after israel warned them to move south. as israeli air strikes on gaza continue. the un secretary—general warns that evacuating more than a million people would be extremely hazardous. and the us secretary of state continues his whirlwind diplomatic mission, saying he's working with israel on a safe passage for the palestinians. i'm helena humphrey. good to have you with us. the un says tens of thousands of palestinian residents in the northern gaza strip have fled their homes amid a 24—hour deadline to evacuate, issued by israel. the evacuation order was issued earlier by israeli authorities with leaflets dropped from the sky. the evacuation order says residents should move to the area south of wadi gaza. israeli forces have also ordered the al awda hospital to evacuate by 6am local time.

hamas, has urged residents to stay put. more thani million people are believed to live in the north of gaza. there are warnings that the humanitarian crisis in the territory is deepening with shortages of food, clean water and electricity. strikes from israel are continuing in gaza tonight. these are pictures from the last hour or so. hamas officials say that on friday 70 people, mostly women and children, were killed by israeli air strikes on convoys fleeing gaza city. the palestinian health ministry says israeli strikes have killed at least 1,900 people in gaza in retaliation for the more than 1,300 people who have died in israel since the hamas attack on saturday. those were pictures from a few minutes ago. and we can show you the situation in gaza right now. it's a little after

5:00 in the morning. as you can see, it is completely dark. as we've been reporting, fuel and electricity are in short supply. residents in the north continue to flee under israeli evacuation orders. hamas officials say at least 70 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in israeli air strikes on convoys fleeing gaza city we will keep those live pictures on the screen throughout the programme. we will be monitoring the situation. meanwhile, the palestinian authority's representative at the un has compared the current situation to the mass palestinian migration after the creation of the state of israel, which palestinians call the nakba, or catastrophe. we should not allow as humans and as defenders of international humanitarian law and as the un and as security council to allow, after 75 years of nakba, another nakba to be unfolding

on our people by depopulating the gaza strip of its 2.3 million and to throw them outside to egypt and make it an egyptian problem. the israeli defense forces have been massing along the boundary, ahead of an expected ground offensive into gaza. and on friday, israel carried out local raids in the gaza strip to try to locate the up to 150 people being held hostage. as many as 1300 people were killed in last weekend's attacks by members of hamas, a group designated as a terror organisation by many western governments. the israeli ambassador to the un has called on the un to support israel's order to evacuate gaza. prime minister benjamin netanyahu has said israelis are "fighting for the homeland". translation: we are striking our enemies i with an unprecedented power.

i emphasise it's just the beginning. 0ur enemies havejust begun to pay the price. i can't divulge what comes next, but i can tell you it's just the beginning. the israeli military says it has struck a "terrorist target" in southern lebanon belonging to the hezbollah militant group. also, in lebanon, a journalist from the reuters news agency has been killed in what eyewitnesses say was an israeli attack near alma al—shaab, close to the israeli border. reuters has confirmed the death of videographer issam abdallah — the first civilian death in lebanon. mr abdallah was covering clashes between israeli forces and lebanon's militant hezbollah group. two otherjournalists were also injured in the incident. meanwhile, un secretary—general antonio guterres, has called for the release of all hostages and said it's "impossible" for palestinians to fully comply with evacuation orders. the situation in gaza has reached a dangerous new low.

the horrific terror attacks by hamas on israel that killed more than 1200 people and injured thousands more last saturday were followed by intense bombardment of gaza that has already killed 1800 people and injured thousands more. moving more than1 million people across a densely populated war zone to a place with no food, water or accommodation when the entire territory is under siege is extremely dangerous and in some cases simply not possible. in new york, russia's ambassador to the un described —— the -- the un —— the un secretary general speaking there. as you would have been able to see on your screens, more flashes, more incoming fire at a time when palestinians in gaza are being urged to evacuate to go from the north to the south of that

area. over the north to the south of that area. 0ver1 million people being ordered to move in that evacuation order. in new york, russia's ambassador to the un described the situation on the ground as "worrying and appalling". for more on that i spoke with our un correspondent, nada tawfik. great to with us. firstly, we've been hearing that russia has circulated a draft resolution to members of the security council, calling for a humanitarian ceasefire. what more can you tell us about that? that's right, helena. this was the second time since saturday that the security council has met in closed consultations, and we had heard from the secretary general, from the palestinian ambassador to the un, calls for the security council to take up not only a call for a ceasefire but also to set up a humanitarian corridor. now, just as the meeting was getting under way, russia circulated to the 15 members of the security council a draft resolution which is pretty brief in nature. it's one page long. it calls for a humanitarian corridor. it also calls for the release of all hostages, and it calls for safe evacuation for civilians and the distribution of humanitarian assistance. the russian ambassador came out and spoke to the press afterwards and he said that moscow believes it is critical at this moment for the security council to act.

he believes that this is an issue, that the root causes of this conflict should have been addressed by the council a long time ago. but what we are hearing from several members when they left the council — china, for example — says they are open to any efforts to try to de—escalate tensions. the uk ambassador to the un, dame barbara woodward, saying that the uk needs time to go over through consultations, kind of these serious discussions, before it can comment on russia's draft. but we have heard from one western diplomat who really doubted the seriousness of russia's proposal because they say they did not consult with others and it does

not mention hamas in the draft, which they say will make it unacceptable to certain western members and others on the council. i do just want to ask, nada, in this, is there anything that the un can do in this particular situation? well, the security council itself at the moment, you know, the united states is israel's key ally, and it has already shielded it from any type of pressure through dozens and dozens of vetoes, so the united states is working separately with egypt, with israel, to try to create some safe zones in gaza, it says, but it is unlikely to see pressure that will see pressure in the security council from the united states. separately, though, the secretary general says he is having non—stop calls with people in the region, notjust diplomats in new york, but those in the region, palestinians, israelis, to try to figure out a way to get humanitarian supplies in.

as you know, the crossings remain closed. bombings near egypt's crossing makes it extremely difficult and impossible at the moment to get in any fuel, medicine or supplies, and that is why the secretary general is saying it is a dangerous new low in gaza at the moment. and, nada, also today speaking at the un, families of israeli hostages, i understand. what did they have to say? that's right. that was an event that was hosted by the israeli mission, and they did that specifically before the security council meeting, saying that the security council needed to put its focus on getting hostages released, and so we heard from families. a woman, for example, had six family members including her cousins and their young children who were kidnapped by hamas at kibbutz 0z. she says that she has heard her family is alive, but she really went there with a strong plea again for the international community to exert any pressure they can, and we heard from other family members that very similar message.

0ur un correspondent there nada tawfik. nada, thanks a lot. more than a dozen americans remain unaccounted for after hamas�*s attack on israel. president biden has met virtually with the families of those who are missing and possibly held by hamas. he says the us will do everything possible to get the american hostages home. i assured them my personal commitment to do everything possible, everything possible to return every missing american to their families. we are working around the clock to secure the release... applause ..of americans held by hamas in close cooperation with israel and our partners around the region. for more on the us response to the escalating conflict, i spoke to former us state department senior advisor to the bureau of near eastern affairs, asha castleberry—hernandez, and president of the middle east policy council, gina abercrombie—winstanley.

great to have you both with us. thank you for being with us and taking the time. they want to briefly touch on the situation as it stands to begin with and get your takes. palestinians of course, as we know, at this present moment of ben ward to get out of southern gaza. israel's prime minister binyamin netanyahu warning there is more to come. what should we be preparing for in the hours and days ahead? i want to us you both, but starting with you, first, asher. ~ ., , asher. we need to deftly prepare _ asher. we need to deftly prepare for _ asher. we need to deftly prepare for humanitarian j prepare for humanitarian assistance as soon as possible, being able to definitely reach out to the local gazans and make sure they are provided enough safety and security moving forward as israel is continuing their ground offensive moving forward. they also believe that we definitely need to do more outreach to the

palestinians or the local population within gaza. there is a state of confusion going on right now with hamas, they are saying to stay, but the idea for selling them to leave. so there is a lot of confusion, misinformation involved in this effort and we definitely need to make sure that there is a safe evacuation happening, but with that being said, it's most likely going to flow well, but for the most part those people need to be provided humanitarian assistance stop gina, and you agree with that, your thoughts, gina, and you agree with that, yourthoughts, because gina, and you agree with that, your thoughts, because what asher was pointing out that was the fact that as we know we have got the united nations calling for the border to evacuate to be withdrawn, we have the message coming from himars telling gazans to stay where they are. for palestinians - where they are. for palestinians it - where they are. forj palestinians it must where they are. for i palestinians it must be difficult to know what to do —— hamas. what do you think you should be seeing in light of

that? i should be seeing in light of that? . ., , . that? i certainly concur with that. that? i certainly concur with that- our — that? i certainly concur with that. our governments - that? i certainly concur with | that. our governments have difficult _ that. our governments have difficult needles to thread. the — difficult needles to thread. the assistance for palestinians for the — the assistance for palestinians for the next few days as they try to — for the next few days as they try to avoid the israeli strikes _ try to avoid the israeli strikes and also trying to get the hostages release. we also need — the hostages release. we also need to— the hostages release. we also need to keep in mind that there are probably around 500 american citizens who are dual nationais— american citizens who are dual nationals or visiting family in the gaza _ nationals or visiting family in the gaza strip. we have americans there as well who are not hostages, but of course our responsibility. certainly the secretary's travels in the region— secretary's travels in the region were focused on these two things, working with the countries, others to put pressure on hamas, to make some headway— pressure on hamas, to make some headway with releasing hostages, as well as figuring out how— hostages, as well as figuring out how to get humanitarian assistance into the gaza strip.

but, _ assistance into the gaza strip. but, of— assistance into the gaza strip. but, of course, any safe corridor _ but, of course, any safe corridor is going to depend on the government of israel's ability— the government of israel's ability and willingness to cease _ ability and willingness to cease and desist so people can move _ cease and desist so people can move and/or allow that pathway if they— move and/or allow that pathway if they are going to go down to rafah — if they are going to go down to rafah. those are the two things that are — rafah. those are the two things that are the most focus in these _ that are the most focus in these coming days.- that are the most focus in these coming days. you make a vital point _ these coming days. you make a vital point on — these coming days. you make a vital point on the _ these coming days. you make a vital point on the question - these coming days. you make a vital point on the question of. vital point on the question of hostages right now, which is one of the other critical questions. and, gina, coming to you on that, we know that we have some us hostage negotiators, experts on the ground. how difficult you anticipate that situation being? what, realistically, do you think can be achieved there? . you think can be achieved there? ~ , , there? , well, there is very little you — there? , well, there is very little you can _ there? , well, there is very little you can do _ there? , well, there is very little you can do until- there? , well, there is very little you can do until her. little you can do until her mass _ little you can do until her mass is _ little you can do until her mass is ready to negotiate over the hostages and the sorts of things— the hostages and the sorts of things hamas will be looking

for, things hamas will be looking for. the _ things hamas will be looking for, the safe passage overcome to that, — for, the safe passage overcome to that, if— for, the safe passage overcome to that, if they are ready to put — to that, if they are ready to put down _ to that, if they are ready to put down —— hamas. it has to be done _ put down —— hamas. it has to be done from — put down —— hamas. it has to be done from the israelis. it is not — done from the israelis. it is not something the united states or any— not something the united states or any other country or the international community can guarantee. it has got to be the government of israel levels drop— government of israel levels drop certainly at this early stage _ drop certainly at this early stage when the government of israel— stage when the government of israel is — stage when the government of israel is still very much focused _ israel is still very much focused on eradicating hamas out of— focused on eradicating hamas out of gaza and the something in place — out of gaza and the something in place there after all of this— in place there after all of this is— in place there after all of this is over does not intend to have — this is over does not intend to have something put forward in this short _ have something put forward in this short period. we do need to he — this short period. we do need to be thinking longer term as well — to be thinking longer term as well. what does the day after look — well. what does the day after look like? of course, people are looking at that, hopefully preparing for that now, because we can't — preparing for that now, because we can't wait until this is over~ _ we can't wait until this is over. ., ., ., ., , ., over. your thought on what gina had to sav- _

over. your thought on what gina had to sav- lt — over. your thought on what gina had to say. it imperative - over. your thought on what gina had to say. it imperative we - had to say. it imperative we conduct hostage _ had to say. it imperative we conduct hostage rescue - conduct hostage rescue missions, and moving forward the environment is more complicated, it is becoming entirely complex in terms of interacting with the local population, trying to get them to safety or security, and also trying to ensure international alliances are working really well together, effectively co—ordinating, ensuring that the hostage affairs are effective, humanitarian support is effective, we have political backing, also working with the idf, so a lot of moving parts but again, looking at it, it is very complex and i don't think it's going to be easy to run through or iron out but for the most part, what is highly important is the humanitarian support, and hostage affairs are effective.— support, and hostage affairs are effective. you mentioned the international _ are effective. you mentioned the international backing, - are effective. you mentioned the international backing, i i the international backing, i wanted to ask you a bit more

about that specifically with regards to the hostas situation because of course anthony blank and has been in qatar, do you think that qatar could play a role in that in terms of being able to speak to hummus and potentially being able to help with the hostage situation and the situation more broadly as well —— hamas? the situation more broadly as well -- hamas?— well -- hamas? yes i do, in fact they — well -- hamas? yes i do, in fact they do _ well -- hamas? yes i do, in fact they do have _ well -- hamas? yes i do, in fact they do have linkage . well -- hamas? yes i do, in fact they do have linkage or| fact they do have linkage or connects— fact they do have linkage or connects with that network and i connects with that network and i believe — connects with that network and i believe that with regards to the international political pressure, where you are going to see — pressure, where you are going to see that people are mobilising against hamas, they are trying — mobilising against hamas, they are trying to, especially not normalising a terrorist group is imperative, and as we continue _ is imperative, and as we continue applying that pressure, we will see that will most — pressure, we will see that will most likely see qatar being able — most likely see qatar being able to— most likely see qatar being able to effectively engage with them, — able to effectively engage with them, and that is pretty much

executed _ them, and that is pretty much executed effectively.- more details are emerging of the atrocities committed last saturday by hamas gunmen injewish communities in southern israel. one of the most shocking massacres took place in the village of kfar azar. nick beake has been speaking to one of the survivors. and a warning, his reports contains details some may find distressing. they are the survivors. 22—year—old neta and her boyfriend, santiago, escaped from hamas's massacre in their village. she was shot six times in the legs. we start to hear gunshots for all the, they start... 0ne apartment, one apartment, one apartment, start to break the windows, break the doors, and start to shoot. you hear sounds, people screaming. the killers filmed themselves

on the loose, murdering dozens in thejewish community of kfar aza. with no israeli army to be seen, neta realised the only person who could save her was her dad, who she hadn't spoken to in six years. she managed to message him. "they are close," she wrote. "lock the doors," her dad replies. "please, answer, please. " but the gunmen found them. they started to shoot like... like we are nothing. i fell down on the ground and santiago scream at me, "neta, please, stand up, start to run. "if you don't stand up, we're going to die." hiding under a pile of rubbish, she texted her dad again. "dad, they shot me. "help." "i'm coming," he replies. my heart stops, and my brain stopped to work.

you know, i was mad. when shimon, a plain—clothes policeman, arrived at the village, he came under attack. i took my gun, and they start to shoot at me. i shot at them. and four people get from their houses over there and, with ak—47s, start to shoot me. eventually, shimon found neta near their burnt—out home and took them to safety. neta says israel must now respond in the strongest possible way. i don't want the hamas any more in my life. they need destroy them, one by one. have you been thinking about what may happen to civilians in gaza if there is a big ground operation by the israeli military there? my country didn't want to hurt the civilians.

i want they be safe. i don't think they need to die, like i don't need to die. they are like me. but civilians are being killed in this war, in ever—increasing numbers. nick beake, bbc news, tel aviv. to talk more aboutjust how unexpected hamas attack on israel appeared to be, i spoke to laura blumenfeld, from thejohns hopkins school for advanced international studies. she previously served as a senior policy advisor on the state department's israeli—palestinian negotiating team. great to have you with us laura. that report we have been hearing, multiple reports today essentially laying bare how saturday's attack came about, of course now it was so unexpected as well. are we any clear as to understanding what went wrong in terms of intelligence failures here? there will be plenty of time for an autopsy on israel's intelligence services, i think there are three broad trends we

can speak to, and the first one is that mindset, they are seeing, but there is also proceeding, there are dots and connecting the dots. the day after saturday's attack i called an israeli defence official and asked him what happened, and he used the hebrew word for light anaesthesia, saying it was almost like a twilight sleep, so the first thing mindset, and the second thing is internal visions, we have been reading about the internal political trouble overjudicial review, trouble over judicial review, and trouble overjudicial review, and that division and demoralisation degraded their intelligence capabilities, in the united states we have the saying all politics are local, well it affects defences as well. the third thing is a matter of bandwidth. for years israel has been fighting five layers with one hose, yes, the threat from gaza, but also rockets coming in from egypt occasionally, from the sinai desert, threats from the east,

tehran, threats along the northern border, so all of this together, israeli defence officials would say they stay up officials would say they stay up all night worrying about their rpg is aimed at them from their rpg is aimed at them from the north and they were caught asleep in the south. fascinating insights there, you mentioned, a cocktail of different risks here, and with all of those in mind, and also questions about iran's backing as well, do you see this conflict spreading? i as well, do you see this conflict spreading? i was thinking _ conflict spreading? i was thinking about _ conflict spreading? i was thinking about sanitary l conflict spreading? i wasl thinking about sanitary -- thinking about sanitary —— senator's lincoln's diplomatic offensive. if president trump brokered the abraham accords, this is the big piece tent that he is offering and saying this is a moment of clarity, you are either with us or not, come into the tent of peace will be on the outside with the forces of chaos, and it's a moment of clarity, the united states is calling on moral clarity, israel is saying this is

business as usual, we are not degrading hummus, we're eliminating hamas, but it is all about how it is presented, how it is prosecuted, was another thing that the secretary said, he said i am you, you army, we are dues but i expected to behave the same moral code as we are brothers in arms. how you fight this war matters. ,., . in arms. how you fight this war matters. . , matters. resource saturday's attacks, what — matters. resource saturday's attacks, what did _ matters. resource saturday's attacks, what did that - matters. resource saturday's attacks, what did that make i attacks, what did that make think of how far we are from ever achieving some resolution to this? ~ , to this? well, the first reaction _ to this? well, the first reaction of _ to this? well, the first reaction of course - to this? well, the first reaction of course is l to this? well, the first - reaction of course is absolute power, and it is traumatising not for the people who are directly suffering but from a psychological point of view, the whole world is at war, you mentioned in a few minutes ago, live streaming the refugees who have been streaming out or trying to escape from gaza, we

had lifestream homicides on saturday, that said, in the crazy upsidedown world that the middle east, the greater the war the better opportunity, for peace. war the better opportunity, for eace. . . war the better opportunity, for eace. ., ., �* ., ., , peace. laura bloom and fails, middle east— peace. laura bloom and fails, middle east analyst, - peace. laura bloom and fails, middle east analyst, senior. middle east analyst, senior fellow atjohns hopkins school, thank you so much for being with us. stay with us here on bbc news. you can always get news on the bbc news app. we have a live page constantly being updated there as well. we're taking a look at life pictures from gaza, it is almost 530 in the morning there, throughout the night we have seen more air strikes and artillery, nearly 2000 people have been killed in israel's bombing campaign on the gaza strip launched after hummus's attack last week —— hamas. thanks for your company.

hello. a big change in the feel of the weather this weekend. it's been unseasonably mild and that mild weather has brought quite a bit of rain during the day. on friday, it brought half a month of rain to places like santon downham but already, the changes were with us further north, and that's all courtesy of the wind direction. now, that rain, having cleared away, has allowed this blast of north—westerly winds to sweep southwards. now, really tightly packed isobars mean we've got severe gales in some northern parts of scotland but it's the wind direction coming down from the arctic that will affect all parts this weekend and make it feel much colder — even colder because of the wind chill, which is bringing through wintry showers across the hills, notjust for scotland, perhaps the sperrin and antrim mountains and into cumbria eryri as well, snowdonia, so a much colder night. some frost to hit across north east england and the glens of scotland.

enough wind to prevent a widespread frost or, indeed, any mist and fog problems, really, but this weekend starts colder and windy. the wind should ease down a bit by sunday but it's certainly a feature of the weather as we go through the first part of saturday. those showers coming through thick and fast, adding to the chill feel, and they're around the irish sea coast first thing but they will migrate inland, so nowhere exempt from getting a shower but always more prevalent in the north and west. but there will be heavy rumbles of thunder and some hail, as well as the wintriness over the hills and only ten to 13 or m in the south — that's six to eight degrees below where they have been, particularly in the south this week. now, the showers and the winds ease a little bit during sunday but they keep pestering northern and western areas but there will be a more widespread ground frost — probably our coldest night of the autumn so far. in fact, this is the coldest blast of the autumn so far. but it does mean, again, a good deal of sunshine first thing. mind you, at this time of year, there will be a few pockets of fog around which can take till mid—morning to clear to watch out for if you're travelling. showers or perhaps more cloud

in the north and the west of scotland. temperatures, though, a little lower than saturday's but with lighter winds and a bit more sunshine, fewer showers. i should imagine not feeling quite as chilly. and then later into next week or at the early part of next week again, we've got the chilly nights, the frosty and foggy mornings but temperatures do pick up later in the week as the unsettled weather returns. there's more online.

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. phone rings the promise is an instant loan. the reality is a nightmare.