from khan younis in southern gaza. "america, i gave my best to you" — the words of a tearful president biden, as he says farewell to democrats and hails kamala harris. selecting kamala was the very first decision i made when i became our nominee and it was the best decision i made in my whole career! divers in italy try to access the wreckage of a luxury yacht that sank off the coast of sicily in a freak storm yesterday. myanmar�*s civil war — we report on the rohinga people bombed shortly after this film was taken as they tried to flee.

we start with some breaking news. the israeli army says it's retrieved the bodies of six hostages from gaza's southern district of khan younis in a joint operation with its internal security agency. a statement from the hostages families forum said: it comes as the us secretary of state, anthony blinken, is travelling to egypt, as he continues his push for a ceasefire and hostage release deal. we can look at some images live from egypt. these from the jerusalem yesterday, where antony blinken israel had accepted a bridging proposal and urged hamas to do the same. , . , ., , ., same. these are the live shots from e: -t same. these are the live shots from egypt where — same. these are the live shots from egypt where antony _ same. these are the live shots from egypt where antony blinken - same. these are the live shots from egypt where antony blinken is -

same. these are the live shots from egypt where antony blinken is now. egypt where antony blinken is now hoping for a new round of talks with egyptian and qatari and us mediators to break through with that deal. after talks injerusalem yesterday, mr blinken said israel had accepted what he called a "bridging proposal" and urged hamas to do the same. this is the situation now where antony blinken, we are waiting for him to descend from his plane there and he will be going on to those talks with his egyptian, qatari counter parts to get some kind of break through. this comes off the back of that breaking news that the israeli army says it has retrieved the bodies of six hostages from khan younis in a joint operation. we will of course come back to this the moment we get some more details and we will have guests throughout the course of this hour as well. now to

turn to the united states. a tearful presidentjoe biden has taken to the stage on the opening night of the democratic national convention in chicago with an emotional farewell speech in which he told supporters they are "in a battle for the very soul of america". it came as the democratic presidential nominee vice president kamala harris made a brief, surprise appearance at the convention — breaking with tradition by appearing on the opening night. here's our north america correspondent gary o'donoghue. # your love lifting me higher. a month ago, he was still his party's nominee. now, he is yesterday's man, the past, not the future. all that's left, to hand over the baton. selecting kamala was the very first decision i made when i became our nominee. and it was the best decision i made my whole career. cheering.

if it was a fond farewell for the president, it was a full—scale outburst of enthusiasm for the woman who has stepped into his shoes. but she knew this was still his night. joe, thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifetime of service to our nation and for all you will continue to do. we are forever grateful to you. this is herfirst appearance at the convention and you can hear around me the enthusiasm for the new nominee. this is the woman carrying the hopes of the democratic party right through until november the 5th. end the us war machine! outside the convention, the war in gaza, has drawn anger from many democratic supporters, and others. and while the numbers were not as large as expected,

the protesters had a stark message for kamala harris. if you want to win, you want to win pennsylvania, you want to win the election, it's very easy, stop the genocide and we will stop the protest, how's that? this past tumultuous month in american politics has seen kamala harris narrow the race against donald trump. but it's still a race too close to call. the battle has onlyjust begun. gary o'donoghue, bbc news, chicago. john scardino is vice—chair of democrats abroad uk. welcome from the uk. i know that you were monitoring this. normally when you have a candidate like this, you get that popularity boost at the end of a convention, but kamala harris has got it going into the convention. what do you think? you have seen the _

convention. what do you think? 7m, have seen the outpouring of support since it was announced that president biden was not going to be to run. we have seen among democrats abroad uk, we normally have several hundred new members a month in a presidential election year. now we have had over a thousand just in the few weeks since she was announced as the nominee. so, you know, you have seen the numbers i'm sure about her fund—raising has been incredible and what's happening in the shift in the polls. it has been an extraordinary couple of weeks. as you say, typically after a convention the candidate gets a big boost in the ratings. i don't think you saw that with donald trump so much. maybe a little bit. but it is extraordinary that we get such a big boost before the convention. i expect she will get another one after. [30 the convention. i expect she will get another one after.— the convention. i expect she will get another one after. do you think it is sustainable? _ get another one after. do you think it is sustainable? i _ get another one after. do you think it is sustainable? i do, _ get another one after. do you think it is sustainable? i do, because -

get another one after. do you think it is sustainable? i do, because i. it is sustainable? i do, because i think ou it is sustainable? i do, because i think you see — it is sustainable? i do, because i think you see the _ it is sustainable? i do, because i think you see the trend - it is sustainable? i do, because i think you see the trend in - it is sustainable? i do, because i think you see the trend in the i think you see the trend in the polling is going, she was slightly below donald trump in a lot of the polls that have been taken by media and by the different campaigns. she is now tied with him in several key states, which is very important. some of the battleground states like georgia. and she is pulling ahead on some of the crucial issues like i think the financial times did a poll showing that she was regarded at about the same level of trust as donald trump in her ability to handle the economic performance of the us economy. so, you know, she is trending in the right direction and to be in that position at this stage in the campaign is fantastic. so how does she need _ in the campaign is fantastic. so how does she need to _ in the campaign is fantastic. so how does she need to end _ in the campaign is fantastic. so how does she need to end the _ in the campaign is fantastic. so how i does she need to end the convention? because she had broken with convention and made that brief appearance at the beginning, that is not normally the way it is done. what does she need to do to carry that wave? i

what does she need to do to carry that wave?— that wave? i think she is rolling out some _ that wave? i think she is rolling out some of— that wave? i think she is rolling out some of her— that wave? i think she is rolling out some of her economic - that wave? i think she is rolling l out some of her economic plans, that wave? i think she is rolling - out some of her economic plans, you saw last week she was talking about support for first time home buyers and things like no tax on tip and other proposals. you will begin to see some of her other plans, some will be probably be introduced in her speech and by others and she will roll out specific topics coming up will roll out specific topics coming up after that. i think it is fair to say that as vice—president that is a supporting role that you play. it is not necessarily in the limelight. joe biden has been the leader and he has been in the limelight. she has beenin has been in the limelight. she has been in a supporting role. i think voters do need to get to know her. so far it seems as they get to know her she is getting more support. thank you.

let's head to chicago and speak to cbs correspondent caroline cummings. you heard that tearful speech from joe biden. how will his speech go down? ~ . , . ., , down? well, it was received really well by the — down? well, it was received really well by the people _ down? well, it was received really well by the people in _ down? well, it was received really well by the people in the - down? well, it was received really well by the people in the room - down? well, it was received really i well by the people in the room here. there was chants of "we lovejoe" that gave long pauses interrupting his speech, because they were ecstatic to see the president there passing the torch to kamala harris. he said to, speaking to americans said, i gave my best to you. that was one of the highlight lines as he reflects on his decades of public service, culminating with the presidency of course. and now you know looking in the near term, before he will be out of oval office and he hopes americans will usher in

and he hopes americans will usher in a new generation with kamala harris. we saw kamala harris, she made a brief appearance, somewhat breaking with convention, when is she going to be actually nominated? so actuall to be actually nominated? sr actually she is technically already nominated. that is because the delegates from all of the 50 states, plus washington, they had a virtual role call vote, making it official. their argument it is to ensure that harris and her running mate would make it on the ballot in a lot of states, united states have different election laws and ballot deadlines. that was the thinking there. but there will be a formal or a ceremonial i should say act of nominating her with a role call of delegates. that is according to dnc officials scheduled for tonight and they have a lot planned. they will start with the delaware, which is

joe biden's state from which he hails and then it will culminate with california and minnesota, which are harris and wals, the vice—presidential nominees, their states. there will be music that corresponds with each role call and they will make a spectacle of it. they are officially already the nominees for the democratic party. thank you. let's return to that breaking news in the middle east in the last hour — the israeli army says they have recovered the bodies of six hostages from the khan younis area of gaza. we are monitoring the images that came to us a few moments ago of the us secretary of state antony

blinken. he has been injerusalem. he has been meeting with binyamin netanyahu. he is now in egypt. he is then going to qatar in a drive to progress this potential deal forward. let's cross live to our correspondent injerusalem, jon donnison. bring us up—to—date. we started the hour with that breaking news from the israeli army, what do we know? yes, in a short statement from the israeli military and also israel's intelligence agency, they said that the six bodies were recovered in khan younis in the south of the gaza strip. they have named the six people. one was a british/israeli citizen. all from a 79—year—old were

already presumed to be dead. it is thought there are up to 70 hostages who are still alive being held in gaza and in the last few moments, we have had a statement from israel's prime minister, binyamin netanyahu, of course he has faced considerable criticism from some hostage families for not doing enough to free those who are being held. he said our hearts grieve over this terrible loss. , , . ., , hearts grieve over this terrible loss. , , , loss. this grim news comes as there was ho -e loss. this grim news comes as there was hone that _ loss. this grim news comes as there was hope that some _ loss. this grim news comes as there was hope that some kind _ loss. this grim news comes as there was hope that some kind of- loss. this grim news comes as there was hope that some kind of bridging j was hope that some kind of bridging proposalfor a was hope that some kind of bridging proposal for a ceasefire deal would be taking some form of shape. antony blinken is now in egypt hoping to push that forward, seemed more optimistic than binyamin netanyahu when it comes to this bridging proposal? he when it comes to this bridging ro osal? �* ~ proposal? he did. but i think the truth is that _ proposal? he did. but i think the truth is that the _ proposal? he did. but i think the truth is that the americans - proposal? he did. but i think the truth is that the americans and l truth is that the americans and antony blinken are the only ones who seem to be saying that this deal is

close. he said in his statement, after meeting binyamin netanyahu yesterday, that israel had accepted and supported this so—called bridging proposal to get to a ceasefire and hostage release deal. binyamin netanyahu in his statement was far less forth coming and simply said it had been a good meeting with antony blinken. hamas has also been sceptical. they of course are not even taking part in the latest negotiations at the moment. they have said any suggestion that there has been progress is an illusion. as you say, antony blinken is in egypt and later qatar. he is going to be getting those two countries to continue to put pressure on hamas to sign up to this deal. but i think the truth is that while the americans might be working towards a certain time table, i think they would like to get a deal done while

the democratic convention is taking place and before the us election in november, i don't think that the key players in the region and that is binyamin netanyahu and the hamas leader in gaza, there is no sense that they're working to the same time table. that they're working to the same time table-— let's speak to daniel levy — former israeli negotiator, now the president of the non—profit policy institute, the us—middle east project. given the grim news that we are hearing about the recovery of these bodies of the six hostages from the khan younis area, this is putting even more pressure on binyamin netanyahu? i’m even more pressure on binyamin netanyahu?— netanyahu? i'm not seeing that pressure. _ netanyahu? i'm not seeing that pressure. grim _ netanyahu? i'm not seeing that

pressure, grim news _ netanyahu? i'm not seeing that pressure, grim news indeed, i netanyahu? i'm not seeing that i pressure, grim news indeed, grim news the every day, whether it is mass palestinian civilian casualties still on a daily basis, whether that is the news that those families have received, whether that is confirmation that the refusal and inability to reach a day has meant more israelis being held have perished. whether it is the deterioration in humanitarian conditions and palestinians being shunted from one area to another. and the unedifying continued spectacle of an american diplomatic leadership and secretary of state who simply isn't believed or seen as credible by anyone. as you said, he is messaging quite differently to how the players are messaging. there are in diplomatic efforts, sometimes there is a need for constructive ambiguity, as you're getting

something over the hill, you will be saying something and the parties can't quite yet say. sadly that is not where we are today. blinken not only not a credible mediator, he is not an effective one. this isn't a personal thing, although he has handled it appallingly, this is institution—wide. how do we understand this spinning of such an optimistic take, despite it has little grounding in reality. that goes to the rest of your reporting this morning, this is is a lot about the convention in chicago and the protesters and the need for the administration to say, hey, it is ok, we have got this. this looks positive. don't disrupt chicago. and the other thing is to prevent a wider regional. the americans trying to make sure that israel can continue its provocative military actions, but there will not be blow back from iran. this is risky. gaza

and the appalling situation in gaza, the hostages and of course the tens of thousand of dead palestinians, the hundreds of thousands of displaced and suffering palestinians, that is coming in a poor third. palestinians, that is coming in a poor third-— palestinians, that is coming in a oor third. , , , ., ., poor third. help us understand how can the messaging _ poor third. help us understand how can the messaging be _ poor third. help us understand how can the messaging be so _ poor third. help us understand how can the messaging be so different i can the messaging be so different between antony blinken and binyamin netanyahu? i between antony blinken and binyamin netan ahu? ~' between antony blinken and binyamin netan ahu? ~ ., ., netanyahu? i think you will have to and they will— netanyahu? i think you will have to and they will no _ netanyahu? i think you will have to and they will no doubt _ netanyahu? i think you will have to and they will no doubt find - netanyahu? i think you will have to and they will no doubt find the - netanyahu? i think you will have to | and they will no doubt find the word salad to be able to offer a meaningless response. but one would have to ask the americans that. wishful thinking is not a policy. spin is not a policy. but it can get you through news cycles. the bbc and much of the american and other western media are reporting in opt is mick way naas —— optimistic ways that maybe a deal is being done, because that is what us officialdom

is telling them. but in the region no one is buying it. your open correspondent and the way you have said it is to put scepticism on this. if they can muddle through chicago and hopefully muddle through the election season, and and this isn'tjust the election season, and and this isn't just about words, but what they're doing is saying to the iranian axis, you are going to undermine this and using that time in order to place further military assets in the region. so what you haveis assets in the region. so what you have is a us that is trying to make sure that its ally israel continues to have freedom of operation. interestingly, the israeli security establishment is background briefing that binyamin netanyahu is still not giving the kind of mandate to negotiators that could bring a deal. the hostage families in israel are out briefing they don't trust the prime minister. one of the people

found recovered bodies today, one understands could have been part of an earlier deal had binyamin netanyahu a agreed to it. this is unfortunately the result of the israeli system being treated with an impunity, not being held accountable to what it is doing, because of course hamas should not be holding these israeli civilians. that is a crime. israelshould not these israeli civilians. that is a crime. israel should not be conducting the actions which have led to arrest warrant request at the international criminal court and measures called for by the international court of justice, because of genocide. none of these things should be happening, binyamin netanyahu continues because the us runs cover and the us is about to place the blame again at hamas door when that does not accord with the facts. it

when that does not accord with the facts. , . , ., ~ when that does not accord with the facts. , . , ., ,, ., ., . facts. it is a bleak note on which to end, facts. it is a bleak note on which to end. but _ facts. it is a bleak note on which to end, but thank _ facts. it is a bleak note on which to end, but thank you. - facts. it is a bleak note on which to end, but thank you. we - facts. it is a bleak note on which to end, but thank you. we will i facts. it is a bleak note on which - to end, but thank you. we will come to end, but thank you. we will come to this story. this is bbc news.

another line coming from gaza, the hamas—run health ministry is saying the number of palestinians killed has gone up to 40,173, with 92,857 people injured. an update on the latest figures. specialist italian divers have begun a fresh search for six people missing after a british luxury yacht sank in a freak storm off sicily on monday morning. there were 22 people on board — 15 were rescued, one person is confirmed as having died. the british technology entrepreneur, mike lynch, and his daughter are among the missing. authorities have also confirmed

to the bbc that the international chairman of morgan stanley, jonathan bloomer, is one of the missing six people. simonjones reports. the search and rescue operation off porticello is continuing this morning. divers will try again to gain access to the sunken yacht. but they know, in all probability, they are now looking for the dead. one body was brought to shore yesterday. the wreckage of the yacht is 50m below the water's surface. 15 of the 22 people on board managed to escape, clambering onto a life raft. they described scenes of panic, people screaming. but they were the lucky ones. the british tech tycoon mike lynch is among the missing. he was tried for fraud in the us after selling his firm to hewlett—packard, but cleared of all charges injune. his 18—year—old daughter hannah is unaccounted for. sicily�*s civil protection agency says jonathan bloomer, the chairman of the investment bank

morgan stanley international, and his wife are also missing, along with chris morvillo, a lawyer, and his wife, neda. mr lynch's wife, angela bacares, is among the survivors. she's listed as the yacht�*s owner. another survivor is charlotte golunski, the mother of a one—year—old who was also rescued. translation: the survivors are very tired and are constantly asking - about the missing people. to my knowledge, there is only one body that has been found. the others are still missing. we have given the survivors this information, but they are talking and crying all the time because they have realised there is little hope of finding their friends alive. this was the yacht, called the bayesian. it was pictured on sunday night before a huge storm blew in. that caused a waterspout like this one, similar to a tornado to form, smashing the mast of the yacht, making the vessel lose its balance. these pictures from the land reveal the strength of the winds.

translation: at about 4.15, we saw a flare in the sea. - we waited for this waterspout to pass. after ten minutes, we went out to sea and we saw cushions and all the rest of the boat. all of what was on deck in the sea, but we did not find anyone. the italian coastguard are being joined by the uk's marine accident investigation branch. the italian rescuers say the yacht was in the wrong place at the wrong time. simon jones, bbc news. and you can get more on this story on the bbc live page. our colleagues are updating this and our reporter in sicily. i'm back in a few moments with the latest news.

hello again. as we go through the rest of this week, the weather does remain very changeable. there will be heavy rain at times, it's going to be very windy at times as well, but today we're looking at sunny spells and blustery showers. we've had a couple of weather fronts crossing us, taking some patchy rain — they're now moving away. and you can see from the isobars, it is going to be blustery. the strongest winds across the northwest, where we've also got a weather front. this is where we'll see the most frequent showers, some of those heavy and also thundery. but we could see some further showers in northern ireland, northern england, a few getting into wales, a few in the midlands. but as you come south, they'll be fewer and further between. temperatures 14 to about 24 degrees. heading on through this evening, we hang on to a few showers, but overnight, many of them will tend to fade. we'll see clear skies, still going to be blustery, but the winds will start to strengthen out towards the west, the cloud build and then eventually we'll see some rain arrive. overnight temperatures falling away between 8 and 11. it's going to be a fresher

and a cooler night than it was last night. and we start tomorrow with a fair bit of sunshine, just a few showers in the west, but our weather front coming in from the west is going to introduce some heavy rain across scotland and northern ireland, northern england, north wales, eventually into the midlands, and windy with it, push further southwards and eastwards and it's likely to be drier with highs here up to 22 celsius. but we'll really be seeing the rainfall amounts, particularly in western scotland, mounting up. there's more rain coming in as we head on into thursday, some heavy rain pushing southwards as we go through the course of the day. another windy day wherever you are on thursday, and behind this band of rain, we see a return to bright spells, sunshine and showers. these black circles represent the strength of the wind gusts, so you can see what i mean. temperature wise, 14 in the north to 22 as we push down towards the south east. then from thursday into friday,

our next area of low pressure with its fronts comes in from the atlantic, pushing northwards and eastwards, introducing yet more wet and windy conditions. so on friday, it does look like we're going to see that rain, heavy in places. and then as we head in through the weekend, it does remain unsettled.

this is bbc news, the headlines. the israeli military says it has retrieved the bodies of six hostages from khan younis in southern gaza. that comes as the us secretary of state, antony blinken, arrives in egypt to continue his push for a ceasefire. divers in italy try to access the wreckage of a luxury yacht that sank off the coast of sicily in a freak storm yesterday. myanmar�*s civil war — a special report on the rohingya people bombed shortly after this film was taken, as they tried to flee. welcome back. let's return to the middle east — and ongoing efforts to bring an end to the war in gaza. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, has arrived in egypt as he continues to push for a ceasefire deal. following a meeting with benjamin netanyahu on monday, mr blinken said israel had agreed

to what he called