♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: funding for presentation of this program

is provided by... woman: two retiring executives turn their focus to greyhounds, giving these former race dogs a real chance to win. a raymond james financial advisor gets to know you, your purpose, and the way you give back. 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. the death toll in gaza soars past 40,000 according to the hamas run health ministry. israel says they have killed 17,000 militants. three years after the u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan, we look at the dire situation women

face under the taliban. five people are charged in connection with the drug-related death of matthew perry. welcome to world news america. a grim milestone in gaza. that is how the united nations has described the latest death toll the besieged enclave. more than 40,000 palestinians have been killed since israel launched their offenssive into the territory. israel questioned the figures which does not specify how many fighters are among those killed. israel's army said they had a limited", 17,000 militants -- had eliminated quote, 17,000 militants. numbers from either side cannot be verified.

our team at bbc has this analysis. >> counting the dead in any war zone is a challenge. israel's critics have questioned the proportionality of the war. israel began bombing gaza in the wake of the hamas attacks on the seventh of october which killed about 1200 people stop now more than 40,000 palestinians have been killed in gaza according to the hamas run health ministry. the foreign minister went as far as to call the figures fake data from a terrorist organization but one human body described the figures as trustworthy. at the beginning of the war, the gazi health ministry only call -- only counted deaths registered in hospitals but as hospitals slowly counted -- as hospitals slowly stopped functioning, the way they counted deaths change. the casualty figures don't differentiate between civilians and fighters. the ministry of health says a clear majority of those reported

killed our children, women and the elderly -- killed are children, women and the elderly. international journalists aren't able to report independently from gaza to verify any of these figures. some experts suggest the death toll is probably much higher. many of the dead have been killed in airstrikes. these red patches show nearly 60% of buildings have been damaged or destroyed since the war began, according to the latest satellite imagery analysis. this is what that destruction looks like inside the city of rafa as well as demolition by israeli forces on the ground. more than 10 months on, much of gaza has been left in ruins and at immense cost to its people. >> civilians in gaza continue to live under the threat of disease, hunger and bombardment. a series of overnight airstrikes killed at least 40 people.

images filmed outside one hospital showed the chaos as people injured in the latest attacks including children are rushed in for chilled -- were rushed in for treatment. we spoke to a policy lead at oxfam. the gaza run health ministry says more than 40,000 people have now been killed in gaza since october 7. dbc verify has found satellite image analysis suggests around 60% of buildings in gaza have been damaged or destroyed. where are most people sheltering right now? >> people are sheltering in any corner of a street they can find. on the rubble of their own homes. my brother-in-law is still stuck in gaza with half of his family having evacuated. he is living in a partial tent, partially damaged home.

they are living either in these encampments in highly concentrated areas. i was speaking to my colleague today and she was telling us how she has grown up in that area and she used to be able to see the sea from the window but because it is so crowded with tents, she can no longer see the sea. we have seen pictures of families sleeping on the street with nothing. >> you mentioned your colleagues, your team on the ground. what radar they able to provide at the moment, and can you tell us about the challenges of distributing that aid? >> we are lucky because we have an incredible partners that we work through. we are very firm and many organizations follow the same approach of working through local community partners that

have been embedded in the communities for decades, so they know where to go and they know where the communities are and they know where the most vulnerable are because gaza is a tightknit community. we were lucky to be able to deliver some things like food parcels, hygiene kits, diapers for the elderly and incontinent. we are obstructed by relentless bombardment and displacement that has become a constant reality for people. or you are restricted because you can't bring in specific wash materials to carry out my pair -- carry out repairs. you talked about destroyed infrastructure. our analysis shows there has been a systematic destruction of water and wastewater infrastructure in gaza, causing pools of sewage in extremely concentrated population areas.

how are we supposed to conduct a vaccination campaign against polio when you have pools of sewage and wastewater because there is no fuel, and because treatment plants have been destroyed? we are restricted in so many ways. >> we were just reporting about the polio outbreak. one thing that we keep hearing from aid organizations is that they want to see a cease-fire, to be able to distribute aid and provide some relief to civilians. there is a renewed push for a cease-fire agreement at the moment that would see ostriches released and a pause in fighting. do you believe there will be a temporary pause in fighting? >> it is interesting you brought that up because my colleague was telling me how that is everything people are talking about. everyone she meets, she was

explaining how they are different ways in gaza to say we want a cease-fire. we want an end to the war. they want to go back to school, back to their home. these are always people saying we want a cease-fire. she was telling me that a member of her family said for my birthday i don't want a cake or presence or music or anything. i just want the war to end. we can only remain to any sliver of hope of a cease-fire but we haven't seen anything on the ground anything close to a cease-fire at the moment, just more destruction, more killing of children, more injuries and a more crippled health sector. all areas that sustain life in gaza have been affected. >> the u.s. says cease-fire

negotiations that started on thursday are off to a promising start although hamas has not sent a representative. iran and hamas also blame israel for the recent assassination of a hamas leader in tehran. in a statement, the u.s. treasury department said quote, today's action underscores our continued commitment to disrupting iran's primary source of funding to its regional terrorist proxies. earlier i spoke to the washington national spokesperson, jack kirby. we understand there are still significant differences in the execution of this framework agreement and we saw a senior hamas leader tell the associated press they are losing confidence

in the u.s. ability to negotiate a cease-fire. what is the u.s. doing to bridge those gaps? >> we have been steadily and consistently working to try and narrow these gaps and overcome these details. it is important to note that we are not debating over the framework of the deal. the architecture has been agreed to by both sides. but we talk about is the implement in details, the particulars of how to get the deal into force. i don't want to talk about what the gaps are -- that would not be appropriate -- but that is where we are at, so that is encouraging that we have moved that far, that we've got the chief back at the table but often when you get down to the brass tacks details, that's when it can get sticky. i definitely think talks will flow into tomorrow and we will see where we get. >> all of this hangs in the

balance as iran has said a cease-fire agreement would delay a possible retaliation against israel for the killing of hamas and hezbollah leaders. do you have any information regarding how and when iran might retaliate? >> i don't, and it would be foolish for me to try and claim that i did. we are watching this very closely as you might imagine but the truth is, we are not inside the supreme leader's head so it is difficult to know exactly what he will do and won't do. we have certainly seen comments about them watching these cease-fire talks and being willing to change their calculus if there is a cease-fire. we certainly want to get that deal in place for a whole bunch of reasons. one of them is to prevent any escalation of tensions in the region. we've been sending messages to iran. we have our own vehicles of how to do that but also through counterparts that we don't want

to see them execute this attack. it brings the region to a closer brink of all-out war that is not good for anyone. at the same time, because we don't know exactly what iran will do, we have to make sure we are ready, should there be an attack on israel and we have moved additional forces into the region. make sure that we can help defend israel should they come under attack. >> israel said today it has killed 17,000 militants in gaza and's october 7. the hamas run health ministry saying more than 40,000 palestinians have now died since october 7, the majority of which are women and children. is it time for israel to end their military operations in gaza? >> it is the time for israel, it is the time for hamas to come together and help us get this deal in place.

think about what this deal would give them. it would give both sides six weeks of a pause in the fighting, a six-week cease-fire that will certainly give us all an opportunity to make sure we are meeting the humanitarian needs of the people of gaza who still need food, water and medicine. it would also allow us to get the most at risk hostages out with their -- back with their families. >> if i could jump in. i understand your point on the need for a cease-fire for both sides but at the same time, the war is ongoing and we have seen the incredible impact. i know you have seen some of these images and the u.s. of course is still supporting israel. the state department said on tuesday the biden administration approved $20 million in weapons and aircraft sales. does the u.s. condone some of the weapons that have been used in some of these attacks on things like schools and hospitals? >> we don't want to see innocent

lives taken in this conflict. hamas who broke the cease-fire has put the people of gaza in the crossfire. we are never turning a blind eye to this and we have had multiple conversations with our israeli counterparts about being more discriminant and precise and doing a better job to try and prevent civilian casualties. there have been too many and we have been very honest about that. one of the ways to stop the fighting, stop the civilian casualties is to get this cease-fire deal in place and that is why the director of the cia and the coordinator for the middle east and the national security council is over there right now. we believe the cease-fire is a way to get the civilian casualties reduced. there should be none, if there is a cease-fire in place. at the same time, israel continues to conduct military operations. we will continue to do everything we can to make sure

that they are doing it in the most discriminant precise way possible. >> including putting conditions on arms to israel? >> i don't have any policy pronouncements to make. the israelis know where we stand on the issue of civilian casualties. we are not going to shy away from that. we also have to make sure that they can continue to defend themselves against what is still a viable threat from hamas. >> i want to ask about ukraine as well because president zelenskyy says ukrainian troops are continuing to advance in the russian kursk region and that a military administration is being set up inside russian territory. has ukraine shared with the u.s. what it strategy is as it continues to move forward into russia? >> we continue to have conversations with our ukrainian counterparts, as to what they are doing and their intent. i'm going to leave those conversations to the diplomats and not make it public but we are having conversations with

the ukrainians to better understand what they are doing. i will let them speak publicly to what they are doing and what their intent and objectives are. >> turning out to the 2024 presidential election, the time and location for the vice president shall debate is officially set. it will take place in new york on october 1 with cbs as the host. republican jd vance agreed to the debate with vice president a candidate tim walz, on the democrat party ticket with kamala harris. the october 1 debate is expected to be the only meeting between the two. vice president harris made her first joint campaign appearance with president joe biden since he dropped out of the president shall race. they appear together at an event in maryland to celebrate the announcement of lower perception drug prices. it has been three years since the taliban took power in afghanistan and the u.s. and nato rushed to withdraw troops from the country. in august 2020 one, these scenes played out at the airport as crowds climbed over security

fences in a desperate attempt to leave the country. u.s. soldiers struggled to keep control. days later, 170 civilians and 13 u.s. soldiers were killed in a bombing at the airport gate. the biden demonstration defended the move to pull u.s. forces out of the country, pointing to a february 2020 agreement that the trump and administration had signed with the taliban in doha. the 3 -- the taliban marked three years in power. the islamist group deputy prime minister spoke about the agreement and the taliban rule over the past three years. the doha agreement placed security obligations on the taliban but there is debate about just how much the taliban complied with deal. >> in the past three years, the islamic emirate has complied with the doha agreement. no one has been harmed by afghanistan and in the future, we promise no one will be harmed from afghanistan soil. >> the situation in afghanistan

remains difficult for civilians with the country's economy stagnant amid a deep human italian crisis but the situation for women and girls is particularly desperate. the taliban has imposed a gender apartheid on the country's 14 million women and girls, excluding them from almost every aspect of public life including education. since the taliban took power, the yuan reports at least one point 4 million girls have been denied access to school and in a separate human report, a survey of afghan women shows 98% of respondents felt they had limited or zero influence on decision-making in their communities. the taliban says they respect women's rights in accordance with their interpretation of afghan culture and islamic law. for more on this, we speak to an afghan human rights activist. very good to have you back on world news america.

i want to start by asking you how you would describe the situation for women and girls in afghanistan right now, three years after the taliban took over. >> thank you so much for having me. the first thing i want to ensure that everyone relates here is the taliban leader talked about how no one has been hard -- has been harmed, but what about the women of afghanistan? what about the girls, what about the climate, what about the economy? all of those things have been hurt by the current regime. the world is turning a blind eye on it and apart from that, the situation is bleak. in the past three years, we don't have heisel graduates, you have medical doctors, we don't have girls enrolling in graduate schools. the population of women is restricted to just their homes and all of their rights have been stripped, so right now the situation seems very bleak. >> you founded learn

afghanistan. can you tell us more about how women and girls are getting around these restrictions to access and education? >> the one thing you can rely on is resources with women. they will always find resources to help themselves and those in their communities and that is what learn is all about. we go into community keys -- we don't go into communities, they come to us and ask for our help. we train teachers and ensure that community spaces are provided. so far, more than 600 girls are educated. we just had our first underground high school graduation. overall, i think the women we work with, the young girls we work with are showing up for themselves and afghanistan. >> what did they tell you? does this education give them a sense of hope despite the situation they are facing?

>> it is fascinating you asked me this question. i was talking to my mom and she told me how she was seeing the videos of learn, and she said every girl is a hope for her at least, that someone is working for them. for me, i think every girl who is showing up to that school, every woman showing up to teach, every parent ensuring these girls show up, i think all of us are optimistic that it is going to work out for all of us. >> we just had about a minute left, but what would your message be to the international community on how you can continue to support women and girls as they are excluded from so many public spaces in afghanistan? >> i think it is time the international community stops using afghan women as tokens.

let us do the work and find solutions. let us meet our own population and their needs, instead of just arguing. that is the most important thing i can say right now. >> you are finding that support in the u.s.? >> not very much so, but i think i do have allies who believe in girls education and that helps a lot. >> founder of learn afghanistan, great as always to have you on bbc news. >> thank you. >> five people have been charged over the death of matthew perry. the actor who startled the hit television show friends died in october of last year at the age of 54 due to the acute effects of ketamine. among those charged are two doctors and mr. perry's personal assistant. we are following the story from los angeles. >> to fans, matthew perry was

the funny character from friends who made no secret of his flaws. he struggled with drugs and alcohol throughout his career. >> i'm in control of the first drink. so i do all of these things to protect myself from not having the first drink. >> at the time of his death, he was said to have been undergoing therapy for depression, taking small doses of ketamine. when he was found in his home, the levels of the drug in his body were much higher. the five people facing charges are alleged to be part of a criminal network supplying drugs, including two doctors who use the actor, say law enforcement, as a way to make money. >> these defendants took advantage of mr. perry's addiction issues to enrich themselves. they knew what they were doing was wrong. they knew what they were doing was risking great danger to mr. perry, but they did it anyway. >> matthew perry was charged $2000 for a dose of ketamine

worth around $12. the doctors are accused of acquiring the drug and also find medical records, one of them writing in a text, i wonder how much this maran will pay. matthew perry's personal assistant has admitted injecting him on the day he died. investigators say while looking into the actor's death, they uncovered a drug supply network involving a dealer known as the ketamine queen in hollywood, and saying other suspects in connection are continuing to be investigated. >> one more item for you. prince harry and meghan have kicked off their four-day tour of columbia. they were invited by the south american country's vice president. they are expected to support projects safeguarding young people from online harm. it is not a state visit or royal trip since they are no longer working royals but so far, the couple has received a very warm welcome in the capital.

thank you so much for watching world news america. a reminder you can go to our website and you will find the headlines over matthew perry's death and the five charged. we also have an important verify piece we brought you a little bit earlier in the show about the milestone in gaza of more than 40,000 now dead and the israeli saying more than sick -- more than 15,000 militants have been killed as well. please head to our website to find the latest on those stories. 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. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ announcer: "usa today" calls it, "arguably the best bargain in streaming." that's because the free pbs app lets you watch the best of pbs anytime, anywhere.

amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. geoff bennett is away. on the “news hour” tonight, mediators workkiasefire talks wh toll in gaza crosses 40,000.