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finding intensifies as israel says its troops are in the heart of the gazan city. kyiv steps up its lobbying on capitol hill is a critical vote looms to extend funding for ukraine. ♪ welcome to world news america. israel says its troops are now in the heart of the city of khan younis in gaza as they continue their ground operation throughout the entire strip. troops are also inside a refugee camp in the north. the israeli defense forces say it has been the most intense day of fighting since this began two months ago. they are determined to eliminate hamas. residents who fled to khan younis from the north are now heading further south. but the u.n. says it does not have enough supplies for those people and people in rafah say they have to wait three hours to

get water. the hamas-run health ministry says over 16,000 people have been killed in gaza since the start of the conflict. the key mediator says they are working on redoing the cease-fire that ended last week and pushing for a comprehensive end to the war. the current conflict started october 7 one hamas killed 1200 people and took hostages. the bbc heard evidence that women were sexually assaulted, raped, and mutilated during the hamas attacks in october. israeli investigators say they are going to 60,000 hours of footage and have compiled more than 1000 testimony from witnesses. we want to warn you that this report contains graphic details of testimony you money -- you may find very disturbing. reporter: out of the chaos, mass trauma of the hamas attacks.

new stories are starting to emerge. of rape and sexual assault. including graphic testimony from an eyewitness interviewed by police. >> i realized they were raping her, one by one. then she was passed to another man in uniform. she was still alive when she was being raped. reporter: the scale of sexual violence here is not clear. bodies were mutilated and survivors, few. police admit they are facing a lack of forensic evidence from the site. you can still hear the israeli bombardment of gaza and see vast clouds of black smoke hanging over the gaza strip. but in the days following the attack, this site was an active combat zone. it was a big enough challenge to collect the bodies, let alone early forensic evidence of sexual crimes. video shot by hamas during the attacks, an early warning.

a large bloodstain on the trousers of one woman captive. female bodies piled on trucks, naked or semi-clothed. body collectors describe piles of women's bodies naked from the waist down, some photographs with their legs splayed. those who witnessed the attacks struggled with what they saw. >> i spoke with at least three girls who are now hospitalized because of the rapes they watched. they pretended to be dead and they watched it and heard everything. some wanted to kill themselves. some cannot deal with it. reporter: crucial evidence has come from the makeshift identification unit. teams here describe clear signs of assault, including broken pelvises. but the scale of sexual abuse during these attacks may never be fully known. >> it is definitely multiple.

it is hard to tell. i have also dealt with more than a few burned bodies and those i have no idea what they went through before and. bodies that are missing the bottom half, i also don't know if they were raped. reporter: staff here told me there were patents -- patrns on the bodies, according to location. investigators say the attacks were systematic and premeditated. but piecing together even one single story is slow and difficult work. the wider story of sexual violence in these attacks is only just beginning. lucy williamn, bbc news, jerusalem. sumi: we can speak now to our diplomatic correspondent paul adams in jerusalem with more for us. very good to see you. what is the israeli government saying about these reports? paul: israel's prime minister

benjamin netanyahu is not the most popular politician in this country. he has come under attack for all sorts of reasons since october 7. but this evening he said something i think all israelis will agree with. he said it in hebrew during a press conference, but he also broke into english. he said to the u.n., where the hell are you? israelis cannot fathom why, for weeks and weeks and weeks, the u.n. fail to recognize something which the israelis were telling them had happened. and we've seen mounting evidence in recent weeks of what does seem to amount to the systematic rape of israeli women during the events of october 7. and israelis are just incandescent with rage at the inability, they think, of the international community to recognize this and to condemn it. and they conclude, perhaps not

surprisingly, that the reason the international community seems so reluctant is because these women are jewish. sumi: certainly extremely disturbing reports. at this point i also want to ask about the continuation of fighting, which we mention jazz well. israeli -- mentioned as well. israeli troops entering khan younis. what does that fighting mean for the people who live there? paul: it is absolutely terrifying. i was speaking to someone in the city this morning who said that israeli troops were about one mile away, perhaps less. they know that israel's focus now, the focus of the israeli military activity is very much on the city of khan younis, the largest city in the southern gaza strip. that is causing panic. the hospitals are ce again absolutely overflowing with the dead and the wounded. and people are on the move. these are precisely the things

the u.s. secretary of state antony blinken, when he was here last week, was urging israel not to repeat, not to do in the south of the gaza strip what they had already done in the northn terms of the vast numbers of civilians killed as a result of israeli action, and the huge numbers of people who we saw on the move. it's still somewhat early days in terms of this phase of the war, but there are worrying signs, and indeed israeli's defense minister speaker tonight said israel was going to do to khan younis what it did to gaza city. sumi: paul adams reporting from jerusalem tonight. thank you so much. our u.n. aid agency as the resumption of fighting in gaza has intensified the crisis there. the u.n. world food program says the distribution of aid is now quote, almost impossible. our colleagues spoke to a mother of two living in a tent in khan younis, having been displaced several times in the last

several weeks. now she might have to move again. >> discussing this in the morning, me and my sister. and i said, where to go? it is the fifth place we are evacuating to. we were in gaza city, then we moved to a hospital, then we moved to another in gaza city, and we moved to a middle area. they are going to say carry all of your stuff. this is the winter season. sumi: meanwhile in the weeks following hamas's attack on israel, u.s. and coalition forces have witnessed a lot of activity in the region. sunday, three drones were shot down in the southern red sea from iran-backed houthi rebels in yemen. then militants were killed as they prepare to launch a drone attack in iraq. the number of attacks on u.s. oops in iraq and syria rose to 76 since mid-october. we can discuss this with an

ambassador who served as the u.s. a kateri of the navy. ambassador, very good to have you on bbc news. what do you make of these attacks? >> they are attacks of opportunity. there is no secret that iran is the puppetmaster here, acting through their proxies, both the q -- both the houthis out of yemen, and of course hezbollah and most prominently, hamas. important to know that without the u.s. navy's presence, hezbollah may have actually taken action by this point. but the u.s. navy has provided that deterrent. our navy is the greatest in the world. sumi: i will ask you about that in a moment, but the white house has been clear that they have seen no direct relation between iran and hamas's attack on october 7. the uc are ron --

are iran still a clear threat right now? >> yes. for them to destabilize the region is to their advantage. as we all know, saudi arabia and israel were about to begin talks towards normalizing relations. than the attacks happened october 7. that was not happenstance. iran respects military strength. we have not had any carrier prisons in the mediterranean since 2021. then of course we scrambled to send two carrier strike groups. we have one in the northern arabian gulf and we have one in the eastern med today to provide that deterrent. but again, iran is responsible here sumi: let's talk about that military strength you just mentioned. we saw defense secretary austen say the following over the

weekend. he said, we will not tolerate attacks on american personnel. and these attacks must stop. until they do, we will do what we need to to attack our troops and impose costs on those who attack them. you mentioned the carriers in the region. the u.s. has moved around 1200 service members to the region as well. do you think this is the deterrent that is needed in the face of iran? >> well, the u.s. military and the navy sails into harm's way. that is part of what our mission is all about. this is a very contentious region right now. so the secretary is right. my greater concern is, do we have the forces to cover down on all of those challenges as well as all the other emerging challenges? right now even though there has been a slight uptick in the defense budget, the navy continues to be cut. this year we will decommission 12 ships and replace them with nine. meanwhile, our competitors are

increasing their fleet size. we need to do more. we need to do better prepared. sumi: what needs to be done? >> we need to build more ships and build them very quickly. our industrial bases are suffering and we need to figure out more creative ways to bring ships to sea much quicker. sumi: we spoke previously to the white house's john kirby and asked, are these attacks a sign this conflict is spreading? at the time he said no. what would you see as a sign that this conflict has indeed spread and is pulling the u.s. in? >> admiral kirby is a very dear friend and former shipmate of mine and i disagree with him on this. i think this is spreading. it is becoming much more challenging. again, a lot of it can be easily traced right back to tehran. sumi: what message would you like to see sent from the white house? >> we need to maintain a strong presence. we need to look to our allies.

secretary austen talked about that the other day. and we need to increase sanctions on iran. we need to make iran feel the pain. we are not doing enough focused on tehran. sumi: i want to ask you a question on senator tuberville today, announcing he will drop his blockade of most military promotions. that would pave the way for hundreds of promotions to go forward. >> which is absolutely the right thing to do. so many great people were caught up with this that deserve those promotions, deserve the opportunities to go forth in thei careersr. they had nothing to do with the political ise at hand. so this is a great thing. sumi: and we have heard the senate just confirm them as well. ambassador, really great to have you. thank you. now, the presidents of harvard, the university of pennsylvania, and m.i.t. were on capitol hill today answering accusations they have not done enough to combat anti-semitism on their campuses. the hearing was an opportunity

to answer to and atone for the many specific instances of vitriolic hate and anti-semitism since october 7. earlier, a student spoke of his fear after pro-palestinian protesters targeted an israeli restaurant near campus. >> 36 hours ago, i, along with most of campus, sought refuge in our rooms, as professors chanted loudly -- the neighboring university's president immediately released a statement describing this as a brazen display of anti-semitism. he went on saying, silence in the face of last night's demonstration of anti-semitism and hate near our doorstep is not an option for me. well, the doorstep of the neighboring university is in fact -- penn. and penn's president did choose silce.

>> she denied she was. >> i know we need both safety and free expression for universities and ultimately democracy to thrive. in these times, these competing principles can be difficult to balance, but i am determined to get it right. and we must get this right. the stakes are too high. penn would not be what it is without its strong jewish community, past, present, and future. i am proud of this tradition, and deeply troubled when members of our jewish community share that their sense of belonging has been shaken. under my leadership, we will never, ever shrink from our moral responsibility to combat anti-semitism and educate all to recognize and reject hate. we will remain vigilant. sumi: moving onto to some other news,ukraine's top national security leaders are making the

case any delay in the congressiol debate for further u.s. support for kyiv will create a big risk of losing their war with russia. the u.s. senate is expect it to vote wednesday on the aid package proposed by the biden administration. president zelenskyy was scheled to address a closed meeting of u.s. senators but canceled at the last minute. congress approved more than $110 billion in military and economic aid since russia's 2022 invasion. in october, biden asked congress for nearly $106 billion more. but republican senators want strict policies to tackle the migrant crisis on the u.s. mexico border in return. i spoke to u.s. senator jeanne shaheen of the foreign relations committee about the congressional debate over this aid package. senator, you and your fellow colleagues in the senate received a briefing from key officials on the state of the war in ukraine. what is the most important thing you took away from that briefing? >> that ukraine is desperately

in need of aid assistance from the united states and obviously the european community as well. and it is very important for us to get this supplemental appropriations ability provide the funding ukraine needs. sumi: let's talk about this bill. republicans have threatened to stand in the way of this bill being passed because they want to see ukraine aid in exchange for tougher boer policies. i want to read to you a tweet from republican senator mitt romney from today. quote, dems want $106 billion, gop wants a closed border. clueless dems want to negotiate the border bill. not going to happen. is an open border more important than ukraine and israel? what is your response to that? >> the president had funding to address border security in the supplemental bill that was sent over. there had been negotiations ongoing for the last three weeks between publicans and democrats in the senate to see

if we can come up with something that would be a compromise that everybody could agree to adjust policy changes at the border. i agree. i think we need to secure our southern border. and i am disappointed that the republicans have proposed something that does not appear to be able to get the votes to pass. sumi: you are saying republicans proposed something that doesn't have the votes. we know however the warehouse says it wants to get a deal done. your colleagues in the senate also want to get a deal done. so why not just make that compromise to make sure ukraine aid can go forward? >> i think it needs to be a compromise that c get the votes required to pass. and what has been put on the table by the republican negotiators does not appear to have the votes to be able to pass. what leader schumer did today was to say to the republican caucus, we will take up any amendment that you want to

propose on the border as part of a vote on the supplemental budget. and if it passes, we will move forward. so i think the ball is in the republican court to come up with that amendment that they would like to see done and try and get the votes to get it passed. sumi: is there an amendment for you the republicans have posed that crosses a redline? >> i have not actually seen what they proposed because most of the negotiations have been behind closed doors. the bill that was brought up in the house by the house speaker, house built 2on the border, is not something i could support. but i think there are changes to the asylum laws, there are changes to parole, there are obviously funding requirements at the border to address screening for fentanyl, which is a huge scourge in new hampshire which is killing many people not just in my state but acosta

country. those are things i could support. so let's get to the negotiating table and find a compromise people can agree to. sumi: at this moment it does not look like there is a compromise that would pass. should the senate majority leader chuck schumer still bring this to the floor for a vote? >> i think we do need to vote on it. we need to be clear, people need to be clear about where they stand. and the reality is if the republican caucus would like to propose an amendment, they have that opportunity. they have the ability to put forward what they support and let's vote on it and see if it can pass. sumi: last question. >> mbe it is something -- sumi: i want to ask one more question. what happens if ukraine funding does not pass by the end of the year? >> we need to keep working on it. we need to stay until we pass something. because it is critical that we stop vladimir putin. because what we have heard him say and what we know from the leaders of thealtic states, of poland, of other eastern

european countries, is that they believe, and i believe that if putin is successful in ukraine that he will be going into the baltics next, he will be going into poland, into romania. sumi: to make sure i understand what you are saying, u.s. and if ukraine aid is not passed by the end of the year, you think vladimir putin will win this war? >> no. i said we should keep working on ukraine aid if we cannot pass it by the end of the year, because it is very important that we continue to support ukraine. i think it is in the best interests of the united states' national security and of world security that we not let dictators like vladimir putin think that he can go into any country that he wants and take it over. and that is exactly what he is doing in ukraine. and in the process, he is committing war crimes against the ukrainian people. sumi: senator, really interesting to get your perspective. thank you so much for joining

us. >> thank you. sumi: nigeria's president called for a thorough investigation into an accidental military drone attack that emergency officials said killed at least 85 civilians. it happened as people gathered to mark a muslim festival sunday. our correspondent reports. reporter: scenes of devastation in the northwestern state in nigeria after at least 85 people were killed in a military airstrike that apparently went wrong. dozens of civilians were also wounded in the incident, which was described by the nigerian president as a bombing mishap. villagers who had gathered for a religious festival on sunday said they heard what sounded like an airplane, followed by a huge explosion at around 9:00 p.m. local time. >> we were celebrating when the airplane came and dropped the

bomb. some died and some got injured and we all ran into the house. when the men in the village heard what happened, they came out to check. that is when they dropped the second one and more people died. reporter: casualties included children, women, and the elderly, according to the national emergency management agency. for years, nigeria's military has been battling militants and armed criminals in parts of northern nigeria as they try and prevent insurgents from raiding villages and kidnapping. the president called for a thorough and fully fledged investigation into the incident, while state officials look for survivors. >> it was a routine mission against terrorists. but unfortunately, some members of the community were affected. reporter: this is not the first time nigeria's military have

been accused of causing civilian casualties while fighting militia gangs. at least 20 fishermen were accidentally killed in 2021 during a nigerian fighter jet strike on a jihadist camp. for now, there are tears and anger in this northern nigerian community, as the government and military try to regain the trust of its citizens against its war on banditry. sumi: that is our shout. you can find more on all the day's news on our website, bbc.com/news. and check us out on your favorite social media site. thank you for watching world news america. ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: financial services firm, raymond james. man: bdo. accountants and advisors.

narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. it's to die for. now you won't miss a thing. this is the way. the xfinity 10g network. made for streaming. ♪ geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna: i'm on than the vase. u.s. lawmakers wrangle over whether to give ukraine more military aid as current funding is set to run out by the end of the year.