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woman: a law partner rediscovers her grandmother's artistry and creates a trust to keep the craft alive. a raymond james financial advisor gets to know you, your passions and the way you enrich your community. life well planned. announcer: 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" >> this is bbc world news america. israel's prime minister warns of challenging days ahead after the killing of hamas and hezbollah's top leaders. plus, international pressure bounce over venezuela's disputed

presidential election. and, concerns over opposition. welcome to world news america. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu says his country is "prepared for any scenario" after the killing of the two most senior leaders of hamas and hezbollah. the hezbollah chief of operations was killed near his group's headquarters in beirut late tuesday night and early wednesday morning, ismail haniyeh of the political leader of hamas was assassinated in iran, hours later and honored guest at the new iranian president's inauguration. mr. netanyahu promised vengeance to threats opposing israel. >> there are challenging days ahead of us. since the attack in beirut, threats have been heard from all sides.

we are prepared for any scenario and we will stand united and determined against any threat. israel will exact a hidden price from any aggression against us. >> we will have more on mr. netanyahu's remarks. reporting from jerusalem on the strikes that raised the stakes again in the middle east. >> state media in iran reporting the assassination in its capital of this top hamas leader. a vip guest in tehran along with the heads of other regional armed groups backed by iran for the inauguration of the country's new president. these were to be his last ever public appearances. in gaza today, news of the killing worried many palestinians about implications for ending nearly 10 months of war with israel. >> if the leaders die, the

political leaders, where are we going? children are dying. the elderly are dying. the youth are dying. nobody is looking out for us. >> i hope it will be the last assassination. god willing, the war will end after this. we are all tired. >> ismail haniyeh was from gaza, but recently lived in qatar. he was seen as more pragmatic than hard-line hamas leader still in the palestinian territory and had been overseeing talks on a cease-fire and release of israeli hostages. now, hostage family sphere sent. >> -- fear a setback. >> i wish for all the forces around the world together. -- two gather. i hope our politicians make this into release of hostages. what's hours before the tehran

attack israel targeted a senior hezbollah commander in the lebanese capital, beirut, saying he was responsible for a deadly rocket strike and it the golan heights last weekend. fears were already running high about the possibility of retaliation and wider war. now come up with iran announcing three days of mourning for ismail haniyeh and availing a harsh and painful response, the middle east is even more on edge. bbc news, jerusalem. >> as we heard earlier from israel's prime minister the country is bracing for retaliation. barbara plett-usher has more from jerusalem. >> benjamin netanyahu said israel had delivered crushing blows to its enemies in the past days, two militants aligned with iran. he said israel would respond forcefully to any attacks against it, preparing israelis for the possibility of tougher days ahead.

he did not mention the killing of the hamas leader ismail haniyeh. some people in a town close to gaza celebrated by handing out sweets. there is uneasiness and fear about what might be coming. some municipalities coast public events and open bomb shelters. mr. netanyahu had a fairly defiant tone against pressure to end israel's military campaign in gaza saying "for months, people have been telling me to end the war. i resisted the pressure then to surrender, and i will continue to resist it." he said military pressure against hamas was working and resulted in many achievements. it's bad news for people that have been open for a cease-fire, which has almost certainly been sent back anyway by recent strikes, especially the families of hostages. they said, any true achievement was bringing their loved ones home. for palestinians in gaza desperate for the fighting to stop. >> iran is blaming israel and

pledging to make it regret killing ismail haniyeh. as if fears of a wider war and to defy the u.s. secretary of state antony blinken says escalation is not inevitable. a white house spokesperson says there were constructive conversations with netanyahu towards a cease-fire last week. i got more insights on what is at stake for security in the middle east with international editor jeremy bowen. thank you for joining us. i want to start with ismail haniyeh. how instrumental was he in the hamas october seven attack? >> it is unclear who actually brought down the plan. but the working assumption has been that the mastermind behind it, number one on israel's hit list is based in gaza and has been in hiding since this happened. ismail haniyeh, people in israel

don't make the distinction between the military and political side but it does exist. he was in doha, in kotter. he is more the political guard. his role has been the lead guy more or less in the negotiations for a cease-fire. >> we have seen the white house say no signs of escalation are imminent. there is no interest, it has been said in a wider war in the region. what could possible retaliation look like? >> i think both sides say they don't want a wider war. increasingly, they are prepared to risk it. israel made a huge gaffe by these two assassinations. the iranians and hezbollah have to decide how they will retaliate because they must have said they will retaliate.

israel's hope was under american pressure to do something that would really hurt hezbollah without triggering a wider war. can they do something like that? i think that depends on what they do is, for example, the leader of hezbollah decides the way to answer an attack on their hq in bay room is strike -- beirut to try to hit tel aviv. that could also be seen as an escalatory move. they don't detect escalation and they are also holding onto lucky charms in their pockets and crossing their fingers at the same time. >> certainly the hope is that since october 7 we have heard from the white house that we don't want to see this escalate into a wider war. do you think that now we are closer than any point since october 7? >> there has already been a wider war. the war has spread through the middle east. it involves the red sea.

there has been a really serious border war, in fact, between israel and hezbollah on that side of that border. what the fear is, it is something way more catastrophic. i mean, it's grisly to talk about when you're talking about war. but actually, there are weird rules of the game which, until now, have pretty much been followed. they try to avoid a mass civilian casualty event. israel's move against beirut was, as a result of that incident when 12 young people, kids were killed playing football. hezbollah denied they did all that. but, israel has moved puritan -- has moved. the question is, where does this cycle go? >> where does it leave negotiations for a possible

cease-fire? i imagine americans, qatari's, egyptians will try to move forward. >> the last few weeks americans particularly have been talking up the idea that the gap between the two sides had narrowed. the gap was massive. the hamas you of a cease-fire -- view of a cease-fire was there is no more war, israel pulls out. the israeli view is there is a pause and hostages are released. certainly not pulling out of gaza. already that's a big gap. now, what is happened is that the main a negotiator on the hamas side has been assassinated by the israelis, the players on the others appeared -- to the other side. this morning, the prime minister of kotter, one of the main mediators between hamas, that is released, that the iranians, and the egyptians, he tweeted, that if you are doing a negotiation,

that if you are serious about it , it's probably not the right way to kill the other guy on the other side. if you want to negotiation that works, don't kill the guy at the other end of the table is basically what he is saying. i think that without a doubt the killing of ismail haniyeh will have an material effect on the chances of cease-fire, which in my assessment were not high anyway. >> an incredible -- incredibly volatile moment in the region. another piece of news. in gaza the television network al jazeera says two of its journalists were killed in an israeli strike. the journalists were reportedly killed while filming near the house of ismail haniyeh in a refugee camp west of gaza city. israel hasn't commented on their desk. -- death. please edit the u.k. city of southport arrested four men over violence that followed the

killing of three girls at a dance class monday. the vigil was held for the 6, 7, and nine year old killed in a stabbing attack at a taylor swift themed event after violent unrest broke out at a mosque in southport leading to dozens of police injuries. police blame on my disinformation that suggested an islamist connection to the stabbings. the 17-year-old boy arrested on murder and attempted murder has no known connections to islam. there were clashes with police with bottles and cans thrown at metropolitan police officers. more from southampton. >> the police are at dealing with two incidents. there is what happened here tuesday night. when several hundred people gathered and started attacking a mosque throwing bricks that attack into -- attacking the police. i spoke to a guy barricaded in this building last night is that he absolutely terrified. he said most of the people

you're one from southport at all. they were from other parts of the country. other for -- over 50 police officers were injured in the incident. some of them seriously. police dogs were also hurt. she said her officers are traumatized. she said, first they had to respond to a horrific incident, the stabbing on monday. then a day later they have to deal with a riot. we know that four arrests has been made in connection with the riot here. police say more will follow. it was fueled by misinformation spread on social media. the suspect in the stabbing. the police have been given more time to question the suspect, a 17-year-old. we cannot name them for legal reasons. they were born to rwandan

parents and police say there is no known link to terrorism. that person was arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. the teacher of the dance class, the taylor swift themed summer dance class, is in hospital according to her cousin. he said she's recovering, but not out of the woods yet. she was trying to protect the children in the class from the attack. in southport, there have been more tributes and more flowers. to commemorate the victims of the attack. people have been saying, this is the real, true face of southport, not what happened at the mosque the night before. if you get a sense it is a community that is united. it has come together. >> venezuela's president nicolas maduro says his party is ready to present all vote tallies from sunday's election days after

declared the winner of venezuela's election. the opposition alliance claims that after reviewing about 70. -- 72% of the votes they say their candidate eduardo gonzalez won the election. the white house spokesperson john kirby said the international community is running out of patience. let's go to our correspondent in caracas. what happens now? >> as you mentioned, earlier today, nicholas maduro gave a press conference, really, a statement to the press. there were no questions allowed. essentially, he outlined the government would publish the vote tallies that many governments and the opposition asked for. though, he gave no indication of when that would be. he asked the supreme court to take action against people who his government have described as

terrorists, people who have been protesting against the result of the disputed election. he directly accused opposition leaders of inciting violence. leaders in his government have said he should be arrested. this message from him today, his message to the supreme court, it's potentially leading the way to more bass arrest and detention in the country. the prosecutor for the government said there have been more than a thousand people arrested as a result of protests over the last few days. we have been it near where one at present is in the city. there were human rights groups out there concerned about what is happening. families are desperately awaiting information about their family. it's likely we will see more detentions and arrests in the coming days. >> what does the opposition say about this? >> they have strongly disputed what the government is saying.

you mentioned they say that, having reviewed the majority of receipts from the electronic voting machines, they can prove that they, the government, won the election. what is interesting is that they have tried to publish some receipts so people can access results in their area, still something the government has not done. though, the president has said he would with unspecified time zone on it. at the moment, their position having been offered in the case of the opposition leader maria corina machado, she has been offered refuge by other countries around the world, costa rica, for example, after the president said she should be arrested. she has not taken up the offer. she says she needs to stay in caracas and fight for democracy. that is something they plan to do. i think there are concerns growing in visible -- venezuela on the opposition side that more and more figures associated with the opposition good faith

detention and punishment in the days winks -- days and weeks ahead. >> with me in the studio is a venezuela opposition leader and former mayor of a venezuelan city. good to have you in studio. you have been working with the opposition campaign leading to the election. what is your response to president maduro now saying he will present the vote tallies? >> thank you for having me. maduro cap prove what happened sunday. on sunday eduardo gonzalez was elected president of venezuela and we have seen that through the voting records we published yesterday. 81% of voting records were uploaded yesterday and it says truly that edmundo gonzalez got the most votes. >> he will present the tallies,

right? do you think that will prove your case? >> he does not have to show that. this is a dictatorship. we have been robbed. we went into an election that was not free or fair. banning 5 million venezuelans from voting, having 120 members of our team detained. despite all that, all that harassment, we were able to have the election. and 75% of the people that remained in venezuela, edmundo gonzalez got 67% of the vote. all we need is the armed forces to step up to obey the constitution and respect venezuelan democracy to start the transition. >> so the armed forces, the military and police have, until now, continued to support nicholas maduro. do you anticipate that changing? >> we hope it changes.

such a huge margin could not have happened without a lot of soldiers and their families that voted for gonzalez. they are suffering from the sum -- same problems of many venezuelans. 8 million venezuelans have flown the country. 9.3 million people, the largest population in the western hemisphere. but as late in the last decade produced 75%, only compared to countries devastated by war. they suffer the same problems as any venezuelan. we need them to be institutional, to obey the constitution. because, maduro is now keeping power using force. in the past you were criticized for boycotting the elections. we went and it was free and fair and we won. >> there have been protests and mass arrests.

i want to ask you about the economic situation. the white house left the door open for the possibility of sanctions on venezuela. until now sanctions have not affected maduro's power. they have affected venezuelans and the economy pretty severely. what you want to see the international community do? >> i have to be responsible enough to say that the economic situation and a venezuela was created by the regime. more than 5 million people fled the country already. venezuela use to produce more than 3 million. with sanctions implemented venezuela was producing only one million oil barrels per day. people that have fled the country fled because they did not have food, medicine, electricity, or water. >> would further sanctions help or hurt france letter for that? >> -- hurt venezuela for that? >> i disagree with that. the destruction of the country

has been made by the regime. how do you explain more venezuelans have fled the country than syria. more venezuelans have fled a country. ukraine was invaded by russia years ago. everybody knows what we are facing. the u.k. had an election. everybody knew. labor won and there was a translation -- transition of power. >> one more question before we go. what do you anticipate happening in the coming days if maduro does produce the vote tallies? what will be opposition do? >> first, you get the support from the international community using the diplomatic tools to guarantee maduro recognizing the election. first, they will benefit from a peaceful transition of the country and the whole region.

more people will flee. the region isn't ready for that. we will keep protesting peacefully and nonviolently even though regime is having an investigation, an international agreement. we believe in nonviolent protests. and, keep supporting maria machado and edmundo gonzalez for the elected president of venezuela. >> thank you for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> in the u.s. there has been a growing response to comments made by former president donald trump after he questioned the racial identity of a vice president harris at the interview at the conference for the national association of black journalists. mr. trump was asked if vice president harris was only the presumptive presidential nominee because she's a black woman.

mr. trump's answer drew strong reaction. listen. >> i have known her a long time indirectly, not directly very much. she was always of indian heritage. she was only promoting indian heritage. i did not know she was black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn black. now she wants to be known as black. i don't know. is she indian or black? i respect either one, which she obviously does not. because, she was indian all the way then all of a sudden made a turn and became a black person. i think so -- somebody should look into that when you continue in a very hostile, nasty tone. >> the harris for president campaign released a statement in response saying "trump lobbed personal attacks and insults at black journalists the same way he did throughout his presidency while he failed black families and leaving the entire country digging out of the ditch he left

us in. donald trump has already proven he can't unite america, so he attempts to divide us." harris reiterated calls for a debate with former president trump september 10. get the latest news from around the world on bbc.com/news including our live blog with the latest updates on the conflict on the middle east with updates from our correspondence and analysis as well. i am sumi somaskanda in washington. thank you for watching announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james. announcer: 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 nawaz is away. on the "newshour" tonight, a top hamas leader is assassinated in iran. the implications for the war in gaza and the broader middle east.

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