollah responds to tonight's assassination attempt, and what israel does next, will determine whether war here is inevitable. quentin sommerville, bbc news, beirut. let's get more. we can speak to a seniorfellow at let's get more. we can speak to a senior fellow at a middle eastern security initiative. what is your reaction to the strike, where it took place and the hezbollah commander it says it targeted? the the hezbollah commander it says it targeted?— it targeted? the location is meaningful— it targeted? the location is meaningful because - it targeted? the location is meaningful because it - it targeted? the location is meaningful because it has| it targeted? the location is - meaningful because it has been at the headquarters of the hezbollah since the mid— 80s

and the location for a previous strike against not only hezbollah but also hamas figures as you mention in january of this year a senior hamas senior was struck in that same little neighbourhood into this one little suburb of beirut called dahiyeh. at the time, the lebanese prime minister mentioned the strike on hamas would put lebanon into a war it was not seeking and this second strike is not unprecedented but what we're watching now is this strike was very targeted, there was another loss of life, at wonder woman and a few children —— wonder woman. the count is still ongoing. but it was targeted. the person struck, fuad shukr has been the main man of hezbollah. it was responsible for the attack

against the druze community on saturday and other attacks. it poses a great threat. the fact that they struck with this kind of precision versus a broader strike meant the israeli defence for the is trying to contain this escalation. the head of their spokesperson bureau did say they hope to prefer to resolve hostilities without a wider wall which indicates this is the largest brunt of the extent of the retaliation. they're trying to send a signal perhaps to europe and other places apply diplomatic pressure and also to partners and to iran. we have retaliated, let called this here. let's keep this under control. it sounds like you are hopeful this may not escalate into something larger. haw hopeful this may not escalate into something larger. how do ou think into something larger. how do you think hezbollah _ into something larger. how do you think hezbollah will - you think hezbollah will respond and you think it

received that signal israel sent? i received that signal israel sent? ., ~' received that signal israel sent? ., ~ ., sent? i do think hezbollah likely received _ sent? i do think hezbollah likely received that - sent? i do think hezbollah j likely received that single. sent? i do think hezbollah i likely received that single. in my analysis, the fact that hezbollah still denying that strike tells me it was a miscalculated strike and perhaps the intention was not to hit this druze committee and perhaps this michelle mant of target and they realise that hitting children into that community would be a game changer. —— miss heat of the target. certainly and it is current war, it will still constitute a game changer so i think we saw them say it was not us. israel and the us community say it was them by the indication was that maybe they did not mean for this to be the target so they may sit back and say we lost somebody quite important, we are upset

about this, there will be protests in the streets and make strong statements but we will not take this further. they have quite a bit to lose. both sides do. if this gets out of control. hezbollah, the political leadership will not be in fancy hotels and the like the colleagues in hamas. if there is a war, they have quite a bit to lose. they are in a political position of power and they have access to national resources, why would they want to give that up for a war that will incur quite significant casualties both on the lebanese and israeli side much of which would be laid on theirfeet in terms of aim. we would be laid on their feet in terms of aim.— would be laid on their feet in terms of aim. we have seen so much time _ terms of aim. we have seen so much time and _ terms of aim. we have seen so much time and energy - terms of aim. we have seen so much time and energy put - terms of aim. we have seen so much time and energy put into | much time and energy put into this region. secretary blinken making so many different visits to try to calm tensions and make sure this conflict in gaza does not spread. what do you

think you will hear from the us? what role should apply going forward? the us? what role should apply going forward?— going forward? the us is already trying _ going forward? the us is already trying to - going forward? the us is already trying to contain | already trying to contain retaliation by the israelis and have been successful although much of that is in israel's own interest. us has been trying to keep this under control but this conflagration is regional. it is taking a tax from as far as yemen, also syria and iraq. the us is trying to keep the led on by making sure the side with which they have any influence, israel, stays within a certain way.— a certain way. thank you very much. at least 11 people have been killed and dozens injured in ongoing protests after president nicolas maduro was declared the winner of venezuela's presidential election for a third time. the organisation of american states has said there was "exceptional manipulation" in sunday's presidential election.

the opposition says it won seventy percent of the votes and can prove it with receipts from voting machines. thousands gathered peacefully on tuesday in the capital, caracas, in support of the opposition, that's in contrast to monday's violent protests. the leader of the opposition, has called on her supporters to remain peaceful. regional neighbours including brazil, colombia, and the us have condemned violence against demonstrators after security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at some protesters. in a televised address, president maduro accused the opposition of starting a coup. our south america correspondent ione wells sent this update from the demonstrations in caracas. more protests broke out today around the city of caracas. thousands and thousands of people turned out to demonstrate against president maduro and his claim to victory in sunday's presidential elections. some of those that we spoke to said they believe the election was a fraud, they believe that people needed

to keep fighting, and they hoped that pressure from the streets would help to change the situation. some, though, argued that it would only be if the military or police decided to join the opposition that anything would change. now the opposition leader, maria corina machado, has asked for her side to remain peaceful. she said that people shouldn't give in to provocations set by the government — in her words — and said that they had proof that their side had won this election, after gathering more physical receipts from some of the country's electronic voting machines. the government, on the other hand, has accused the opposition of instigating, in their words, a coup, with both president maduro and his defence minister saying that this is a coup that is trying to destabilise the country of venezuela, and they argue this is backed by, in their words, "us imperialism". they have also accused foreign governments around the world of interfering with the election and this is a reference

to the fact that many, many countries and governments around the world have said that they want proof from the president of his electoral win if they are to recognise the election results, arguing that there is significant evidence that these results are not credible. nicolas maduro, in response, has cut diplomatic ties with some countries, including some in latin america, also cutting off international flights from wednesday to panama. for more i have been speaking to venezuelan american political dissident, francisco marquez, now lives here in the us. thank you for stopping by. i'm sure you have been following very closely the events taking place in venezuela. what have you been hearing from friends or family there or members of the opposition about what is taking place and whether or not these protests we have been seeing will continue? what happened on july 28th was that the venezuelan people spoke clearly with 67% of the vote for edmundo gonzalez and 30% for nicolas maduro.

and these are notjust numbers taken out of nowhere, the opposition forces have gathererd 81.2% of the voting tallies. these are tallies that are printed by the machines... these are paper copies. these are paper copies printed by the machine — that notjust come out of nowhere — they clearly prove that the opposition won and by the way, these can be audited and i will finish with this, it has been more than 48 hours, more than three days basically, since the election took place. the electoral authority declared maduro the winner without posting a single specific vote either by voting centre or state. that said, maduro has been declared the winner, he is still in power, and does not look like he is set to step down. as you watch the events unfolding, what do you think might take place next? are you afraid that there could be some form of escalating violence? there's been a massive escalation of violence.

i was in prison in 2016 for four months in four different prisons. they tortured a person for 30 minutes in front of me to send me a message and in the last 2a hours there have been 15 assassinations and at least 80 confirmed reports of imprisonment. having said that, there have been millions of people on the street. people are not showing fear and they coming up full force, more and more by the day, and i think we are at a point that if we create enough pressure in venezuela and internationally, the regime will be forced to concede because there has never been such a brazen attempt, i would even say in the recent history of latin america of such open massive fraud. you were in prison in venezuela under the maduro government. you were arrested while collecting signatures for a recall referendum against venezuelan president nicolas maduro. what goes through your mind now when you see people out onto the streets. we also heard reports of opposition members being detained. we heard reports that there will be

patrols across the country. it just shows the strength and resilience of venezuelan people. i am fortunate one of 14,000 cases of illegal attainment since 2014, since maduro started the regime and get after 14,000 people have been detained, you still see millions of people on the street. what does that tell you? after 25 years of dictatorship people are still wanting to vote and fight for freedom and that is very relevant to what we're trying to do right now. maria corina machado and edmundo gonzalez are together in this fight and edmundo gonzalez should be declared by the international community as the leader. we are starting to see demonstrations even in rural, poor areas, typical the stronghold of support for maduro and his party. does that say potentially this could be a different

result this time? there are a lot of things that are different. the opposition forces have never won a landslide a presidential election. the last one contested was very short. in this case, maduro lost the stronghold in this case, maduro lost the stronghold a long time ago. just for the last two years, maduro's poll numbers were low, the quick counts and exit polls on that day showed more than a 30% point victory and the results were published also have maduro being beat almost by a0 points so everything was consistent to show that people do not support maduro and are willing to fight for it. across all social status. across all geography. across all states. and that has been a while, a couple of years in the making. it has notjust started today. today there is just a lot more evidence and proof people are against maduro and for a change in edmundo gonzalez and the opposition leader maria corina machado. secretary of state antony

blinken after the results released, he said had pretty big doubts as well about the result here. you are in the us, what would you like to see the biden administration do when it comes in venezuela? i think it is very important for the united states and all democracies in the world to recognise edmundo gonzalez as president—elect. that is first and foremost and i also believe democracies of the world can help with creating the right incentive structure within the maduro regime. not everyone inside the maduro regime wants to pull off a majorfraud. there are a lot of factors inside the regime, military and security forces who know what happened and are willing to preserve the constitution and support the people. just briefly, opposition leader maria corina machado has been addressing her supporters, she has been urging for peaceful protests. how would you like to see her navigate this going forward? this does appear to

be coming to a head. maduro is not going to leave office and she is not going to give up herfight. i think the truth would prevail. i know the venezuelan people will continue to fight for freedom and it something that will be led, the citizen movement, that is led by edmundo gonzalez ad movement, that is led by edmundo gonzalez and maria corina machado and and they will continue to call for peaceful street protests and it is something a lot of people confuse venezuela is a conflict between two sides, this is not an issue of ideology, the communist party is openly against maduro, maduro lost in a landslide, this is the majority of people fighting for their freedom in one way or another and we believe that objective will be achieved with the help of course of the international community. thank you very much. thank you. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

let's look at some other stories making news. an inquest has heard how a woman who was killed in a crossbow attack alongside her mother and sister managed to call the police and give her address before she was cut off. hannah hunt also sent a text message saying she was tied up. the inquest was told that she was still alive when police officers arrived. the housing secretary, angela rayner, has set out changes to england's planning laws to help deliver labour's promise of 1.5 million new homes by 2029. housing targets would become mandatory again and low—quality green belt would be reclassified as "grey belt". but the conservatives say it would force suburban areas to take more housing from urban labour areas. tuesday has become the hottest day of the year so far as a heatwave continues to affect large parts of the uk. met office measuring stations in south—west london reached 32 degrees. london, southern england and south—eastern wales are expected to meet the official criteria for a heatwave this week. authorities are warning the hot spell could be

dangerous for older age groups. you're live with bbc news. uk prime minister keir starmer has condemned a violent protest that took place in the northern town of southport on tuesday night, following the fatal stabbing of three girls on monday. demonstrators chanting far—right slogans clashed with police. 0ne officer was injured as objects were thrown, with a police van set alight. police say tuesday's violence erupted when several hundred people from the english defence league began to throw items at a mosque. the three children killed in the knife attack at a taylor swift—themed day camp have been named, as 9—year—old alice aguiar, 6—year—old bebe king, and elsie dot stancombe, who was 7. police say 5 other children and two adults are in a critical condition in hospital. this was the scene as people

gathered for a visual for those victims. —— vigil. a 17—year—old man remains in custody following yesterday's attack. our home affairs correspondent daniel sanford has more on this story. tonight, the tragedy of southport descended into violence. a few hundred people had gathered outside the local mosque for a protest. they had been fired up by social media posts that suggested — incorrectly — an islamist link to monday's stabbings. now the protest has turned into a small riot, with large rocks being thrown at police officers wearing riot helmets and carrying shields. at times, there was extreme violence, as heavy rocks rained down on officers, and a police vehicle was set on fire. the home secretary had earlier warned about disinformation linked to the attack. this seems to have been one of the consequences. the suspect has no known links to islam.

yesterday, the usual quiet of this modern cul—de—sac, where the 17—year—old suspect lived, in banks, just outside southport, had been shattered by the arrival of armed police officers. and today, the close remained closed, as forensic officers meticulously gathered evidence. the 17—year—old is being held on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. the suspect was born in cardiff to parents who had moved to the uk from rwanda. the family, including his older brother, moved to the southport area 11 years ago, and to this close in banks seven years ago. we do know his name, but it is unlawful for us to identify him, because he is under 18 and involved in criminal proceedings. neighbours say he left his home in banks yesterday in a taxi at around 11.30am. he was wearing a covid—style facemask. about a quarter of an hour later, a man arrived in a taxi on hart street. the police were called

at 11.a7am to reports the police were called at 11:a7am to reports of a stabbing at the taylor swift—themed dance event, just off hart street. the suspect was arrested at the scene. this 3d animation shows how the hart space dance studio, where the stabbings happened, is down a cul—de—sac, with only one way in and out. so it may have been difficult for people to escape once the attack started. the new home secretary was in southport this morning to lay flowers and meet the police, fire, and ambulance staff who responded to what she called an unimaginable attack. it's beyond every parent's worst nightmare. you had what should have been a children's party, having fun at the beginning of the summer holidays, could then turn into something so devastating. with police forensics teams poring over the streets around the attack site today, the 17—year—old remains in custody but has not been charged. but that was before tonight's riot,

in which one officer suffered a broken nose. merseyside police said the violence was sickening for a community already devastated by the tragic loss of three young lives. daniel sandford, bbc news. us lawmakers have questioned two security officials about the failures that led to the assassination attempt on former president trump's pennsylvania campaign rally earlier this month. the joint hearing with acting secret service director ronald rowe and fbi deputy director paul abbate at times grew heated as lawmakers pressed both men about the communication breakdowns between law enforcement on the ground. while, some senators demanded accountability for the operation, which mr rowe acknowledged in his opening remarks was a failure. one of my first actions as acting director was travelling to the butler farm show site to better understand how our protection failed. i went to the roof of the agr building, where the assailant fired shots, and i laid in a prone position to evaluate his line of sight.

what i saw made me ashamed. as a career law enforcement officer and a 25—year veteran with the secret service, i cannot defend why that roof was not better secured. ina in a matter of days, kamala harris's campaign will become official. she will be the only candidate for the roll call. on monday august fees. she launched a campaign less than ten days ago but has a ready secured support of 99% of the participating delegates, according to the party. the vp is also expected to announce her running mate on tuesday and then they will hold a joint rally in philadelphia before making herfirst major campaign making her first major campaign swing making herfirst major campaign swing across seven swing states in four days. before we go, to the paris 0lympics.

in four days. before we go, to the paris olympics. the most decorated american gymnast of all time, simone biles has won the olympic gold in the team event. hello. tuesday brought us the warmest day of the year so far. several parts of london saw temperatures up to 32 celsius, including heathrow, kew gardens, saintjames' park, as well, and it's notjust been the warmest day of the year, we've also officially seen a heat wave already in some regions, especially kent, east malling, and bramham, in west yorkshire. heatwave threshold for sunday, monday, and tuesday. so, already, three consecutive days, and we may well see another day or so of heatwave conditions in some areas. so, it's still warm and humid again, but a thunderstorm risk, as we head through wednesday in the southeast of england. to start the day, then, we've got the heat and humidity in the south from the word go. it's fresher, further north, but long spells of sunshine, lots of dry weather, light winds, really pleasant late—july day, but it is humid towards the south, and,

as we head through the afternoon, you can see those showers and thunderstorms starting to crop up, particularly so across parts of kent, into sussex, as well. they'll be hit—and—miss, so you might not see one, but if you do catch one, could be some localised flooding. top temperatures still 28, possibly 29, for central and southern areas. low—20s or high teens, though, further north. now, heading on into wednesday evening and overnight into thursday, some of those heavy showers and thunderstorms become a little bit more extensive, especially across parts of england and wales. could be a bit of rain across the west of scotland, heading on into thursday, as well. it's going to be another really muggy, sticky night in the south — mid—to—high—teens here — a little bit warmer further north than it has been overnight, too. now, through thursday, we've got this first mass of heavy showers and thunderstorms, it clears away, and then, through the day, cloud and showers bubble up, so, again, some thunderstorms potentially breaking out, especially for england and wales, i think, during the afternoon. drier for scotland and northern ireland. temperatures 22—28 — so still above average for most of us. we've still got that warm

air with us, as we head through friday, but later on friday, and into saturday, a frontal system pushes its way eastwards and that's going to allow fresher air to start to move in from the west. so, a change in weather—type, as we head through friday into saturday. still quite warm and sunny in the south and east, i think, through friday, but the winds pick up in the north and the west, with the arrival of some showers, as low pressure starts to move in. so, temperatures around about 16—21 for northern ireland and scotland, still about 28 in the far south east, but then, eventually, things do turn a little bit fresher and more unsettled as we head into the weekend. bye for now.

v0|ce—0ver: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. hello and welcome to the media show with me ros atkins and with katie razzall. this week, we're looking at kamala harris's online campaign and whether means will help the democrats' likely presidential nominee all the way to the white house. do we believe in freedom? we're also going to hear about the practicalities of covering the olympics as paris 2024 gets under way.

well, not for the first time and certainly not for the last on the media show, we will talk about us politics and the media because it's now looking very likely that kamala harris will be the democratic presidential nominee and since that has been the case, there has been a surge of interest in her online with thousands of memes and videos being shared and many of them centre around this clip. my mother used to — she would give us a hard time sometimes and she would say to us, "i don't know what's "wrong with you young people. "you just think you fell out of a coconut tree?" laughs. you exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you. # yeah, 360. # when you're in the mirror, do you like what you see? i you think you just fell out of a coconut tree? # i'm everywhere, i'm sojulia. # ah—ah, ah. you exist in the context... # 666 with a princess streak. # i'm everywhere, i'm sojulia. # ah—ah, ah.

of all in which you live and what came before you.