15 minutes on the air, don't switch, stay with us. the assassination of the leader took place in lebanon a week after the assassination of the leader of hamas. did it bring the war beyond the gas sector closer? on the air of bbc news ukraine, i am jafer umerov. another targeted strike against israel's enemies in a drone attack to kill a hezbollah field commander. a week after the explosion in beirut, which killed the leader of hamas, saleh al-urouri. what do these high-profile murders mean and will they hinder the us secretary of state's efforts to defuse tensions in the middle east. passed

the third month of the war between hamas and israel. it all started with a violent attack by hamas on israel on october 7 last year. then , according to israel, hamas militants killed 1,200 people, israelis and foreigners, and almost 240 people were captured by hamas, to which israel responded with a war in the gaza strip. according to the latest data, the ministry of health of the gas sector, which is controlled by hamas. almost 23,000 people have already been killed by gas. palestinians, most of whom are women, minors and children, and almost 60,000 people were injured. the killing of palestinians continues in the israeli-occupied west bank of the jordan river. the day before , as a result of an israeli raid on the city of jenin, seven people died there, local authorities say. during the three months of the brutal war , israel managed to free 105 hostages . hamas released them. during

a six-day ceasefire in november, but the fate of more than 120 people remains unknown. according to the israeli authorities, 23 hostages are considered dead. and in december , the israeli army reported that the israeli soldiers accidentally killed three hostages who managed to escape from hamas militants. this caused outrage within israel. then hundreds of people took to the streets of tel aviv with a demand: the authorities agree on the release of all hostages, many pro-palestinian activists around the world are calling for a ceasefire, and today pope francis, in his address to diplomats in the vatican, also called for a ceasefire for all fronts, including lebanon. and it was in lebanon that one of the leaders of the hamas group and the commander of the group was killed hezbollah, which is supported by iran, and which is actively launching... rockets at israel.

the bbc's beirut correspondent huchega on the killing in southern lebanon. it suggests that this is a drone attack carried out by the israeli military that killed a top hezbollah commander in south lebanon. the israeli military says it carried out a series of strikes early monday targeting hezbollah infrastructure and positions in southern lebanon. it is reported that this was a response to the attacks. all this shows how explosive the situation prevails on the lebanon-israel border. us secretary of state anthony blinken is currently visiting the region, and a key part of his mission is to try to contain the violence and prevent it from spreading throughout the region. and one of the hot areas is precisely the border between southern lebanon and northern israel, where shelling does not stop. hezbollah is a powerful organization funded and supported by iran, based here in lebanon. hits

the israeli military, and they return fire at hezbollah positions. so far, violence has been limited to the border areas, but it exists the threat of violence spreading and a major armed confrontation between hezbollah and israel breaking out. last week , hezbollah leader hassan nasrallah warned israel against any attempt to launch a full-scale military operation. against hezbollah, but senior israeli government officials have spoken out in favor of conducting such an operation against hezbollah to reduce the threat posed by the group and to allow thousands of israelis evacuated from the north of the country due to shelling to return home, so we have an important new twist here in lebanon and new fears of increased confrontation between israel and hezbollah. so... observations

from hezbollah did not stop israel from carrying out a special operation and killing the senior commander of the group's elite unit, wisam tawil , the car he was in was reportedly attacked by an israeli... drone, after which the car caught fire, the group confirmed the death of the commander, however this is not the first time, this is not the first assassination of high-ranking groups that are at war with israel. this man died in beirut last week. it saleh al-uroori. he was the deputy political leader of hamas and was a key figure in the armed wing of the group. he was a close ally of the hamas leader. in lebanon , he was an intermediary between ha and hezbollah. he was reportedly killed in a suspected israeli attack in southern beirut. along with others, along with two hamas military commanders and four other hamas members.

israeli prime minister netanyahu said back in november that israel would act against the leadership of hamas, wherever they are last year. and even earlier, he directly mentioned aruri, who, by the way, was on the us terrorist list. by. murder, washington promised 5 million dollars as early as 2018. however, israel neither confirms nor denies this murder. the israeli army continues to attack the gaza strip in order to destroy hamas, according to the israeli authorities. according to tzahal spokesman daniel hagari, the israeli army has completely destroyed the command structure of hamas in the northern gaza strip. he added that palestinian militants in the area operate without commanders, and with... in total, israel destroyed about 8,000 militants, precisely in the north of gaza. the bbc cannot independently confirm these figures, but they were repeated by the spokesman for the israeli prime minister's office, eilon levy. israel has significantly undermined the terrorist infrastructure of hamas. as

for the entire northern region of gaza, he completely dismantled it. at the beginning of the war , critics said it was impossible, but we did it. after restoration of border defense and strengthening of security. after the mass murder of israel, we discovered more than 1,500 tunnels and underground storage facilities of hamas in gaza. most of them were hidden in schools, hospitals, mosques, un facilities and civilian buildings, including a four-kilometer tunnel near the rsu. we destroyed the hamas command centers near jebalia, assiya and gaza city. these were complex and multi-story labyrinths laid underground. they are no more. and command capabilities. hamas is no longer in these regions either. we also successfully targeted and destroyed the hamas high military command, killing at least 800 hamas terrorists in targeted strikes and injuring many more that is included in these 800. however, as a result of such

israeli actions in the gaza strip, hundreds of thousands of people were forced to leave their homes. more than 50,000 people were injured, and many thousands died. next is a report by bbc correspondent yolanda nel. along the southern border of gaza, the scale of the humanitarian crisis is clearly visible. hundreds of thousands of people ended up here in overcrowded tents after fleeing the city. most of them, due to hostilities with israel, had to flee several times. however, azizas believes that her family is still in danger. they killed us in schools, in our homes, so will they not kill us in our tents? there is no safe place. there are fears that this hospital in the center of gaza will close. now it is almost empty, but only because israeli strikes and evacuation orders have forced hundreds of patients and

doctors to leave. on his latest trip to the region, the top us diplomat tells arab countries that israel must do more to protect... civilians and deliver humanitarian aid to the gas. palestinian civilians should be able to return home as soon as conditions permit. they cannot be forced to leave gas. we reject statements by some israeli ministers and lawmakers who call for the eviction of palestinians from gaza. israel assures that the intensity of its offensive corresponds to the seriousness of the threat posed by hamas. the defense minister says that his... the country must act with sufficient force to deter other enemies of the country. since the beginning of the war in gaza, the united states has shown unwavering support for israel, but amid growing tensions between these two close allies, the us secretary of state is clearly in for a tough

negotiation when he meets with israeli leaders, and the stakes could not be higher. the armed forces of israel claim that they have struck new blows against the powerful lebanese. to the iran-backed hezbollah militant group, and there are great fears that a wider war could break out in the region. a recent visit by anthony blinken. reduce tensions in the middle east, this is what a professor of middle eastern studies told the bbc university of washington stephen simon. antony blinken's statements in the middle east, as well as his visit to the region, are a kind of attempt at crisis management. the united states cannot have any tangible influence on either israel or hamas. at this stage, what the us can do is to reduce the expectations

of its partners and countries in the region that the united states is able to perform some miracle and solve the problem in one fell swoop. israel has no choice but to do what it is doing, gassing in hopes of eradication leadership of hamas and destroy. its military infrastructure, hamas has no choice but to do what it is doing, hold on to the hope that the hostages it has taken will help it win a long-term truce, or perhaps wait for the war to widen to distract israel and take the pressure off hamas itself. neither of these scenarios is impossible, but neither is likely. this is what will be emphasized.

professor, allow me to interrupt you, you are describing scenarios from which a possible compromise would be reached, according to your does the look take time to reach this stage? it will not be possible. at least a few months, if only we had a lot of luck with the hostage issue, in the meantime, the united states can only define the boundaries for both sides, that the united states will not under any circumstances allow gaza to become a platform for terrorist activities again. at the same time, they make it clear to israel that the re-occupation of gaza is unacceptable. the us will be against this, the us will also be against the forced eviction of palestinians from

the gas strip, they will be against the blockade and against reducing the number of palestinians in the sector, these are the unbroken principles that blinken brings to the attention of the parties. that the operation in gaza will continue until hamas, which many countries designate as a terrorist organization, is destroyed. from your experience in the national security council, is such a task realistic, achievable? let me remind you, in theory, israeli goals are realistic and achievable, because it boils down to killing a certain number of people, certain.

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take care, congratulations, friends, on the live broadcast of the tv channel, the verdict program continues, my name is serhiy rudenko, we continue our program, we continue ours. analysis of political events in ukraine in the second part of the program, see the uoc mp returns to the lavra. meanwhile, putin celebrated christmas. with the families of those sent by death. mobilization 2024. what should the new mobilization law be? discussions in the parliament continue. media sociology. ukrainians want to watch broadcasts of the verkhovna rada, and the only telethon is losing its relevance. friends, we work live on the espresso tv channel,

as well as on our youtube and facebook platforms. if you see us there now, please bet. in this video as well take part in our vote, today we ask you about whether it is necessary to resume broadcasts of meetings of the verkhovna rada of ukraine during martial law, yes, no, if you are sitting in front of the tv, pick up your smartphone or phone and vote if you think that such broadcasts are necessary, 08021381, no, 08021382, vote, at the end of the program, we will sum up the results of this vote, all calls. on these numbers are free for you, i want to introduce the guests of today's program, they are political scientists, political experts, volodymyr fesenko, andrii smolii, oleksiy holobutskyi. gentlemen, i congratulate you, thank you for starting the new year with the spresso tv channel and the verdict program. good evening, glory to ukraine, to the heroes, glory, good evening, good evening, congratulations, mr.

oleksiy. gentlemen, let's start our conversation precisely with... the survey, because since we are asking our viewers whether we need broadcasts of the meetings of the verkhovna rada of ukraine, which were canceled, by the way, in 2022, the year when martial law was introduced, you, in your opinion, whether ukrainian citizens need to broadcast the session of the parliament, and what do citizens lose when they do not hear these discussions in the session hall, or whether the logic is clear at all. who, how certain decisions are made in the verkhovna rada of ukraine. mr. andriy, let's start with you. i think that yes, i think that the meetings of the verkhovna rada of ukraine should be broadcast, at least if there is some kind of warning, maybe about air alarms, about the issues of russian federation attacks there, yes, then i think that such

broadcasts can be made there , suppose with an offset there of one, two or three hours, that is... er, but in general we must understand that it is necessary to broadcast the meeting of the verkhovna rada of ukraine during the time available to our citizens, for this there is a whole tv channel called rada, we have a tv channel that, in principle, i don't know , it's probably been there for more than 20 years, it was basically created to cover the activities of the verkhovna rada of ukraine, to broadcast meetings, to conduct interviews yu at people's... deputies, in order to broadcast committee meetings, after all, in order for people to know, in principle, about the activities of their people's elected officials, that's all. we know that the tv channel rada is not currently performing the function it should perform, it is participating in the telethon only news, right? but less so, the fact that this tv channel should broadcast

the meeting, and it should not be at night, but it should be in... normal available time, that is, it could be prime time, it could be daytime there, i and i say again, if there are any cautions, there are any questions, maybe regarding the attack of some kind or some danger there, it can be done with a certain delay, but it must be done on the same day when the verkhovna rada is held, it must be done, and i say again, at an available time, not at night, it must be done like this for people to see. thank you, thank you, mr. andriy, mr. volodymyr, yes, it should be resumed, but on the record, based on security issues, i think not even there in an hour, in two, because well, if the verkhovna rada works during the day, then in hour to restore, well it will be obvious that it is

let's say a potential target, so in terms of security it is necessary... on the record, it's okay that it will be on the record, the main thing is that it should be, i 'll say more, i'm very dissatisfied with the way the website of the verkhovna rada is currently open, most of the information there is closed , this is abnormal, because control over the work of the verkhovna rada is primarily carried out by experts, journalists, and an active public, and it carries out this substantive control not so much through the broadcasting of the verkhovna rada. it's for the general public, i'll tell you, actually the ratings have never been high enough and now, well maybe, except for the bill on mobilization , they will not be high either, but broadcasting is necessary. but it is necessary to have access to the normal operation of the website of the verkhovna rada, and most importantly, it is necessary to immediately restore the admission of journalists to the verkhovna rada, restore

accreditation, this is from the point of view of control, publicity, i think that in the first place. thank you, mr. volodymyr, mr. oleksiy, no, well , of course, via the broadcast, well, well, well, at least we have to pretend that we are a democratic state, if it is not one... at least for our western sponsors, there is at least some idea, what do we have in addition to the office of the president or some other institutions in the country that are working, and judging by the fact that we have not seen the broadcasting of the verkhovna rada and we have not seen political activity for two years, well, i do not see what problem we have solved by this, if there is any problem, a security problem, well , i think that running to the bomb shelter of our deputies is more likely. than the residents of, let's say, there, i don't know, kharkiv or other cities, that is, i do not see the issue of security here at all, ah, these are buildings under which there is

a huge network of various underground passages, except bomb shelters themselves, then this is not a problem, i remember, i myself, so to speak , walked along these crossings in the 90s, and i think that , again, it is much easier to solve than to deprive ukrainians of some... once again i repeat, he wants an imitation of political life. thank you, mr. oleksiy, gentlemen, i don't know about you, but i, for example, was very confused when i saw, on january 6, the christmas liturgy held in the kyiv-pechersk lavra by the metropolitan of the russian orthodox church, uoc mp, onufriy in the temple. in the name of reverend gapit of pechersk, st. pechersk, st. assumption of pechersk the laurels of the country, there was an all-encompassing one, and

that is, before that manufry addressed his parishioners, spoke about the enemies, i also listened to his speech, he spoke about the enemies , he did not say a word about the russians, he did not say a word about putin, that is, he did not name these, did not articulate who the enemies are, which also raises a lot of questions. who he considers his enemies is also a question, because the decision regarding this church, regarding staying in the kyiv-pechersk lavra, was made in the spring of the 23rd year, they were supposed to move there from part of the premises of the kyiv-pechersk lavra, this was not happened, part of the people remained there, the monks are also still there, how do you generally understand that the church, which is connected to the russian orthodox church and is actually a branch of the russian orthodox church in ukraine, that it continues to work in ukraine for two years the great war

, 10 years of the russian-ukrainian war, no decision has been made to ban the activities of this church or to reformat the work of this church, and in fact, we see that in the center of kyiv, in the kyiv-pechersk lavra, this church... is working, and the question how long it will work and whether or not it has already matured the question regarding the future of this church, mr. andrii, well, i am generally concerned about what the russian orthodox church is actually doing in ukraine, mr. serhiy, so here i will, so to speak, articulate to the question that in fact, in fact, the metropolitans or representatives of the russian orthodox church in ukraine. let's say yesterday, the day before yesterday, there are a huge number of videos, by the way, there in social networks, they mention kirill again, let me remind you that kirill gundyaev is

actually one of putin's closest associates, so in the war against ukraine, they are de facto further continue, relatively speaking, to quietly promote this russian peace, they continue to hold their religious services not only in kyiv. the pechersk lavra, let's talk about other ukrainian shrines, there is, for example, the same pochaiv lavra in the ternopil region, which, well, unlike the kiev-pechersk lavra, it is actually completely subordinated to the russian orthodox church today, in fact completely, there if i'm not mistaken, only a small part of it was transferred back to the state, in fact, the property of state control, there is, there is sviatohorsk lavra, there is... there are a huge number of other religious buildings in ukraine, which are used today de facto by the russian orthodox church, and this is not only

communal property, it is state property. property, this is communal property, this is also private property, that is, all types of property , please, they do what they want, and here the question really arises for the kyiv cave lavra, why still, despite the fact that almost a year has passed since the treaty was terminated, these people continue to be de facto state property absolutely illegally, and there are no complaints about them, well, there are complaints, but we do not see any definite actions, and in the end, let's get to the main question: why is the russian orthodox church in ukraine, whatever it is called there, still not banned, why there is still no definitively adopted profile law in the second reading, which would prohibit or regulate, at least in some way introduce into some framework this, this actually church, in one way or another, if it can be called that, that is, these questions, unfortunately, there are a lot of them , and unfortunately those actions, the right actions, which are really, which

were really claimed. which were initiated there at the end of the 22nd year, in particular by the national security and defense council, which were initiated at the beginning of the 23rd year, for some reason, as of now, these actions are on such a pause, and it looks really sad, because these people continue their anti-ukrainian activities, we see how the security service of ukraine actually every week exposes these persons who are affiliated in one way or another. with the russian regime, with russia, we see that there are already court cases, we see that dozens of criminal cases have been opened against, in particular, high-ranking persons in the so-called moscow patriarchate, all this proves one thing: we cannot keep the russian orthodox church, whatever it is called, in the country today in the form in which it is. in fact, we cannot tolerate this russian peace any longer, if

this continues to happen, then... what will happen will happen, they will continue to sit in the lavra, they will continue to sit in the pochaiv lavra, they will continue to remember cyril, and what's next, well, we we already know in fact what they did, how they did, how they acted, act and will act , if their activities are really not brought, really to the current requirements, current time, martial law, here i absolutely believe, without any questions, there should be , therefore... we still expect from the verkhovna rada of ukraine, from people's deputies, we expect that there will be a truly balanced draft law, by the way, the draft law that was adopted in the first reading is quite weak, it needs to be finalized, i don't i know which one it is today it is at a stage, but the fact that today we need such a bill and we need a really powerful bill that will settle this issue, that will not leave loopholes, that will do everything to make this impossible in fact...

this is the promotion of russian peace, well, this is a fact, and this is the demand of today's society , and this is actually a unifying factor today, thank you mr. andrii, literally after this divine or christmas liturgy took place in the territory of the kyiv pechersk lavra, the general director of the spas tv channel, beris karchevnikov, a russian, wrote literally such: genuine... намоленный русский живой киев is not broken, not fooled, he is not visible now, he is silent, he is intimidated, sometimes he chatters, he is chased, he is exhausted, but he is, he stands, he is faithful to his church, and he is waiting for us, and they showed the actual photos of this service, mr. volodymyr, mr. andriy mentioned the activities of the sbu, and we remember how at the beginning of...

the beginning of the 23rd year and the end of the 22nd year, how many the security service of ukraine published on its pages and in social networks about how they were almost every morning somewhere in some in certain dioceses in the pcp and conducted searches, we remember this story about pavel the abbot, the former abbot of the kyiv-pechersk lavra, he is currently under house arrest, does the state have enough now in your opinion. makes efforts to localize this threat, because we understand that in history, when there are parishioners who go to these parishes, we understand that they can be used , can always be used by those who manage church life in ukraine, and that especially if this church life is not simple, but it is connected with moscow, with the russian orthodox church.