this is bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. the headlines... israel carries out air strikes on gaza. palestinian militants fire rockets in return. it's in the worst escalation of violence there in more than a year. explosions are heard in gaza this morning after israel's military says its operation against a palestinian group could last for days. "broken and devasted." the british parents of 12—year—old archie battersbee say all legal routes to try and keep their son alive have been exhausted. they're preparing for his life support to be switched off. russia and ukraine accuse each other of shelling europe's biggest nuclear power plant. there are warnings of possible dispersal of radioactive particles.

the us conspiracy theorist — alexjones — is ordered to pay nearly $50 million in damages, afterfalsely claiming the sandy hook school shooting was a hoax. in the uk, the two candidates trying to become the next prime minister set out their plans to deal with forecasts of an economic downturn. chinese fighter—jets fly close to taiwan's coastline, as bejing halts co—operation with the us on key issues including climate change. hello, welcome to the programme, if you're watching in the uk or around the world. we are going to star in the middle east. we are going to star in the middle east. israel says it's arrested 19 members of the palestinian group, islamichhad, in raids across the west bank.

this is after carrying out air—strikes against targets in gaza yesterday. the raids killed 11 palestinians, including a commander of islamichhad and a child. in retaliation, islamichhad militants fired dozens of rockets into israel from gaza. azaday moshiri reports. gaza's sky lights up as israel's military launches successive air strikes. this is the footage they released of the attack. it lasted hours and claimed several lives — including that of a top military commander of palestinian islamichhad, a militant group also known as the pi]. israel carried out a precise counterterrorism response against an immediate threat. our fight is not with the people of gaza. islamichhad is an iranian proxy that wants to destroy the state of israel and kill innocent israelis.

in response, the militant group fired back more than 100 rockets towards israel, most of them hitting its iron dome missile shield. sirens sounded out across the streets, with israelis seeking shelter. hamas, which governs the palestinian territory, condemned the strikes on gaza. israel's air strikes reportedly killed civilians as well, with health officials saying a young girl was the among dead. translation: how is it this girls aths at translation: how is it this girls paths at fault. _ translation: how is it this girls paths at fault. she _ translation: how is it this girls paths at fault. she was _ translation: how is it this girls paths at fault. she was dreaming | translation: how is it this girls | paths at fault. she was dreaming of going to school. what has she done wrong? this innocent child! thousands of palestinians carried the body of the dead commander after one of the most serious outbreaks of violence in gaza in over a year. israel says theirs was a pre—emptive move after they arrested one

of the top leaders of the group earlier this week and received days of threats. now, hamas says armed groups are united in battle. azadeh moshiri, bbc news. let's get more on this. we are going to speak to a palestinian activist. thank you very much for coming on the programme. thank you very much for coming on the programme-— thank you very much for coming on the programme._ i- thank you very much for coming on i the programme._ i believe the programme. thank you. i believe ou have the programme. thank you. i believe you have been _ the programme. thank you. i believe you have been in _ the programme. thank you. i believe you have been in contact _ the programme. thank you. i believe you have been in contact with - you have been in contact with friends and people who are close to what has been happening. can you just tell us how they are failing, what's happening? first just tell us how they are failing, what's happening?— just tell us how they are failing, what's happening? first of all, to be very clear. — what's happening? first of all, to be very clear, israel _ what's happening? first of all, to be very clear, israel is _ what's happening? first of all, to be very clear, israel is not - be very clear, israel is not defending itself. they are trying to defending itself. they are trying to defend its occupation, its apartheid and to cover the human rights violations which is happening all over gaza, easter loose from. we are suffering from lack of water,

electricity, the people in gaza live without basic human rights and now the people in gaza are very frustrated, very hungry. they are afraid for their lives. afraid for theirfriends, theirfamilies. they their friends, their families. they do theirfriends, theirfamilies. they do not feel safe inside their homes. they don't have shelter to hide inside. they don't have enough medical tools or hospitals and medical tools or hospitals and medical materials to treat the injuries. israel is using the palestinians in gaza as... that israeli... palestinians in gaza as... that israeli- - -_ palestinians in gaza as... that israeli... �* , ., , israeli... i'm sorry to interrupt, but i have _ israeli... i'm sorry to interrupt, but i have to — israeli... i'm sorry to interrupt, but i have to put _ israeli... i'm sorry to interrupt, but i have to put across - israeli... i'm sorry to interrupt, but i have to put across that . israeli... i'm sorry to interrupt, | but i have to put across that the israelis are saying this is not an attack on the people of gaza, this is a specific military operation against islamichhad.

is a specific military operation against islamicjihad.- is a specific military operation against islamicjihad. when they use air strikes in — against islamicjihad. when they use air strikes in very _ against islamicjihad. when they use air strikes in very dense _ against islamicjihad. when they use air strikes in very dense populated . air strikes in very dense populated areas, you will see a lot of civilian casualties. more than 2 million palestinians do not feel safe in their homes. israel is building more force settlements. israel is seizing gaza. they are not allowing enough water or electricity to the people in gaza. so it is not about israel defending itself, or it's not a specific operation against the specific military group. aid claims that is exactly what this latest strike and raid is about. a specific response to a specific threat. ., ., ., threat. no, there are no real threats- _ threat. no, there are no real threats. the _ threat. no, there are no real threats. the real— threat. no, there are no real threats. the real violence . threat. no, there are no real threats. the real violence is| threat. no, there are no real- threats. the realviolence is coming threats. the real violence is coming from israel. israel should listen to

the international community and international law and not to be in occupation like russia is doing to ukraine now. they should listen to international law and end their occupation in palestine and give us our freedom. occupation in palestine and give us ourfreedom. and stop occupation in palestine and give us our freedom. and stop this occupation in palestine and give us ourfreedom. and stop this kind of terror attacks on the palestinian civilians. the injuries and damages it civilian. and civilian property. always civilians pay the high price. the timing of the attack is for internal elections. they want to be able to tell of the israeli voters, we are strong and, we can make the palestinians stop asking for freedom and justice and equality. we palestinians stop asking for freedom and justice and equality.— and 'ustice and equality. we hear ou and justice and equality. we hear ou loud and justice and equality. we hear you loud and _ and justice and equality. we hear you loud and clear. _ and justice and equality. we hear you loud and clear. i _ and justice and equality. we hear you loud and clear. i am - and justice and equality. we hear you loud and clear. i am afraid i and justice and equality. we hear| you loud and clear. i am afraid we do have to leave it there. thank you

so much for talking so clearly and passionately about your point. thank you. here in the uk. the family of archie battersbee is preparing for his life support to be withdrawn. the campaign group, christian concern, which is supporting the i2—year—old's parents, say they've exhausted all legal routes to continue his treatment. the royal london hospital, which has cared for archie since april, has made no official statement this morning. let's speak to our correspondent simonjones who's with me now. a desperate case. this has been for weeks and months now. it looks like from those remarks that all legal avenues are now over.— avenues are now over. yes, desperately _ avenues are now over. yes, desperately sad _ avenues are now over. yes, desperately sad case - avenues are now over. yes, desperately sad case that l avenues are now over. yes, i desperately sad case that has avenues are now over. yes desperately sad case that has been played out in the courts and in public i. we have seen a letter written by the hospital trust lawyers to archie battersbee's family. and they said that the plan was that his life—support would be

turned off at 10am uk time. we have not had any update since then from the hospital or the family. but it appears now that we are entering the last stages of archie battersbee's life. he was found with catastrophic brain injuries and his home back in april. doctors treating him said there was no hope for his survival without this ongoing medical treatment, the life—support. his family were desperate for him to be given more time. it has gone to the courts, butjudge afterjudge has sided with the doctors who say that treatment carrying on with it will be futile. in a way we have had two sets of court cases. one about the treatment which the family except that they have exhausted all legal avenues on that and then yesterday there was another court case being played out with the family saying they wanted him move to a hospice away from what they saw as the chaos of the hospital, but they have also lost that. they are now preparing

inevitably for the end.— inevitably for the end. thank you very much- _ in croatia, at least 12 people have been killed and more than 30 injured after a polish bus veered off a highway. the bus was heading in the direction of the croatian capital, zagreb, when it crashed near the city of vaa—razhdeen. it was on its way to bosnia—herzegovina. these are the latest images from the scene. the polish prime minister said the passengers were on their way to a site of a well—known catholic pilgrimage. earlier, i spoke to our warsaw correspondent adam easton who explained what authorities believe happened to the bus. well, it seems that around just after 5:30am this morning, about 60 kilometres north of the croatian capital zagreb, the bus, which was carrying these pilgrims, for some reason veered off the highway and rolled into a ditch, causing what is now confirmed by the polish foreign ministry,

12 people who have been killed and 33 who have been injured, a number of them seriously injured. the polish prime minister has said that these people, the passengers, were on their way to bosnia—herzegovina to a very popular in poland, a roman catholic pilgrimage site in a small town there which has been famous since the 1980s after reports of apparitions of the virgin mary. and lots of polish people make their way to that small town in bosnia—herzegovina in the summer months. also, the polish prime minister has said that the country's health minister and a deputy foreign minister, as well as a team of medics, are on their way to the crash site to try and help with the operation there. thanks to adam for that update. ukraine and russia have blamed each other for the shelling

of the russian—occupied zaporizhia nuclear power plant. the attacks are said to have also hit nearby high—voltage power lines. ukrainian and western officials have accused russian forces of using the complex to launch attacks, leaving the ukrainians unable to respond for fear of causing a disaster. ukraine's president zelensky said the kremlin must take responsibility for what he called "a terror attack". translation: today, the occupiers created another very dangerous - situation for all of europe. they shelled a nuclear power plant and have done it twice in a day. this is the largest nuclear station on our continent and any shelling is an overt, blatant crime, a terrorist act. we moved to the us now. the conspiracy theorist — alexjones — has been ordered to pay more than m5 million in punitive damages, after falsely claiming that the 2012 sandy hook school—shooting was a hoax. the defamation case was brought by the parents of one

of the victims, who say they endured harassment and emotional distress because of the disinformation spread by the right—wing host of the infowars website. nomia iqbal reports. after decades of building a cult following, alexjones is facing the cost of spreading lies. for years, he claimed that the deadliest school shooting in us history, in sandy hook, connecticut, ten years ago, was a hoax. he said it was staged by the government to increase gun controls. 20 children and six teachers were killed. his behaviour led to families being harassed and targeted with death threats. this case was brought by the parents of six—year—old victim jesse lewis. the jury's already ordered jones to pay them more than $4 million for the trauma he has caused. today is very important for me. it's been a long time coming. i feel very good about being here today — to face alexjones,

to hold him accountable for what he said and did to me, and to restore the honour and legacy of my son, that was tarnished by mrjones. during the trial, jones retracted his conspiracy theories and explained why on his webcast. i admitted i was wrong. i admitted it was a mistake. i admitted that i followed disinformation but not on purpose. i apologised to the families. and the jury understood that. but he continued to use his platform to continue to attack thejurors and judges. his lawyer said he had a right to free speech. alex jones will be on the air today. he will be on the air tomorrow. he will be on the next week. he's going to keep doing his job, holding the power structure accountable. the conspiracy theorist also claimed he's bankrupt. the court heard he wasn't that broke. he is a very successful man. he promulgated some hate speech and some misinformation,

but he made a lot of money, and he monetised that. earlier in the week an unexpected twist happened — jones' lawyers accidentally sent two years' worth of text messages to the other side. and that is how i know you lied to me when you said you didn't have a text message about sandy hook. did you know that? the committee investigating the january 6th capitol riots now want to talk to jones to see what role he may have played. alexjones established himself as a maverick of the far right but his reckoning could now set a precedent for the price of fake news. nomia iqbal, bbc news. back here in the uk, the conservative party leadership contenders have set out their approaches to dealing with the economic downturn forecast by the bank of england. rishi sunak warns the conservatives could "kiss goodbye" to winning the next election unless inflation is quickly brought under control. but his rival, liz truss, says the uk shouldn't talk itself

into a recession and keeping taxes low was the best way to avoid a downturn. our political correspondent jonathan blake says what to do about the economy remains the key issue both candidates can't agree on. the economy still the big dividing line, as you say, but i think both candidates took their message to a new level, if you like. rishi sunak doubling down on his warning that if liz truss gets in, then the conservatives will lose the next election in his words, we can kiss goodbye to winning. and liz truss, on the other hand, with a different tone saying that although the forecasts we have heard this week from the bank of england are bad, they are not destiny and we should not be talking ourselves into a recession, as she put it. so, i think what we heard from the candidates last night really reinforces the two contrasting messages that we have had from both of them throughout. the problem for rishi sunak is,

is what he would see is a precautionary, sensible approach is to other people perhaps a more negative approach. and not inspiring people and firing up the conservative party base in the way that liz truss has been able to do as far as some of the polls suggest with talking about tax cuts and growing the economy. so we are getting a sense on the difference of the big picture scale between the two candidates, what about in the short—term, any specific measures that they are likely to introduce? well, yes, throughout, it has almost felt at times like this campaign has been happening in a parallel universe and not too much talk of exactly what each candidate would do on day one in downing street to grapple with the economic conditions which as we have now heard from the bank of england and others this week our forecast to get worse before very long. but interestingly, it liz truss in an interview with the financial times asked what she would do to help people with the soaring cost of energy bills, which are forecast to rise still higher, and she said she would look at what more could be done, but the way i would do things

is in a conservative way of lowering the tax burden, not giving out hand—outs. so, that appears to rule out, really, any direct financial assistance for people, which some argue is the only real way to help people in the short—term with the cost of energy bills which simply aren't going to be met with tax cuts and economic reforms. more of a longer term aim there. so it will be interesting to see how she perhaps expands on that position and what rishi sunak counters it with. he has said he would cut vat on fuel bills, perhaps more help to come too. thanks to jonathan for that. china is halting co—operation with the us in several key areas — including climate change, military issues and international crime. this is after a trip to taiwan by the senior us democrat nancy pelosi. china views the visit as "a challenge to its claims of sovereignty over the island". but taiwan's foreign minister defended pelosi's visit, and says taiwan would continue to invite politicians from around the world. we begin our coverage with this report from the bbc�*s rupert wingfield—hayes, who's in taipei. our correspondent stephen

mcdonell is in beijing... well, i'm not sure if it is a bit of a metaphor but we have a storm rolling in over the skyline of beijing, as you can no doubt see, but all weekend, these live—fire drills will be continuing around taiwan in what is pretty obviously a dress rehearsal for a blockade of that island, should the mainline decide at some point to retake it by force. now, given the increased tensions we now have in the taiwan straits, all around taiwan, some are asking whether or not the visit there by the us house speaker nancy pelosi has been worth it. also, on all these other fronts, areas where the us and china were cooperating, beijing has cancelled all these initiatives. so, cross—border crime, including narcotics, cancelled, no more cooperation on that front. high—level meetings between officers

from the military, us and china, cancelled. and, crucially, it includes even climate change talks. so the impact of this visit from nancy pelosi to taiwan has definitely been felt. there is no doubt that we are in a state of increased tensions, and the danger is it's going to be hard to put back from here, that us, that taiwan, that china, don't really know how to sort of pull things back to a more sort of peaceful, more reasonable state, and that we could be in for a period now increased tensions for quite some time. thanks for that from stephen. much of europe is struggling to cope with what's being described as the worst drought on record. high temperatures and a lack of rain have led to serious problems in several countries. people are being told to conserve water and the forecast says more hot weather is on the way. the bbc�*s tim allman reports. in this part of south—east france, these fields are usually

bursting with colour, row after row of lavender. but this year, the soil is like sand. the plants seem lifeless. the heatwave taking its toll. ministers came to see the situation for themselves. the french government has set up a special crisis unit to try and deal with a problem they say is unprecedented. translation: we've never i experienced a drought like this one, and the bad news is as far as we can see, there's no reason to think it will stop. it's even worse than that, because we have a heatwave and a drought, so we have a vicious circle. so, just how bad has it got? well, more than 100 towns and villages across the country have run out of fresh drinking water, with supplies having to be bussed in. the national energy company, edf, says some nuclear power stations have had to reduce output because river temperatures are too high to properly cool the reactors. and farmers are warning they've reduced yields, which could lead to

higherfood prices. here, not far from the palace of versailles, the water inspectors are on patrol. visiting this golf club, they want to make sure the restrictions are being respected, the rules are being followed. translation: this year, obviously, the situation l here is similar to what's happening in france as a whole. we're experiencing a period of drought that is quite exceptional. it's not just france. italy is experiencing its driest year since records began more than 200 years ago. since records began more in romania, the river danube is nearing its lowest ever level, with exposed sand dunes making navigation difficult. "i can tell you, the danube had a low level before, "but the elders say it's never been like this," said this man. "we hope maybe a divine force can help us with some rain." even in the uk, a country not exactly renowned for high temperatures,

they've experienced the driestjuly since 1935. water restrictions are being imposed in the south—east and in parts of wales. and with the heat likely to rise and no sign of rain in the coming days, things may well get worse before they get better. tim allman, bbc news. easter island, famous for its giant stone statues, was a popular pacific ocean tourist destination before the coronavirus pandemic hit. but the last two years were tough on the territory, it's 3,500 kilometers west of chile and is now officially reopen to the world. thomas magill explains. i'm just on holiday. being giving a warm welcome, it's over two years since visitors were allowed on the chilean island of rapa nui, or easter island, in the south pacific after it was closed due to thepandemic. its residents greeted passengers with a traditional garland and some local music.

translation: it is a dream to come to easter island and even more - knowing that it is the first trip that is made here after the pandemic. it makes it even nicer. i am even more excited. translation: i knew the island before. - i came with my girlfriend at the time was now my wife and now imagine coming to work, so good. but it is these giant ancient statues that tourists come to see. over 100,000 people a year flocked to the island before the pandemic, so for business owners, the return of light is good news. translation: we are very keen, very i excited to be able to welcome back i people, to see new faces because it has been 2.5 years without anyone coming in and we are really looking forward to it. we are quite ready. but not everyone on board the flight

on thursday was a tourist. for some residents, it was a chance to be reunited with loved ones. this mother has not seen her son for four years. she says she is very happy. translation: with two scheduled... flight schedule. — with two scheduled... flight schedule, everyone - with two scheduled... flight schedule, everyone is - with two scheduled... flightl schedule, everyone is excited with two scheduled... flight - schedule, everyone is excited about life returning back to normal. but it has to be done in a safe sustainable way. for the first time since the pandemic gay pride celebrations have returned to amsterdam. and as is typical for the dutch city — the parade floats — rather aptly named — all travel through the city on its famous canals. tens of thousands line the banks of the main waterways to watch the festivities. in total, around 80 boats are taking part and follow a route around the city centre.

now we are going to say goodbye to our viewers around the globe. this is bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt. hello. if you are on your summer holidays this southern half of the uk, you might be loving the weather. you can see the rainfall charts about how much is mounting up for the next five days. chiefly across scotland and mainly towards the north and west. notice no blue in the chart for england and. it will stay dry, potentially well beyond the next five days. as for the rainfall today, it is easing off to parts of west lydden —— western scotland. the odd shower elsewhere. a bit more cloud through northern england. sunny is in the south to machias and

the temperatures will be 22—25, some a little bit cooler. this evening and overnight, it will be fresh again across england and with clear skies. a little bit of cloud. more cloud across scotland. rain and drizzle across the west. the temperatures will hold up. the green colours across parts of wales, the midlands, southwest is an indication of the temperatures in the single figures. another dry and sunny day for most of us. western scotland some further light rain and drizzle. that will stop the temperatures from rising. elsewhere they are starting to lift up, bright or slightly warmer day. it is the north and northwest of the scotland on monday where we get to see more in the way of rain. a bit of patchy cloud of building upfor of rain. a bit of patchy cloud of building up for england and well and most places will be dry and sunny. it will start to feel warmer widely.

temperatures in the 20, may be 27, 28, 29 in the south of england. the warmer air is pushing in off the atlantic. high pressure sits with us, the air will stagnate, atlantic. high pressure sits with us, the airwillstagnate, dry, sunshine, it will warm up day by day. scotland and northern ireland will be a bit warmer than last week. further south, we could get back into heat wave territory with temperatures in the high 20s, low 30s and certainly a return of warmer nights. goodbye for now.

hello. this is bbc news. i'm lewis vaughanjones and these are the headlines... israel carries out air strikes on gaza. palestinian militants fire rockets in return. it's the worst escalation of violence there in more than a year.

explosions are heard in gaza this morning after israel's military says its operation against a palestinian group could last for days. 'broken and devasted' — the british parents of 12—year—old archie battersbee say all legal routes to try and keep their son alive have been exhausted. they're preparing for his life support to be switched off. russia and ukraine accuse each other of shelling europe's biggest nuclear power plant. there are warnings of possible dispersal of radioactive particles. the us conspiracy theorist alexjones is ordered to pay nearly $50 million in damages, afterfalsely claiming the sandy hook school shooting was a hoax. in the uk, the two candidates trying to become the next prime minister set out their plans to deal with forecasts of an economic downturn. chinese fighter jets fly close to taiwan's coastline, as bejing halts co—operation with the us on key issues, including climate change.