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the israeli government said they would target hamas leadership. >> this is a gamble. will this be the spark that tips the region into all-out war? ♪ >> tension in the middle east, following the killing of the political leader of hamas. iran is blaming israel. what will his death mean for cease-fire talks? the killing came hours after the idf hit back at has bella -- hezbollah in beirut.

concerns are growing of a wider regional conflict. the bbc is shocked by the behavior of hugh edwards. police officers have been given time to continue questioning a 17-year-old boy arrested in the killing of three girls at a summer holiday dance class. police say there will be more arrests. benjamin netanyahu says his country has challenging days ahead but is prepared for all scenarios.

he said israel dealt a crushing blow to its enemies. the deaths are driving fears of escalation of conflict. haniyah was in the iranian capital sunday. he was killed when the building he was staying in was struck by a missile around 2 a.m. local time, according to iranian state media. israel claimed responsibility for the death of a senior commander of hezbollah. he was killed in an airstrike in beirut. his body has been recovered. here's what mr. netanyahu said less than one hour ago. >> there are challenging days ahead.

we have been hearing threats from everywhere. we are ready for any scenario. we will stand ready against any threat. they will pay a price if there is any aggression against us wherever that theater is. >> a hamas spokesperson had this response. >> assassination of the leader is a crime. it's a political assassination. the israeli occupation will bear its ramifications especially if we look at who was targeted and where it was conducted. there are repercussions for assassinating the top leader of hamas on a political level. >> great to have you on to help

us understand what's been going on. what is the main thing to understand? >> he seemed to have two audience. one was the u.s. he said they have been asking me to end the war. he will not end the war, he repeated. his mantra has been, not until hamas has been destroyed. he sgled out the families of the hostages, now in greater despair, having been told, even in washington that a deal was in touching distance. now they know they don't know when a deal, when negotiators will begin again. to the israelis who have been displaced, you heard that challenging days ahead. he is braced for retaliation.

there will be retaliation. the discussions must be going on. it is likely to be a consolidated response which marshals the assets of iran, hezbollah and hamas. to reply, it would have to be spectacular. >> while we wait for what that could be, help us understand about his standing and position in this, and how he has handled this conflict. how much support does he have for how he has been conducting this conflict in gaza, stretching to lebanon and tehran? >> if you answer this by the opinion polls and protests on the street including families of hostages, netanyahu has been unpopular. his ratings were low before the war.

they have been low throughout. sometimes they rise a bit when they believe the war is going in israel's favor but by and large, his ratings are not high. there has been broad support for the execution of the war, the israeli army. as the war has ground on, fears mount for the fate of the hostages, israelis, but polling has been saying now they want a deal. we have to put the fate of our own people first. the war cabinet has said that. he is often accused repeatedly of trying to prolong the war for his political survival. when it is over, he will have tough questions on his responsibility for not being able to protect israel on october 7. he knows the far right members of his cabinet have vowed he

will have the government down, if he ends the war. he must be hoping by killing a senior member of hamas in such an audacious way in the heart of tehran on a day of very high security, the inauguration of a new president, that this will win him points. many israelis, their priority is the hostages, not the fate of the people of gaza. he will be judged by the reaction to this. he is taking a risk. it's a big gamble. >> without knowing what kind of response he could be putting the people of israel under as well. one key relationship is the u.s. they have said they support israel and will step in to defend. when the u.s. sees actions taken like this, does it shake resolve? >> it's not clear yet. how much the u.s. knew of the

targeting of the senior hezbollah commander. before the news came out of iran, there was a sense that this could be dealt with. it was in beirut. it was expected. with this added on, the tension and risk have multiplied significantly. how much did the u.s. know that israel would attack in iran? this has created new risk in the region and potentially shot through any chance if there was an idea they might try to improve relations with iran, the new president, within hours of being sworn in, he had campaigned on trying to improve relations with the west. that may not he been possible because he is surrounded by hardliners. there may have been a glimmer of hope. that has been dealt a blow. there have been blows to the

hostage negotiations, any possibility of talking between iran and the u.s. this cannot be good for the u.s. and joe biden who is a committed zionist. he has never wavered in support for israel. in recent months, he's become critical in public about the war which doesn't end. the prime minister, they try to mend it when he finally went to the u.s., given this honor of addressing congress. one president after another, he sees this as a badge of honor. i'm standing firm for israel and only israel decides what israel does. >> we don't know who will be in the white house. >> that might be part of the timing, yes. >> thank you.

the perspective from israel. a former idf spokesperson, senior fellow at the defense for democracy, focused on the middle east. thank you. an understanding of where israel is. is israel willing to escalate face-to-face with iran? >> thank you for having me. israel is in a better situation today than 24 hours ago. it has dealt a blow to two of iran's major proxies, hezbollah and hamas, from within tehran. i do not believe the aim is a gamble. the situation in the middle east

is horrible, not by israel's doing but by iran, hamas and hezbollah's doing. israel is defending itself. to take out enemy combatants, and i would rather not have haniyah portred as a modern-day muslim gandhi, he was a vile terrorist. the october 7 attack and a man who has spent his life executing the murder of innocent civilians . i would rather not have him remembered, canonized as a man of positive qualits. israel has fought back to send a strong message to iran and its two most important proxies, hezbollah and hamas that israel has intelligence and capacity to

penetrate their defenses and relatively new, also the willingness to do so in order to defeat hezbollah and hamas. >> israel needs to build a strategy, you have spoken out on. what does that look like to you? >> when we zoom out and we look at the middle east on a strategic level, credit should be given to iran for having a disciplined strategy of surrounding israel with a ring of fire of useful idiots, palestinians, syrians, lebanese and yemenites willing to endanger themselves in order to fight iran's war against israel. so far israel has not put a price tag against the iranian strategy.

we are basically absorbing the attacks. we find ourselves in a perpetual state of fighting. i believe the situation in the middle east and around israel will not change for the better until we hold the iranians accountable for their act of direct and indirect aggression against israel. only when the iranians are forced to consider the consequences of funding terror, rocket launches, killing of civilians, only when they will be forced to face consequences and think twice if it is worth it, then we may see a decrease in hostilities and less terror in the middle east but before israel brings out about, i am skeptical we will see stability. the iranian plan and strategy is working beautifully for iran. >> do you see a cease-fire in gaza, fundamental to peace in the middle east as being further away now than it was 24 hours ago and the fate of the hostages must be a concern? >> definitely a concern.

it is a tough question. there is logic to say yes, this pushes likelihood of a deal further away and makes it more difficult. that is very hurtful and i am saddened. i can feel the pain. i can only imagine the pain of the families. i have been in contact with families and i want to see the hostages home. the second part is maybe, and we will only know so in days or weeks ahead, but maybe this sends the message to gaza, the remaining hamas seniors not yet dealt with, that enough playing hardball. enough making up new demands. enough saying no to qatari, american, injection and is really offers. let's agree on a deal and bring

the hostages home. the other option for the remaining hamas leadership might as well be the way of haniyah. i'm sure they are beginning to understand. i am hopeful this war will end with is really victory and the return of hostages as soon as possible so palestinians can start rebuilding gaza and israelis can go home. that's my aspiration. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> oliver is a former middle east hostage negotiator in touch with people close to talks on all sides. you heard from lysem setting the scene. you have heard jonathan.

what do you think lies ahead for these hostages in gaza and for peace talks? it seems there is no way forward if there will be continued aggression on both sides. >> first of all, hostages will be looked after. they are a valuable asset. it's only in keeping them alive, protecting them as they can, that they can be part of a deal. the problem, the events of today will prolong their suffering and of the families. there is no doubt whatsoever. the one lesson netanyahu and jonathan don't seem to have grasped is every effort in the past to release hostages through aggressive actions, military action, all it has done has only

resulted in the prolonging of exchange. that's my fear. this will not help. it will prolong military activity. the people who will suffer are not just the 2.3 million in gaza but also the hostages and families. >> before these latest strikes, netanyahu was in washington. there seemed a glimmer of hope there could be cease-fire potentially happening. what is the biggest impediment to talks bearing fruit? >> i don't know where lyse got her information on that but i was hearing there was no progress and netanyahu refused to budge. also that the israeli negotiators didn't have freedom to make decisions. everything had to be referred back to jerusalem. that prolong things.

i've heard that fromndependent sources close to what was going on in negotiations. what is likely to happen now is it will be very difficult to resume negotiations. to paraphrase the prime minister of qatar today, he said, is it serious, if you kill the head negotiator on one side, are you serious about your tactics? the answer is a clear. >> is not now who the main impediment to cease-fire -- is benjamin netanyahu the main impediment to cease-fire? >> he set himself the total demise of hamas and the release of hostages. for the past 10 months, those are incompatible. you cannot pursue military drive to release hostages and at the

same time pretend to negotiate. they are incompatible. i really fear for the region. i've just come back from the region. i fearhat is going to happen. we are at great risk of seeing this escalating into a regional war. that is the seriousness of it. >> actions speak louder than words. thank you. this is bbc news. hugh edwards has pled guilty to having images showing child sex abuse after exchanging messages with a convicted pedophile on whatsapp. he admitted to having 41 indecent images of children. >> when the facts are the bbc

continued paying his vast salary for five months after he was arrested, why also did they let him leave on his own terms? he resigned in april. he said on the medical advice of doctors. we heard last week he was the third highest paid presenter on the bbc, that he was paid for months while he was suspended. my understanding is there is no legal recourse or way to recoup the money. >> we have more on bbc.com. let's turn to lebanon following the drone strike in beirut which israel said targeted a key hezbollah commander. the strike occurred in a suburb.

the u.s. had a $5 million award for information on him who they believe played a key role in the 1983 bombing of a u.s. military base that killed 241. they believe he was responsible for a rocket attack in the golan heights on saturday that killed 12 children. hezbollah denied that. lebanon's prime minister condemned israeli aggression calling it a critical act. the former egyptian assistant foreign minister, thank you. we had initial reports that he survived but now hezbollah have confirmed his death. >> yesterday, there were doubts.

today, confirmed the chief of staff of hezbollah has died in the israeli assassination on his life. we are waiting for retaliation on the part of hezbollah. we don't know how things will develop. it depends on the targets that could be chosen. and whether israel would attack back at hezbollah. the u.s. and arab countries including egypt are concerned about the risks of further escalation between hezbollah and israel. having said that, i don't think

the assassination of hezbollah leaders, palestinian leaders, whether from hamas or any other organization would diminish the will of hezbollah and the palestinian organizations to stand. we believe whether you are thinking about assassinating a hezbollah or palestinian leader, that won't solve the problems. he is not the first and he won't be the last of leaders among hezbollah that israel has taken out. similarly, talking about hamas

and haniyah, he was not the first one. even some time ago, the israelis assassinated the founder of hamas and later on, six or seven leaders of hamas. hamas staged the october 7 attacks, taking out mets in hezbollah, hamas or other palestinian organizations won't really bring security to israel or the middle east. >> others may step into their shoes and continue the fight, is what you are saying. how worried are you in egypt this conflict could escalate? >> any miscalculation on the part of israel or hezbollah would lead to a wider war.

today, the supreme leader of iran has promised to avenge the assassination of mr. haniyah. we are worried how the retaation on the part of iran, how that would develop. >> we will have to keep a close eye on that. thank you so much. 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, pursuingolutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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