hello. this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm lewis vaughanjones and these are the latest 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 they're preparing for his life support to be withdrawn. a bus carrying passengers to a roman catholic pilgrimage has crashed in northern croatia, killing 12 polish people and injuring more than 30 others.

russia and ukraine accuse each other of shelling europe's biggest nuclear power plant. there are warnings of possible dispersal of radioactive particles. 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 cooperation with the us on key issues, including climate change. and europe's record drought leaves more than a hundred french towns without fresh drinking water. hello, and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. first the sauer... —— first this

hour... —— first this hour... 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 ten 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 gaza's local health officials saying a young girl was the among dead. translation: how is it this child's fault? - she was dreaming of going to kindergarten and asked her father for a school bag and clothes. 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 talk now to hen mazzig, he is an israeli writer and senior fellow at the tel aviv institute, which aims to combat hate and violence againstjews and other communities. 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. thanks for having me. do ou the programme. thanks for having me. do you think — the programme. thanks for having me. do you think the _ the programme. thanks for having me. do you think the air— the programme. thanks for having me. do you think the air strikes _ the programme. thanks for having me. do you think the air strikes by - do you think the air strikes by israel was justified? do you think the air strikes by israel wasjustified? i do you think the air strikes by israel was justified?— do you think the air strikes by israel was justified? israel was 'ustified? i think it was 'ustified. israel wasjustified? i think it was justified. israel— israel wasjustified? i think it was justified. israel does _ israel wasjustified? i think it was justified. israel does not - israel wasjustified? i think it was justified. israel does not take - israel wasjustified? i think it was justified. israel does not take any pleasure going into operations. it is definitely not something we are excited about, it was just necessary. earlierthis excited about, it was just necessary. earlier this week, the leaders of islamichhad were in i ron and many are still there and they threatened israeli families. and they said they would reach tel aviv with the rockets. —— they were

in iran. aviv with the rockets. -- they were in iran. ~ ,,4~ ., aviv with the rockets. -- they were in iran. ~ ,4 ., ., , ., in iran. we spoke with a palestinian activist who — in iran. we spoke with a palestinian activist who said _ in iran. we spoke with a palestinian activist who said that _ in iran. we spoke with a palestinian activist who said that a _ in iran. we spoke with a palestinian activist who said that a densely - activist who said that a densely populated area like this was simply not justified. populated area like this was simply notjustified. that this was a broader strategy. aha, not justified. that this was a broader strategy.— broader strategy. a political strate: . broader strategy. a political strategy- i'm _ broader strategy. a political strategy. i'm not _ broader strategy. a political strategy. i'm not sure - broader strategy. a political strategy. i'm not sure we i broader strategy. a political. strategy. i'm not sure we can broader strategy. a political - strategy. i'm not sure we can say that when the islamichhad has killed almost 200 israeli civilians. and now they are launching rockets indiscriminately. the fact on the ground today is just that the air strike was justified because they had to stop the commander of islamic jihad from conducting more violence that would have killed more israelis. ., 4 . , israelis. there are more military operations _ israelis. there are more military operations on — israelis. there are more military operations on the _ israelis. there are more military operations on the way _ israelis. there are more military operations on the way for- israelis. there are more military operations on the way for the i israelis. there are more military l operations on the way for the next few days we are expecting. we are expecting that will mean more innocent lives lost. it expecting that will mean more innocent lives lost.— expecting that will mean more innocent lives lost. it will. it is very heartbreaking _ innocent lives lost. it will. it is very heartbreaking about - innocent lives lost. it will. it is very heartbreaking about the l innocent lives lost. it will. it is - very heartbreaking about the child that was killed. israel does not

take any pleasure in any innocent life that is lost. for me personally, my heart goes out to the palestinian families and i know many israelis feel the same. we do not need more violence, we need to stop the circle of violence. but with this disproportionate response of 200 rockets launched on israeli families that islamichhad is not planning on stopping attacks. hoar planning on stopping attacks. how does the situation de—escalate? planning on stopping attacks. how. does the situation de-escalate? the ball is in the — does the situation de—escalate? tia: ball is in the palestinian islamic jihad court. they will make the decision. they continue to launch rockets on israel and i don't think they want to stop. israel is targeting specific militant operations, operative targets and trying to avoid civilian casualties. i heard on aljazeera that they targeted empty warehouse is because they tried their best to avoid

civilian casualties. i really hope that islamichhad will not continue the attacks. i think the fact that hamas is notjoining in really tells you a lot about this decision. even they realise how terrible islamic jihad is and how they need to stay away from this conflict to de—escalate the violence. away from this conflict to de-escalate the violence. ok, when we must leave _ de-escalate the violence. ok, when we must leave it _ de-escalate the violence. ok, when we must leave it there. _ de-escalate the violence. ok, when we must leave it there. thank - de-escalate the violence. ok, when we must leave it there. thank you l we must leave it there. thank you very much for coming on the programme. 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 12—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. our correspondent simon jones has the latest.

yes, desperately sad case that has been played out in the courts and in public glare. 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 we are entering the last stages of archie battersbee's life. he was found with catastrophic brain injuries at his home back in april. doctors treating him said there was no hope for his survival without this ongoing medical treatment, this life—support. his family were desperate for him to be given more time. it has gone to the courts, butjudge afterjudge has sided with doctors who say that treatment carrying on with it will be futile. in a way, we have had two sets of court cases here. one about the treatment which the family accept 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 moved 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. that was simon jones that was simonjones there. in croatia, at least 12 people have been killed and 31 injured after a polish bus veered off a highway early this morning. 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. 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. our correspondent hugo bachega

has all the latest. this is a complex that has been under russian occupation since the very beginning of march even though ukrainian technicians are still operating the facility. now yesterday, tensions were high with ukrainian and russian officials trading accusations. the ukrainians are saying that russian forces shelled the site twice in one of those attacks. a reactor had to be disconnected. but we have not had any kind of a report suggesting that there was any kind of radioactive leak. but the russians are saying well, the ukrainians were the ones behind these attacks and they have described it as a criminal act. the reality is that for days we have been hearing from ukrainian from ukrainian officials, also us officials, saying that the russians have essentially turned this nuclear site into a military base. and in fact, yesterday i spoke to the mayor of a city located near this nuclear plant and he said

that his city has been under constant shelling by russian forces positioned at this nuclear power plant. and he said these forces are using the site as a nuclear shield. the effects from a cyber attack on the uk's nhs 111 system could take until next week to resolve. the service helps people get the right advice and treatment when they need it. the company which provides the software for the service confirmed the attack happened on thursday morning. it affected the phone service and electronic referrals to out—of—hours gps. nhs england said disruption was minimal. i'm joined now by cyber security expert rob prichard. thank you very much for coming on the programme. mt; thank you very much for coming on the programme-— thank you very much for coming on | the programme._ what thank you very much for coming on i the programme._ what in the programme. my pleasure. what in the programme. my pleasure. what in the simplest — the programme. my pleasure. what in the simplest possible _ the programme. my pleasure. what in the simplest possible terms _ the programme. my pleasure. what in the simplest possible terms has i the simplest possible terms has actually gone on here? the? the simplest possible terms has actually gone on here? they have not told us enough _ actually gone on here? they have not told us enough to _ actually gone on here? they have not told us enough to know, _ actually gone on here? they have not told us enough to know, to _ actually gone on here? they have not

told us enough to know, to be - told us enough to know, to be honest. i've got no particular insight into this. i mean, a safe bet which is quite common is something called ransomware where organised crime game that meant gangs encrypt data and you have to pay to get the decryption key. that is very common. that happens to the health sector a lot. and that would be a reasonable guess. hour health sector a lot. and that would be a reasonable guess. how worried should we be _ be a reasonable guess. how worried should we be with _ be a reasonable guess. how worried should we be with patients - be a reasonable guess. how worried should we be with patients and i be a reasonable guess. how worried. should we be with patients and data? without knowing the details of what was impacted, it is really hard to say. a nasty twist in these things is that sometimes they steal data and threatened to leak it. the authorities are aware of this. and are supporting the impacted organisation and i'm sure they will know the details and any personal data that was stolen... because no

one has said anything yet i am sure that this is not a patient data theft situation. i would hope that no personal data is impacted right now. ., , no personal data is impacted right now. . ., , no personal data is impacted right now. . now. that is potentially reassuring. if it is a ransomware _ now. that is potentially reassuring. if it is a ransomware attack, - now. that is potentially reassuring. if it is a ransomware attack, we i if it is a ransomware attack, we don't have confirmation yet, how would these things normally play out? ., would these things normally play out? 4 4 , 4 ' out? there are lots of different wa s out? there are lots of different ways that _ out? there are lots of different ways that organised _ out? there are lots of different ways that organised crime i out? there are lots of different i ways that organised crime gangs. they are very capable. they would exploit some vulnerability that exists either by tricking people or a vulnerability in the software. then they will get as much access as they can and at which point they will start to kick off the encryption processes. it sounds like this was relatively mitigated the

stuff that has been made public. {lilia stuff that has been made public. 0k, interestin: stuff that has been made public. 0k, interesting stuff thank you for coming on the programme. 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 as 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, are 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. 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. 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 action 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. china is halting cooperation with the us in several key areas — including climate change and military issues. 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. here's our correspondent stephen mcdonell.

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. 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. 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 have never i experienced a drought like this one, and the bad news is, as far as we can see, there is no reason to think it will stop. it is even worse than that because we have a heat wave 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 higher food prices.

here, not farfrom 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 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. 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 have 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. keeping children entertained during the summer holidays is challenging enough, but with rising prices, many families are also worrying about providing healthy meals whilst schools are closed. phillip norton has been seeing how one organisation in hull is helping to make sure children don't go hungry during the holidays. all right, are you ready? whistle blows. a few years ago this park was an area to steer clear of. go, go, go! this is one of the most deprived areas in hull. the peel project was born out of tragic circumstances — the murder of abdullah balouchi in a nearby street in 2020.

but it galvanised this community, who wanted better. the focus this summer holiday is health and food... ..for the young people who live here. we have had instances where kids are playing in the middle, playing, they are feeling dizzy, they haven't got water or they haven't. .. and when you go and question them, they haven't eaten anything or they haven't got food at home, so for us to be able to provide that as part of the package is absolutely brilliant. put all your rubbish in the bin... after a few hours of football, everyone gets a free lunch. really bad. cost of living, our electric, gas, ourfood. we are coping, luckily, but there are families around here that can't cope, so these free meals are good for their children. the holidays are a big worry for parents. like... saving money for days out and feeding them — because kids do eat a lot in the holiday, don't they? it is very, very important to feed the kids. footballer marcus rashford brought the issue of providing free school meals outside of term times

to national attention during the pandemic. while meal vouchers are still being provided to families to help with costs, many are still struggling. we saw that when the children were coming in, some of them haven't had breakfast, some of them don't have, you know, lunch or dinner to go home to and that is when we realised that, like you mention, it is one of the more deprived areas, so having these facilities here, it is helping a lot more people. i have been starving because i didn't have breakfast, so that is why i was really thankful. i like them, especially. the chicken sandwiches. i am really happy because marcus rashford and all the other people helped us. i feel very... i feel like i could do more football now. the situation is getting worse day by day. 0rganisations out there need to come out, need to come forward to people like us to be able to help these parents and the standard of living for them. tomorrow's activity? ice skating, and the reassurance of another meal. phillip norton, bbc news, hull.

now, you'd think strapping yourself to the wing of a plane was daring enough — but one 93—year—old has taken that terrifying stunt to a whole new level. let's introduce you to betty bromage. she's thought to be the oldest person to do a loop—the loop whilst doing a wingwalk. 0ur reporter will glennon was there to watch. still living the daredevil life at 93, betty bromage defied her age to soar through the air on top of a stunt plane, again. after a normal morning at home, betty came to the rendcomb airfield for her fifth safety briefing, looking forward to another adventure. it's quite exhilarating. you're looking around, seeing what is going on. first time i looked and i thought, gosh, that wing's a bit close to the grass! and then i thought, oh dear, and then he flips over to the other side. and i thought, well, this is close to the grass again! well, i'm still here, so what have i got to lose at my age?

betty's raising money for the sue ryder leckhampton court hospice which cares for people with terminal illnesses. betty's story's amazing. this is herfifth time doing it. we really rely on community donations and groups getting behind us, and amazing people like betty supporting us. it's the heart of the hospice, it's all of the people who come and support us, so we really do appreciate it, it's vital. betty's no stranger to danger, she's already done four wing walks, her first aged 87, and she's abseiled down cheltenham's tallest building. and once betty was strapped into the harness today, she was ready to go again. it looked exhilarating, and betty was even keen to do aerobatics. then, before too long, she was safely back on the ground. it was great, yeah, it was great. yeah, it was a bit... at the top there, but yeah, i enjoyed it! i don't know who was more scared, her or me, but once we got her up there...

i think she's an amazing lady, absolutely incredible.