♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... woman: architect. bee keeper. mentor. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life well planned.

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". ♪ >>. hello. i'm christian fraser and this is the context. >> we reject the statements calling for resettlement outside of gaza. >> the fears in lebanon is the violence could escalate and this could become a major conflict between hezbollah and

israel. >> only one third of hospitals across the gaza strip are currently functioning, according to the united nations. ♪ christian: antony blinken has just arrived in israel. conditions in gaza continuing to deteriorate. 250 people have been killed in the last 24 hours. also in the program tonight, u.k. ministers have met to consider how to clear the names of those wrongly convicted in the post office scandal. we speak to two victims still seeking compensation. alaska air canceled 140 flights today as more details emerged about a dramatic midair blowout on a boeing 737. and last off for the first american moon mission in 50 years. but after the textbook launch,

th spacecraft is now running out of power, with the mission in severe jeopardy. a ry good evening. we start in the middle east with a number of developments to update you on. the first from lebanon, where hezbollah has confirmed one of its senior commanders was killed by an israeli drone strike. he was the deputy head of the group's force which managed many of the military operations in southern lebanon. in gaza, the fighting has intensified. in the last 24 hours israeli strikes have killed 249 palestinians, over 500 injured, according to gaza's health ministry. the international rescue committee says it has pulled its medics from the only functioning hospital in central gaza. all three hospitals are now teetering on the verge of collapse. there are more than 1.5 million palestinians living in the southern city of rafa, many surviving in flimsy tense.

the u.n. says 90% of children are facing severe food poverty. all this as america's top diplomat antony blinken flies into tel aviv. before leaving saudi arabia he said he is not -- it is not in the interest of any country to see e gaza conflict escalate. >> it is clearly not in the interest of anyone. israel, lebanon, hezbollah for that matter, to see this escalate. and to see an actual conflict. the israelis have been very clear with us that they want to find a diplomatic way forward. create the kind of security that allows israelis to return home. 100,000 israelis were forced to leave their homes because of the threat coming from hezbollah and lebanon. it also allows lebanese to return to their homes in southern lebanon. we are working intensely on that effort. christian: let's get to our correspondent in beirut. can we start with this strike?

israel's military not commenting, but they did they sit -- but it did say they hit hezbollah targets. what effect do think that is likely to have on the northern border? >> this is another significant development in the violence between hezbollah and israel. hezbollah has published a picture of this commander along with the influential hezbollah leader. so i think it shows how important this commander was inside the group. the context to all of this is that these attacks have been happening almost every day. hezbollah has been targeting positions in northern israel, and the israeli military has been retaliating. the israeli authorities have been warning hezbollah against escalating the situation. they have been threatening to carry out a devastating response, a response that would

be catastrophic not only for hezbollah but also for lebanon. and i think hezbollah has been calibrating its attacks against israel to prevent a devastating israeli response. here in lebanon, the fear is that these could lead to a major confrontation between hezbollah and israel. many people here still remembered what happened in 2006, the devastation caused by the war between israel and hezbollah. there's a massive economic crisis right now in lebanon. so there is no public support for a military confrontation between hezbollah and israel. and i think these factors are being considered by hezbollah. but at the same time, in israel, some israeli authorities have been defending a bigger offensive against hezbollah to stop these attacks, to reduce

the threat posed by hezbollah, which is this powerful iranian- backed organization here in lebanon, and also to allow those thousands of residents to return to their communities that have been evacuated. it is a very difficult situation here. the fear is this situation could escalate and become a major confrontation between hezbollah and israel. christian: there was new footage of one of the hostages released by islamic jihad tonight, which we are not showing of course because it was filmed under duress. but there are still conversations going on about the hostages, negotiations in qatar. what part did secretary blinken play in that today, and what was he told about the current negotiations? >> it is a very difficult situation for antony blinken, because obviously one of the key messages he is bringing to the region is that this violence needs to be contained, and that there's a wider regional

conflict that should be prevented. and obviously i think one of the key messages here is not only to hezbollah, which is the key player here in lebanon, supported by iran, but also to the houthis in yemen who have been carrying out those attacks against shipping vessels in the red sea. at the same time, we are seeing that the work of secretary blinken has been extremely difficult because he is having these conversations with arab leaders who are incredibly angry and frustrated with what they see as perhaps a one sided policy from the biden administration, and a very strong support for the israeli government in this war. the americans have been blocking the calls and those efforts for a cease-fire in gaza, have been supporting the israelis in this campaig and there is a lot of anger here in the region

over the death and destruction happening right now in gaza. all these conversations are very, very difficult, and i don't think there is any expectation that a major breakthrough is going to be achieved by this visit from secretary of state antony blinken. christian: thank you very much for that. today marks the three month anniversary since israel's war began in gaza. so far, gaza's health ministry, which of course is run by hamas, says 23,000 palestinians have been killed, more than two thirds of them are women and children. at least 9600 children among the dead. the committee for the protection of journalists says it has lost 79 journalists and more than 100 aid and health workers killed in the israeli attacks. there are still important questions to be answered as to what happens the day after the conflict ends. on friday, the defense minister said israel would be responsible for security in the gaza strip,

and that palestinians would be responsible for running it. that last bit was strongly criticized by far right members of benjamin netanyahu's government, who said palestinian citizens should be encouraged to leave gaza in exile. today in qatar the u.s. secretary of state antony blinken insisted nobody should be forcibly displaced. have a listen. >> palestinian civilians must be able to return home soon as conditions allow. they cannot, they must not be pressed to leave gaza. we reject the statements by some israeli ministers and lawmakers calling for a resettlement of palestinians outside of gaza. christian: let's speak to a political analyst and former middle east advisor to the pentagon. thank you very mh for being with us. how effective do you think american diplomacy is right now? guest:i think that american dipy is facing a really tough moment

right now. this is secretary blinken's fourth trip to the region, and the talking points, the topics on the table are the same topics he has been talking about and trying to make headway on for the last two months or more. it's the getting more humanitarian aid into gaza, trying to get the israeli military to not target civilians and not conduct the bombing campaign in gaza the way it has been in this indiscriminate sort of fashion, targeting civilian infrastructure, trying to limit it more to hamas soldiers and military commanders. and probably most importantly of all, when you look at the broader scheme of things, isot allowing this conflict to spill over in the region. these are the same points he has been hammering on his trips to the region, and very little

progress has been made on any of them. christian: i suppose the bigger problem for him is that when you look at the countries he has visited on this trip, turkiye, qatar, the united arab emirates, saudi arabia, their power over hamas and hezbollah is limited, isn't it? guest: in a sense, yes. but any solution to this conflict is really going to have to have the buy-in and support of the regional countries. we are not just talking about getting hamas, for example, to lay down it s arms or negotiate release hostages. but we are also talking about millions of dollars that are going to be necessary to rebuild gaza. we're talking about humanitarian assistance. as you know, the united arab emirates has a hospital on the egyptian side of the rafah border which has been treating people in need from gaza. there are so many factors that involve regional countries.

and that is why it is really important to involve all of them in these conversations. christian: some really interesting reporting today from axios about the palestinians who normally cross from the west bank into israel, and who are paid. and of course there are stipends that have to go to palestinians in the west bank. the u.s. are very keen they are paid, because it sees that as a destabilizing factor. reportedly, benjamin netanyahu asked the united arab emirates to stop paying their wages. and of course there was a fairly blunt response that came back the other way. but i think the reason that is important, is it not, is because it shows the arab states are not prepared to pick up the bill for this. so one of the fundamental questions still to be answered is, whatoes happen the day after the conflict ends? guest: that is a really good question. it is about this idea of responsibility and accountability and culpability when it comes to the israeli

actions and the israeli strategy in gaza. a lot of these arab countries are thinking, wait a minute, so you come in here and break it and then we own it and have to fix it? you are asking us to take in palestinians so that you will probably never let them back in gaza? you are asking us to pay for their salaries. what exactly is israel's responsibility here? that is what these arab countries are pushing back against. it is not necessarily from their perspective that they are not willing to help the palestinians. as i said, the uae has a lifesaving hospital there. but it is about who is really responsible for taking care of people in gaza, for making sure salaries are paid, for making sure tax revenues are being passed along. these are things that the israeli government has had responsibility for in the past and now it is trying to turn that over to arab countries, and the arab countries are just not having it. christian: a lot of work for

antony blinken to do. good to talk to you, thanks her coming on. around the world and across the u.k., this is bbc news. let's take a quick look at some other stories making news in the u.k. today. snow started falling and parts of the u.k. as the country braces for a week long cold snap. southeast england lucy mix of snow, sleet, and rain during the rest of monday. the office has one of ice and snow across southern england and wales later, which could cause significant travel disruption. a search commission by bbc panorama suggests lice forces in england and wales need an extra 18,000 officers just to keep up with population growth. officer numbers are at a record high, but figures indicates recruitment has fallen behind. a 9% increase in population recorded since 2010. thousands of old green metal street cabinets once used to

store broadband phone cabling are set to beach converted -- it hopes it will boost the number of charging stations across the country. you are live with bbc news. rishi sunak is under growing pressure to exonerate hundreds of sub-postmasters who wrongly convicted of fraud because of a faulty computer system. 700 branch managers were convicted between 1999 and 2015 after the computer system mistakenly showed money was missing from their post offices. a new itv drama has put the scandal firmly back in the spotlight. today the prime minister said he would strongly support the honors committee if he chose to look into revoking the cb awarded to the former post office boss. our political editor reports. reporter: this is alan bates.

24 years ago he raised an issue with the computer system at the post office he ran in north wales. a quarter of a century on, toby jones is playing him in a television drama. >> we are all here to share our experiences. reporter: mr. bates led a campaign to ensure hudgins -- hundreds of sub-postmasters get exonerated, having been wrongly convicted of theft and fraud, some even jailed. now he finds himself the central character in a hit series. >> the last couple of weeks have been absolutely bananas, i think it is fair to say. it is one thing after another. i have not been able to put the phone down. it has been great in some ways. a huge amount of support for the victims in all of this. reporter: at the heart of this scandal is the horizon computer system developed by a japanese

company fujitsu. but this is about so much more than a disastrous i.t. scheme. >> it doubled right in front of my eyes. now it says i am 4000 pounds down. reporter: it is about repetition's trashed, savings drained, suicides, allegations of a corporate cover-up, lying, and an absence of accountability. this has been described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice of the 21st century. the biggest single series of wrongful convictions in british legal history. and yet, it has taken a drama on the telly to catapult it to this level of eminence, even though there has been more than two decades of injustice. it means awkward questions for former labr and liberal democrat ministers, and conservative ones thrashing around trying to sort it out. >> the people should know that

we are on it and we want to make this right. money has been set aside. what we are now looking at is how can we speed all of that up. understandably, i very clear, i want to get that out the door as quickly as possible. reporter: the labour leader wants compensation for the sub-postmasters delivered quickly, and justice too. it >> >> might be possible to get these cases back behind a court of appeal quickly. but whatever way these need to be looked at. reporter: the liberal democrats are having to account for themselves too. here is the part's current leader in 2010 with their then-leader who went on to become postal affairs minister. >> it is clear the post office lied to the victims, to judges, to the public, semi and other postal ministers for over 20 years. this is a conspiracy by the post

office to deceive people. reporter: as the current minister responsible for the post office takes questions on all of this shortly, alan bates and hundreds of others are watching and waiting. christian: let's speak to two former post-mistresses. janet skinner, who was handed a nine-month sentence in 2007 over a allegedn -- over an alleged shortfall. eventually she got her conviction quashed. and sally stringer, who calls yourself one of the lucky ones. she was not convicted but certainly suffered significant financial losses. i was just watching you during the report, you smiled at the response from rishi sunak. it is quite a spectacle, watching politicians respond to this when they have known for so long what the problem was. >> it is. they are all liars at the end of the day. it's an election year, they will

all get on the bandwagon themselves. this whole saga involves across the board, them all. the labour party, the democrats, the tories. and none of them are going to get out of this without sorting this out. christian: you have had some pretty strong things to say about ed davey. he said in that report this is a conspiracy by the post office to deceive people. he seems to be passing the back in their -- the buck in their direction. what do you make of that? >> i have a letter i wrote in 2011 to my mp, who wasarriet baldwin in wilshire seer. and he replied to her, he replied to an mp, not directly me. and he lied in that letter to the mp. so he is complicit to the core in this. he can stand there now, whatever

else he is doing, and bleed, but he is complicit. and he needs to resign. i am angry with him. i don't have anything against any of the political parties and i am angry with them all and particularly him. and tony blair, and david cameron. they can't continue doing this. they have to start to be honest and say sorry, we knew, and we were incompetent. christian: ok. only 93 people have had their convictions overturned. only 30 people have agreed full and final compensation settlements. so there is an awful long way to go in this. what do you want to see from the government in the coming weeks? >> for them to revoke all responsibility. they need to lose everything as in regards to having control over prosecution, having private

prosecution which belonged to the royal mail originally anyway. and also having the authority to go over the compensation. i mean, if somebody robbed you and stole everything out of your house and then said, i tell you what, i am going to decide what to give you back. who does that? in which country would you find the person who is committing the crime is actually deciding on what course of actions. it just does not happen. christian: obviously you are owed conversation, both of you. but in terms of your losses, just to be clear, this computer system generate a loss every month. what did you do to rectify that? were you spending your own money to balance the books? >> yes. you do. christian: go ahead, janet.

i will come to you in a second, sally. >> you have no choice. when the shortages became too big, i did not financially have the money. christian: how much do you think you are missing at the moment? separate to the compensation you are owed. >> yeah. you know what? i don't even know. i have never even calculate it it. ristian: but it is in the thousands of pounds? >> the harassing was never, ever right. it was so much easier when when we had the ledgers. we transferred everything. if there was something amiss, you had all the documentation in front of you. you could go through it, you could find it, and you could balance it to the penny. with the horizon system you are talking tens of pounds, hundreds

of pounds. obviously for me it became thousands. christian: sally, was that the same for youthousands you are putting into the system from your own savings? >> i did not work the paper system, i joined in 2002. my initial kickoff was the day i took the wretched place over. the auditors did not had the time to do the audit with me. they had the time to do it with the previous postmistress. if you didn't do the audit with me -- i should have learned from that day on that there were issues with that wretched organizations. each month when the horizon system was put in, a balance weekly to start with and then at the end of the month you had to do a proper balance. now every month without fail, through 15 come at 16 years, that wretched machine would say you're off by 600 quit, 1000

pounds, whatever. and your contract stated you put it in. you put it in on your credit cards, you then put it in your pensions, you then would try to club your poor husband for his pension money. it absolutely stinks. christian: we just have a minute left. what did you make of the drama when you are watching it? obviously these actors are playing your role. what did you make of it? >> no one was playing my role. but everything that went on in that drama, i was part of that. that drama is just the tip of the iceberg. it could go so much further. to make people understand, they have to watch the drama. that is the only way people have been able to take it in.

christian: i will have to close it there. thank you very much for coming on the program. let you read -- let me review the daily statement. i wish we knew then what we all know now. this was a conspiracy on a huge scale with the post office lying to the victims, judges, ministers of all political parties over decades. it is quite a national scandal. at the front of our minds should be those sub postmasters who have had their lives ruined. we wil 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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♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... woman: architect. bee keeper. mentor. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life well planned.