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antonio guterres warns gaza is at severe risk of humanitarian collapse as fighting continues. the biden administration announces military aid for ukraine is a larger funding package stalls in congress. the bbc speaks with one of the first defectors from north korea this year. ♪ welcome to world news america. thank you for joining us. intense fighting continues in gaza as that israeli army continues to push into an area where tens of thousands have sheltered. heavy bombardments and the u.s. says 600,000 people are under evacuation in southern gaza but there is nowhere to go. israeli forces say they have encircled the home of the head of hamas's political wing in gaza. they believe he is one of the masterminds of the october 7 attack.

frank gardner reports he has disappeared. in a video statement netanyahu said he might not be there but it is only a matter of time before he is found and reuters reports israel security cabinet agreed to allow a minimal addition of fuel in order to event humanitarian collapse and outbreak of disease in the south. our correspondent is in jerusalem. good to see you. what more are the israelis saying now about the hamas leaders location? reporter: he has been a key target of israeli military in southern gaza, in the city where he comes from. authorities believe members of the hamas leadership are hiding in the city, possibly the vast

network of underground tunnels. we heard from njamin netanyahu who said is really a tanks are israeli -- israeli tanks are circling his house. he also said it was a matter of time before he was captured. this is key in the israeli strategy because there authorities have been saying one of the goals of this military offense against hamas in gaza is to eliminate hamas so capturing or killing leadership is vital for the israeli authorities to achieve the goals of the military operation. >> the idf's continuing operations in northern gaza as well. wh can you tell us about fighting and the rest of the territory? reporter: it was another day of

intense fighting in places across gaza. the fighting is happening street by street and it was another day of very strong warnings from a number of different aid organizations. we heard from the u.n. human rights achieve who descred the gaza situation as apocalypse deck and that humanitarian assistance in gaza had virtually stopped because of the very limited number of trucks with humanitarian aid allowed to enter gaza in recent days. we also heard dramatic intervention by antennae of the terrace, who describ the situation in gaza as a catastrophe. he called for a cease-fire, which has been rejected by israel and as fighting

continues, the humanitarian situation in gaza gets worse. hospitals are overwhelmed with patients and there are widespread shortages of supplies. >> are civilian still able to move south -- are the civilians still able to move south? reporter: israel is publishing the names of places that have been designated as safe zones and two of them are rafa near the border with egypt and a tiny place by the mediterranean coast. we are hearing from a number of different aid organizations saying the situation is desperate, including in those places designated as safe zones. >> thank you for reporting from jerusalem.

the united nations secretary general issued a warning about this war, urging a cease-fire to avert a humanitarian catastrophe . in a letter to the president of the humanitarian council, he warns the war might aggravate threats to -- international peace and security and condemns what he calls the abhorrent attacks on israel and causes -- and calls for the hamas hostages to be immediately released unconditionally. i counts of sexual violence as reported by the bbc, he says, are appalling but most of the letter focuses on the impact on the civilians in gaza, who is says face grave jet -- grave danger. 80% of the population is displaced and living in unsafe unhygienic conditions. hospitals have been turned into battlegrounds. the situation he says is rapidly

deteriorating and he expects public order to completely break down, rendering humanitarian aid impossible. he warns of mass displacement and disease in other countries. israel's u.n. ambassador rice -- ambassador says good terrors has reached a new low and calls for his resignation and that that call for a cease-fire is actually a call to keep the reign of terror of hamas and that this calls -- this only prolongs the fighting in gaza. jeremy bowen reports on the situation inside gaza. you might find some of these images distressing. reporter: more palestinian civilians fled towards the egyptian border after israel declared a brief pause.

almost 2 million people from gaza have fled their homes. israel says they are killing fewer civilians as the u.s. asked. nowhere in this territory is safe. this man is offering people rides. he says he has seen hes and legs blown off that no one can reach. the stream of misery entering the hospital does not stop and neither is growing condemnation from international relief agencies of the pain and death israel is inflecting -- inflicting on gaza civilians. it is one of the worst assaults on any civilian population and our time and age, according to the norwegian refugee council. as israel's forces push south, the aders reject that outright

. the damage and death they say is the fault of hamas for starting the war. israel has given video of captured weapons it says were found near schools and clinics, more proof the army insists that hamas uses civilians as human shields. in jerusalem, a senior u.n. official said the hamas attacks on israel were atrocious and horrific but now israel has obligations. >> there are allegations that u.n. is not doing enough but it is up to the government of israel to let us and right now the conditions inside gaza are not permitting us to do our job and deliver humanitarian assistance. reporter: should israel examine the conscience? >> i think we all need to examine our conscience in terms of what is going on. many are asking if we have lost our human it to -- humanity. i think some of us have.

i don't think the world is doing enough to end this. reporter: israel could end this tomorrow. >> they could indeed. reporter: in gaza, another dead child gets a last place. the bbc freelance who math -- two films this mass funeral reported it followed and israel strike that killed 47, including 15 children. nine are still under the rubble. israel says only force will destroy hamas and save their hostages but america has warned israel that fighting the war this way, killing so many civilians, risks driving palestinians into the arms of hamas and for israel that would be a strategic defeat. >> the white house says it is continuing to negotiate for humanitarian cse-fire but in washington, division of the war is persistent.

many democrats and republicans are strong supporters of the campaign against hamas by israel but mr. biden's approach is being welcomed by others. a democrat from michigan spoke with his earlier. congressman, you were working with another democrat, a colleague of yours to have a resolution in the house of representatives to condemn the hamas attacks of sexual violence october 7. do followed democrats support this? >> first let me say we are also working with republicans to lead this with us. this will be a bipartisan resolution against crimes against women, the latest example being what happened with hamas. a number we have yet to finish following the text and we are doing it today but women in both parties want to sign on to this.

violence against any woman is -- as a tool of war anywhere anytime is a -- is wrong. >> you have been speaking out about this violence in the october 7 attack and you have received reactions. your private information has been made public. why have you been pursuing this in particular? >> i had heard reports early on within a couple of days of some of the horrific stories that are now becoming more public. i was doing a local interview and said no one could condemn -- no one could condone the raping of women. on the show subsequent to that i was called a liar and responsible and told i had to retract the statement.

i am not afraid to tell the truth that i will not be bullied. within days, i had been doxxed with my personal number given out. in the last six weeks i have been doxxed three different times. but i want to make sure i am telling the truth so i dug in because i wanted to make sure i was not getting facts that were untrue. i'm horrified. >> congresswoman, you represent a district where you have a large arab-american and jewish communities. what are they telling you? >> i have a very diverse district. it reflects much of the angst we see in the country on all sides. i lived in dearborn until i lost in my district last year and have known arabs and muslims for

decades. and jewish americans. this has been the worst time i can ever remember. what hamas did was an act of terrorism and yet so many families i know have families in gaza and the stories i have heard, i have met with families of hostages from israel, i have met with families, almost entire families wiped out in hamas. it is a very tense time. i think a lot of people when we get back to talking about the rape, the violence against william -- against women, simply do not want to believe that people are capable of doing things that happened. >> you have a diverse democratic conference in the house as well and it appears democrats are divided over the war. some of your colleagues want the u.s. to continue showing strong support for israel to defeat

hamas and others want the u.s. to put a condition on aid to israel to stop the bombing in gaza. where do democrats stand? >> we are a divided caucus but i think that everybody, i think my caucus is united against violence against women as these stories are coming out and people are hearing the truth, we will be united. we have got to keep talking because i do not think you can look at gaza and see destruction and we can debate about how many innocent civilians have died, but 6000 to 8000 children have died in gaza. and the administration is saying strongly to israel, you cannot keep killing civilians like this. we have to support humanitarian

aid. we have to keep working together to find a two state solution. if anything good comes out of this, may it be that we can work together and find new lasting peace. >> thank you so much for joining us on bbc news today, congresswoman. u.s. senate republicans appear to have blocked a ukraine security a spill backed by democrats that included funding for israel and taiwan and more money for u.s. border security programs. republicans wanted the bill to include tougher border policies to curb immigration. this follows zelenskyy canceling a briefing with u.s. lawmakers tuesday. it is unclear why but he addressed a virtual meeting of g7 leaders today where a group announced a new ban on russian diamonds on financial sanctions. biden demanded congress pass additional ukraine funding immediately.

president biden: this cannot wait. congress needs to pass supplemental funding for ukraine before they break for the holiday. it is as simple as that. i think it is stunning we have gone to this point in the first place. republicans in congress are willing to give vladimir putin the greatest gift he could hope for and abandon our global leadership. >> the biden administration announced a package of military aid to ukraine wednesday that includes guided missiles and antiarmor systems but the white house warns the money left to send to ukraine is running out. on the ground in ukraine, just parker has more on the challenges the country faces as the war drags on. reporter: american weapons assistance has been crucial to the ukrainian war effort, which is why there is concern here about the congressional wrangling happening in washington, d.c. that comes at a

time where there is some doubt over fresh eu financial assistance so zelenskyy addressing g7 world leaders while trying to strike a relatively upbeat tone but had a stark message, saying russia and putin hope the western will to support ukraine will collapse so his underlying message is prove president putin wrong. it is a message we heard on the streets of kyiv talking to people. one woman became tearful talking about the issues. her son is serving on the frontline she said ukraine needs more weapons because their children are dying. this comes at a difficult time for the country. the counteroffensive launched in june widely seen as having failed to deliver the hoped-for gains and the west distracted by what is happening in israel and gaza. >> a north korean family who escaped this year has told the

bbc there has been a great deal of suffering since the country sealed the borders at the start of the pandemic. defections were once common and now have become almost impossible. this family fled by sea and is the first to have escaped this year and made it south. according to a missionary group that helps them, around 1000 used to make it to china each year but they have only accounted for 20 crossings in the last four years. one family member spoke to our correspondent. we have re-voiced his words and are not using his name to help protect his family. we cannot independently verify the entire account but some details are in line with what we have been told by other sources. >> every escape from north korea is remarkable. but mr. kim took a stomach churning risk. with the border sealed, he fled by sea with his entire family on board this ship.

his wife is pregnant. his brother's children hayden below deck. >> weut the children to sleep with sleeping pills and hid them in sacks of grain. i was almost paralyzed by fear. i knew my entire family could be executed if i made one mistake. the boat was very loud but all i could hear was my heartbeat. reporter: the family crossed into south korean waters undetected and were rescued by the navy. with defections now trickling, they pulled off the seemingly impossible. they said the sea between north and south korea where they family crossed, it is so unusual for escapees to come is way directly to south korea, most go through china, meaning mr. kim and his family are the first to have escaped this year and made it. their testimony is so important because it some of the most up-to-date information that we have about what is happening in the country. the border closures have brought immense suffering, he told me.

to farmers he knew starved to death as food prices soared. pandemic restrictions made life more just -- more desperate. >> when there were cases of covid, everyone was locked up and people were sealed off with little or nothing to eat. they would starve and then the government would bring in truckloads of supplies to sell so they would be praised. it is like starving your baby and then giving them a small amounts of a thank you. people started asking if this was the state's plan to profit from the pandemic. reporter: now safely in seoul, mr. kim grew up watching south korean television in secret. this life -- this was his source of enlightenment. but now authorities are ruthlessly cracking down on anyone caught watching. >> people started calling the

crackdown officials mosquitoes. they are like vampires who suck your blood. they are ruthless. they shoot you, kill you, or send you to a labor camp. last year they publicly executed a 22-year-old man for listening to south korean songs and sharing them with his friends. they said they were punishing him heart -- harshly to set the right precedent. everyone is afraid. reporter: and south korea, the government has criticized their neighbor for violating human rights but with pyongyang shedding diplomacy, there is little anyone can do. this new freedom has not quenched mr. kim's fear. he worries about repercussions of speaking out. his baby daughter is only one month old. she gave mr. kim the final push to escape. to free her from what he calls a hellhole. >> nearly one week into the

united nations climate summit in dubai, critics say not enough progress is being made. the climate chief accused countries of posturing and urged them to reach new agreements to meet climate goals. wednesday they focused on the environmental impact of transportation and urban areas including west -- including electric vehicles. carl masterman was at the conference in dubai. with the summit at the halfway point, where do things stand? reporter: you could call it halftime. we are halfway through and what we have seen is a flurry of activity. many agreements, pledges, promises coming from various sectors and countries. a positive start in many minds for the summit. the big headline was the agreement to finalize and launch the loss of damage fund that provides money to developing

countries on the front lines of climate change and the second-biggest agreement was the 100 countries agreeing to triple renewable energy capacity by the end of the decade so that is a big announcement but the devil is in the details and getting the agreements into writing and the second half of the conference will make the difference. >> what will the sticking points be? reporter: we are here late into by. most people have left those who had not left yet where the actual negotiators. a few minutes ago we saw them walk out of one of the buildings to the right. a big flood of tire looking people. i tried to get -- tired of looking people. i tried to ask them how it is going. one of them gave me a look like, it is going ok. they have been working day and night the last few days.

one of the biggest sticking points comes down to a small twist of phrase, whether to phase out fossil fuels or phase down fossil fuels. a big group of nations is really pushing for a total phase out and others just want a face down or maybe no mention of fossil fuels at all. these are the kinds of things that can push a conference into overtime or maybe not get some important agreements done. this is what people will be watching in the second half. >> karl, thank you so much. really interesting. and thank you for watching world news america. do stay with us. ♪ 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. no the xfinity 10g network. made for streaming. ♪ >> good evening. >> on the newshour tonight, fierce fighting continues in southern gaza as hospital conditions become increasingly dire for the civilians caught in the crossfire. >> congress struggles to reach