this is bbc news. the headlines at five: israeli warplanes destroy a gaza city tower block, which had been the headquarters for internationaljournalists. it was evacuated before the attack after an israeli warning. meanwhile in london, thousands of pro—palestinian protesters have marched to the gates of the israeli embassy. people in areas where the indian variant of coronavirus is spreading are urged to get a covid vaccination. wreath laying services have been held across the uk and around the world to mark the centenary of the royal british legion. and kicking off in a few minutes�* time it's the fa cup final — chelsea play leicester in front of 20 thousand fans at wembley. leicester are looking to win it for the first time, chelsea are hoping to win it for a ninth time.

the white house says it has told israel to ensure the "safety and security ofjournalists" after israeli warplanes destroyed a tower block in gaza city. occupants of the building, which housed the associated press and aljazeera, were given an hour to leave. israel claims the block was used by hamas�*s military intelligence. it follows rocket attacks by hamas militants, which killed one man in tel aviv. an israeli strike overnight on a refugee camp, killed at least 14 people, ten of them from one extended family. our middle east correspondent yolande knell reports from the west bank.

within seconds, another tower block erased from gaza's skyline. journalists for international networks who worked inside rushed out after a warning from israel that it was about to strike. it says hamas intelligence used the building. earlier, a barrage of rockets hit tel aviv for the first time in two days, with deadly results. emergency services unable to save a man here. in gaza, there has been almost no time to mourn as the numbers killed mount up. mohammed lost almost everyone in his family. his wife and their children were staying with her brother when the missiles struck their home in an overcrowded refugee camp. little omar is all he has left, found in the rubble next to his mother. with militants continuing to be targeted, images released by israel's military show an operation that is not letting up. officials say dealing a strong blow

to deter hamas will take more time. and hamas is not stopping its fire either. its rockets, as always, are indiscriminate, continuing to pour down on the israeli towns closest to gaza. tensions here remain high in israel's mixed cities wherejews and arabs live side by side. there were more disturbances overnight. today, this was jaffa, the streets deserted. and now, the focus turns to the palestinian territories. this is a solemn day when palestinians remember the dispossession of hundreds of thousands of people when israel was created in 1948. they call it al—nakba, "the catastrophe." and this year, the violence elsewhere adds extra fuel to the protests. we will be talking to her live in a few minutes. jamal elshayyal is a correspondent for aljazeera, one of the media companies using that building in gaza that's

been destroyed by israeli warplanes. i spoke to him a little earlier. what we know is that it is a vagrant breach of international law. al jazeera offices were decimated, destroyed. all of the equipment inside, everything inside it was destroyed light of on tv. this is a very clear attempt by a nuclear power to silence journalists —— very clear attempt by a nuclear power to silencejournalists —— live on tv. it's not the first time we have been targeted by the israeli military. however, this is the most barbaric episode yet which has seen dozens of my colleagues, essentially watch as their livelihood was destroyed in front of them. to paint a clear picture for you and the viewers in the uk, imagine

broadcasting house eventually will watching it being bond to live with this guy —— bombed from the sky with nothing to do. aljazeera abides by off common regulations. we are professional may come to reports. —— ofcom regulations. what we know is that this is a very clear, brazen attempt to silence journalists from reporting what is happening on the ground in the besieged gaza strip. but the arrears rallies are saying this is a building that housed the military intelligence of the hamas terror organisation —— the israelis. they are saying it hosted offices of civilian media outlets like your own, but it also was used by hamas as a place to hide and also to use yourjournalists... i'mjust saying, this is what is saying. if yourjournalists... i'mjust saying, this is what is saying. ii a yourjournalists. .. i'm “ust saying, this is what is saying._ this is what is saying. if a tired argument _

this is what is saying. if a tired argument because _ this is what is saying. if a tired argument because it _ this is what is saying. if a tired argument because it gives - this is what is saying. if a tired argument because it gives no. argument because it gives no evidence. this is one of the world's most renowned, do you think the associated press would be in a building that has hamas commanders and it? it's offensive to even give that any sort of a reference because what we've seen from israelis... we saw the military use journalists in an attempt to trick the fighters in gaza into believing there was an operation. this is a state that has no respect for free press, no respect for the life ofjournalists, they killed dozens ofjournalists, including dozens of mine over the past decay. they are refusing injury from internationaljournalists because they don't want to report —— refusing entry. the fact they can say whatever they want to say but there is no evidence, the evidence is quite clearly stacked up against them. the fact that, as a british

citizen, and other international members of the community are doing nothing about this attack on journalists and on free press it's quite frankly distressing as a journalist because what it means is when we go out to do ourjobs, we are directly in the line of fire of are directly in the line of fire of a regime that has shown little to no respect — in fact, nothing but contempt — towards journalist. high time we start calling this out. it's not a question about impartiality or all of these ideas, this is a very clear—cut thing where we have seen the buildings of international press being decimated, being transformed into rubble within seconds by one of the world's strongest militaries, and nobody wants to call it for it what it is. the same thing no one wants to call the ethnic cleansing

what it is. as if it's what was happening on the a a0 with governments wanting to expand a road. it's high time we depart from these nuances that really do not represent the reality.— these nuances that really do not represent the reality. let's get an israeli response. _ mark regev is senior advisor to prime minister benjamin netanyahu, and former israeli ambassador to the uk. thank you for being with us. i don't know if you could hear the al jazeera correspondent, but he was saying it was a flagrant breach of international law. an attempt to silence journalists and associated press's president has said it's an incredibly disturbing development. he's shocked and horrified at the israeli military that they would target and destroy a building

housing ap�*s bureau. what do you say to that? the housing ap's bureau. what do you say to that? ., ., housing ap's bureau. what do you say to that? . ., , ., to that? the idea that israel doesnt to that? the idea that israel doesn't respect _ to that? the idea that israel doesn't respect freedom - to that? the idea that israel doesn't respect freedom is i doesn't respect freedom is ludicrous. israel is the only country in the region with a free press. even our critics would acknowledge that the media is free and open and competitive, and journalists enjoy full press freedom. it's a bit much hearing criticism of israel's press from someone who works for a qatari network, not known for having any sort of repressed. —— free press. i think we heard a tirade went from somebody with opinion then fax. amongst the f0 created press, other media outlets as well, what is your justification for that? it media outlets as well, what is your justification for that?— justification for that? it was a military target _ justification for that? it was a military target because - justification for that? it was a | military target because hamas justification for that? it was a - military target because hamas was using that building. it was part of

the hamas war machine. what is supposed to be at tivoli... it comes under international law under legal target. i think we acted very appropriately and gave an hour's warning. all the civilians in the building were told that this was going to be a target, that they should evacuate. they did so, and i am very satisfied that not a single journalist was hurt. as far as i know, there was no collateral damage. i haven't heard from anyone injured in the attack, and that his success. it's showing that israel while trying to degrade the hamas military machine is doing our utmost not to see any innocent people caught in the crossfire. you said that building — caught in the crossfire. you said that building was _ caught in the crossfire. you said that building was part _ caught in the crossfire. you said that building was part of- caught in the crossfire. you said that building was part of the - caught in the crossfire. you said - that building was part of the hamas war machine. critics would say you're making that up. where is the proof? you're making that up. where is the roof? ., , , ., ., proof? so, we are very short about what we say _

proof? so, we are very short about what we say and — proof? so, we are very short about what we say and israeli _ proof? so, we are very short about| what we say and israeli intelligence i think is usually gets a high credibility when we speak about britain and the united states. i think israeli intelligence have said many successes over the arrears, doctor... ., ~' ., many successes over the arrears, doctor... ., ~ ., ., ., doctor... you know how controversial this is socially — doctor... you know how controversial this is socially you _ doctor... you know how controversial this is socially you would _ doctor... you know how controversial this is socially you would have - this is socially you would have taken steps this is socially you would have ta ken steps to this is socially you would have taken steps to provide proof of what you say perhaps by providing intercepts, communication intercepts, communication intercepts, from that building, from the people you say were hamas militants. are we going to get that sort of proof? i’ll militants. are we going to get that sort of proof?— sort of proof? i'll see what i can do, but sort of proof? i'll see what i can do. but i _ sort of proof? i'll see what i can do. but i can — sort of proof? i'll see what i can do, but i can say— sort of proof? i'll see what i can do, but i can say the _ sort of proof? i'll see what i can do, but i can say the most - sort of proof? i'll see what i can - do, but i can say the most important thing we did was to warn innocent people and therefore avoid having harm come to them. no one from ap or aljazeera as far as i know was in the attack because israel took precaution. we notified them in advance and said this would be of target, we have to take it out. please vacate the premises so thickly they did so.— please vacate the premises so thickly they did so. your critics will say what _ thickly they did so. your critics will say what you're _ thickly they did so. your critics will say what you're trying - thickly they did so. your critics will say what you're trying to l thickly they did so. your criticsl will say what you're trying to do thickly they did so. your critics i will say what you're trying to do it silence the press and gaza. you don't want journalists or photographers in gaza seeing and

showing the world what is happening now. i showing the world what is happening now. ~' showing the world what is happening now. ~ ., . ., �* , now. i think... that couldn't be further from — now. i think... that couldn't be further from the _ now. i think... that couldn't be further from the truth. - now. i think... that couldn't be further from the truth. if - now. i think... that couldn't be l further from the truth. if anyone now. i think... that couldn't be . further from the truth. if anyone is guilty of abusing the press, its hamas, who has a deliberate party of using the libyans —— using civilians as a human shield. ultimately when hamas turned this building into an asset for its intelligent, it did so knowing that it was putting the civilians in the building, including your colleagues, in danger because they were turning a civilian billeting into a legitimate target. you're saying that and we are saying where's the proof and you're saying you're going to try and get us that proof, so we will wait and see what that proof is. your allies, the united states, have put out a statement this afternoon, and it says...

the white house very clearly concerned about what you've done. i would just reiterate the same statement. that's exactly why we acted as we did. we notified the journalists in advance to no sure —— make sure no one was hurt. we should be praised and not criticised for having a pinpointed, surgical strike where no collateral damage, no journalists were hurt. that's something to celebrate, is that not? let me ask you about the wider conflict, because we seen the conflicts between israeli forces, militants in gaza before. it's always asymmetric warfare. just look at the latest death toll, something like 139 palestinians dead, nine israelis. it's always like that. we've had since monday night some 2500 missiles rain down on israeli civilians. all of israel has been

targeted. it comes down to this — what would you do if a terrorist group was firing missiles into your country? what would you expect from your government? we are trying to protect our people from these incoming targets. we are trying to be as surgical as possible. the example we just discussed i think demonstrates clearly... the efforts we've made to safeguard noncombatants for, but we will act to protect our people. it's what any government would do. we are protecting our people against missile attacks by terrorists. mark reaev, missile attacks by terrorists. mark regev. thank— missile attacks by terrorists. mark regev, thank you _ missile attacks by terrorists. mark regev, thank you very _ missile attacks by terrorists. mark regev, thank you very much indeed. thanks very much forjoining us on bbc news. mr; thanks very much for “oining us on bbc news. g , .,, thanks very much for “oining us on bbc news.�* those - bbc news. my pleasure. those ictures bbc news. my pleasure. those pictures showing _ bbc news. my pleasure. those pictures showing you _ bbc news. my pleasure. those pictures showing you in - bbc news. my pleasure. those pictures showing you in israel. | bbc news. my pleasure. thosel pictures showing you in israel. a man in his 50s was fatally injured in part of a barrage target.

just some of the pictures from the israeli fire in that incident, where one israeli citizen was killed. here, thousands of people have gathered in central london to march in solidarity with the palestinian people. a large crowd moved through hyde park to the israeli embassy. similar rallies have been held in other cities in the uk and elsewhere in the world. testing for the coronavirus indian variant is being carried out in parts of scotland, london, the midlands, and also in the north west of england where the government says the army is to be deployed to help with surge testing efforts. our health correspondent katherine da costa reports. out on the streets of bolton in greater manchester, this rapid response team is going door—to—door, handing out test kits as authorities here and in other hotspots race to contain the more contagious indian variant. we're asking people to please take

a test if you don't have any symptoms so we can identify people who may be positive and then support them through the isolation period. excuse me, keep walking. there are surge vaccinations, too. at this site in bolton they have ramped up to a,000 shots per day. while vaccines are expected to protect against serious illness from this variant, it's thought they may not completely stop transmission so the advice now is to shorten the gap between doses to eight weeks for the most vulnerable to boost short—term immunity. there is a bit of a trade—off here because we know 12 weeks is better in terms of long term protection but we think there is enough of a crisis with this particular virus in the country at the moment to make sure that we get those individuals that have only had their first dose fully protected as quickly as possible. this 5k run at kempton park in surrey is a test event to see

whether mass outdoor events without social distancing could be brought back safely again. some health experts are concerned allowing indoor mixing from monday and a more transmissible variant risks the variant taking off again but ministers say it's too soon to say what it will mean for ending lockdown measures next month. we don't know how much more transmissible it is yet. so, if it's a low increase in transmissibility, that wouldn't fundamentally, necessarily, change things. if it's a high level then we would have to look carefully at what happens on the 21st ofjune. around 1,000 covid patients are being treated in hospitals across the uk, the lowest level since mid—september, but about a third of adults are still unvaccinated. it's now an anxious wait to see whether new infections translate to a rise in hospital admissions in the weeks to come. katharine da costa, bbc news.

a further 2027 cases were confirmed in the latest 2a hour period. that means an average of 2252 in the uk since the last week. seven deaths were reported in the latest 2a hour period. the seven day average sits at ten deaths. latest government data also show the continued decrease in the number of people in hospital. 991 people are in hospital, receiving treatment for covid—19. the headlines on bbc news: a tower block in gaza, housing the offices of the associated press and aljazeera news outlets, has collapsed after being hit by an israeli airstrike. the israeli military said the building housed military assets belonging to hamas. in london, crowds of pro—palestinian protesters have gathered and marched to the gates of the israeli embassy. people in areas where the indian variant of coronavirus is spreading

are urged to get a covid vaccination. wreaths have been laid to mark the centenary of the royal british legion. in a message to coincide with the occasion, prince charles said the organisation ensured the sacrifices of veterans would never be forgotten. jon donnison has the details. bugle plays last post in whitehall this morning, a lone bugler and the last post — to remember those who have been lost but also to mark 100 years of the royal british legion. representatives of the army, the royal navy and the royal air force were among those who laid wreath clinic at the cenotaph, after earlier prince charles had offered his thanks. i wanted, above all, to offer my sincere and heartfelt gratitude to all those who have helped build this wonderful

organisation we know today, and to all those who will be part of its future. the british legion was set up in 1921, in the aftermath of the first world war. its mission was to support military veterans and their families. so, 100 years after it was founded on this very spot, the royal british legion has marked its centenary, and for its more than 200,000 members the organisation is as relevant today as it was a century ago. whilst it's a different era now, the nature of the wounds have changed, but the specialist skills that we can offer are just as relevant. a special commemorative 50p will be used for the coin toss before kick—off at this afternoon's fa cup final between chelsea and leicester city. and today's events celebrate an organisation that has been

supporting those prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice now for 100 years. jon donnison, bbc news, in whitehall. debenhams closes its remaining shops today after more than 2a0 years on the high street. it went into administration in 2019 after several years of falling sales. our business correspondent, emma simpson, reports. the final few hours. not much left for the bargain hunters now. these stores reopened after lockdown to allow the remaining stock to be cleared. the last 28 shops closed today. the end of an era. debenham's roots can be traced back to 1778, with a draper�*s store in west london selling fabrics, hats and umbrellas. by the 1950s it was the uk's biggest department store — and it continued to expand, pulling shoppers in with its famous blue cross sales. but it failed to keep up with the competition.

its problems were years in the making. it first collapsed in 2019. the pandemic then finished it off as it failed to find a buyer. by christmas, the business was being wound down, with 12,000 job losses. it's one of the biggest retail failures since woolworths, emblematic of the retail shakeout as shopping habits change. the chain was an anchor store in many town centres, and its demise will leave large gaps for landlords and local authorities to fill. emma simpson, bbc news. the band "the specials' sang that their home city was becoming �*like a ghost town�* back in 1981, but it's come a long way since then. today, coventry kicks off its reign as the uk city of culture. the year long celebration of the city s arts, heritage and history was due to have begun injanuary but everything was put on hold because of the pandemic. david sillito reports. it was meant to have been a non—stop

year of art and culture, a city—wide party. but then came the pandemic. however, four and a half months on, things are finally happening in coventry. oh, itjust feels so exciting to have got to this point. there's so much excitement about opening doors again. coventry has got so much history that people don't realise. it's an amazing place. music, dance, art, theatre. a celebration of coventry�*s history, culture, and even some of the glories of coventry architecture. the britannia hotel will be featuring in the coventry city of culture colouring book. brutalist coventry masterpieces to be coloured in. here we are, the britannia hotel. i've already got started on this, but i think i need another grey. i need a greyer grey. and i also met the team who have been bringing a bit of colour to the streets and shops.

and this was a special moment for cara and charlie. today is very different, today is the first day i've met cara in person. so, you two have been working together for more than a year? yeah, it's quite emotional. everything that we have done, all of this development, has been over a screen. there's nothing like developing a programme with shops and businesses and needing to use their windows when they're not open. it's a good reminder ofjust what a challenge this has been for coventry. it's notjust that everything has been delayed. it's the fact that all their plans were turned absolutely upside down. no—one knew if venues were going to be open or when they might be open or how many people would be allowed to go inside or what they'd be allowed to do when they did get inside. so, the answer has been to think, well, outside the box — or perhaps more simply, just outside. theoretically, the whole city is our canvas. - i think we're looking - at some of the walls here, some on this building here, i

behind the transport museum. so, outdoor art, and this, rehearsals for coventry moves, an outdoor spectacular. but even though it is outside, they're still not allowed to have a crowd — so the audience will have to watch from home. people will be able to watch it on tv, on radio. but not in person? no. if we have people turning up and appearing at events before the 21st ofjune in large numbers, we can't guarantee that those events will continue. it's unbelievable. all this work and you've got to keep your big events almost a secret. yeah. so, for coventry, 2021 begins today. the hope is we're on track for a return of live entertainment and live audiences. but for the time being, this is culture with a good deal of caution. david sillito, bbc news, coventry. back now to our main story —

the escalation in the conflict between israel and the palestinians. let's get the latest from our middle east correspondent yolande knell, who's in the bethlehem, west bank. what's happening there? we can see fires burning their behind you. that's right. tensions really taking up that's right. tensions really taking up again across the pala tennessean —— palestinian territory. here in the west bank, young palestinians in the west bank, young palestinians in the last hour have been responding to calls of protests after dark, coming out on the street close to of and israeli military sour. —— military power. they are burning rubbish. there have been repeated clashes overnight. 11 palestinians were killed in cities across the west bank in these violent confrontations with israeli security forces. this is happening in response partly to all that's going

on. the unrest has been fuelling this, adding to people's anger, but it also a day which is always a day of protests, when palestinians commemorate the events of 19a8, when hundreds of thousands lost their homes and property in the 19a8 arab israeli war that followed the creation of the state of israel. we're seeing the death toll mounting day by day. what's happening with diplomatic attempts to try to ease the tensions, may beget a cease—fire? what are the americans are doing about that? the cease-fire? what are the americans are doing about that?— are doing about that? the biden administration _ are doing about that? the biden administration said _ are doing about that? the biden administration said over - are doing about that? the biden administration said over an - are doing about that? the biden i administration said over an invoice so that he can try to add to the cease—fire talks. they are arab diplomats involved, particularly egypt, because that is a neighbour of both israel and gaza. it traditionally serves as a mediator when there are ups urges and

violence and try to secure a truce. the united nations also involved, but at the moment, what we're seeing is that there is no sign yet, but that fighting is beginning to abate. in terms of gaza, we know that palestinians have been leaving the border area, worried about a ground offensive. do you think that's likely in the next few days? certainly, israel wants to keep up the pressure. it has infantry close to the edge of gaza, but that has also been used for artillery fire. it's not ruling out a ground invasion, but i could leave too much heavier loss of life. —— but that could. but people in gaza, you have to remember, are reacting to what happened to them. a pattern of successive conflict. back in 201a, when there was a ground invasion,

this is exactly what happened. people left in these areas, which have already seen such heavy bombardment by israel and headed down towards gaza city and were saying, taking shelter in places like schools, un run schools, just setting up camp there and trying to last out the conflict. what setting up camp there and trying to last out the conflict.— last out the conflict. what do you think israel's _ last out the conflict. what do you think israel's names _ last out the conflict. what do you think israel's names are - last out the conflict. what do you think israel's names are at - last out the conflict. what do you think israel's names are at this . think israel's names are at this stage of the conflict? what do they want to see happen? the stage of the conflict? what do they want to see happen?— stage of the conflict? what do they want to see happen? the message we have heard from _ want to see happen? the message we have heard from israeli _ want to see happen? the message we have heard from israeli officials - have heard from israeli officials consistently in the past few days is that they want to deliver a blow to hamas which will be a real deterrent. they want to stop the persistent rocket fire that there has been on israeli towns and cities because in addition to what we've seenin because in addition to what we've seen in the past week, if you go back over recent years, whenever there is an uptick in tensions between israel and gaza, whenever hamas wants to send a message to israel, you get these rockets fired. that is just an awful way for people

to live in those communities that surround gaza, so there's a lot of public pressure to take decisive action. there is also public pressure on hamas. it told the pala needy and people that it is reacting to the tensions that have been seen. it's trying to position itself for the palestinian people, particularly at this moment of weakness for the palestinian authority after it cancelled the first general election that was due to take place in 15 years. it's trying to look like it can control the political agenda and that it can control the political agenda and thatitis can control the political agenda and that it is sending a strong nationalist message to palestinians.