live tojerusalem and our correspondent mark lowen.hat do you make of unrwa is saying and how important are they in getting aid into northern gaza? they are essential because they are the biggest un mission in the central palestinian territories, so without unwra getting the food in on the ground, there are few alternatives. another body, the world food programme, has managed to get a few trucks into northern gaza in the last couple of weeks, but this appears to be a very direct attack on unwra itself. the head of unwra, philippe lazzarini, was blocked by the israelis from entering gaza last week, and i went to a briefing with him, i met him and he said that what he described was a very direct attack by israel on the functions of that un agency, and he said that since january, he has not had any contact with the israeli government direct. why is that? because injanuary, the israeli government accused some members of staff of unwra of participating in the 7th of october hamas attacks on israel. that prompted some western governments to

mark lowen, thank you. just a - probably in living memory. mark lowen, thank you. ambassador to the un, linda thomas greenfield, who make give more details about this us draft resolution. european union leaders are meeting in brussels, where they are discussing the israel—gaza war as well as the war in ukraine. they're examining this question — could the profits from frozen russian financial assets be used to pay for weapons for ukraine? ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky is also expected to take part. in kyiv, at least 13 people are reported to have been injured, as the city came under missile attack during the night. mr zelensky is expected to ask the west to show the "political will" to deliver air defence systems. the head of the united nations children's agency, unicef, says it is unable to get enough aid into haiti and that "many, many people" are suffering from serious hunger and malnutrition. this comes as gangs still control more than 80% of the capital port—au—prince and the country lacks a functioning government. our central america and caribbean cor

or cologne in l jerusalem, thank you very much, thank you. —— mark lowen.with bbc news. as the world looks to move away from using fossil fuels, demand for deep sea mining permits is increasing. there are tens of billions of pounds worth of metals and minerals lying on the ocean's sea bed, which could be used in renewable technologies. but what impact could mining have on marine life and coastal communities? 0ur climate editor justin rowlatt reports. november last year — a research vessel chartered by a mining company is assessing the impact of mining on the abyssal plain, the sea bed of the deep ocean. protesters from greenpeace board the vessel, hampering the research, according to the mining company. you might think this is the usual conflict between industry and activists, except that in this case the miners, like the greens, claim to be acting in the best interests of the planet. why? they claim the potato—sized metallic nodules they are after are crucial to the green transition, and that hoovering them up from the sea floor is far less damaging than m

mark lowen injerusalem, thank you very much as always.acuate american citizens from the northern coastal city of cap haitien. many of the several hundred thousand people displaced by haiti's gang—related violence have fled there. many from the capital port—au—prince. the embassy warned that americans would have to travel to the airport at their own risk. the situation in port—au—prince remains very volatile where gangs control most of the capital. 0ur central america and carribean correspondent will grant gave us this update on that. it appears there was quite an extensive swat team operation in an area of the capital and that is where it is known to be one of the strong holds ofjimmy sherry�*s ear, also known as barbecue, they were either trying to capture him or kill him but they were successful in neither of those attempts. there were a number of casualties on the side of the gangs by all accounts but if anything it is begetting more violence. today there has been more shooting in the capital and a sort of quite fierce response by the

gary o'donoghue and mark lowen, from jerusalem. in england and wales. nicholas hawkes, from essex, was sentenced to more than a year in prison after pleading guilty to sending unsolicited, explicit photos to a 15—year—old girl and a woman. sanchia berg reports. it's happened to many thousands of women and girls. without warning, a photo appears on their phone or their computer. explicit, shocking, and unwanted. cyber—flashing, and these other forms of online violence against women and girls, has significant and profound impacts to women and girls' sense of safety and well—being, sense of being able to operate in the online world. seven weeks ago, sending images like those became a criminal offence — and today at southend crown court, the first person was jailed for cyber—flashing. nicholas hawkes admitted sending pictures of his genitals to a teenage girl and a woman in her 60s. the court heard he suffered from extreme poster medic stress disorder after being kidnapped and tortured some years ago. —— posttraumatic stress disorder.

mark lowen in jerusalem. to russia next.g a national day of mourning today for the victims of friday's attack on a concert venue just outside moscow. president putin lit a candle in a church at his residence outside moscow, in memory of the victims. the authorities now say at least 137 people died in the attack on concert—goers in the crocus city hall. russian state media say two suspects have now been charged with committing an act of terrorism in a moscow court late on sunday. footage shows two of the men in court looking dazed and beaten. here's our russia editor, steve rosenberg. in moscow, wherever you looked, wherever you turned, you could see this was a country in mourning. and in shock. across russia, flags flew at half mast for the victims of the concert hall massacre. and at the scene of friday's attack, crocus city hall, the queues grew longer and longer. the national day of mourning experienced most acutely here. there was an outpouring of sympathy, a mountain of tributes to the dead. as well as leaving flowers a

that was mark lowen injerusalem.d word from whitehouse, some of the readout. we are waiting for the full readout, but that phone call has now taken place and we are told from the white house that, president biden and prime minister netanyahu discussed the situation in rafah and talks about discussing attempts to surge humanitarian assistance into gaza. so, those two lines coming from the white house, that they have been talking about rafah and talking again but trying to surge humanitarian assistance into gaza. so we will wait for more details there from that readout. i will show you pictures, actually, from the white house because there at the moment there is a women's history month reception going on at the white house. out of shot is present joe biden and the vice president. so when he comes to the microphones, we will keep an ear across that and if he talks about the middle east or talks about anything significant, we will obviously bring that to you. now, let's return to those events in downing street that we sh

mark lowen there.ggered this latest, deadly conflict, we are learning more about happened on the 7th of october. 18—year—old itay regev and his sister maya were kidnapped by hamas from a music festival in israel, and were then held for sa days. itay has been describing in detail what happened to him, his sister and his best friend after they were taken hostage. his friend is still being held, along with more than 100 others. itay spoke to our special correspondent lucy manning. itay regev is free, but all he thinks about are the hostages he left behind. the teenager was at the nova music festival with his sister maya and friend 0mer when hamas attacked. translation: we started hearing shooting, and terrorists _ were surrounding the whole party area. lots and lots of people started running in all directions. i hear shooting going past my head. i heard people screaming. i saw people falling down. a lot of bodies. we were confronted by a van of terrorists spraying our car with bullets without any mercy. i

mark lowen there.ed this latest, deadly conflict — we are learning more about happened on the 7th of october. 18—year—old itay regev and his sister maya were kidnapped by hamas from a music festival in israel and were then held for sa days. itay has been describing in detail what happened to him, his sister, and his best friend, after they were taken hostage. his friend is still being held along with more than 100 others. itay spoke to our special correspondent lucy manning. itay regev is free, but all he thinks about are the hostages he left behind. the teenager was at the nova music festival with his sister maya and friend omer when hamas attacked. translation: we started hearing shooting, and terrorists were surrounding the whole party area. lots and lots of people started running in all directions. i hear shooting going past my head. i heard people screaming. i saw people falling down. a lot of bodies. we were confronted by a van of terrorists spraying our car with bullets without any mercy. i got

for now, mark lowen, thanks very much.ion coming from the israeli forces saying they killed 20 palestinian gunmen in the al—shifa hospital and they say they are printed dozens of suspects. that has just come from israel's military earlier. of course, they gave details that they said they killed the head of operations in hamas's internal security force. more details just been released internal security force. more detailsjust been released by internal security force. more details just been released by the idf. the european union has denounced russia's presidential election, which, according to official results, saw vladimir putin re—elected by a landslide. the eu said it took place in an "ever shrinking political space characterised by accelerating and systematic repression". it also described the vote in illegally occupied parts of ukraine as "null and void". the result�*s been welcomed by russia's allies, including iran, north korea, belarus and china. let's speak to ben noble — he's an associate fellow for the russia and

mark lowen reporting there. meanwhile, on the ground in gaza, heavy fighting continues.aeli forces say they've killed 50 palestinian gunmen around al—shifa hospital in gaza city. combat has raged for several days at the complex, which is crowded with patients and displaced people. i've been speaking to prof nick maynard, who worked as a surgeon at multiple hospitals in gaza. thank you for taking time to come into the studio. you've been travelling to gaza for several years, since 2010. you were recently at al—aqsa hospital in gaza. can you describe for us the conditions they are, what did you see? thank you for asking me on. they were unimaginably appalling. i've been going to gaza for many years, working in hospitals, operating in the hospitals, operating in the hospitals, teaching doctors and students, and i really thought i would be prepared for what i was going to see, and it was inevitably worse than i could possibly have imagined. in what wa , possibly have imagined. in what way. what _ possibly have imagined. in what way, what exactly _ possibly have imagined. in

mark lowen in jerusalem. to russia next.a national day of mourning today for the victims of friday's attack on a concert venue just outside moscow. president putin lit a candle in a church at his residence outside moscow, in memory of the victims. the authorities now say at least 137 people died in the attack on concertgoers in the crocus city hall. the islamic state group has released graphic footage, which appears to back up its claim that it was behind the attack. here's our russia editor, steve rosenberg. in moscow, wherever you looked, wherever you turned, you could see this was a country in mourning. and in shock. across russia, flags flew at half mast for the victims of the concert hall massacre. and at the scene of friday's attack, crocus city hall, the queues grew longer and longer. the national day of mourning experienced most acutely here. there was an outpouring of sympathy, a mountain of tributes to the dead. as well as leaving flowers and candles, people have also been bringing soft toys and sweets, because amo

mark lowen in jerusalem. _ to russia next.s observing a national day of mourning today, for the victims of friday's attack on a concert venue, just outside moscow. president putin lit a candle in a church at his residence outside moscow, in memory of the victims. the authorities now say at least 137 people died in the attack on concertgoers in the crocus city hall. the islamic state group has released graphic footage which appears to back up its claim that it was behind the attack. here's our russia editor steve rosenberg. in moscow, wherever you looked, wherever you turned you could see this was a country in mourning. and in shock. across russia, flags flew at half mast for the victims of the concert hall massacre. and at the scene of friday's attack, crocus city hall, the queues grew longer and longer. the national day of mourning experienced most acutely here. there was an outpouring of sympathy, a mountain of tributes to the dead. as well as leaving flowers and candles, people have also been bringing soft toys and sweets b

iam mark i am mark lowen live injerusalem, where benjamin netanyahu will speak to president biden byimir putin says he'll prioritise the war in ukraine during his fifth term as president. western leaders say the poll was neither free nor fair. rishi sunak dismisses reports of a new plot to oust him, saying he's concentrating on delivering his government's priorities. and the battle over deep—sea mining — as the demand for permits increases, greenpeace says it damages pristine eco—systems. welcome to bbc news. straight to downing street, live pictures there because that is the

the bbc�*s mark lowen has more from jerusalem.demnation and warnings of atrocities that could take place there. he said that he has approved the operational plan for rafah and he will soon approve the evacuation of civilians

mark lowen has more from jerusalem.is a plan that has drawn international condemnation and warned of atrocities that could take place. he said he would soon approve the evacuation of civilians, but added it would take time for the incursion to begin. now, it does not spell much hope really for the continued cease-fire talks that are ongoing in dohar, and a senior hamas official said israel's response to the latest proposals the seemed negative and constituted a step backwards. all of this is likely to take center stage of talks with u.s. secretary of state antony blinken when he comes to israel on friday, at the end of a middle east tour starting in saudi arabia and then egypt. that was -- of israel leg of the trip was previously unscheduled and comes amidst this increasing acrimonious relationship between the u.s. biden administration and the netanyahu government. antony blinken's aim, i think, will try to restrain an israeli leader who seems increasingly intent on pushing on with this like, both in the war and for his

mark lowen has more from jerusalem.is a plan that has drawn international condemnation and warned of atrocities that could take place. he said he would soon approve the evacuation of civilians, but added it would take time for the incursion to begin. now, it does not spell much hope really for the continued cease-fire talks that are ongoing in dohar, and a senior hamas official said israel's response to the latest proposals there seemed negative and constituted a step backwards. all of this is likely to take center stage of talks with u.s. secretary of state antony blinken when he comes to israel on friday, at the end of a middle east tour starting in saudi arabia and then egypt. that was -- of israel leg of the trip was previously unscheduled and comes amidst this increasing acrimonious relationship between the u.s. biden administration and the netanyahu government. antony blinken's aim, i think, will try to restrain an israeli leader who seems increasingly intent on pushing on with this like, both in the war and for h

let's speak to our correspondent injerusalem mark lowen.the prime minister has been saying in the last little while, again, repeating that the plan is to move into rafah despite the outcry from the international community, what is the likely timeline of that?— likely timeline of that? well, ben'amin likely timeline of that? well, benjamin netanyahu - likely timeline of that? well, benjamin netanyahu said - likely timeline of that? well, | benjamin netanyahu said that likely timeline of that? well, - benjamin netanyahu said that he likely timeline of that? .m benjamin netanyahu said that he had approved the operational plan for rafah and he would soon greenlight the civilian evacuation from there. that is a city in the south of gaza that has an estimated 1.5 million civilians sheltering there, which is why there has been this international condemnation of israel's stated aim to send its army into rafah and warnings about the atrocities that could ensue. benjamin netanyahu said that the incursion could take some weeks to begin and that he was

let's speak to our correspondent injerusalem, mark lowen.ng for that rafah invasion, is there any clue as to the timescale we are talking about? he to the timescale we are talking about? ,., . ., to the timescale we are talking about? ,., _, ., ~ to the timescale we are talking about? _, ., ~ ,., about? he said it could take some weeks for the _ about? he said it could take some weeks for the israeli _ about? he said it could take some weeks for the israeli army - about? he said it could take some weeks for the israeli army to - about? he said it could take some| weeks for the israeli army to move into rafah, matthew, he said he has approved the operational plan for the incursion into rafah and soon they will be an approval for the civilian evacuation plan. but that is not as simple as he might be making out because we are talking about 1.4 million people who are now sheltering in rafah, over half the entire population of the gaza strip. and plenty of countries, plenty of israel's western allies including the us have warned that sending the

mark lowen injerusalem. to russia next.rving a national day of mourning today for the victims of friday's attack on a concert venue, just outside moscow. president putin lit a candle in a church at his residence outside moscow, in memory of the victims. the authorities now say at least 137 people died in the attack on concert—goers at the crocus city hall. russian state media say two suspects have now been charged with commiting an act of terrorism in a moscow court late on sunday. footage online shows one of the men in court looking dazed and beaten. here's our russia editor, steve rosenberg. in moscow, wherever you looked, wherever you turned, you could see this was a country in mourning, and in shock. across russia, flags flew at half mast for the victims of the concert hall massacre. and at the scene of friday's attack, crocus city hall, the queues grew longer and longer. the national day of mourning experienced most acutely here. there was an outpouring of sympathy, a mountain of tributes to the dead. as well as leavin

mark lowen has more from jerusalem.ithout unrwa getting the food out on the ground, there are few alternatives. i mean, another body, the world food programme, which is another un agency, has managed to get a few trucks in to northern gaza in the last couple of weeks. but this appears to be a very direct attack on unrwa itself. i mean, the head of unrwa, philip lazzarini, was actually blocked by the israelis from entering gaza last week. and i went to a briefing with him, i met him, and he said what he described was a very direct attack by israel on the functions of that un agency. and he said that since january, he has not had any contact with the israeli government direct. now, why is that? well, because injanuary, the israeli government accused some members of staff of unrwa of participating in the 7th of october hamas attacks on israel. that prompted some western governments to actually suspend funding of that un body, unrwa, and it really prompted the biggest crisis in relations between the two, between the two sid

lowen has the latest from jerusalem.ggested that it is hamas which is disrupting aid distribution efforts in gaza and is the israeli government has also hit out at the un for, in its words, being too slow to distribute aid. but all the aid agencies on the ground in gaza and un bodies say that the the infrastructure it is solely down to israel limiting the number of trucks that can get into gaza to distribute that much needed aid, which is why it is so sorely lacking and why famine is now looming in large parts of gaza. now, i went to a briefing with the head of the un palestinian mission, anwar, who said to me that this is an entirely manmade famine. -- unrwa. in a sense it is not, you know, it is down to a complete failure of policies. they are ready to distribute the aid if israel allows more in. and he also appealed to the us and the uk to restore funding to the un palestinian refugee mission, which the two countries cut injanuary when israel accused that un mission of employing staff who were complicit in the 7th of

our correspondent, mark lowen, has this update from jerusalem.ime minister benjamin netanyahu has declared his intention and determination to send the israeli army into rafah in southern gaza, where some 1.5 million people are thought to be sheltering. it is a plan that has drawn international condemnation and warnings of atrocities that could take place there. he has said that he has approved the operational plan for rafah and that he will soon approve the evacuation of civilians, but added that it would take time for the incursion to begin. now, it doesn't spell much hope really for the continuing ceasefire talks that are ongoing in the qatari capital, doha. and a senior hamas official has said that israel's response to the latest proposals there seemed negative and constituted a step backwards. now, all of this is likely to take centre stage of talks with the us secretary of state, antony blinken, when he comes to israel on friday at the end of a middle east tour that has taken him to saudi arabia and on thursday to egypt, that was the israeli

preparations are under way for the invasion of rafah in the southern gaza strip our correspondent, markrom jerusalem once agaihn, israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu has declared his intention and determination to send the israeli army into rafah in southern gaza, where some one and a half million people are thought to be sheltering. it is a plan that has drawn international condemnation and warnings of atrocities that could take place there. he has said that he has approved the operational plan for rafah and that he will soon approve the evacuation of civilians, but added that it would take time for the incursion to begin. now, it doesn't spell much hope really for the continuing cease fire talks that are ongoing in the qatari capital, doha. and a senior hamas official has said that israel's response to the latest proposals there seemed negative and constituted a step backwards. now, all of this is likely to take centre stage of talks with the us secretary of state, antony blinken, when he comes to israel on friday at the end of a middle east tour that has taken him to saudi ara

our correspondent in jerusalem mark lowen gave us his analysis.l, the wheels of diplomacy still very much in motion with the us secretary of state, antony blinken, talking about how he believes an agreement is possible to end this war, even if it will be difficult, in his words. and also talking about how there's progress, also in talking with regional actors about who and what could run gaza and reconstructing gaza after the guns fall silent. now, israel is sending a delegation back to doha tomorrow, on friday, led by the head of the israeli intelligence agency mossad, who will be holding talks with the head of the cia and mediators from qatar and egypt, suggesting that there is possibly some progress on the cease fire proposals, even if we don't necessarily expect an imminent breakthrough. mr blinken was also saying that the us has circulated a draught un security council resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian cease fire linked to the release of the hostages by hamas. and now the fact that that the us has blocked and vetoed three previ

let's get more from our correspondent mark lowen in jerusalem. unwra getting the food out on the ground, there are few alternatives. i mean, another body, the world food programme, which is another un agency, has managed to get a few trucks in to northern gaza in the last couple of weeks. but this appears to be a very direct attack on unwra itself. i mean, the head of unwra, philip lazzarini, was actually blocked by the israelis from entering gaza last week. and i went to a briefing with him, i met him, and he said what he described was a very direct attack by israel on the functions of that un agency. and he said that since january, he has not had any contact with the israeli government direct. now, why is that? well, because injanuary, the israeli government accused some members of staff of unrwa of participating in the 7th of october hamas attacks on israel. that prompted some western governments to actually suspend funding of that un body, unrwa, and it really prompted the biggest crisis in relations between the two, between the two sides — b

lowen has the latest from jerusalem. suggested that it is hamas, which is disrupting aid distribution efforts in gaza and is the israeli government has also hit out at the un for, in its words, being too slow to distribute aid. but all the aid agencies on the ground in gaza and un bodies say that the infrastructure is in place to distribute aid. it is solely down to israel limiting the number of trucks that can get into gaza to distribute that much needed aid, which is why it is so sorely lacking and why famine is now looming in large parts of gaza. now, i went to a briefing with the head of the un palestinian mission, unrwa, who said to me that this is an entirely man—made famine. in a sense it is not, you know, it is down to a complete failure of policies. they are ready to distribute the aid if israel allows more in. and he also appealed to the us and the uk to restore funding to the un palestinian refugee mission, which the two countries cut injanuary when israel accused that un mission of employing staff who were co

our correspondent mark lowen has more, from jerusalem.the pressure up on benjamin netanyahu over more humanitarian aid getting into gaza, but also over israel's plans to send its military into rafah in southern gaza, where about 1.4 million gazans are sheltering, more than half of the entire population of the gaza strip. israel seems determined to push into rafah, the prime minister saying earlier in the day that israel is determined to push on to total victory, as he says it, which means an operation in rafah to crush hamas and get the israeli hostages back. but that has met with international criticism, not least from the us. president biden said a week ago that that would cross a red line as far as his administration is concerned. and a couple of days ago, the senate majority leader in the us, in effect, called for benjamin netanyahu's replacement, calling him an obstacle to peace. but in vintage netanyahu style, he is pushing back, he's digging in, he's facing more criticism both at home and abroad. but he is sounding defiant, saying

lowen is injerusalem with more on the un secretary general antonio gutterres�*s trip to the middle east border crossing very close to the border crossing between egypt and gaza, where he will be seeing the aid shipment that is stacking up there on the border and which is waiting to come in. and frankly, not enough of it has come in because israel has restricted aid by trucks getting into gaza by either by restricting entry points actually of the aid trucks coming in or indeed by performing lengthy and cumbersome checks on the trucks which have slowed down aid deliveries in now. israel rejects that claim by saying that it is hamas that has disrupted aid efforts and that the un has been too slow to distribute it. but all the aid agencies on the ground have reported that in that it is israeli checks and the lack of entry points, which is the principal reason why they're why there's just about a fifth of the daily deliveries into into gaza that is actually needed. he will also be talking to medics, working at hospitals right on the border, and he will be examining the sort of the attempt to

let's get more from our correspondent, mark lowen in jerusalem.in on the ground, there are few alternatives. i mean, another body, the world food programme, which is another un agency, has managed to get a few trucks in to northern gaza in the last couple of weeks. but this appears to be a very direct attack on unwra itself. i mean, the head of unwra, philip lazzarini, was actually blocked by the israelis from entering gaza last week. and i went to a briefing with him, i met him, and he said what he described was a very direct attack by israel on the functions of that un agency. and he said that since january, he has not had any contact with the israeli government direct. now, why is that? well, because injanuary, the israeli government accused some members of staff of unwra of participating in the 7th of october hamas attacks on israel. that prompted some western governments to actually suspend funding of that un body, unrwa, and it really prompted the biggest crisis in relations between the two, between the two sides — between the israeli govern

mark lowen has more from jerusalem.ithout unrwa getting the food out on the ground, there are few alternatives. they're essential, really, because they are the biggest un another body mass to get a few trucks into northern guys in the past couple of weeks but this appears to be a direct attack on unrwa itself, the head was blocked by the israeli from entering gaza last week and i went to a briefing with him and i met him and he said that he described a direct attack by israel on the functions of that unh and c. he said since january he has not had any contact with the government direct. that's because in january the government direct. that's because injanuary the israeli government accused some embers of staff of unrwa are participating in the seventh of october hamas attack on israel. that prompted some western governments to suspend funding of that un body and it prompted the biggest crisis in relations between the two sides, the israeli government and unrwa in decades. this decision today if confirmed by the israelis

let's get more from our correspondent, mark lowen in jerusalem. are the biggest un without getting the food in on the ground, without getting the food in on the round, there without getting the food in on the ground, without getting the food in on the round, there are without getting the food in on the ground, without getting the food in on the nround, there are a without getting the food in on the ground, without getting the food in on the nround, there are a few ground, there are a few alternatives. another un agency has managed to get a few trucks into northern gaza in the last couple of weeks, but this appears to be a very direct attack itself. the head of unrwa is blocked by the israelis from entering gaza last week. and i went to a briefing with him, i met him, and he said what he described was a very direct attack by israel on the functions of that un agency. and he said that since january, he has not had any contact with the israeli government direct. now, why is that? well, because injanuary, the israeli government accused some members of

our correspondent, mark lowen, who is injerusalem, gave us his analysis of the conference.cholz is keeping the pressure up on binyamin netanyahu over more humanitarian aid getting into gaza, but also over israel's plans to send its military into rafah, in southern gaza, where about 1.4 million gazans are sheltering, more than half of the entire population of the gaza strip. israel seems determined to push into rafah, the prime minister saying earlier in the day that israel is determined to push on to total victory, as he says it, which means an operation in rafah to crush hamas and get the israeli hostages back. but that has met with international criticism, not least from the us. president biden said a week ago that would cross a red line as far as his administration is concerned, and a couple of days ago, the senate majority leader in the us in effect called for binyamin netanyahu's replacement, calling him an obstacle to peace. but you know, in vintage netanyahu style, he is pushing back, he's digging in, he is facing more criticism both at home and abroad, but he is sou

our correspondent injerusalem, mark lowen, gave his analysis on those talks between mr blinken and mrny blinken came to israel with a stark warning — that if the israeli government pursues its intention to send the military into rafah, in southern gaza, where an estimated 1.5 million civilians are sheltering, it could further isolate israel internationally and could perhaps fail to achieve israel's stated goal, which is to destroy hamas. antony blinken said that the us believes there is an alternative way to do that, and that an israeli delegation going to washington next week will receive plans or hear plans from the us of how to achieve that goal without sending the military into rafah. but mr blinken�*s warnings appear to have fallen on deaf ears because, once again, benjamin netanyahu repeated that — he said israel is determined to go into rafah and benjamin netanyahu said he told antony blinken that if israel does not have the us support, "we'll do it alone," in his words. it doesn't spell much hope for the continuing ceasefire talks in doha, which are ongoing between israel with

mark lowen in jerusalem.ew alternatives. another body food programme which is a un agency that a few trucks into northern gaza in the past couple of weeks but this appears to be a very direct attack on unrwa itself, the head was blocked by the israelis for entering gaza last week and i went to a briefing with him, i met him and he said what he described as a direct attack by israel on the function of that un agency. he said since january he has not had any contact with the israeli government direct. why is that? injanuary israeli government direct. why is that? in january the israeli government direct. why is that? injanuary the israeli government accused some members of staff of unrwa of participating in the october seven hamas attack on israel. that prompted some western governments to suspend the ending of that un body, unrwa, and it prompted the biggest crisis in relations between the two sides, the israeli government and unrwa in decades. this decision today if confirmed by the israelis and it seems to b

our correspondent injerusalem mark lowen has been speaking to aid organisations in gaza about the situationren's charity, says that one in three children under the age of two are acutely malnourished, and that figure is double what it was injanuary, so there is an urgent need for aid. a slight glimmer of hope with this ship now off—loading the 200 tonnes of aid, being allowed to off—load. it's unclear how the aid will be distributed inside gaza itself, although the idf are saying they will provide some security for that distribution on the ground, which is much needed given the fact that civil order has broken down there, and aid distribution, as we've seen, can turn into a fatal, disorderly incident. so the cypriots, who sent the first ship, are saying that a second ship is now ready to leave as well, carrying 240 tonnes of aid, but really these are fractions of what is needed on the ground, and people are resorting to a maritime corridor and ships bringing in aid because trucks coming in over land are being so heavily restricted, they have been so heavily restricted by israel over the las

our correspondent injerusalem, mark lowen, has been speaking to aid organisations in gaza about the situationhildren's charity, says that one in three children under the age of two are acutely malnourished, and that figure is double what it was injanuary, so there is an urgent need for aid. a slight glimmer of hope with this ship now off—loading the 200 tonnes of aid, being allowed to off—load. it's unclear how the aid will be distributed inside gaza itself, although the idf are saying they will provide some security for that distribution on the ground, which is much needed given the fact that civil order has broken down there, and aid distribution, as we've seen, can turn into a fatal, disorderly incident. so the cypriots, who sent the first ship, are saying that a second ship is now ready to leave as well, carrying 240 tonnes of aid, but really these are fractions of what is needed on the ground, and people are resorting to a maritime corridor and ships bringing in aid because trucks coming in over land are being so heavily restricted, they have been so heavily restricted by israel over the

our correspondent mark lowen has more, from jerusalem.e pressure up on benjamin netanyahu over more humanitarian aid getting into gaza, but also over israel's plans to send its military into rafah in southern gaza, where about 1.4 million gazans are sheltering, more than the more than half of the entire population of the gaza strip. israel seems determined to push into rafah, the prime minister saying earlier in the day that israel is determined to push on to total victory, as he says it, which means an operation in rafah to crush hamas and get the israeli hostages back. but that has met with international criticism, not least from the us. president biden said a week ago that that would cross a red line as far as his administration is concerned. and a couple of days ago, the senate majority leader in the us, in effect, called for benjamin netanyahu's replacement, calling him an obstacle to peace. but in vintage netanyahu style, he is pushing back. he's digging in. he's facing more criticism both at home and abroad. but he is sounding defi

here's the take of our correspondent in jerusalem mark lowen diplomacy very much in motioned talking how they believe an agreement is possible to end this war and even if it will be difficult in his words and talk about progress in his words and talk about progress in talking with regional actors about and what could run gaza and reconstructing gaza after the guns fall silent and sending a delegation back to delhi on friday led by the head of the israeli intelligence agency will be holding talks the cia and mediators from qatar in egypt suggesting there's possibly some progress on the cease—fire proposals evenif progress on the cease—fire proposals even if they necessarily don't expect an imminent breakthrough. the essence of the us is circulating a draught of the security council calling for immediate humanitarian cease—fire and linked to the release of the hostages by hamas and the fact that the us is blocked and v to three previous resolutions calling for is a station of hostility suggests the us is hardening its language and getting increasingly exasperated by israel and by the c

let's talk to our correspondent injerusalem, mark lowen.on the un resolution being vetoed initially, what is the impact on of that, if any, and we also know there is another draft resolution doing the rounds at the moment. it means the revelation of course was not passed at the security council because russia and china have a veto wielding power. russia's un ambassador said it was a false declaration of a ceasefire, false call for a ceasefire, because the text that was supported by the us linked a ceasefire to the immediate release of hostages, so in effect, was supporting israel's negotiating position in these talks in doha, which are still ongoing, ceasefire talks, because israel's position is that there can only be any ceasefire if the hostages, if israeli hostages held by hamas are released. even though the us basically was in line with israel's negotiating position, it was a harder tone than the us has used before, as you noted in your introduction, previously the us had vetoed three previous calls for an immediate ceasefire and had ne

let's go to mark lowen injerusalem. been reporting on those comments from the secretary of state, antony blinken, they are pretty stark in what he sees as the situation in gaza. what reaction i we had from the israeli government, if any? we had from the israeli government, if an ? , ., ., ., , if any? the israeli government has accused reviewed _ if any? the israeli government has accused reviewed accused - if any? the israeli government has accused reviewed accused hamasl if any? the israeli government has l accused reviewed accused hamas of disrupting a deliveries, in fact they even blocked the head of the un... the first time they've done that since the war began. i went to a briefing with him, the secretary—general of the un mission for palestinian refugees, and he said that he feels there is an attack at the moment on his function, and on the function of the un mission for palestinian refugees, with the israeli government depicting it as some kind of —— somehow politically biased and trying to discredit the un miss

mark lowen has more from jerusalem without unrwa getting the food out on the ground, there are few alternatives. they're essential, really, because they are the biggest un mission in the palestinian territories. they employ about 30,000 staff, and so without unrwa getting the food in on the ground, there are few alternatives. i mean, another body, the world food programme, which is another un agency, has managed to get a few trucks in to northern gaza in the last couple of weeks. but this appears to be a very direct attack on unwra itself. i mean, the head of unrwa, philip lazzarini, was actually blocked by the israelis from entering gaza last week. and i went to a briefing with him, i met him, and he said what he described was a very direct attack by israel on the functions of that un agency. and he said that since january, he has not had any contact with the israeli government direct. now, why is that? well, because injanuary, the israeli government accused some members of staff of unrwa of participating in the 7th of october hamas attacks on israel. that prompted some western governments to

the bbc�*s mark lowen is injerusalem with more.uld of course be very risky, given the number of civilians sheltering there, and also would further incur the wrath of israel's western allies like the us — president biden said just a week or so ago that an israeli military incursion into rafah would be a red line, and today, secretary of state antony blinken said the us has not yet received israel's plan for rafah. so it does seem as if an incursion is imminent, but that is still the state of detention with the israeli government. now with aid, the ship carrying 200 tonnes of aid that has come from cyprus has now started to off—load that aid into gaza, on a little smaller ships that are taking it towards gaza. it is unclear exactly how it will be distributed on the ground, and in a sign ofjust how risky that is, there was again another fatal incident on wednesday in which 21 people killed in an aid distribution point in gaza city — hamas has said it was israeli troops who opened fire, israel has said it has investigated and its troop

our correspondent injerusalem, mark lowen, has been speaking to aid organisations in gaza about the situationhildren's charity, says that one in three children under the age of two are acutely malnourished, and that figure is double what it was injanuary, so there is an urgent need for aid. a slight glimmer of hope with this ship now flooding the 200 tonnes of aid, being allowed to off—load. it's unclear how the aid will be distributed inside gaza itself, although the idf are saying they will provide some security for that distribution on the ground, which is much needed given the fact that civil order has broken down there and aid distribution, as we've seen, can turn into a fatal, disorderly incident. so the cypriots, who sent the first ship, are saying that a second ship is now ready to leave as well, carrying 240 tonnes of aid, but really these are fractions of what is needed on the ground, and people are resorting to a maritime corridor and ships bringing in aid because trucks coming in of our land are being so heavily restricted, they have been so heavily restricted by israel over the l

lowen has the latest from jerusalem.i government has also hit out at the un for, in its words, being too slow to distribute aid. but all the aid agencies on the ground in gaza and un bodies say that the the infrastructure it is solely down to israel limiting the number of trucks that can get into gaza to distribute that much needed aid, which is why it is so sorely lacking and why famine is now looming in large parts of gaza. now, i went to a briefing with the head of the un palestinian mission, anwar, who said to me that this is an entirely manmade famine. in a sense it is not, you know, it is down to a complete failure of policies. they are ready to distribute the aid if israel allows more in. and he also appealed to the us and the uk to restore funding to the un palestinian refugee mission, which the two countries cut injanuary when israel accused that un mission of employing staff who were complicit in the 7th of october attacks on israel. now that is on the aid front, on the ceasefire front, those those talks on on

lowen, gave his analysis on those talks between mr blinken and mr netanyahu.raeli government pursues its intention to send the military into rafah, in southern gaza, where an estimated 1.5 million civilians are sheltering, it could further isolate israel internationally and could perhaps fail to achieve israel's stated goal, which is to destroy hamas. antony blinken said that the us believes there is an alternative way to do that, and that an israeli delegation going to washington next week will receive plans or hear plans from the us of how to achieve that goal without sending the military into rafah. but mr blinken's warnings appear to have fallen on deaf ears because, once again, benjamin netanyahu repeated that — he said israel is determined to go into rafah and benjamin netanyahu said he told antony blinken that if israel does not have the us support, "we'll do it alone," in his words. it doesn't spell much hope for the continuing ceasefire talks in doha, which are ongoing between israel with israel — representatives of israel, the us, egypt and qatar. an

let's talk to our correspondent injerusalem mark lowen.g to in the last hour, the israeli prime minister at the secretary of state, but those comments from benjamin netanyahu that rafah would go ahead even if there was resistance and objections from america, the strain in this relationship is out in the open now, isn't it? ~ , , ~' relationship is out in the open now, isn't it? ~ , , ,, �*, isn't it? absolutely, i think it's -robabl isn't it? absolutely, i think it's probably the — isn't it? absolutely, i think it's probably the most _ isn't it? absolutely, i think it's probably the most overtly - probably the most overtly acrimonious moment in the relationship between the us and israel in living memory. you know, last week you had the president of the us endorsing remarks by the senate majority leader coin for net on �*s river placement, calling him an obstacle to peace —— calling for netanyahu's replacement. and now in is meeting, dribbling and saying, we will not support you if you push the military to rafah —— antony blinken saying tha

our correspondent injerusalem, mark lowen, gave his analysis on those talks between mr blinken and mr if the israeli government pursues its intention to send the military into rafah in southern gaza, where an estimated 1.5 million civilians are sheltering, it could further isolate israel internationally and could perhaps fail to achieve israel's stated goal, which is to destroy hamas. antony blinken said that the us believes there is an alternative way to do that, and that an israeli delegation going to washington next week will receive plans or hear plans from the us of how to achieve that goal without sending the military into rafah. but mr blinken's warnings appear to have fallen on deaf ears because once again, benjamin netanyahu repeated that israel is determined to go into rafah and benjamin netanyahu said he told antony blinken that if israel does not have the us�*s support, we will do it alone, in his words. it doesn't spell much hope for the continuing ceasefire talks in doha, which are ongoing between israel with his old representative from israeli representatives and qatar,

our correspondent in jerusalem mark lowen has been speaking to aid organisations in gaza about the situations charity, says that one in three children under the age of two are acutely malnourished and that that figure is double what it was in january so there is an it was injanuary so there is an urgent it was in january so there is an urgent need it was injanuary so there is an urgent need for aid. a slight glimmer of hope with this ship of loading the 200 tonnes of aid and being allowed tonnes of aid and being allowed to off load. it is unclear exactly how the aid will be distributed inside gaza itself, and it is much needed because civil order has broken down and aid distribution as we have seen can result in a fatal, disorderly incident. the cypriots who sent the first ship are saying that a second ship are saying that a second ship is now ready to leave as well carrying 240 tonnes of aid, but really these are fractions of what is needed on the ground, and people are resorting, the international community is resorting to a maritime corridor and ships bringing aid because trucks coming in