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george: actually, you don't need vision to do most things in life. it's exciting to be part of a team driving the technology forward. i think that's the most rewarding thing. people who know, know bdo. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news". >> i'm sumi somaskann washington and this is "bbc world news america." hamas says it's deputy political leader was killed in an explosion in beirut. a plain collision in japan leaves five dead and hundreds scrambling for safety from a quick moving fire. moscow launches more attacks on the ukrainian capital as vladimir putin tries to

intensify the onslaught. welcome to "bbc world news america." hamas says its deputy head saleh al-arouri was killed in a blast in beirut. he was secondn command of the hamas political arm but was also closely involved in medical -- military affairs. israel has not taken responsibility for the attack and is not commenting but foreign media are reporting it was an israeli drone strike. . a senior advisor to israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu called this a surgical strike against the hamas leadership. the explosion in beirut follows an escalation in fighting on the border. this comes as it are surreal to pull back as heavy fighting continues in the territory. our colleague is in jerusalem with the latest.

what are the israelis and hamas saying about the strike in beirut? reporter: in the last couple of hours, we have been getting more reaction for saul ll brewery's, this from hezbollah, a group that worked closely with him in lebanon. they said this will not go without punishment, that this was an attack on lebanon. we heard from the prime -- prime minister said it was a crime perpetrated by known criminals. they said that whoever did this, it's not an attack on the lebanese state but a surgical strike on hamas leadership. this could not come at a more volatile time for the region as the heightened tension continues withhe conflict in gaza but also with the continued tension

on israel's northern border with hezbollah. sumi: can you tell us more about saleh al-arouri and why he was such an important figure? reporter: he was a leading figure both politically and militarily. he has helped establish the hamas military -- the brigades, the military wing of hamas he was also responsible for the hamas office and presence in the west bank. he worked closely with iran and hezbollah, the iran backed group, and there was footage of him for example seen with the iranian supreme. he also was responsible for many key prisoner swaps with israel. so not only who was killed but where he was killed because he was killed in a southern suburb.

this suburb was a hezbollah stronghold. sumi: thank you for this update. for more on the strike in beirut and the war in gaza, i spoke to the deputy head of the combat intelligence corps from israel. we have seen the news that a strike in beirut has killed the deputy head of the political wing from hamas. how significant do you think this is? >> saleh al-arouri was not just a number two in what they call theolitical wing. he directly was responsible for recruiting and arming terrorist actions in the area of judea and samaria and the west bank, but he was also living in the heart of the has will the area of beirut. he was the direct connection between hamas and hezbollah and so this is a very important event that has taken place in

the middle east. sumi: the prime minister of lebanon says that this is a crime that "aims to drag lebanon into a new phase of confrontation with israel." are you worried about the response israel might see here? >> hezbollah is a lebanese shiite uranian proxy, a lot of words. last summer the leader made a statement that if israel would in any way hurt in any of the hamas leaders inside beirut, then hezbollah would respond. so there's no question inside israel that we are under the sense and the feeling that perhaps has bel will respond. when it comes to lebanon itself, lebanon and its own way totally ineffective against terror organizations. hamas is a palestinian organization that uses lebanon. we are talking about different

terror operatives were operating clearly than the ones taking response ability not just for the october 7 attack, but saleh al-arouri's office said that was just the beginning. sumi: i -- if i could jump in, wondering if you are waiting for a response, does this risk a full-blown conflict with hezbollah? >> it's one of those questions you ask all the time and not academically at all. saleh al-arouri was one of the chief planners of the hamas terror campaign they are doing against israel. in that sense as we are fighting against hamas, both within the gaza strip and in judea and samaria, hamas have been fighting from lebanon into israel. if you do at, you need to be aware they may respond. i think it's worth the price itself. saleh al-arouri was one of the

head people planning and perpetrating the types of attacks we saw october 7 last year. sumi: at the same time, if we look at the war in gaza, the military says it started to withdraw some brigades from the strip. is it possible we are starting to see the beginning of the end of act of operations in gaza? >> i don't think so. it's not the end of act operations, it is perhaps a stage where it will be less high intensity but still very active. you still have different brigades, a large number still active. israel is not done y with that ground operation but there is no question they are changing the amount of forces. sumi: nonetheless, we've seen residents in gaza saying israel

continues to pound the area with airstrikes and warnings from international aid organizations about the dire humanitarian situation in gaza. the hamas run territory says more than 22,000 people have been killed. will israel be able to say it has won if it ends? >> this was never a war that you will be happy about it afterwards. this is a horrible war that started with a horrific one attack with kidnapping and hostage is still being held. nobody ever asks about hamas, when will they put down their arms and horrific way of fighting? i am not a person with happy news about this. i do think trying to show that a terror organization like hamas or hezbollah is not the one that gets to choose the time and place to do terror campaigns and is an important message for terror organizations worldwide.

i think it's making sure that rrorists do not win. sumi: great to have you on the program. thank you so much. >> thank you so much and happy new year. sumi: as we mentioned, the hamas run ministry says the death toll in gaza has surpassed 22,000 since the conflict started in october and the palestinian red crescent says five people were killed after an israeli bombing on the humanitarian headquarters in khan yunis. israel says it will appear before the international court of justice after south africa filed a case accusing israel of engaging in genocidal acts in gaza. israel is calling the allegations baseless and will contest the case. a bipartisan delegation of u.s. senators will fly to the middle east. senator kirsten gillibrand says the group will have to meet with the israeli prime minister netanyahu. ukraine's defense minister says

moscow is deliberately targeting residential areas after russia hit the cities of kiva and kharkiv. -- kyiv and kharkiv. saturday, russia launched its largest aerial attack since the invasion began, killing at least 40 people. ukraine responded with a drone attack that killed people in a russian city across the border. amid the escalating violence, there is still no end in sight to the deadlock in the u.s. congress over funding for ukraine's war effort, but zelenskyy denies vladimir putin's claims that western allies are reconsidering support for ukraine. there have been a fresh wave of russian strikes on ukrainian cities including kyiv and live

leave. you have said it's clear ukraine needs more support. what does ukraine need in the coming days? >> thank you for having me. unfortunately, since december 29, we have seen continuation with russia and what they did before so it's not something that came as a surprise. we knew the intent is still there to conduct the genocide and destroy ukrainians everywhere. we have seen attacks in so many other places. today another deadly attack in kyiv. the formula of our joint victory still remains the same. more weapons and more prayers to ukraine.

hopefully we can liberate more and provide a more risk -- robust response to horrendous attacks and clearly send a message to russia. sumi: in an interview with the economist, your president volodymyr zelenskyy says the west has lost a sense of urgency. from your conversations here in washington, what are lawmakers here telling you? >> everyone in here from president biden who made a statement after these attacks and the administration but also congress on atrong bipartisan baseness do understand the need for ukraine to win and also the urgencies so we look forward to congress coming back after their vacations. the continuation of the ukraine package is discussed actively.

it is not just for ukraine. there's a complex package that includes israel and issues of national security and border issues in the united states. we can only hope and ask all of our friends here to find a solution which is not related to ukraine but find a solution as click as possible and we look forward to continuation of support. sumi: that's talk more about the package to remind viewers. this is aid that would include around $60 billion of support for ukraine. some republicans when they were asked about the package have said ukraine has not yet made clear what a victory would look like. could you tell us, what with the victory look like? would it include ukraine taking back all territory including crimea? >> first of all, president zelenskyy has been very clear about this when he visited

washington in december. he met with the senate and the house, he met with speaker johnson, and president biden. everywhere we have been discussing the need to stay the course. they need for all of us to leave in the charter for the u.n. and restore international order. for us it means to store integrity everywhere and liberate all of our villages. it's not only about the land, it's about millions of ukrainians who suffer right now on a daily basis. they are being killed and tortured. we are realists and we know it requires additional processes but we cannot give up on any of that. it is not just important for ukraine, it is important for all of us. the international architecture has been shattered so we have to

restore it. sumi: the biden administration has been very supportive of ukraine. i want to ask about reporting on politico saying the biden administration has quietly shifted its focus from a total victory for ukraine to " improving its position in an eventual negotiation to end the war." what do you think of this? >> i have never heard or seen anything like that, and i would urge to look at the official statements of all of our friends not only in the administration but also in congress and the generals, current or retired, secretary of defense, and others. you will see one coherent and robust message that we have to win together because it is very important for all of us who believe in freedom, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. we have tried to restore

territorial integrity through diplomatic solutions. i want to remind this war has started in 2014. we have done everything in eight years to implement them and to actually restore and provide -- prevent this next attack. russia uses all that time to gather weapons and attack us. sumi: what happens if congress cannot reach an agreement on more aid for ukraine? >> frankly it i don't even want to think about a possibility like that. i can tell you ukrainians will never give up and never surrender. we will keep fighting. i'm positivehat american people in this country, based on the same values we are fighting on the front line four, freedom, democracy and dignity, i'm

positive. i hear it from people and from congress that to fight for this is important for us and americans so we really count on the support. sumi: thank you so much for joining us on "bbc world news america" today. >> thank you for having me. sumi: japanese officials are investigating an airplane collision that took place on a tarmac at tokyo's airport. this is the moment a passenger plane skidded down the runway at hannay to airport before a collision with a japanese coast transport plane. people on board filmed from their panic as smoke from the engine began to fill the cabin. although the 380 passengers and crew on the japan airlines flight were evacuated safely, five coast guard members died on the other plane. a passenger told us what it was like. >> i could only see the fire in the engine. after we calmly got off the plane and went to a place far from the aircraft, i saw the fire had spread in only 10 or 15

minutes. >> i can only say it was a miracle. we could have died if we didot evacuate at that point. sumi: japan airlines said it was their understanding the plane had receive permission to land but the exchanges with air traffic command are still under investigation. the coast guard said there plane was headed to issue,, the epicenter of the earth claimed that -- earthquake that struck yesterday, to deliver food and aid. aid organizations are scrambling to deal with the aftermath of the earthquake that rocked the west coast new year's day. at least 55 people were killed in the quake that hit. tremors were fault hundreds of miles away in tokyo and officials say aftershocks could last months. the prime minister kishida has said he has ordered help to

damaged areas soonest possible. jean mackenzie is on the ground there. reporter: this is a race for survival. rescue workers streamed through japan's isolated noto peninsula. the roads blocking their way. they are trying to reach worst affected areas in the north where people are trapped under collapsed homes. many families were out at temples celebrating new year's day when japan was hit by its strongest earthquake in 12 years. he thought his shrine was going to collapse. >> the whole gate was swaying. the alleyway was swaying as well. the children had to squat on the floor so as not to fall over, he told me. as we traveled toward the

epicenter, we are alerted to another earthquake. these aftershocks keep coming. further in, old wooden homes have been brought to the ground, not made to withstand the ferocity of japan's enduring quakes. this man lives here alone after losingis wife. at 82, he doesn't know how he will manage the repairs. >> we always have earthquakes around here. what i just didn't think we would get a big one like this. i didn't take it seriously. i thought we were safe here. reporter: this is only the tip of the destruction. we are trying to get closer to the epicenter to a city where we know at least one dozen people have died and many more have trapped in their homes and collapsed, but we are struggling. if you look at this road here,

we keep coming against the roads that are blocked off and even emergency services have been struggling to reach people in the worst affected areas so we are still trying to piece together the extent of the damage and how many have been killed andnjured. some firefighters have managed to get into the city of wajima and are searching for survivors but the death toll is expected to rise. the people here have lived through many an earthquake never felt tremors of this magnitude, which have shaken both their surroundings and sense of safety . jean mackenzie, bbc, noto peninsula in japan. sumi: hundreds of buildings as we saw have collapsed or burnt down, many of them in wajima city. japan has seen its fair share of quakes making it one of the most prepared countries for this kind of disaster. the last major earthquake was in 2011 and the strongest and most

devastating to date, nearly 20,000 were killed there. since then, japanese authorities recorded more than 30 major earthquakes measuring level six or higher on the seismic intensity scale. moving to other news now, claudine gay, the president of harvard uversity, stepped down. she came under intense criticism after delivering congressional testimony on anti-semitic to some on college campuses and failing to say whether calling for the jail -- genocide of jews would violate harvard's code of conduct saying it depended on the context. then she faced accusations of plagiarism. in a statement she wrote, "it is clear that the best interest is for me to resign so we can focus on the focus on the institution rather than any individual." she became the second university president to testify in congress over antisemitism concerns

following the university of pennsylvania president liz mcgill last month. t's go to other important news from around the world. former president donald trump is appealing a decision by maine's top elections official to disqualify him from appearing on the republican presidential ballot in this year's election. the secretary of state announced ruling saying the constitution prohibits anyone involved in an insurrection from holding office. republicans are appealing a similar ruling in colorado by the state's highest court. he will remain on the ballot for now unless the supreme court does intervene. the white house is asking the supreme court to allow border patrol agent to remove razor wire that texas placed along the border with mexico. a federal appears cool -- appeals court temporarily blocked the biden administration from destroying the fence. now the administration wants the court to weigh in. the latest on the dispute between the white house and texas republican governor greg abbott who had the razor wire installed to deter illegal

migration. panama says half a million people crossed the dangerous darien gap jungle as they attempted to reach the u.s.-mexico border. that is more than double the previous year. the darien gap is the only link between south and central america. and the u.s., the biden administration says his country is facing an unprecedented migration crisis. the fbi is investigating a new year's day crash in rochester, new york that killed two people and injured at least nine more. an suv filled with gas canisters appear to intentionally crash into another vehicle just outside of a concert venue on monday. the suspect, a 30 five-year-old man, also died in the incident. . police in rochester say no link to terrorism has been found. before we go, a british army officer already holds two records for antarctic tracking. now she is set for a third. she believes she has become the world's fastest woman to complete also look south pole skeet expedition covering more

than -- ski expedition covering more than 1100 kilometers in just 13 hours and 19 minutes. she's waiting for the guinness world records to verify the feet. congratulations to her. i am sumi somaskanda in washington. thank you for watching "bbc world news america." you can find the latest and all of our headlines on our website, bbc.com/news. 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. ♪ ♪

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♪ geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz. on "the newshour" tonight. as the war in gaza rages on, we speak with a former israeli hostage in her first, exclusive interview since being released by hamas. >> for the 51 days that i was there, there wasn't a minute that i thought that i'd ever come back alive. geoff: harvard's president resigns after accusations of plagiarism and criticisms of the university's response to the war -- the israel-hamas war.