live from london, this is bbc news. a family's grief — the funeral takes place for two british—israeli sisters killed in a shooting in the occupied—west bank. at least four people are killed in an avalanche in the french alps. rescuers are still searching for survivors. international delegations arrive in yemen, as talks to end eight years of war get under way in the capital, sana'a. and pope francis calls on the international community to help end conflicts in ukraine, syria, and elsewhere in his easter blessing at the vatican.

hello, i'm tanya beckett. it has been a day of worship — and a day of grief — in israel and the occupied territories. tens of thousands of dues gathered atjerusalem's western wall for passover prayers. not far away, hundreds ofjewish worshippers walked close to the al aqsa mosque. and in a settlement in the west bank, the funeral took place for two british—israeli sisters shot dead on friday. from jerusalem, lucy williamson reports. as maia and rina were brought in, the wailing of rina's teenage school friends filled the prayer hall. theirfather, a rabbi, bent low over their bodies. the pain on his face hidden for a moment, in a last embrace with his daughters.

today, thejewish people have proven that we are one. we are united. this simple, quiet family is devastated. the whole country hurts. maia was 20 years old when she died, rina was 15. their mother, still unconscious in hospital, doesn't even know yet they are dead. they were travelling from their west bank settlement to the sea of galilee for a family holiday this week when their isreli car came under fire. —— there is ray's —— israeli car. among the mourners today, israel's national security minister, itamar ben—gvir — a hard—right leader, who was once a member of a banned extremist group. each unique loss here pulls up deep, unresolved questions about land, security and rights. funerals are the fingerprints of this conflict.

contested land mapped by the graves of israelis and palestinians. tensions have risen sharply here this week asjewish, muslim and christian religious festivals coincide. jerusalem's old city was packed today, with easter congregations and jews attending a blessing at the western wall. somejewish worshippers also walked past the al—aqsa mosque on a passover visit to the site, known tojews as temple mount. moments like this are watched carefully by security forces, activists and militant groups. the behaviour of israeli police here this week triggered anger in the region. today, the compound has so far remained peaceful even if, beyond it, tensions remain high. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. our middle east correspondent yolande knell is following events injerusalem.

this is an extremely sensitive time and officials and diplomats have been warning that that could put pressure onjerusalem's most contested holy sites through this period and really could lead to an escalation in violence. that is exactly what we've seen. during the day, there was a lot of concern about what would happen because at the al—aqsa mosque, hundreds of palestinian muslims marking ramadan had barricaded themselves in the mosque. and there were fears there could be another raiding of the mosque by israeli police, as we saw last week. that had caused regional condemnation. instead, actually, what we saw were that israeli police allowed palestinian muslims to stay. you could see that some people were praying in the courtyard of the compound, while the heavily armed police allowed hundreds ofjewish visitors to go around the site for the passover celebrations. a mass prayer that was taking place at the western walljust below,

that had brought thousands ofjewish worshippers into the old city. i mean, that went off in the end without incident. also at the holy sepulchre church, which is quite nearby, easter sunday services happened without incident. but of course, as we've talked about this funeral, violence elsewhere within the region. that's right. i mean, first of all, we saw on friday with the shooting of these two sisters as they were driving in their israeli car through the west bank. there was also, a few hours later, a suspected car—ramming attack in tel aviv by the beach, in which one italian tourist was killed. also, seven other people — most of them, tourists — were injured. really, this was a reminder of how there is this background here of high tensions.

there really has been since the beginning of the year. israel has got this new government, the most right—wing government it's ever seen. it includes far—right religious nationalist members. that's having an effect on lots of fronts. they have promised to come down with an iron fist on what they see as palestinian terrorism. and at the same time, there's a lot of concern about what policies they might have towards the al—aqsa mosque injerusalem, in particular, with palestinians worried that there might be an attempt to change long—standing rules that exist at that site, despite the repeated denials of the prime minister that that's the case. at least four people have been killed in an avalanche in the french alps. it's thought the victims were hikers. the interior minister, gerald darmanin, said several more people were injured on the armancette glacier. azadeh moshiri has more.

now, this is what we know about the area where the avalanche happened. it happened in southeastern france, in the french alps. the glacier itself was near the mont blanc. now, four people were killed in the armancette glacier during the avalanche. they were part of a group, and several others were injured. the french authorities also believe that there are still several people trapped beneath the snow. now, we're about to show you a video that's been circulating on social media. it's also been verified by the french news agency afp. when i witness described the scene as a massive cloud that tumbled down until it split in two. —— one i witness. a deputy mayor from a nearby region confirmed that two victims were well mountain dust well—known mountain guides in the area. this is what he had to say.

translation: we area. this is what he had to say. translation:— area. this is what he had to say. tuna/mom— area. this is what he had to say. translation: we cry. it's a great sadness for — translation: we cry. it's a great sadness for all _ translation: we cry. it's a great sadness for all us _ translation: we cry. it's a great sadness for all us mountaineers, l translation: we cry. it's a great i sadness for all us mountaineers, for all friends of the region. these were people we knew. all our thoughts are with their families. this is the statement that french president emmanuel macron made on twitter shortly after. he said... now, no avalanche warning was actually issued that day. but this isn't the first time that this has happened. in 2014, two brothers were on a hiking trip. even though they were experienced mountaineers, they still couldn't survive the avalanche. in this instance, the region and the ski resort have warned people to be very careful and take extreme caution as they can't guarantee another avalanche won't happen. but for now, rescuers are engaged in a search and rescue operation as they search for more survivors. migrant rescue charities have raised

a safety alert for some 400 people on board a boat that they say is adrift and taking on water in the mediterranean sea. one group, called alarm phone, says the boat left tobruk, in eastern libya, and is currently at this location, which is in malta's search and rescue area. according to the charity, those on board say the captain abandoned the boat. pope francis has been leading a mass at st peter's basilica, in the vatican, on easter sunday. the 86—year—old expressed his "deep concern" about the escalating tensions between israelis and palestinians, and called on the international community to end the war in ukraine. from vatican city our religion editor aleem maqbool reports. from the early hours, they streamed into st peter's square for easter mass. people had come from all over the world, butjust days ago, there had been doubts about whether the pope would be well enough to take part in events at all.

some here told of their relief when he appeared, but there was still nervousness as to how strong he really was, after his bout of bronchitis. once the service got under way, pope francis seemed untroubled. but it was once the mass was over that he appeared most relaxed. though for the first time, he'd missed one event on good friday, he'd now successfully negotiated the rest of the toughest week in his calendar. well, there have been moments in the week during services when the pope has seemed a little breathless, a little weak, even. but every time he's been in the crowds and interacted with people, he's really appeared to be much more energized. he looked in really good health. you know, the crowd, i'm sure, were encouraging him along, but he looked very healthy, you know, happy and doing doing his job very well. and it was great to see him in fine spirits. translation: i was very worried | when he was in hospital and i kept informed because he's so special.

he wanted to fulfill all his commitments for this holy week, and to see him here, you realise how strong he is. at canterbury cathedral, in his sermon, archbishopjustin welby said easter was a reminder that light triumphs over darkness, even in seemingly intractable conflict. we do not lose heart, but we pray and we work for ukraine and russia, for israel and palestine, with the recent tragedies especially. and for the other so often forgotten struggles of our world. pope francis struck similar themes in his final public duty this holy week, in his appearance on the balcony of st peter's basilica. but during his traditional blessing, he talked of his deep concern over events in the middle east, praying for peace in the holy city ofjerusalem and beyond. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in vatican city.

here in the uk, health secretary steve barclay has accused the doctors' union the bma of taking a "militant stance" and pressing ahead with strikes that he says "carry a considerable risk to patient safety". mr barclay accuses the union of timing the four—day strikes to cause "maximum disruption". simonjones reports. chanting: one, two, three four! we can't take it any more! - junior doctors in england are set to walk out again on tuesday. that's straight after the easter bank holiday weekend, when many staff are on leave, and those four days of action will lead into next weekend, meaning the nhs is facing ten days of reduced services. in a statement, the national medical director of nhs england, professor sir stephen powis, said...

the nhs confederation, which represents hospital managers, is warning that up to a quarter of a million appointments and operations may have to be postponed if the strike action goes ahead, and professor sir stephen is warning the ongoing impact of industrial action is making it more difficult to keep key services going, and ultimately reschedule those cancelled appointments. the nhs says it will continue to prioritise emergency and neo—natal care, as well as maternity and trauma services. but nhs providers, which speaks for hospital trusts, is warning that even in those areas, there are real concerns of an increased risk to safety. this strike is long in duration and it falls at a really critical time during the holiday season, where securing alternative cover is proving challenging for trusts. so they are deeply concerned. it's not too late for unions and government to come to the table to open negotiations and to avert this action next week. the british medical association,

which represents junior doctors, is calling for a 35% pay rise, to compensate for what it describes as "more than a decade of salary erosion". but the department of health says it will only agree to talks to try to settle the dispute if the bma calls off the strike and significantly reduces its pay demand. the two sides appear as far apart as ever. simon jones, bbc news. saudi and 0mani negotiators have joined yemen's houthi rebels in the country's capital, sana'a. they're holding talks in the houthi—controlled city on a new and potentially permanent ceasefire. saudi arabia has backed yemeni government forces against the rebels during the devastating eight—year civil war. a little earlier, i spoke to our middle east regional editor sebastian usher. there was a temporary ceasefire last year, which expired in october. that helped calm the situation, that helped bring in confidence—building measures. and although it expired,

there's been no realflare—up in the fighting since. so i think the very basic aim of these talks will be to ensure that another ceasefire is put in place. but i think it's more ambitious than that, and that's certainly what is coming out from unnamed sources. there's been nothing official from either the saudi side or the houthis on this, but i think the aim is to have at least a considerably longer ceasefire, if not a permanent ceasefire, which would be at least the start of the end of this war that's dragged on for eight years, which is in pretty much a stalemate, really. this particular element of the war, the one where the houthis — who are originally from the north, but came down to sana'a — took over virtually the whole country at one point and a saudi—led coalition fighting on behalf of the government that had been forced out came in. so i think that the hope is that with the saudi delegation there, we've already seen a symbolic photo leaked by the houthis of one

of the houthi leaders shaking the hand of a member of the saudi group, that this is a very, very serious mood this time, more so than ever before, to end the conflict. and it comes as there are diplomatic moves around the region that are helping that happen. here in the uk, the conservative party has rejected a suggestion from its leader in scotland that voters could tactically back labour to oust the scottish national party. speaking to a british newspaper, douglas ross said, "where there is the strongest candidate to beat the snp, you get behind that candidate." but he seemed to take a slightly different tack in a later interview with the bbc. i urge every scottish conservative voter to vote scottish conservative, i would always do that. but we also know that in many parts of the country, the scottish conservatives are the biggest challengers to the snp. so if supporters of other parties unite behind the scottish conservative candidate,

we have the best possible chance of defeating many snp mps, and that will clearly send a message that the public want our politics in scotland focused on their urgent priorities, not another divisive independence referendum. 0ur political correspondent iain watson says douglas ross�* motives are clear. well, there's a reason why he's certainly trying to focus opposition to the snp — they are in some degree of turmoil, with their chief executive, and indeed the husband of theirformer leader, nicola sturgeon, being investigated by the police, arrested, then subsequently released, because there's an investigation going on into the snp�*s finances. they've also had a very divisive leadership contest to replace nicola sturgeon, where the winning candidate won by 52% to 48%. so the leader of the scottish conservatives clearly sees an opportunity — but i don't think hiss language today has been entirely consistent, because it certainly sounded initially, in an interview with a conservative—supporting newspaper, the sunday telegraph,

as though he was very much suggesting that people should vote for any candidate other than the snp. you quoted a little bit of it, but let me just read out what he said. "if parties maybe look beyond their own narrow party agenda," he says, "and do what's best for the country," then for him as a scottish conservative, "what would be best is if the grip of the snp could be loosened." now that tends to suggest perhaps that people should therefore vote for the biggest opposition party throughout the uk, the labour party — although they've got very few seats, only one seat in scotland — or perhaps even the liberal democrat party instead. but that got, shall we say, a far from welcome reaction from the uk leadership of the conservative party. they said that there should be no tactical voting, and therefore douglas ross, the leader of the scottish conservatives, has changed his emphasis to try to say, "look, what i was saying is if everyone gets behind the scottish conservatives, we could have a go at the snp."

that didn't seem to be exactly what he were seeing initially and, naturally enough there are fellow conservatives were worried that it looked as though perhaps he was throwing in the towel, he was keen, of course, to exploit the snp�*s difficulties. but was he tacitly admitting that perhaps the now—resurgent labour party, who are ahead in the uk wide opinion polls, might be best placed perhaps to inflict that damage on those who wanted to break up the united kingdom. either way, clearly what it indicates is that the focus is now turning to the next election. 0h, absolutely. the next election will probably be sometime next year, and certainly the conservative party are trailing labour in the current opinion polls. therefore, they're especially sensitive to any suggestion that perhaps they're throwing in the towel. elsewhere, labour are very keen to make progress in scotland — they were once the dominant force there, but really, since 2015, the snp have had the vast majority of seats. and i think certainly the uk—wide parties are now thinking perhaps that might be about to change

because of the snp�*s own internal difficulties. the scottish nationalists are still ahead in the opinion polls within scotland, but certainly if the other parties do well in scotland at their expense, then they're hoping that might also help them right here at westminster. the next general election, of course, is a westminster election, the scottish elections would follow some years after. bbc analysis has found that, over the past winter, one in every seven hospital beds in england was taken up by someone well enough to go home. one of those facing the wait is charlotte mills—murray. she may only have months to live, but is still in hospital many weeks after being cleared to leave. 0ur health reporterjim reed has been speaking to her. i'm stuck here, and just fighting to get home and to keep going.

and i don't know how much fight i have left in me. charlotte has ehlers—danlos, a condition that weakens her connective tissue. she may only have months to live. she's been filming diaries from her hospital bed. i had visitors today. i always look forward to when i get some visitors. and then what happens is the visitors leave and i'm left alone again, and that's when the reality sinks in. charlotte, who often finds it easier to use sign language, was admitted last year with infections linked to intestinal failure. in november, she was told she could go home, with care paid for by the nhs, yet another five months on, she's still stuck in hospital. so, how difficult has this been for you, charlotte? it's so wrong that we're in this situation, you know, four, five months extra in hospital that i don't need that actually increases my risk of infections and other illnesses as well. there's been a lot of tears,

a lot of hard decisions. i don't think unless you were here, you can really imagine life in a hospitalfor nine months. charlotte's case here in leeds is very complex and not representative of everyone who needs care. it does, though, illustrate a wider problem. this past winter, a record one in seven hospital beds across england has been taken up by someone well enough to go home. the government has said it's making another £1.6 billion available to speed up hospital discharge in england. often, the hold—up is because the right care in the home just isn't available. "mum, i don't know what i would do without you..." in leeds, charlotte's family say there have been repeated delays with her homecare, finding staff, training, equipment. so much time has been wasted, we've gone round in circles because everybody has changed what they said they would do,

and the time wasting is charlotte's live. we can't get that back. and it shouldn't be like that. you know, it shouldn't be the person that's really poorly is the one that has to do it. charlotte's care board and hospital have said they are sorry for the long delay, they say the vast majority of patients return home quickly, but some complex cases take longer. charlotte's now spent nearly a year in this hospital bed, missing her birthday at home and time with her family. when you have a lot of pain and illnesses and other health problems, and then you're stuck in a bed and you can't see your family easily and you can't do the normal things, when you have a lot of pain and illnesses and other health problems, and then you're stuck in a bed and you can't see your family easily and you can't do the normal things, you just think, if i can get home, it'll be better. ijust need to get home and it'll be fine. and all i want is for people to make that happen for me.

jim reed, bbc news. plans to make it more difficult for children to illegally buy e—cigarettes in england are to be laid out by the government next week. an �*enforcement squad' will be set up to clamp down on shops selling vapes to under—18s. victoria bourne reports. with their sweet flavours and brightly—coloured packaging, there's long been concern that e—cigarettes and vapes are becoming increasingly attractive to youngsters. and despite it being illegal, government data shows nearly 10% of all under—18s in england have either tried or are regularly using the devices. but there are hopes a range of new measures set to be announced by the department for health next week could help reduce the number of young people taking up the habit. £3 million of funding will support a new team targeting rogue retailers. it will be led by trading standards to carry out more test purchases in stores, to expose those failing to carry out age verification on customers. authorities will also have increased powers to remove

illegal devices from sale. while welcoming the action, some charities have questioned whether the new measures go far enough. it's about making these products less affordable and less appealing to children. they're available for pocket money prices on every street corner, for under a fiver. this announcement on vaping is part of a broader announcement by the government, reinforcing its commitment to achieve a smoke—free 2030. but at the moment, it's ten years off—track, and that's where we really need to see far more action. current nhs guidance suggests that whilst not risk—free, vapes can be a helpful tool for adults wanting to quit smoking, and a less harmful alternative to traditional cigarettes. it's hoped these measures will help deter young people from taking up vaping, the long—term health implications of which remain unknown. victoria bourne, bbc news.

this is bbc news, do stay with us. hello. compared to the week gone, the week ahead looks different weather—wise and that there'll be more rain around. rain totals totting up right across the country as this chart shows. but where we see the green colours appear, the hills of wales, parts of scotland, we could see 60—80mm of rain before the week is out. notjust wet, it's going to be windy at times. some of the windiest conditions will be through tuesday and into wednesday around some of these western areas. gusts of wind maybe up to 60mph. bear that in mind, if you've got any of this week under canvas or if you're on the move. now, the change to the more unsettled and changeable conditions has already started, this weather front pushing eastwards overnight into the morning, bringing outbreaks of rain for all. through the morning, some of the wettest conditions will be across the south and east of the uk. quite abundant rain to begin with, but don't write your day off,

sunshine will come out. there'll be a scattering of showers across the country through the day, showers most frequent through the afternoon, northern england and northern ireland, as well as the highlands of scotland. winds going into more westerly direction through into the afternoon, gusty in the south, it will make it feel a bit cooler for some of you compared with today, but for the likes of east of scotland, it'll actually feel a bit warmer with a bit more sunshine. now, as we go into tuesday morning, we'll see showers gradually fade away overnight, and it will be a chilly start to tuesday. 0nly1—2 showers continuing, and we'll get used to some colder nights through this week at times. but actually, a reasonably pleasant day for some on tuesday. to the north and east of the country, save just one or two isolated showers, a lot of dry weather, some will stay dry throughout the day. to the south and the west, though, make the most of the morning brightness because the afternoon turning cloudier, wetter, and also windier, gales in the southwest before the day is out. temperatures again dropping just a little bit. and that brings us into our windiest spell of weather this week, tuesday night into wednesday, deepening area of low pressure pushing across, a pretty wet night through the uk

to take us through tuesday night into wednesday. the rain persisting in parts of northeast scotland with some snow over the mountains as we go through wednesday. but south of that, we'll see a mixture of sunshine, heavy thundery showers with hail mixed in, as well. a little bit of brightness here and there. but it's going to be a windy day across the board with winds touching 50—60mph as i said, in the south. and that will make it feel distinctly cool. those windy conditions will last as we go through wednesday night and into thursday. that low pressure gradually pulls away, but another wet and windy low hits the south on friday. take care.

this is bbc news. the headlines... jewish worshippers have converged on the western wall for the passover blessing injerusalem. there's a heavy security presence as officials fear violence could break—out. meanwhile the funerals have been held for two british—israeli sisters killed in a shooting in the occupied west bank on friday. they were named as 20—year—old maia and 15—year—old rina dee. international delegations have arrived in yemen ahead of talks on a new and potentially permanent ceasefire. saudi arabia has backed yemeni government forces against the rebels during an eight— year civil war. at least four people have been killed in an avalanche