this is bbc news for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm lewis vaughanjones and these are the latest headlines. air raid sirens sound injerusalem for the first time since the start of last year's full—scale conflict between israel and palestinian militants in the gaza strip. it's the third day of renewed violence between the two sides. nearly 170,000 tonnes of grain and sunflower oil leaves on a second convoy of ships out of ukaine after russia's blockade caused global shortages. in the uk, the two contenders vying to become the next conservative party leader and prime minister outline how they plan to help people cope with the rising cost of living. we'll be speaking to a supporter of the former chancellor, rishi sunak. warnings that millions of children in england could go hungry this summer because councils have

reduced or scrapped free school meal vouchers over the school holidays. taiwan accuses china of practising for an invasion of its island after beijing expressed fury over us house speaker nancy pelosi's visit to taipei. and 72 artefacts forcibly removed from benin city during a british military incursion in 1897 will be returned to nigeria by a london museum. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. air—raid sirens and explosions have been heard injerusalem as the conflict between israel and the palestinian militant group

islamichhad escalates. israeli air strikes in gaza have killed a second senior leader of the islamichhad group. khaled mansour was considered among the most important man in the armed wing of the organisation. these are images of the latest air strikes. up to 32 palestinians, including six children, are now reported to have been killed in this latest outbreak of violence. earlier, iasked political analyst dahlia shendlin for her assessment of how the conflict may develop. i think the main question is whether hamas which effectively controls gaza from within willjoin in this fighting against israel. in that case it is very likely to expand into a much bigger operation, like a conventional war and that could last weeks and cause tremendous damage, civilian damage on both sides and probably massive casualties primarily in gaza but also among israelis and that's the big question.

so far, the fighting has been primarily limited to israel and palestinian islamichhad. the israeli leadership generally has taken the line that it holds hamas responsible for everything that happens in gaza, and hamas is understood to have the capability to stop firing from palestinian islamichhad, but there is an understanding perhaps among hamas if israel is fighting palestinian islamichhad that is not necessarily bad for hamas. as your reporter pointed out they've lost senior figures and this will weaken islamichhad in gaza in general. so that's part of the political calculations that hamas are making at the moment. making that decision, whether they step in or they don't. what about the political calculations from the israeli side, what are the kind of things they will consider? you really cannot divorce this from the fact that israel is in the middle of an election campaign, its fifth campaign in 3.5 years. an unusual situation, the current prime minister has only

been in office forjust over a month following a rotation deal with the government that was only established a year ago and everybody from the prime minister to the head of the opposition, the former prime minister benjamin netanyahu, is trying to assert and convey to the israeli public that his party, and these are all male leaders, are the best ones and the most capable of dealing with the situation while at the same time, trying to make a show of unity because israelis like every country during war time trying to rally around the flag and they don't want their leaders fighting with each other but each side wants to prove its mettle on the security issue ahead of the election campaign and nobody wants to look soft. as you point out, that's the conventional wisdom, people rallying around the flag and that's good for electoral purposes but there comes a point if conflict is too protracted and elongated, that political capital then starts to fall. how long this goes on, how entrenched it becomes is also a crucial factor

in that calculation. absolutely and i think it very much matters to what extent there is a threat to israeli civilians. the real measure is, as you point out, how long it goes on but to what extent there are rocket salvos fired at the central areas of israel. it's sad to say but as long as the fire is limited to the south there is a great deal of sympathy for the residents there but it won't change the electoral calculus. if that fire spreads regularly to the central regions and there have already been salvos over tel aviv, the central block area and tojerusalem, if those continue, it could easily cross the line to being seen as a failure of the leadership to manage the situation effectively. it's a very fine line, you are right. this is certainly going to play into the elections but having said that, if it ends quickly, within a couple of days which is still possible, or up to a couple of weeks, i imagine there's still time before the elections for people to get back to normal,

and sadly for israelis, there is an understanding that these escalations are at regular intervals, they have learned to normalise them, they see them as part of life and they don't often enough ask themselves which political party is offering a change of the overall policy. israel has been effectively controlling everything that goes in and out of gaza and the main crossings with the exception of rafah since 2007, a policy that has led to five rounds of war. it'll be interesting to see if any party dares to raise the possibility of a fundamental policy change but up to now we have seen general statements, mostly from the left—wing parties, one day there should be an overall political resolution but nothing more concrete. to ukraine, where another convoy of ships has set sail from the country's black sea ports carrying grain and sunflower oil.

four vessels set off from 0desa and chornomorsk via a safe maritime corridor, heading for turkey where they'll be inspected as part of a deal reached with russia and the un. the agreement is aimed at freeing 20 million tonnes of grain and other essential supplies which have been blocked in ukraine since the russian invasion, causing worldwide shortages. 0ur correspondent hugo bachega is in kyiv. it seems that it is another sign that this deal is working. so four more ships departed the ports of chernomorsk and 0desa in the south of ukraine. they are now going through that safe maritime corridor that's been created because the black sea is infested with mines. once they get to turkey, they will be inspected by a team of russian and ukrainian officials, also officials from turkey and the united nations, which helped broker this deal. so two of those ships will stay in turkey, the other two will be going to italy and china. another vessel has been authorised to come to ukraine to be loaded with grain. it is a positive development.

now, we've heard from the ukrainian infrastructure minister saying that they expect to be able to export up to 3 million tons of grain every month. so to give you a sense of perspective, there are 20 million tons of grain stuck here in ukraine. so it is, you know, vital for ukraine for this deal to be working, to be a success, not only because it is going to ease a global food crisis, but it is also fundamental for ukraine to be receiving some foreign currency. indeed. and if we go right back to the beginning of this, when this agreement was first signed, russia did attack targets in and around the port of 0desa. and a lot of people were very pessimistic that this would get off the ground. is there still that level of trust and confidence between the two sides that this deal will hold? well, we heard from president zelensky in his evening address saying that it is a positive

development, that these ships are being allowed to leave ukraine. some other ships are coming to ukraine to be loaded with grain. but he said that there are some security concerns. he says that, you know, he needs to see if russia is going to abide, is going to follow the terms of this deal. but so far we're seeing that there haven't been any kind of incidents. so far, so good for this deal. ukraine's state nuclear power company says a worker was wounded on saturday evening when russian forces shelled the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. the company said the site of the power plant's dry storage facility wherei71i containers of nuclear fuel are stored in the open air was hit by rocket attacks. the international atomic energy agency had raised concerns on saturday about shelling saying the action showed the risk of a nuclear diaster. ukraine and russia accused each other of engaging in "nuclear terrorism".

here in the uk, allies of the conservative leadership contender, liz truss, have insisted she isn't ruling out future direct help for people struggling to pay energy bills. yesterday, the foreign secretary said she would focus on tax cuts if she becomes prime minister, rather than what she called "handouts". the trade minister, penny mordaunt, said ms truss was considering �*other measures�* beyond tax cuts. there will be different things required for different people. there is the package of support that has already been put in place. liz is looking at other measures, i spoke to the chancellor yesterday, actually, about this and a raft of other things. he has commissioned some additional work. what we do need to do, though, is provide reassurance to people early and i think the right time to do that is when we have a new prime minister in, but we need to do pretty sharpish. and that is why i think it is right to have an emergency budget, why am

glad liz is committed to that. i'm joined now by oliver dowden, former conservative party chair and rishi sunak supporter. this debate at the moment between tax cuts or hand—outs, we heard penny mordaunt trying to soften the line, where do you and rishi sunak stand. ., ~ , stand. good afternoon. i think this is one of the _ stand. good afternoon. i think this is one of the biggest _ stand. good afternoon. i think this is one of the biggest challenges, l is one of the biggest challenges, possibly the biggest challenge for an incoming prime minister with energy bills going up to almost £4000 and if you look at the idea of tax cuts, this idea of reversing national insurance contributions, that will only benefit someone working full—time on the national living wage by less than £60. contrast that with whoever the prime minister is, they will get a benefit of £1800 so this isn't the way to help people through this very difficult period. liz help people through this very difficult period.— help people through this very difficult eriod. , , , ., difficult period. liz truss is wrong on that and _ difficult period. liz truss is wrong on that and wrong _ difficult period. liz truss is wrong on that and wrong to _ difficult period. liz truss is wrong

on that and wrong to do - difficult period. liz truss is wrong on that and wrong to do that? - difficult period. liz truss is wrong on that and wrong to do that? i l on that and wrong to do that? i disagree with the approach set out by liz truss for precisely those reasons, we need to be realistic about the scale of hardship people will face this autumn and winter as fuel prices rise. and then, when you set out against what is being proposed currently by liz truss, it is simply insufficient and that is where my concern lies.- is simply insufficient and that is where my concern lies. rishi sunak do more, direct— where my concern lies. rishi sunak do more, direct help? _ where my concern lies. rishi sunak do more, direct help? what - where my concern lies. rishi sunak do more, direct help? what does l where my concern lies. rishi sunak. do more, direct help? what does that mean? we have _ do more, direct help? what does that mean? we have already _ do more, direct help? what does that mean? we have already seen - do more, direct help? what does that mean? we have already seen how- do more, direct help? what does that mean? we have already seen how he| mean? we have already seen how he has acted in the past so when we saw these projections of increases in these projections of increases in the cost of fuel, he announced £400 of direct support for everyone and for the most vulnerable people, up to £1200. i think we have to be realistic about the approach required and i think we require that sort of direct intervention. this is why i am a bit concerned by the comments from liz truss in the financial times yesterday which suggested she would not be willing to do that and i think it's a question ofjudgment about

to do that and i think it's a question of judgment about what to do that and i think it's a question ofjudgment about what is required in these difficult times. people will say rishi sunak has been in charge and could have seen this coming and did not do enough when he could have done something? he coming and did not do enough when he could have done something?— could have done something? he saw this cominu could have done something? he saw this coming and _ could have done something? he saw this coming and announce _ could have done something? he saw this coming and announce this - this coming and announce this unprecedented level of support after £1200 for the most vulnerable. in addition to that, as the situation has gotten worse he has said he would also cut vat from domestic bills, that's an extra 100 or £200 to support people but he's also been open and this is the crucial thing, to making further direct interventions to support people when we know the full scale of how how the temakau this bill is going to be in the autumn. the the temakau this bill is going to be in the autumn.— in the autumn. the problem is this kind of move _ in the autumn. the problem is this kind of move is _ in the autumn. the problem is this kind of move is too _ in the autumn. the problem is this kind of move is too late, _ in the autumn. the problem is this kind of move is too late, why - in the autumn. the problem is this kind of move is too late, why wait | kind of move is too late, why wait until we know it's going up, there's been estimates today there could be £4400 byjanuary? why not been estimates today there could be £4400 by january? why not do something now rather than wait? first of all because the increase in energy bills won't come into effect until the beginning of october when

the price cap goes up. secondly, we had already foreseen this, that's why rishi sunak as chancellor and the cabinet set out these proposals to increase support from the beginning of october, that's when the £1200 will come in to help people but it's clear the situation has deteriorated further over the summer so we need to see exactly what that level is but the crucial thing is we have been clear we will provide that direct support and the tax cuts will not be sufficient. less than £60 for someone working on the national living wage, that won't help them with this kind of scale of crisis that they are facing. {sinew crisis that they are facing. given ou crisis that they are facing. given you questioned _ crisis that they are facing. given you questioned liz _ crisis that they are facing. given you questioned liz truss - crisis that they are facing. given you questioned liz truss 's - crisis that they are facing. given you questioned liz truss 'sjudgment you questioned liz truss �*sjudgment on that, can you see rishi sunak working with her if he does not win? i think rishi sunak is committed to building a team of the very best people from across all of government and i have great respect personally for liz truss and i am sure all the best people will be involved in any

cabinet from rishi sunak. mil best people will be involved in any cabinet from rishi sunak. shallot cabinet from rishi sunak. all of thank you- _ cabinet from rishi sunak. all of thank you- -- — cabinet from rishi sunak. all of thank you. -- oliver _ cabinet from rishi sunak. all of thank you. -- oliver dowden. i a leading charity is warning that millions of children in england could go hungry this summer because councils have reduced or scrapped free school meal vouchers over the school holidays. the children's society says the rising cost of living and changes to how the scheme is funded have created a postcode lottery for families that are already struggling. 0ur education correspondent, elaine dunkley, reports. zed watches every penny. today, she's shopping at a community food pantry to pick up discounted essentials for the children. last summer, zed got a free school meal voucher in the holidays worth £15 a week. but here in birmingham, that's been scrapped. £15 might not sound like a lot of money. actually, in the grand scheme of it, it is when you've got two children to be paying for. like it is, it is a big it's a big loss. the vouchers have been replaced with free holiday clubs that provide food and activities.

i love to get my children out in all activities, but with having a young child and a child with additional needs, it can be extremely difficult for many reasons. the council has organised events like this. in birmingham, nearly 70,000 children are eligible for free school meals. we had sandwiches, yogurt and a bit of fruit. yeah, it's a healthy lunch. i've enjoyed it a lot - because i was able to go out. like usually i wouldn't go to the park. - i'd just been at home on my phone. the holiday activities and food programme is also meant to help families on low incomes who don't qualify for free school meals but are also struggling. the government says the household support fund has allocated up to £281 million to councils to spend on families with children. some local authorities have told us it has led to a reduction in the value of the vouchers they're able to offer. birmingham city council says it's

not offering vouchers this summer but will spend £4 million on grants for households with children on free school meals. hi, andy. how is it going? at this community hub, they're helping struggling families, applying for a grant. currently on the desk, more than 400 applications. a similar number of people, but more families with young children. so if you're a working familyl on a low income or in the gig economy or you work part time, then your choices— are really limited. we're a lifeline. without us, they would, . you know, really struggle. for many families, tough times have got tougher, with no break from the rising costs over the summer holidays. elaine dunkley, bbc news, in birmingham. the family of archie battersbee who died yesterday after his life support system was removed have released a statement thanking their supporters. they paid tribute to their �*beautiful boy�* and said they were so proud of him. his parents brought a series of unsuccessful legal challenges to keep archie on life support

after doctors and laterjudges ruled he was brain stem dead and had no chance of recovery. the family is now demanding an official investigation into the conduct of the hospital treating him, claiming they had been �*stripped of all their rights�* as parents by the health and court systems in deciding what was best for archie. china has said its military will continue with "regular" drills on the eastern side of the taiwan strait, following the visit to the island by the us house speaker nancy pelosi. taiwan has accused china of practising for an invasion, while the us has accused beijing of using military exercises to change the status quo. 0ur correspondent stephen mcdonell is in beijing. hardliners in the upper echelons of the chinese communist party here in beijing must be pretty happy with where nancy pelosi�*s visit has left them.

for example, more extreme military measures have now entered what we might consider as acceptable in terms of how the mainland deals with taiwan. are we going to see every year now beijing ordering the pla to fire missiles over taiwanese territory? are we going to see a test run of a blockade of taiwan now? every year as the pla prepares for what some would no doubt think is the inevitable attack on taiwan as a means of trying to claim that island and reunifying it with the mainland. there have been, though, significant short term problems. for example, commercial shipping has been disrupted. that�*s a very busy shipping lane there, the taiwan strait, that�*s been significantly disrupted this week, as have commercialflights. taiwan�*s economy has been hurt.

and, you know, apart from all these kind of short term impacts, beijing and washington are now not cooperating with one another on all this whole series of areas where they were able to get some work done. so despite the tensions between the us and china, for example, on cross—border crime, there was some cooperation. that�*s now been put on hold, including work on narcotics. no more senior meetings between the military in the us and china. safety at sea, there had been quite a bit of work done with the navies of china and the us in terms of maritime safety. and crucially, china has cancelled talks in terms of climate change amelioration. now this is bad news for the rest of the world because it means the world�*s two biggest carbon emitters are now not going to be talking to one another, looking for areas of cooperation at this quite crucial time.

so where to from here? well, it�*s hard to see where all these areas of previous cooperation can be linked up again, if i could put it that way. at the moment, there does seem to be increased tension and i suppose there�*d be some in washington and in beijing wondering how this can all be clawed back. but at the moment there�*s no sign that either beijing or washington wants to back down. we could be heading into a period of quite some tensions in this part of the world. here in the uk, an 11—year—old girl has died after getting into difficulty at a waterpark in berkshire. members of the public searched a lake at liquid leisure in datchet on saturday afternoon before she was found by emergency services. thames valley police are treating her death as unexplained. detectives investigating the disappearance of a student nurse

from grays in essex have arrested a fifth man in connection with her disappearance. 0wami davies was last seen a month ago in west croydon, after leaving her family home in essex three days earlier. the man is being questioned on suspicion of kidnap. four others have been bailed. a london museum says it will return ownership of artefacts that were looted in the 19th century to nigeria. the horniman museum said 72 objects which were forcibly removed from the kingdom of benin, during a british military incursion in 1897, would be handed over to the nigerian government. joining me now is our correspondent sachia berg. so what is happening here? the nigerian government asked for the return of these artefacts which been kept since 1897 in the collection of a tea trader who turned his

collection and house into a museum in south—east london so the nigerian government made the request for the return of the artefacts, bonuses and other artefacts of ivory and brass. backin other artefacts of ivory and brass. back in january. other artefacts of ivory and brass. back injanuary. the museum held an independent inquiry and that inquiry together with a consultation led the board to conclude unanimously that these bronzes should be handed back so that�*s been very warmly welcomed today by the nigerian government and its interesting because what it means is the largest collection of burning bronzes, others are going to be handed back, some are already, the announcements made by oxford and cambridge the very largest collection of bronzes is at the british museum which houses over 900 of these artefacts which were looted from the city of benin in 1897. what from the city of benin in 1897. what does that mean _ from the city of benin in 1897. what does that mean for _ from the city of benin in 1897. what does that mean for the _ from the city of benin in 1897. what does that mean for the british museum under the under more pressure? it museum under the under more pressure?—

pressure? it leaves them quite exosed pressure? it leaves them quite exposed because _ pressure? it leaves them quite exposed because museums - pressure? it leaves them quite - exposed because museums around the world have some of these artefacts and they have all agreed to transfer ownership. it�*s not clear whether the government in nigeria wants to move them to nigeria immediately or whether it will take some time but while other museums around the world have offered to return ownership of these artefacts to nigeria, the british museum has not been able to do so because an act of parliament of 1963 forbids them from handing back the artefacts they hold. fascinating issue. thank you for talking to us about this. french officials trying to rescue a beluga whale trapped in the river seine have come up with a new strategy — a vitamin cocktail. the visibly malnourished beluga was first spotted on tuesday and has swum upriver to within seventy kilometres of paris. rescuers say it has so far refused their offerings of fish, either because it lacks energy or is sick. they hope that injecting it with vitamins will stimulate its appetite and help it to make the 160km returnjourney

to the english channel, where it can swim back to its arctic habitat. danjarvis is the director of conservation at british divers marine life rescue. top he�*s concerned about the whale�*s condition. the animal does appear to be in quite poor nutritional condition and broadly speaking, that generally points to a period of long—term decline in the health. whether this is caused by disease or perhaps a nagging injury of some sort remains to be seen, but they prognosis in these situations is usually not a happy one, i�*m afraid to say. and what difference do you think this injection of vitamins will make? i think it is quite a novel idea. it remains to be seen whether this will work. so, i think we are all sort of waiting in the background to see what happens with this technique to see if it does have any effect on the animal�*s health and ability to leave at all. (tx sot)

that was an update on the beluga whale trapped in the riverjust outside paris. this is bbc news. we pause there as we said goodbye to our viewers watching around the world. now it�*s time for a look at the weather with matt hello. it�*s going to get much hotter again as we go through this week. and in fact, temperatures already building today across england and wales, especially under blue skies. a bit more cloud across scotland, northern ireland, although northern ireland will see more sunshine develop compared with this morning. western scotland, still some rain and drizzle around. eastern scotland always that bit brighter. but even here, there will be increasing amounts of cloud. but here as well, temperatures up on yesterday�*s values, high teens, low 20s, maybe mid to highs 20s across parts of central, southern and eastern england. into this evening and overnight, it stays dry for many. the rain just eases in western scotland, but the western isles will see more rain return later with a strengthening breeze. some rural parts could get down into single figures, but most city centres and suburbs will be around 10 to 15 degrees

as we start monday morning. dry starts for most. there will be a bit more cloud through yorkshire, lincolnshire and the northeast of england compared with today. but that will break up. lots of sunshine again for england, wales, sunny day for northern ireland, southern scotland. more cloud in northern scotland with some rain at times in the highlands and the islands, and turning hotter in the south.

it�*s this hello. this is bbc news. i�*m lewis vaughanjones and these are the headlines... air—raid sirens sound injerusalem for the first time since the start of last year�*s full—scale conflict between israel and palestinian militants in the gaza strip. it�*s the third day of renewed violence between the two sides. nearly 170,000 tonnes of grain and sunflower oil leaves on a second convoy of ships out of ukaine after russia�*s blockade caused global shortages. in the uk, the two contenders vying to become the next conservative party leader and prime minister outline how they plan to help people cope with the rising cost of living. we�*ll be speaking to a supporter of the former chancellor, rishi sunak.

warnings that millions of children in england could go hungry this summer because councils have reduced or scrapped free school meal vouchers over the school holidays. taiwan accuses china of practising for an invasion of its island after beijing expressed fury over us house speaker, nancy pelosi�*s visit to taipei. and 72 artefacts forcibly removed from benin city during a british military incursion in 1897 will be returned to nigeria by a london museum. now on bbc news, clickjoins a rehearsal for a special bbc prom this week, we�*re celebrating music from video games, orchestral style.