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push for stricter immigration policy. >> welcome to world news. the middle east tonight. in iran nearly 100 people were killed by two bomb explosions near the tomb of qasem soleimani on the anniversary of his death. who's the continue to disrupt shipping with a tax. the u.n. is holding a meeting to disrupt that crisis and warning about potential escalation of violence across the region and urging restraint after a deputy hamas leader was killed in beirut. in iran nearly 100 people were killed near the grave of qasem

soleimani where two bags carrying explosives were detonated at the entrance to the cemetery be the bombings took place wednesday in the southeast city of kerman, qasem soleimani who was killed in 2020 by a u.s. drone attacks. caroline hawley reports. >> roads leading to the cemetery packed with people that have gone to pay respects to qasem soleimani. the bombs planted in bags were apparently set off by remote control. whoever did this aimed to cause mass counsel fees. the iranian red cross said efforts to evacuate work operated by the size of the crash. the first bomb was followed by a second more deadly explosion four years to the day since qasem soleimani was killed in an american drone attack while visiting iraq. he was a huge figure in iran, commander of the revolutionary guard are responsible for arming

proxy melissa's in the middle east including hezbollah in lebanon and funding hamas. he had a devoted following among followers of the uranian regime and his funeral was attended by more than one million mourners. who would want to attack the commemoration of his death and why? >> this attack in kerman does not fit what the israelis have usually done. they look for specific individuals, not huge events with lots of people. two groups have a history of doing this type of thing in iran. >> the sunni jihadist groups on whom suspicion for this is likely to fall though no group has claimed to have carry data out. around supreme leader ayatollah khomeini said it is the deadliest attack in the country

in a decades and there would be a harsh response because it can only increase tensions in a region that is already a tinderbox. >> the white house issued a joint statement describing attacks against commercial ships in the red sea as illegal, unacceptable, and profoundly disturbing. the attacks were carried out by houthi rebels and iranian backed group that controls parts of yemen. the joint statement called the attacks a direct threat to the freedom of navigation serving as the bedrock of global trade in one the world's most critical waterways. oil tankers and massive containers holding everything from microchips to furniture account for low nearly 50% of global seaborne trade through the red sea. u.s. security counsel holds an emergency meeting on how to handle the situation. our north american correspondent will vernon is covering the story. let's bring him in now. it's good to see you. tell us more about what the united nations security council has been discussing. >> united nations have a meeting

today to discuss the situation in the red sea. though there was not any resolution or both, i think, still, it is a sign of increasing alarm globally at the situation in one of the world's most important shipping routes. one of the u.s. representative to the united nations said the situation is profoundly disturbing and requiring of global response and is at an inflection point. but, of course, not everyone is in agreement. the pressure representative there blames the crisis on israel. and america. saying this was a direct response to israel's war in gaza and accused the u.s. of fanning flames in the red sea. >> we have also seen the i mentioned, 11 countries and the white house issuing a statement calling the attacks illegal and unacceptable. as well as profoundly disturbing.

what stood out to you? >> the united nations security council meeting is coming shortly after a joint statement by the u.s., the u.k., and 10 other nations i think sending quite clear warning to the who things -- houthis saying if the attacks don't stop they will bear the responsibility of the consequences. these actions threatened the lives of sailors as well as disrupting trade. that statement was quite clear. it was a message saying stop it or else. that comes two weeks after the announcement of the creation of operation prosperity guardian, the creation of a multinational naval task force that is supposed to protect shipping in the red sea. of course, attacks have continued. yesterday the u.s. military two antiship ballistic missiles were fired from houthi rebel

-controlled territory towards commercial shipping but no ships were damaged. >> why is the shipping region so important? >> the red sea is a vital shipping route, around 50% of all global trade passes through the area. several major shipping firms already announced they will be diverging their ships via other routes and that costs more and takes a lot longer. several international trade bodies have warned consumers should expect price increases on certain products that travel via these group -- roots. there are profound consequences. >> our correspondent will vernon, thank you so much. meanwhile, the secretary-general of the lebanese armed group has bless as the killing of three top hamas officials in beirut

tuesday will not go unpunished. the attack killed a senior moss --hamas leader. hamas and hezbollah says israel is behind the attack but israel has not admitted or denied animals aim their horses are ready for retaliation. hamas is promising retaliation and said they cannot negotiate with israel while they commit "crimes." hamas is considered a terror organization by the u.k. and u.s. governments. the united nations is urging restraint and state department spokesperson matthew miller says the u.s. is incredibly concerned about the conflict in gaza spreading after the killing. bbc correspondent standing by tonight. thank you for joining us. you have been speaking about the killing of al-arouri. what have they been saying to

you? >> you can feel the anger on the streets. protesters were chanting his name, chanting for freedom and resistance and calling for revenge. one woman told me there is a deep sense of anger and fury here and sadness as well. she says al-arouri is deeply respected in the west bank, where he is from. his hometown is not far from here. al-arouri was a key person in hamas on the military and political front the link between hamas, hezbollah, and iran. he may have been on israel and u.s. target list. they both accuse him of many terror activities. for many people here warning his death he is a symbol of the resistance they have lost. >> hezbollah says this one go without punishment.

what is israel saying about that? >> israel has not confirmed it is involved in the attack and israel usually does not confirm or deny any involvement in such killings. when you look at the israeli military, it's widely celebrated as a game changing event when you look at the commentary in the jerusalem post. other commentators and observers have said of this could have dangerous, negative repercussions on two fronts. one, there are more than 100 hostages in abbas --hamas captivity in gaza and many have pointed out, what would be their fate if something like this happens to a hamas leading figure? they also pointed out hezbollah and the repercussions from there. has blood is iran backed with a huge arsenal that is much more sophisticated down hamas -- dan hamas.

so far the exchange of fire between hezbollah and israel has been constrained to one strip of the border. if they start using lawn -- long-range missiles it could change the conflict and nobody wants to see that escalation. there is nervousness, even though the israeli army says they are ready for any scenario. there is nervousness among israel's allies and the international community about what the has been a response could -- hezbollah response could look like. for more, we speak to a senior fellow at the foundation for the defense of democracy. we have a few threads to bring together with developments in the middle east. i will start with iran. the bombing at the grave where there was a memorial being held for the former commander qasem soleimani. do we have any idea who might have been behind this? >> it is a pleasure to be here on the fourth anniversary of

qasem soleimani, a man instrumental in implementing iran's regional vision of the militarization of the revolution and the creation of proxy terrorist groups in the middle east today. a lot of people are upset by that. there is a massive oppression of ethnic and sectarian minorities across iran. some of those groups are armed and have in the past conducted terrorist attacks on iranian territory or more recent terror attacks on iranian territory. those have been conducted by isis. iran has responded to isis attacks on its character with ballistic missile barrages. the region response to perceived or real threats against kurdish opposition groups. on iran's eastern flank there is a border with afghanistan that is very porous. in the southeast, baluchistan where that population is on both sides of the iran/pakistan border and has been linked to a designated terrorist group that has conducted smaller scale attacks in the past.

>> there are a number of possibilities. i want to ask you about another development. the strike that killed the hamas deputy leader sumi somaskanda -- deputy leader al-arouri. we heard that is still reverberating across the region. hezbollah says this won't go unpunished and the u.s. is worried about this escalating towards a full-blown conflict. how likely do you think that is between israel and hezbollah? >> a response could come based on the mood in ramallah and the west bank from an area least expected. with the islamic republic it is never a question of if they will respond. it is when, where, and how. they have created and cooperated with different terror groups called the axis of resistance designed to force israel to fight on different fronts. it could be like a terror attack from the west bank. it could be like a new normal on the front was lebanon. it could be increased activation of the front with syria.

it could be more long-range strike platforms. there have been at least three drone strikes the israelis shot down from iraq into israel. >> the israelis are on high alert, as we heard. i also want to ask you about the other element we were discussing breed the surge in attacks by houthi rebels in the red sea. the u.s. said this was an inflection point. why are we seeing this? are they attacks of opportunity by houthi rebels? >> the houthi rebels are making good on a promise more than a half decade old. their desire to enter the fight between israel and a palestinian group or israel and lebanese hezbollah. lebanese possessed the most sophisticated weapons despite being the newest member to the iranian axis of resistance. after october 7 they dropped ballistic missiles and cruise missiles in israel. they failed and shifted to lower hanging fruit. now you can see houthi rebels implementing iran's maritime

strategy that we used to see in the persian gulf now on the red sea harassing tankers going after shipping and commercial vessels, spooking oil prices and insurance premiums, trying to put an economic pressure on american israel to bail out hamas and stop the war. >> taken together all the elements we mentioned, are we seeing the israel/gaza war spilling over and spreading? >> iran's a strategy to get de-escalation, throw a lifeline to its proxy in gaza, hamas is to exit -- escalate, not direct plea escalate but activate different fronts. a new normal with lebanon and hezbollah and israel. i think the most important theater is the iraq/syria border. there have been over 115 attacks the past 2.5 months on u.s. positions there from militias. the u.s. has responded only a handful of times. six or seven.

more in syria than iraq. this is where iran is trying to use military needs to a commish a political and. they are trying to get america attacked in a different theater, to realize it is being attacked because of the wars going on, and transfer political pressure to israel to end the war. >> a very volatile situation. now, russia and ukraine agreed to exchange hundreds of prisoners of war after what moscow described as complex negotiations. ukraine is calling it the biggest swath of the war. 230 prisoners from ukraine were exchanged for 248 russians. russia continued to target ukrainian cities following president putin's pledge to intensify attacks. the number of ukrainian civilians got in the conflict is now more than 10,000 according to figures reported by the united nations. our senior international correspondent tells the story of two of the victims, talented young woman, both civilians, killed in a city in zaporizhzhia

last summer. >> in the heart of kyiv, pride of place goes to those that died defending ukraine. gregory comes to show his wife some of his fallen comrades. there are many. he was a poet, he tells her. and he was a banker. the country has lost all these people, he says. they were the best of ukraine. the bravest. maybe the most heroic. and, ukraine has lost voices of the future, like christina and svetlana. this was in august in the city of zaporizhzhia.

our last song will be for curse on -- kherson, says christina, who was 21. minutes later, both were dead. they were having a rest at a playground around the corner when a russian rocket slammed to earth. christina's mother helena does not know how to live without her. >> you do not know what plans to make for tomorrow. sometimes you are able to smile. then you remember, she can't smile anymore. i cannot explain it. it is as if you have died, but can still speak.

>> svetlana's family inhabit their own universe of grief. their father, yuri, mother, anna, and 12-year-old sister, sascha. >> i live in my own world, she says. i feel safer now. because, i feel sveta is always with me. yuri tells me svetlana, who was 18, was musical from childhood and wrote her own songs. he heard the explosion here at home and rushed to look for her. >> bullies brought me to the place and i saw what i saw. svetlana was lying on the ground in front of me.

how is it possible in the 21st century to do something like this? i don't know. >> christina and svetlana library side-by-side. they saying to raise funds for troops and civilians and raise morale. helena finds cold comfort at the gravesite. >> you come here to see or hear something. the wind blows, you think it is the soil -- soul of your child hugging you. >> her child, and so many more,

are gone. killed on and off the battlefield. the hope of ukraine filling early graves. bbc news, zaporizhzhia. >> the border town of eagle pass, texas is 10,000 kilometers from zaporizhzhia. their fates are linked by politics. republicans in congress want tough new laws to stop and illegal immigration prices on the u.s./mexico border and say they will block billions of dollars for funding in ukraine until the laws are passed. order officials processed 300,000 migrants in december, 2023, the highest number on record. republicans blame to joe biden rolling back measures put in place but donald trump and stopped construction of mr. trump's flagship border wall. house speaker mike johnson and a 60 fellow republican lawmakers

traveled to eagle pass to survey the u.s. southern border. >> one thing is absolutely cute -- clear. america is at a breaking point with record levels of illegal immigration. today we got a firsthand look at the damage and chaos the border catastrophe is causing in all our communities because the situation here and across the country is unconscionable. we describe it as heartbreaking and infuriating. our communities are overrun. we have local resources being strapped. we have lethal drugs pouring into our country at record levels. it has been less than three years since president biden took office and this happened. it is unmitigated in its disaster and catastrophe. what is more tragic is it is a disaster of the president's own design. with each day, each record broken in this administration's dereliction of duty becomes more dangerous and infuriating, and we are here to save us stop. >> at the white house today joe

biden's press secretary pointed to tens of billions of dollars in funding for border security that mr. biden has asked congress to approve. >> look at the national security supplemental the president put forward. he put border security in there because he believes that to get work done at the border we need more resources. last may the speaker of the republicans in the house voted to get rid of 2000 border patrol agents. that is their focus. that's not helpful. we need resources to actually do the work. they keep getting an in the way. housework applicants keep getting in the way to do the work of the border. house republicans are obstructing. >> let's look at other headlines from around the world. japanese authorities say a coast guard aircraft involved in a failed collisionh at a tokyo airport tuesday was not cleared for takeoff. the smaller air plane collided with the japan airline passenger jet over the run rate -- runway

tuesday. japan airlines flight was to do land. all 379 passengers and crew on board the passenger jet were safely evacuated. five coast guard crewmembers were killed in a fiery crash. the former president of sierra leone was charged with four counts of treason over an alleged to plot in november and is under house arrest following questioning by the police. at least 21 people were killed in a prison at freetown in november. he said the charges were part of a political vendetta. before we go, the iconic game of tetris has apparently been mastered. 34 years after its release. testers -- tetris was created in 1984 by an engineer from the soviet union, and until a few years ago, many thought the highest level in tetris was 30. now a u.s. teenager reached level 157, causing the game to crash. this is 13-year-old willis gibson from oklahoma.

the feet took him 38 minutes and he is the first human to beat the game. he had previously placed third in the 2023 classic tetris world championship. remember, you can find all the days news on bbc.com/news. plus come up to see what we are working on it anytime from a check us out on your favorite social media site. i am sumi somaskanda in washington. thank you for w 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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♪ >> good evening. >> on the newshour tonight, the assassination of a key hamas leader in lebanon raises the risk that the war could spread across the region. >> facing a surge in migrants, including many sent north by the texas governor, so chicago city officials, the white house for more help. >> the ongoing investigation into the january 6 insurrection strains the fbi's resources.