this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. this after this programme. was once a place full of tourists. this was once a place full of tourists. but when the pandemic came to cuba, country lost a source of income. medicine and food shortages sparked unprecedented demonstrations against the government. and the biggest exodus to the us since the i959 biggest exodus to the us since the 1959 cuban revolution. many put their lives in the hands of human smugglers, on dangerous journeys across central america.

others took a shorter but treacherous route.- others took a shorter but treacherous route. the nearest oint to treacherous route. the nearest point to cuba — treacherous route. the nearest point to cuba is _ treacherous route. the nearest point to cuba is about - treacherous route. the nearest point to cuba is about 70 - point to cuba is about 70 miles. the south florida straits can turn deadly very quickly. there are sharks, there are jellyfish, storms can p0p up there are jellyfish, storms can pop up unexpectedly. hundreds have died or — pop up unexpectedly. hundreds have died or gone _ pop up unexpectedly. hundreds have died or gone missing. - this is the story of three cubans who risked everything to leave their island for florida. ola.

in 2019, elian was living in varadero with his wife and daughter. it was the maker of tourism for communist run cuba. for years he had been teaching diving and water sports to tourists.

with a strict trading embargo imposed by the usa since the 19605, imposed by the usa since the 1960s, tourism brought a vital source of foreign currency to cuba, around 12 billion us dollars in 2019. 30 years cuba was supported by its communist allies, the soviet union. but when the socialist block collapsed in the 1990s, cubans faced a daily struggle to survive. elian had recovered from bowel cancer, but after surgery he could not source enough colostomy bags.

but complaining against the cuban regime was difficult. growing up in santiago de cuba, 22—year—old selima learned this from a young age. celimar�*s father was a dissident. that had repercussions for the whole family. the impact of the lockdown, the lack of tourism and us trade

sanctions meant cuba was plunged into its deepest crisis in decades. on 0n11 on 11july on11july 2021, on 11 july 2021, protests swept across the streets of cuba. some of the largest anti—government demonstrations since 1959.

alejandro was a soldier living in havana. it wasn't long before protesters say events turned violent.

cu ba ns cubans who wanted to leave the

country face travel restrictions abroad. but four months after the protest, nicaragua, a long—standing ally, unexpectedly lifted requirement for visiting cubans to have visa. it was the chance celimar had been waiting for. celimar had been waiting for. celimar knew if she could get to nicaragua, gangs of smugglers would transport her illegally across central america to the us, where her father was living.

celimar was travelling on her own. but along the route, she joined thousands of other cubans and migrants from all over central america. within months, it would become cuba's largest exodus since 1959.

backin back in cuba the situation was more than elian could bear. for the sake of his family's future, he decided he had to go. he chose to do it in the way he knew best. elian was going to attempt a 90 mile crossing on his beloved win surfboard. —— windsurf board.

alejandro didn't have a passport, so he couldn't fly to nicaragua. he managed to sell his motorbike to buy an inflatable kayak. but he had

never been out at sea further than the beach. alejandro spent the day on the beach practising with the kayak. and then when it got dark it was time to go.

in the skies above, the us coastguard were patrolling the waters. as 2022 continued, they noticed a rapid increase in cuban migrant boats. cubans who could not afford to pay smugglers to traffic them through nicaragua taking to the sea in record numbers. for my aircrews it was not uncommon to see six, seven, eight, nine contacts in a single five—hour patrol in the south florida straits. the vessels are often home—made, with tarps, wood, straps, car engines, lawnmower engines, no engines, lawnmower engines, no engines, handmade paddles with a piece of plywood nailed to a broomstick. unfortunately what we see is why many do make it,

you know, hundreds still die trying to make it, and that's the hardest part about ourjob. down on the water elian was now stranded because of a lack of wind. his situation was becoming more and more dangerous.

elian�*s fear of having to spend the night on the surfboard was becoming real.

from nicaragua, celimar had travelled from honduras to guatemala and then into mexico. in mexico, celimar was hidden in a safe house controlled by the cartels.

after wind surfing for nearly two days, elian was drifting closer to florida. but he had pushed his body to its limits. elian was rescued just after

sunset. he received urgent medical care. after three days, alejandro thought he could see lights on the horizon. as the sun rose, he realised it was a hotel.

after 13 days on the road, celimar was getting close to the us border. but there was one final challenge. the notorious rio bravo. because of the strong currents, many migrants have died on this crossing. and celimar was trying to cross in winter.

at the start of 2023, following a record influx of migrants, the us government took radical action. in texas, troops were deployed to the mexican border. and a new parole programme was introduced, cubans who enter the us illegally won't be eligible to apply. with elian already in florida, his wife and daughter were making the dangerous crossing by land over

nicaragua. they made it over the us borderjust before the new system came into effect. all three of them are now applying for asylum. celimar is now also living in florida with her father. now also living in florida with herfather. she's now also living in florida with her father. she's also applying for leave to remain. but under the new application system, cubans trying to come to us now need prior authorisation. those who attempt a journey like hers risk being deported.

alejandro hopes one day to bring his son to the us, via a safer route, through a new parole programme. but the new programme is estimated to have received nearly 400,000 cuban applications already for limited places. as long as the economic crisis in cuba remains, it's feared how —— more will risk their lives trying to leave the island.

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 14 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.

live from london, this is bbc news. the un chief says the situation in gaza has reached a dangerous new low, as the security council discusses calls for a humanitarian ceasefire. as air strikes continue, israel confirms its soldiers have carried out localised raids in gaza, looking for people kidnapped by hamas. this is the scene live in gaza, as an israeli deadline for palestinians to leave the north has passed. also to come, "god forbid": we hear how the hamas massacre was captured on an israeli mothers�* whatsapp group. and as the middle east violence triggers protests in the uk, the terror watchdog warns of the language used at some pro—palestinian rallies. hello, i'm celia hatton.

we start with the latest on the israel—gaza war.