this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the un security council prepares for an emergency meeting later, as the conflict between israel and palestinians in gaza enters a seventh day. israel will continually hit the hamas terror group until we feel we have reached our objectives. hamas decided when to start this round but we will decide when to end it. efforts to combat the indian variant of covid ramp up in england, ahead of lockdown restrictions being relaxed tomorrow. i am confident that we can take this step tomorrow, but we should all be careful about how we take that step. so you ask me about eating

indoors with people. it's still safer to eat outdoors rather than in when the weather allows. a young child has died and four people have been seriously injured, after a gas explosion at a residential area in heysham in northern england. there was significant damage to the houses. at least two have been destroyed and a third is significantly damaged. as a consequence, a number of people have been injured. tragically, a young child has been killed. leicester celebrate their first—ever fa cup win, in front of the biggest uk crowd since the pandemic began. hello and welcome if you're watching

in the uk or around the world. gaza's health ministry says that at least 26 people have been killed by israeli air strikes overnight on gaza city. it said the strikes had targeted two houses. this is the seventh day of violence. the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, said military action would continue until security was restored. here are some of the latest pictures from gaza. israel says the home of the hamas chief in gaza was among the targets. palestinian militants fired more rockets at cities in southern israel. the un has summoned the security council for an emergency meeting later. our correspondent helena wilkinson reports. within seconds, this building in gaza is reduced to rubble. it was home to journalists from the associated press and al jazeera tv.

an hour earlier, they had been told to evacuate. israel says the building was a target because of links to hamas, the militant group that rules gaza. israel is doing everything possible to protect our civilians and keep palestinian civilians out of harm's way. we demonstrated this yet again today when we warned civilians to vacate the building used by the hamas terror intelligence. they vacated the premises before the target was destroyed, and that's why you don't hear of casualties from these collapsing terror towers. there have, though, been civilian casualties on both sides. early this morning, israel targeted a house in gaza that it says belonged to a hamas leader. palestinian health officials say that at least three people died and many others were injured. in an earlier israeli attack, mohammed al—hadidi lost his wife and four young sons.

his baby son, omar, who's just five months old, was the only survivor. in ramat gan, a suburb of tel aviv, a hamas missile killed a man in his 50s. he was reportedly hit by shrapnel in his apartment. in sheikh jarrah, there continues to be anger and tension. attempts to evict palestinians from their homes in this area earlier this month helped start the escalation to the conflict. us presidentjoe biden has spoken to israeli and palestinian leaders ahead of a un security council meeting later today. but, with neither side appearing to back down, a quick breakthrough seems a distant prospect. helena wilkinson, bbc news.

the bbc�*s paul adams is injerusalem. earlier i asked him if there was any sign of the conflict ending anytime soon. well, you look at the exchanges overnight and you'd have to conclude no, but i think there are some signs. there is quite a lot of diplomacy going on at the moment. the american envoy, hady amr, is in town. he is meeting senior israeli officials today. interestingly, he met arab israeli leaders last night, it is reported, a highly unusual meeting, and he heard their grievances, which are notjust about the situation between israel and gaza but also about the condition of arabs living in israel. that was an interesting aspect of his diplomatic effort. there are also efforts, we know, involving the egyptians to try and broker some kind of ceasefire, and we are beginning to hear some reporting on israel that suggests the israeli government feels

that it is reaching the point, and this happens every time an episode like this happens, where it has achieved quite a lot militarily but, on the other side of the ledger, the sense of international outrage is mounting and the awareness of the effect on the humanitarian situation in gaza is also mounting, and that at some point those two issues connect and israel has to decide that it's done enough and it calls a halt. so there are possible signs that israel is reaching that point. there is a real cyclical pattern to these conflicts between israel and the palestinians in gaza and, even when this one ends, the likelihood is there will be another one unless there is some attempt at some sort of lasting solution, but that doesn't look very likely. no, it looks very unlikely at the moment. there are a couple of things. one is how much damage

has israel done. clearly, it feels it has killed an awful lot of senior hamas officials, destroyed these networks of underground tunnels, and some of this damage will be long lasting and hard to repair. but it will be repaired and, you know, logic and past experience tells you we could face this situation again. more fundamentally, where is the political will to see some way out of this? hamas is an organisation condemned as a terror group by israel and the united states and countries in europe. it does not believe that israel has a right to exist and it has a clear agenda. there is another part of the palestinian leadership looking on, frankly, from the sidelines in this episode, the palestinian authority, led by president mahmoud abbas up in ramallah, but he is a bystander and he might want to negotiate, but probably right now more

conscious of his political authority among his own people being usurped by hamas, who have emerged as the kind of defenders of palestinian honour and palestinian rights injerusalem. he is in a weak situation. overall, i think the prospects for a resumption of meaningful negotiations towards some kind of solution, whether it is the old formula of a two—state solution or something else, those prospects seem unbelievably remote. paul adams in jerusalem. the health secretary, matt hancock, has said new evidence gives a "high degree of confidence" that coronavirus vaccines work against the indian covid variant. he said the easing of restrictions in england will go ahead as planned tomorrow, but he couldn't rule out a return to local lockdowns to stem resurgences if the variant proves to be highly transmissible. i've been speaking to our political

correspondent helen catt about tomorrow's easing of lockdown amid concern over the indian variant. the prime minister said last week that this is a big step what is happening tomorrow, allowing indoor mixing, opening up many more things. you're right, there is growing concern around the transmissibility of the indian variant. scientists are pretty sure that it is more transmissible than become to variant, which we saw spread very quickly towards the end of last year, but we don't know how much. there was a warning to scientists last week from the government that if it turns out to be 30 to 50% more transmissible than the steps tomorrow could put quite significant pressure on the nhs. but there is an f in march. at the moment, they simply don't know how much more transmissible it is. the government is pushing hard and taking the next steps. they are focusing on surge testing whether higher levels of the

indian variant and trying to drive uptake of the vaccinations. we got some interesting detail this morning. we know that this week over 35 is going to be invited to take up their vaccine. we also got to interesting figures on how the vaccine is having an impact around the bolton area. ministers said there were 18 people in hospital in bolton with a coronavirus. they said they were all from people who are eligible to have the vaccine but hadn't taken it. five people had gone into hospital after having one jab and only one person after having having both. there are interesting statistics there. the health secretary matt hancock has defended taking this step tomorrow. find taking this step tomorrow. and confident we _ taking this step tomorrow. and confident we can _ taking this step tomorrow. and confident we can take these steps tomorrow. — confident we can take these steps tomorrow, but we should all be careful— tomorrow, but we should all be careful about how we take this step. you ask_ careful about how we take this step. you ask me — careful about how we take this step. you ask me about eating indoors with peoplo _ you ask me about eating indoors with peoplo it _ you ask me about eating indoors with people it is_ you ask me about eating indoors with people. it is still safer to eat outdoors _ people. it is still safer to eat outdoors than in when the weather allows _ outdoors than in when the weather allows you — outdoors than in when the weather allows. you asked about hugging

peoplo — allows. you asked about hugging people. when people have had both 'abs, people. when people have had both jabs. then _ people. when people have had both jabs, then that is pretty safe. but you shouldn't still spend a lot of time _ you shouldn't still spend a lot of time in — you shouldn't still spend a lot of time in close proximity. you should make _ time in close proximity. you should make sure — time in close proximity. you should make sure ventilation is good. we all know— make sure ventilation is good. we all know what we can do and take personal— all know what we can do and take personal responsibility. that all know what we can do and take personal responsibility.— all know what we can do and take personal responsibility. that is the health secretary, _ personal responsibility. that is the health secretary, matt _ personal responsibility. that is the health secretary, matt hancock. i personal responsibility. that is the - health secretary, matt hancock. some of the government's critics say that's part of the reason why the indian variant to see in the first place because the government was slow to stop flights from india. yes, they only put india on the red list from april the 23rd whereas other countries went on much earlier. there's been criticism that the government waited too long to do that. laboursaid the government waited too long to do that. labour said it was not inevitable that we have ended up in this situation. ministers have been pushing back quite strongly and that this morning. they said at the time when it went on the red list, that was six days before this variant became a variant under investigation and another week before it became that much more serious variant of

concern. other people have said they were more case numbers in india, shouldn't that be enough? again, this morning, matt hancock said it's notjust this morning, matt hancock said it's not just about testing done this morning, matt hancock said it's notjust about testing done in the countries, but they went on the proportion of people testing positive when they arrived in the uk. when pakistan went on the red list, that proportion was much higher than people arriving from india. when that started to go up, that was when they put it on the red list. a bit more of an explanation about the thinking. that might not necessarily calm fears about importing variants and, of course, tomorrow international travel is due tomorrow international travel is due to resume. here's what yvette cooper, the labour chair of the select committee has said about that. i select committee has said about that. ~' ,., , that. i think the government needs to slow down _ that. i think the government needs to slow down its _ that. i think the government needs to slow down its plans. _ that. i think the government needs to slow down its plans. i _ that. i think the government needs to slow down its plans. i don't - to slow down its plans. i don't understand why they are lifting of the international travel restrictions tomorrow. i think they should _ restrictions tomorrow. i think they should be — restrictions tomorrow. i think they should be much more cautious about that. should be much more cautious about that what _ should be much more cautious about that. what they need to do is, we want _ that. what they need to do is, we want as_ that. what they need to do is, we want as the — that. what they need to do is, we want as the vaccine is rolled out,

as it _ want as the vaccine is rolled out, as it is _ want as the vaccine is rolled out, as it is effective, of course, we want _ as it is effective, of course, we want to— as it is effective, of course, we want to be _ as it is effective, of course, we want to be able to move back to international travel. but at the moment— international travel. but at the moment there are some significant gaps _ moment there are some significant a s. f moment there are some significant .a s, y�* , , moment there are some significant ia s, y�* , , . ., , gaps. they'll be very close monitoring _ gaps. they'll be very close monitoring of _ gaps. they'll be very close monitoring of the - gaps. they'll be very close monitoring of the next - gaps. they'll be very close j monitoring of the next few gaps. they'll be very close - monitoring of the next few weeks. scientists and ministers will be looking at the transmissibility of the indian variant and looking forward to what that means for potentially the next stage of the robot on june potentially the next stage of the robot onjune the 21st. also the possibility of what happens when things go forward to opening up tomorrow. earlier this year, europe s vaccination rollout was facing criticism for being too slow and lagging behind the uk and the us. just a few months later, some eu countries have turned their programmes around and are delivering jabs at record rates, as our europe correspondent jean mackenzie reports. the joy of alfresco dining in rome. only last month this was unimaginable. across europe infections reached while vaccination stumbled. this was belgium's largest

vaccination centre. when we visited at the end of february — empty. now they are vaccinating nearly 3000 people a day. i think it's a bit busier than the last time we met each other, so it's good news. we are really doing well now. we have eight hours a day that are very well filled, so we are also at a very good, smooth capacity, good flow, as you can see. early on there were production delays, glitches and supply chains, and these put europe massively behind, but in the past couple of months there has been a remarkable turnaround. the vaccines are flowing freely, and more than a third of people in europe have now had their first dose. at this estate in neighbouring germany, authorities are trying to vaccinate everyone regardless of age.

at one point, the country was sitting on masses of unused doses, but this week it administered a record 1.3 million vaccines in a single day. the crowded estate, which is home to a0 nationalities, has been a hotspot for infections, but still many don't want get vaccinated. christian is here to convince them. if we don't get every person vaccinated, this pandemic will keep on going and nobody has the patience for it any more. doctors are giving lessons on how the vaccines work, but this women, who has recently moved with her daughters from romania, is still scared. she's never had a vaccine before. with shots now in solid supply,

reaching the reluctant is the next challenge. europe is yet to reach that magical tipping point that would protect it from another deadly surge, but at this pace it could come in time forsummer on the beaches of spain. the headlines on bbc news... the un security council prepares for an emergency meeting later, as the conflict between israel and palestinians in gaza enters a seventh day. efforts to combat the indian variant of covid ramp up in england, ahead of lockdown restrictions being relaxed tomorrow. a young child has died and four people have been seriously injured, after a gas explosion at a residential area in heysham in northern england. in lancashire, a young child has

died and four people have been seriously injured following a gas explosion. lancashire fire service were called to a row of terraced houses in heysham the early hours. the police have been giving a statement. let's listen to that now. shortly after 2:1i0am this morning, emergency services were called to residential properties following a report of a large explosion at the address. there was significant damage to the houses. at least two have been destroyed and a third is significantly damaged. as a consequence, a number of people have been injured. tragically, a young child has been killed as a consequence of what has happened. my thoughts of both myself and the emergency services are with the family at this distressing time. our thoughts are also with those individuals who have been affected by this incident. the information, as we know it,

is that there are four persons have also been injured in the incident. two of them are seriously injured and two others remain under medical assessment. there is a multi—agency response in place, at the moment we are in the search—and—rescue phase, so our officers are working hard to make the area safe, not only for those in the immediate area but the local community too. our work will continue through the day, after which we will give further information in due course. phil cunliffe is at the scene. it isa it is a scene of utter devastation as we can see behind you.- it is a scene of utter devastation as we can see behind you. yes, if ou look as we can see behind you. yes, if you look over _ as we can see behind you. yes, if you look over my _ as we can see behind you. yes, if you look over my left _ as we can see behind you. yes, if you look over my left shoulder. as we can see behind you. yes, if. you look over my left shoulder you could see two semidetached properties have completely collapsed. the roofs and upper floors have cascaded down onto the

lower floors. floors have cascaded down onto the lowerfloors. there is also floors have cascaded down onto the lower floors. there is also a third property in the next row of houses which has been partially too. residents heard a very loud bang thatjust residents heard a very loud bang that just after 2am. residents heard a very loud bang thatjust after 2am. the emergency services were on the scene from around 2:40am. police believe the cause of the explosion is gas, although they are continuing their investigations. two semi detached houses destroyed and there is a lot of debris around the area, scattered for hundreds of miles all around, bits of broken brick and roof tiles. this bang was huge. it was heard by all the residents. if you look on social media, people five miles away heard the sound, it was that loud. we know that a young child has sadly lost its life and for other adults are also being treated. two of those adults are being treated for serious injuries and are in hospital. 80 firefighters were here dealing with

the dean. there were two from cumbria,... residents living nearby have been evacuated. others have been allowed to come home. many have been allowed to come home. many have been taken to a nearby leisure centre. i havejust been been taken to a nearby leisure centre. i have just been talking to erika lewis, the leader of lancaster city council. she said many residents are hoping to return home soon, but the gas and electric supplies will need to be reconnected. as you say, this is being deemed a major incident by the emergency services here in lancaster. they finally did it — leicester won the fa cup yesterday after four previous attempts. a stunning youri tielemans goal and late var drama in front of 22,000 spectators at wembley sealed the 1—0 victory against chelsea. let's catch up now with bbc radio leicester commentator ian stringer. we spoke to him yesterday

before the match. he had ran the 100 miles from his home in leicester to wembley stadium for charity to see the foxes lift the cup. hejoins us now. was that the run with it? when you et an was that the run with it? when you get an opportunity _ was that the run with it? when you get an opportunity to _ was that the run with it? when you get an opportunity to be _ was that the run with it? when you get an opportunity to be one - was that the run with it? when you get an opportunity to be one of- get an opportunity to be one of 22,000 people in the stadium to witness them winning the fa cup for the first time ever, i would have run back if you ask me to, quite frankly. it was incredible to be there. very, very lucky indeed. it was worth it. every mile, every drop of rain in northampton. everything. it was worth it. i would have crawled back home.- it was worth it. i would have crawled back home. tallis, in your heart of hearts, _ crawled back home. tallis, in your heart of hearts, did _ crawled back home. tallis, in your heart of hearts, did you _ crawled back home. tallis, in your heart of hearts, did you really - heart of hearts, did you really think leicester would win it? yeah. yeah, i did. — think leicester would win it? yeah. yeah, i did. the — think leicester would win it? yeah. yeah, i did. the runs— think leicester would win it? yeah. yeah, i did. the runs have - think leicester would win it? yeah. yeah, i did. the runs have mainly. yeah, i did. the runs have mainly been three orfour yeah, i did. the runs have mainly been three or four hours each day. i

have been on the phone to my dad in thailand because he lives out there. i tried telling him all week, dad, it's written, it's done. i love the story has been written for this day, so relax. my dad is a back of nerves. he has been a leicesterfan since he was little. i was convinced it was written. the leicester city chairman always wanted to bring a trophy in his dad's memory. he wanted to make this football club classy and quality at the heart of every community. he's done that. you saw the celebrations on the pitch. the fans adore this man because he is a model of his father. for that reason, it was written. it was done. and what a goal to win it! what a finish! i dreamt about it all night. those moments were amazing. i have to say, as a game, it wasn't a

classic, but the goal must be one of the all—time great goals in an fa cup final. yet i think it's still going, isn't it? through through the back of the net! for unique element to lose a classy performer. when he takes, leicester city tex. as a young boy, he would dream of scoring an fa cup goal. you would never... the end where he left and fans are, there has been no funds for 1h months. and today they are back, he scores and wins the fa cup. and then there was that save in the second half. wes morgan lifts the trophy. that will probably be his last game for the club. brendan rodgers, the genius is that in front of us. it was perfect. it was our perfect day. itjust was perfect. it was our perfect day. it just so was perfect. it was our perfect day. itjust so happens that i ran there.

thank goodness that she did. what a day to be there. i hope you recovered from the run. to scotland now where in glasgow, three police officers have been injured and 20 people arrested after clashes broke out as rangers fans celebrated their first scottish premiership trophy in a decade. thousands of supporters took to the streets despite warnings against large gatherings due to coronavirus. our scotland reporter alexandra mckenzie reports. rangers fans celebrated well into the evening in glasgow's george square. police scotland said some became increasingly disorderly, property was damaged and missiles and flares were thrown at police. at least three officers were injured and more than 20 people were arrested. rows of officers with full public order equipment, including plastic shields, moved in to disperse the crowd. chief superintendent mark sutherland described the behaviour as "disgraceful" and said it had "posed a threat to public

and police safety". he said those involved in causing the trouble would be identified and arrested. poland's entry for the eurovision song contest will miss the official launch of this year's competition in rotterdam later. that's after a member of his team tested positive for covid. the country's entire delegation is now in quarantine. but alasdair rendall, who's president of the uk eurovision fan club, says poland could still take part in the contest. after seven decades on air, a 96—year—old radio host has hung up his headphones for the last time. ray cordeiro broadcast his final show in hong kong on saturday. in 2000, the guinness book of world records awarded him the title of the world's "most durable dj". during his career, he got to know some of the biggest

names in the music world, including the beatles, cliff richard and tony bennett. now it's time for a look at the weather with nick miller. hello. even where you started the day with some sunshine, some clouds going to build. there's every chance you're going to see a heavy shower before the day is done. plenty of heavy showers, some thundery with hail as well, particularly across england and wales and into southern scotland on through the day. some gusty winds around some of these although, for the most part, the winds are light so they could last quite a while once these showers arrive. clearly, not feeling particularly warm unless you're in a bit of sunshine, and there will be sunny spells in northern ireland and particularly across northern scotland with fewer showers here compared with elsewhere, so some places will stay dry. showers eventually fade into the night, but they will take some time before doing so across south—eastern parts of england. no frost tonight though a few spots in northern ireland under clear

skies could end up into low single figures as we start monday. a mixture of cloud, some sunny spells for monday morning. heavy and thundery showers spreading their way eastwards during the day, leaving many western areas with some sunshine, and fewer showers during the afternoon. further showers to come as the week goes on. now on bbc news, dateline london. hello. i'm shaun ley. welcome to the programme which brings together british commentators, bbc specialists and the foreign correspondents who write, broadcast and blog for audiences back home from the dateline, london. this week, pulling israelis and palestinians back from the brink of war. and decision day looms

for tokyo 2021 — does japan want to host the pandemic games? joining us this week, jeffrey kofman, a canadian broadcaster and former us news anchor who's worked extensively in the middle east as a correspondent. and the british journalist jonathan sacerdoti provides comment and analysis about israel and its neighbours. jonathan also campaigns against anti—semitism. with me in the studio is celia hatton. celia also hails from canada. she is the bbc�*s asia pacific editor. good to have you with us and good to see both of you there too, albeit remotely. good to have you on dateline. the exchange of rocket fire, the fear and fatalities between palestinians — living in what much of the world calls the occupied territories — and israelis is familiar, even if it hasn't been seen on this scale for seven years. what's shocked even the most battle—hardened observers of this decades—old conflict is the way violence has erupted on the streets of israel itself. it may be thejewish state, but one—fifth of the israeli population is arab or palestinian. whilst the united nations has warned

of the risk of full—scale war between israel's defence force and hamas, the militant group which runs the gaza strip, israel's president, among others, fears a civil war, pitting neighbour against neighbour. jonathan sacerdoti, how potentially dangerous is this moment? i think we are seeing something quite unusual here in israel, and unfortunately both israel and gaza are used to these kinds of engagement that we are seeing going on in that part of the land, but when it comes to the internal fights between arab israelis and jewish israelis, these are riots that we have not really seen anything like, really, for some time, if perhaps since the foundation of the modern state of israel, so that is a challenge for israel at the moment, especially while it is undergoing this barrage of rockets from gaza at the same time. but we've got to remember, i think, that these are not necessarily very symptomatic of the wider public. it is certainly a worrying sign that there are these divisions

within the society in israel, but these are people representing the fringes on either side, and most israelis, jewish and arab, do actually get on really well in israel and coexist, not to say there's not problems like there are for ethnic minorities in all sorts of countries around the world. so i think it is a challenge, but it is definitely a secondary challenge to the rockets and the war going on down in the south. let's talk about that in a moment. i just want to pick up on your theme. jeffrey kofman, is there something generational going on here as well? in a sense, there seems to be a kind of, whether a reluctant acceptance or just an acceptance of the status quo by the political leaderships on both sides in this conflict for quite a long time now — "all right, we don't like it, but it is what it is and we're going to operate around it, rather than bring about resolving the basic problems." i wonder if perhaps younger generations are losing patience with that on both sides? i do not know if it's generational, i think what it is is this polarisation of israeli politics, much reflecting in somewhat

a similar way that you see in the us, where you have this hard