thousands of palestinians flee to southern gaza after israel warns them to leave the north. our correspondent says he and his family are living in a room with four other families. for example, with my family, i share a very small space, two—bedroom with about four or five families. meanwhile, the un's aid agencies have told the bbc that gaza is "being pushed into an abyss". still no movement at the rafah border crossing into egypt. the us secretary of state is due in cairo this afternoon and the british foreign office is telling its nationals to be ready in case it is opened. and president biden has been speaking again to the israeli and palestinian leaders, with news that a second us strike group is on its way to the eastern mediterranean to "deter hostile actions against israel".

hello, i'm christian fraser. the israeli army says the time is running out for people in the northern half of gaza to leave, as it builds up its operations across the territory. thousands of troops are already massed on the southern border with gaza ahead of the expected ground incursion, which the israeli government says will be supported from the air and sea. over a hundred military targets were hit overnight and the idf said they have killed a senior commander involved in the attacks in israel last week. meanwhile, hamas is continuing to fire rockets into israel, towards tel aviv and other areas in the south. the world health organization has has again called on israel to rescind its evacuation order. the decision they said to forcing hospital patients to relocate would be "a death sentence". president biden has spoken with the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, and urged him to provide a human corridor south

for those civilians seeking to escape the bombardment. a diplomatic push is continuing to try to prevent the violence from spreading. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, will be in cairo shortly. he's expected to press egyptian officials to open the rafah crossing to get aid into gaza. it is still tense on the northern border with lebanon, with further exchanges of fire today. the israelis have set up a four—mile buffer zone on the border. the us is sending a second aircraft carrier to the eastern mediterranean. the uss eisenhower willjoin the gerald ford group that is already in the region as they seek to put pressure on iran and its proxy hezbollah. let's cross now to our middle east correspondent, yolande knell. she has been following events for us, a busy morning already, so what can you tell us firstly about the

situation on the southern border? write down in the gaza strip, the israeli military gave a new window for palestinian residents to head from the northern half of the gaza strip to go south and we have seen people continuing to make their way south through the day. of course the situation in the south itself remains really desperate with people piling into makeshift shelters, places like un schools, things we have seen in the past, but really this time on a scale unprecedented and at the moment there is no aid getting into the gaza strip. since at least the middle of the week, there has been no power in the gaza strip, there is no fuel supplies, no food, and water is now in short supply because it has been cut off as well. the hope is that with antony blinken talking to the egyptians that some arrangement can be made for egypt to open up the rafah crossing, the only crossing with the gaza strip not controlled

by israel. israel has said that its approval should be given before any such action is taken. and egypt is demanding that before it allows out hundreds of foreign nationals who have massed just inside the rafah crossing on the gazan side, people who have foreign passports who want to get out, it said it will not let those people out and of course there are a number of americans among them, before aid is allowed in. just lookin: at them, before aid is allowed in. just looking at the pictures towards gaza, hazy picture on the horizon, still rocket fire coming in. the idf do not seem able to quell the rocket fire coming from the direction of gaza city? fire coming from the direction of gaza ci ? , . ., , gaza city? yes, and even in the last few minutes. _ gaza city? yes, and even in the last few minutes, we _ gaza city? yes, and even in the last few minutes, we have _ gaza city? yes, and even in the last few minutes, we have had - gaza city? yes, and even in the last few minutes, we have had warning l few minutes, we have had warning sirens going off in the centre of israel, showing there are still militants managing to launch these longer range rockets. many of the communities, villages and towns, places quite close to gaza and the

border, they have been evacuated. there are fewer people there but what we have of course on the ground is these very large numbers of israeli troops, all lined up waiting to begin this expected ground invasion with tanks there, a lot of other armoured vehicles. and really what the israeli military has said it plans to do is go into gaza as soon as the area is clear enough and it is ready to clear out what it says are the hamas military and its governing capabilities, with a big expectation that a focus of the operation will be gaza city itself, the biggest city in the gaza strip. can you talk to us about the northern border? there has been another exchange of fire and it is clearly very tense on the lebanese border so what has the israeli army done today?— done today? what we have seen is this exchange _ done today? what we have seen is this exchange of _ done today? what we have seen is this exchange of fire _ done today? what we have seen is this exchange of fire across - done today? what we have seen is this exchange of fire across the - this exchange of fire across the disputed border with lebanon, between militant groups in the south of lebanon and the israeli military.

there was one israeli civilian killed earlier by an anti—tank missile and a couple of other people who were hurt as well. really these are the worst tensions we have seen along that border since 2006, when israel fought a full—scale war with hezbollah, the powerful militant group that dominates particularly in the south of lebanon. and there is a lot of concern at the moment about what would happen if hezbollah decides to get more involved. and of course it has a very big arsenal of weapons, biggerthan course it has a very big arsenal of weapons, bigger than the militant groups hamas and islamichhad which operate out of the gaza strip, all backed by iran and sworn enemies of israel. ., ., ., ~ backed by iran and sworn enemies of israel. ., ., . ~' , ., israel. for the moment, thank you very much. — israel. for the moment, thank you very much. we _ israel. for the moment, thank you very much, we will— israel. for the moment, thank you very much, we will come _ israel. for the moment, thank you very much, we will come back - israel. for the moment, thank you very much, we will come back to i israel. for the moment, thank you l very much, we will come back to you through the day, i know you are watching updates from jerusalem. the israeli army is saying that hundreds of thousands of people have been relocated from the northern section of gaza.

our correspondent rushdi abualouf is in southern gaza. he and his family have left the north and are sharing accommodation with at least four other families. he's reporting from outside a hospital in khan younis, that is about halfway down the strip. doctors are running thin on vital supplies including fuel to run the generators. he sent his report a little earlier. it is nine days since israel started retaliation against hamas following the across—the—border attack on saturday. the humanitarian situation is deteriorating, reaching the level of catastrophic as the director of this hospital in khan younis told me. he said we have as little as 200 litres of fuel to run all the essential operation for the hospital and they are expecting tomorrow midnight should all of the generators in the hospital here will stop. this hospital is providing services

not only for 4000 people who originally lived in khan younis but for another half million palestinians who are displaced from their homes in gaza city and the north. and the hospital now is treating, supposed to be treating, working to helpi million people. gaza is without electricity and without water, without any supplies for the last nine days. here in the hospital, i can see a lot of families are taking the hospital as refugee because of the unrwa school that is designed to accommodate people is full of people. also, a lot of people are sharing houses. i, for example, with my family, i share a very small space, it is like two—bedroom with about four or five families. we are about a0 people in the same place. imagine a0 people in the same place

without electricity, without water, and without privacy. people are struggling to find food, people are struggling to find medicine, people are struggling to find water. and people are also expecting more to come if israel decided to start the ground operation and this city, especially khan younis, remember very well back in 2014 when israel invaded part of the eastern khan younis and destroyed whole neighbourhoods and hundreds of people were killed. when the tanks are in a very densely populated area like this, the people know how fighting from street to street and from building to building would affect the civilian population here who are already overwhelmed by all of the disasters that they are living, with the shortage of fuel, adversity, water and everything.

our correspondent outside that hospital you can see in khan younis that you can see. a relative calm at the moment but that belies the enormous practice are the doctors are under, notjust the chronic shortage of health supplies in the gaza strip, but the shortage of clean water because the generators are the only source of power and there was no means to pump clean water so there is real concern that we will see disease spread in gaza city with people now turning to agricultural water, such is the shortage. you might have heard drone buzzing around there, you can hear the drones in gaza city, you constantly hear groans like that, armed drones which remedy constantly you are under the eye of the israeli and the threatened bombardment any minute and it does play on your nerves, i can tell you. and just a word for our arab crews working in gaza city as well, very difficult to keep

viewers informed when at the same time they are having to relocate their families and think of their families come under enormous pressure themselves at the moment so we are grateful for the reporting they are bringing us along the way. our correspondent nick beake is in ashkelon, a city in southern israel, which has continued to come under rocket fire. he hasjust sent he has just sent us this update. yes, this is ashkelon, about seven miles from gaza, where this morning we have heard quite a lot of activity in the air, actually. there has been a distinctive buzz of israeli drones but also the fighter pilots are going overhead. they have been flying over us and then a few seconds later we hear large booms. bear in mind we are seven miles away. these have echoed around this part of southern israel. that is the situation on the ground here. we just heard from the israeli officials that there will be a window, a three—hour window, today in which people in gaza can move from the north to the south

along one specific route. yesterday, there were two routes that were opened up for a bigger window. these timings have very much slipped. that is what the israelis are saying today. all the while, of course, the united nations saying this is completely unacceptable. the world health organization, for example, saying that trying to move people from the north to the south is just not feasible. they say specifically, when you look at 2,000 people who are intensive care and in maternity units, them moving from the north to the south, that is tantamount to a death sentence. so extremely strong language from them. all the while, israel saying it is carrying out a proportionate response to the attacks by hamas just over a week ago and this is all part of an act of self—defence on their part. nick beake in ashkelon. as he says, it is an enormous effort under way to move so many people from northern

gaza and there is some interesting detail on the bbc website if you want to look at it about what we are talking about because if you put all these people onto coaches and took them to the south, you would need 18,000 coaches and they would stretch from london to manchester. it is an enormous evacuation under way and it gives you a perspective about what they are trying to do. we can talk about the northern border and we were saying how tense it is. a missile fired into israel from lebanon has killed at least one person — the first civilian killed on israel's northern border in the current conflict. the missile hit a settlement near the border between the two countries. the militant group, hezbollah, said it was behind the attack. our correspondent hugo bachega has this update from tyre, near the border in southern lebanon. the israeli emergency services have confirmed that one person was killed, a man in his 405. and three civilians were injured in this community, the community of shtula in northern israel near the lebanese border. and this is the first civilian death on israel's northern border since the beginning of this war between israel and hamas.

now, hezbollah has said it targeted this community with guided missiles and they said this was in retaliation after the killings of three civilians here in lebanon. they said these civilians were killed as a result of israeli attacks. the israeli army has not confirmed that they were involved in these attacks and i think this shows how volatile the situation is along the lebanese—israeli border, amid fears that lebanon could be dragged into this conflict. hezbollah is obviously a very powerful group with tens of thousands of rockets and missiles, tens of thousands of fighters as well. and we have seen that in the last few days, hezbollah and israel have exchanged rockets and shelling so tensions are really high here in this region. and i spoke to a source close

to hezbollah who said the group is on high alert but that hezbollah�*s next steps would be determined by what happens in gaza and if israel goes ahead with this ground offensive in gaza against hamas. again, very tense situation and with a number of incidents happening along this border here, amid fears again that this could become another front in this war. we will talk later in the programme about diplomacy ongoing, with antony blinken due in egypt to talk to the egyptian president later. let's talk about the operation in the northern part of gaza, the evacuation under way. 1.1 million people are expected to leave before the invasion begins, whether they will get them out, we don't know. the world health organization has

condemned the evacuation order, and says forcing hospital patients to relocate would be "a death sentence". some of them are on a life—support. earlier the bbc spoke to tarikjasarevic of the world health organisation. well, we are really concerned about this order because it would put at risk the lives of more than 2000 patients in gaza who are being treated in two major and many other smaller hospitals. there are a lot of patients on life support, people on ventilators, people needing haemodialysis, newborn in incubators, pregnant women with complications. so all these people cannot simplyjust be moved, that is why we have called on israel to reverse this decision. because health workers in the north of israel right now are still receiving patients in their facilities, lots of patients in corridors, even outside in the street.

and these health workers are facing very difficult choice, whether to leave and try to look for safety for themselves or their family or to stay and treat the patients but at the same time, risk being bombed. and the third option, trying to evacuate patients knowing very well that it would do harm to those people who are in theircare. that is the word from the who in the last few hours and you will have seen from the pictures, cars caught up seen from the pictures, cars caught up in the bombardment so it is not safe on the roads heading south either. as the conflict worsens, relatives of those caught up in the fighting are waiting anxiously for news. many parts of gaza are without electricity, making communication almost impossible for those who live there. live now to fady abusidu. he has relatives in gaza city. he is in the uk in warwick. when did you last to speak to them? last time

i was in touch — you last to speak to them? last time i was in touch with _ you last to speak to them? last time i was in touch with them _ you last to speak to them? last time i was in touch with them was - i was in touch with them was thursday, just after their flight was damaged and they had to evacuate and seek shelter elsewhere with relatives and people around. and since then, they have not reached them at all. —— i have not reached them. them at all. -- i have not reached them. ., . , them at all. -- i have not reached them. ., ., , ., , ., them. how many relatives do you have? the _ them. how many relatives do you have? the closest _ them. how many relatives do you have? the closest relatives - them. how many relatives do you have? the closest relatives are i them. how many relatives do you i have? the closest relatives are four cousins and — have? the closest relatives are four cousins and they _ have? the closest relatives are four cousins and they have _ have? the closest relatives are four cousins and they have families - have? the closest relatives are four cousins and they have families as i cousins and they have families as well, children and at this time i cannot imagine what they are going through. i only can hope that the reason they could not be in touch with me and i cannot reach them is because the electricity communication issues and not because actually they are somewhere in hospital or under rebel. considering they are continuously seeking shelter and will be as part of a broader population of gaza, trying to relocate away from harm's way —— under rubble. without electricity,

transport, fuel and communication and considering what is going on the fiat they are living under, i really hope they will be able to get in touch with me or i can get in touch with them soon —— the fear they are living under. considering the lives as they know it have been damaged beyond repair now. haste as they know it have been damaged beyond repair now.— beyond repair now. have you ever visited them _ beyond repair now. have you ever visited them in _ beyond repair now. have you ever visited them in gaza _ beyond repair now. have you ever visited them in gaza city? - beyond repair now. have you ever visited them in gaza city? i - beyond repair now. have you ever visited them in gaza city? i lived. visited them in gaza city? i lived in gaza it myself _ visited them in gaza city? i lived in gaza it myself and _ visited them in gaza city? i lived in gaza it myself and i _ visited them in gaza city? i lived in gaza it myself and i worked i visited them in gaza city? i lived i in gaza it myself and i worked there for a number of years and i know the situation there very well considering the imminent threat of invasion, i can only imagine that evenif invasion, i can only imagine that even if they managed to seek shelter and find shelter and be safe, at the end of this conflict, if they will go back to their house that has already been damaged, they will go back to a rubble city with a lot of unexploded ammunition, destruction, and that is if the israelis come after they go in, will actually leave because from our experience, once the israeli army goes somewhere, they tend to never leave.

you have already talked about the problems with communication and of course it is likely, we hope it is the case, the fact they cannot charge their mobile phones but we should remind people how difficult it is in a crisis like this to get in touch with anyone on the ground. i presume you have been calling the hospitals and local authorities? i have been continuously scanning the media, scanning the statistics reports coming from news agencies, from official governmental health statistics come from palestinian authority, from israeli news, trying to find if their names have cropped up to find if their names have cropped up anywhere as part of casualties, injuries or something else. so far, they have not cropped up anywhere. i hope this is good news so far and notjust because they have not been found yet. just notjust because they have not been found et. , , ~ notjust because they have not been found et., , ~ ., i. found yet. just thinking about your knowledue found yet. just thinking about your knowledge of— found yet. just thinking about your

knowledge of gaza, _ found yet. just thinking about your knowledge of gaza, if _ found yet. just thinking about your knowledge of gaza, if you - found yet. just thinking about your knowledge of gaza, if you were - found yet. just thinking about your knowledge of gaza, if you were in | knowledge of gaza, if you were in their position and you were going to head for safety, where would you go? do they have family in the south? is there a place that they would have in mind if they set off for gaza city? i in mind if they set off for gaza ci ? ~ ., ., ., city? i lived there, i know the area very well. — city? i lived there, i know the area very well. and _ city? i lived there, i know the area very well, and in _ city? i lived there, i know the area very well, and in these _ very well, and in these circumstances first of all need to be very clear, there is no safe place. because the bombardment seems to be random, seems to target very large areas and whole neighbourhoods and targets civilian buildings and homes and big buildings. so what you might think is a safe place and a shelter where families get together so they can actually support each other, that could lead to basically a higher number of casualties. people who have been trying to flee south have been turning back because the khan younis area in the centre of the gaza strip is already being

targeted by bombardment. so the notion of there is a safe place in gaza for sure is quite misleading because all the areas in gaza are being targeted, people are losing their lives everywhere in gaza. a safe place is not a reality. somewhat underlined by the pictures on our screens at the moment, that plume of smoke coming from gaza city which tells us the bombardment is ongoing. can i ask, as someone who knows gaza city welcome about hamas? because i understand the anger and frustration directed at the israelis but hamas is fighting from within built—up areas, they are firing rockets continually towards israel. and they are urging civilians not to leave the built—up areas. what is the feeling of ordinary palestinians towards hamas? and are they able to express what they really think about

them? ~ ., ., ., them? with regard to targeting hamas, them? with regard to targeting hamas. the _ them? with regard to targeting hamas, the israeli _ them? with regard to targeting hamas, the israeli army - them? with regard to targeting hamas, the israeli army has . them? with regard to targeting i hamas, the israeli army has been targeting what they say and claim hamas targets on a daily basis, a weekly basis, for so many years. there are no targets left un—hit, multiple, multiple times. so i don't understand what legitimate targets of the israeli army will justify when hitting civilian population and cities and homes. that is first. there are no targets. and if hamas had been conducting these operations, the israeli intelligence, satellites, communication is beyond capable of finding exactly where these attacks have been coming from. and they target them immediately. there is no justification at all for going into a densely civilian populated area under the notion of targeting a

group that is called hamas. with regard to how palestinians feel, palestinians are not thinking beyond being alive being safe, protecting their kids and securing some food on a daily basis. the siege, bombardment, prevents people from worrying about anything, seeking or planning anything for their future beyond survival. so the whole notion of how palestinians feel about hamas and if there are legitimate targets within gaza strip is really misleading. i within gaza strip is really misleading.— within gaza strip is really misleadina. , ., ., misleading. i understand and we could have _ misleading. i understand and we could have a _ misleading. i understand and we could have a conversation - misleading. i understand and we could have a conversation for - misleading. i understand and we i could have a conversation for hours about the history of the conflict in the way that people in gaza have lived for many years. it is just that, last week, two weeks ago, people in gaza were going about their ordinary life and after the slaughter of 1300 israelis, this is

where we are. i'm just trying to get an understanding of how people in gaza must be feeling right now, their lives turned upside down and, yes, there is an israeli factor to this but of course there is a hamas factor to it, firing rockets from built—up areas. i factor to it, firing rockets from built-up areas.— factor to it, firing rockets from built-up areas. i don't know about built-up areas. i don't know about built-up areas _ built-up areas. i don't know about built-up areas being _ built-up areas. i don't know about built-up areas being places - built-up areas. i don't know about built-up areas being places of - built—up areas being places of attacks on anyone. when i lived there, i didn't see such activities happening, personally, i'm talking about my personal account. what have been going on since then, i don't know. the israelis would know much more about. but they are not shooting from buildings, i think, targeting from any... of those attacks last week happened on multiple fronts which presented a very clear failure on the israeli part, claiming that they have been doing with securing, conducive to their own security. but that does

not mean that a big building of 12 floors that had been raised to the ground with tonnes of families in them losing their lives, have been a platform for missiles. it's not true. ., , platform for missiles. it's not true. . , ., , platform for missiles. it's not true. ., , platform for missiles. it's not true. . , .,~ platform for missiles. it's not true. fady, we hope you make contact with our true. fady, we hope you make contact with your family. _ true. fady, we hope you make contact with your family, we _ true. fady, we hope you make contact with your family, we know _ true. fady, we hope you make contact with your family, we know you - true. fady, we hope you make contact with your family, we know you are - with your family, we know you are going through an anxious time you must be slightly worried about them but do get in touch with us if you make contact, we send you our very best. these are pictures live from gaza city, another cloud of smoke appearing above built—up areas and you can hear in the background the drones which are still buzzing over gaza city this afternoon. we will bring you plenty more from the region including the diplomacy with secretary antony blinken due in cairo. stay with us. hello again. it's been a pretty cold start to the day. in fact, for some of us, it's been

the first frost of the autumn. temperatures got down below freezing across many northern areas, down to minus four celsius in shap in cumbria. but even further south in oxfordshire and south wales, those temperatures got down just below freezing. lots of sunshine, though, through this morning. that will continue throughout the afternoon. it will stay dry for most of us. one or two showers just around the coast there of norfolk clipping the coastline, showers coming in across northern and western areas of scotland. but generally speaking, fewer showers compared to yesterday. still a little bit breezy across scotland, but those winds are not as strong as they were yesterday and lighter winds as well for england and wales. and temperatures this afternoon getting up to about 9 to 12 degrees celsius. if anything, it could be, in fact, a bit colder than it was yesterday. now, through this evening and tonight, still a few showers across northern scotland, down the north sea coast as well. there'll be some fog developing across northern england, parts of wales and south west england as well — that could be quite dense into tomorrow morning. and again, it's going to turn quite chilly. these are the temperatures in the towns and cities, 2

to 4 degrees. but heading to the countryside, those temperatures once again close to if notjust below freezing. monday morning starts off, though, with this area of high pressure situated across the uk. a weather frontjust bringing some showers across the far north of scotland throughout the day on monday. there could be a few showers coming into kent, perhaps into south—west scotland as well. but for most of us it's going to be a dry day. the patchy mist and fog in the morning will clear away with variable amounts of cloud, really. so there will be some bright, some sunny spells, but perhaps more cloud compared to today. and temperatures once again, about 11 to 13 or 14 degrees. as we go through the rest of the week, that area of high pressure gradually moves away to the east and then we'll see low pressure moving in from the south. and that will bring some spells of rain, strengthening winds as well across many parts of the uk. and with that southerly flow, we are going to see milder air slowly moving its way in as well. so it won't be quite as cold as we go through the later stages of next week.

so just a summary then, really, for monday and tuesday looking dry with some sunny spells, wednesday onward, that's when it turns more unsettled. but you notice those temperatures rising about 13 to 17, perhaps even 18 degrees. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines... israel is massing troops near gaza, as it prepares for the next phase of its military operation to, quote, "wipe out hamas." the operation is in retaliation for hamas' attacks on israeli communities last week. thousands of people continue to flee north gaza, following israeli evacuation orders. the un estimates nearly a million palestinians there have now been displaced. the world health organization has condemned israel's order for the evacuation of 22 hospitals in northern gaza, ahead of an expected ground offensive against hamas. they said forcing more than 2,000 patients, including those in intensive care and new—borns in incubators to relocate to southern gaza is like a death sentence. the foreign office is telling british nationals in gaza to prepare in case the rafah border crossing into egypt is opened. the crossing, in the south of gaza, is currently the only route out of the territory, with hamas controlling who can pass through. and president biden has been speaking again to the israeli and palestinian leaders, with news that a second us strike

group is on its way to the eastern mediterranean to "deter hostile actions against israel." let's return to the situation in gaza. the united nations says nearly a million palestinians have fled their homes in the gaza strip in the week since israel launched its military response to the killings and kidnappings by hamas. the entire enclave has been hit by israeli strikes, from gaza city in the north to rafah in the south. the border crossing there with egypt has remained shut since the hamas attacks last weekend. crowds of palestinians and foreign nationals have been gathering at the crossing, after news that an evacuation route may temporarily open. our correspondentjon donnison sent this report, and a warning that you might find some of the images in his report upsetting. outside the main hospital

in rafah, ice cream trucks. the morgue is full. "some of the dead have been here for two days," this man tells us. "these freezers are meant for food," he says, "not bodies." and this is right in the south of gaza, where people are now being told to evacuate to. hundreds of thousands are now heading in this direction. but egypt says it won't open the crossing, even to foreign nationals, until israel agrees to allow aid in. and hamas also controls this border, and has a say on who is allowed out. the nearby united nations school is packed with those seeking shelter. but it was already at full capacity before this latest evacuation order. "as palestinians, what did we do for this to happen to us?", hanan asks.

she tells us she ran out of the house barefoot with nothing when israel bombed her neighbourhood, and came straight to the school. at noon today, many were praying — one would think for better times. many of those here are children, still smiling despite it all. around half gaza's population is under 18, and some are old beyond their years. ramez is just 15. this is his fifth war. "i can barely stand it," he says. "and look around you at all these kids. ask them, "do you want to live or not?" we just want to be secure", he goes on. "our dream is to live, that's all we want." jon donnison, bbc news.

dr mustafa barghouti — the leader of the palestinian national initiative — held a press conference to warn about the situation in palestinian hospitals. now gaza strip is deprived of water, deprived of electricity, deprived of food, deprived of medications and medicine, and deprived of internet and abilities to communicate. the situation in palestinian hospitals is disastrous. children are dying around the clock because of lack of electricity. children, who are in incubators, will die or have died because there is no electricity. israel is fighting not hamas, israel is fighting all the palestinian people. israel is attacking all the civilians in gaza and the vast majority of people killed there are palestinian civilians, including children and women. earlier my colleague victoria derbyshire spoke to mark regev — a former senior adviser to the israel prime minister. he defended the israeli government against accusations that it was carrying out

indiscriminate bombing in gaza. israel does not target, does not target, i repeat, noncombatants and innocent civilians. our enemy is the hamas... that can't be true because so many innocent civilians in gaza have already died. i disagree, i disagree. in every armed conflict... over 2,000 is not a large number and, what, they're not innocent civilians? first of all, those numbers are put out by the hamas—controlled ministry of health. there's no distinction there between combatants and noncombatants. and i say to you openly, we want to kill hamas fighters, we want to kill the terrorists. that is our goal — to destroy hamas' military capabilities. we want to come out of this in a different situation where hamas no longer has military and political control over the gaza strip. we're going to smash their military machine and we're going to destroy their political structure. that is the goal of our operation. so, if hamas terrorists

are being killed, especially considering what they did just a few days ago to our people, that is justified self—defence. now, we don't want to see civilians caught up in the crossfire between israel and hamas but to say that israel can't defend itself against these gruesome killers, that is a bridge too far. that has no basis in serious international law. the government in the uk has expressed their support for the israeli government. the british foreign secretary, james cleverly, rejected allegations that israeli bombing has breached international humans rights law. the uk government is absolutely committed to the adherence of international human law and when we see breaches of that, we raise that, including with israel. are you saying you haven't seen breaches thus far? the point is, the clear difference is from statements coming from israel saying that they respect

and will abide by international humanitarian law and hamas, on the other hand, who are specifically targeting civilians, specifically putting palestinian civilians in harm's way, hiding their terrorist infrastructure in amongst civilian infrastructure and the distinction is clear. crispin blunt, a conservative backbench mp, has claimed the uk could be complicit in war crimes if israel is deemed to have broken international law. united kingdom government has given unequivocal support to the state of israel — statements repeated by the prime minister yesterday. and i'm uncertain that they fully understand the implications of the developments of international law, whereby if you are encouraging a party to undertake a war crime, you become complicit in that crime itself. and it's absolutely clear now that

what is happening in gaza does amount to a war crime because it is disproportionate and it does not distinguish the targets it is taking out, hence the terrible number of children that have been killed. a forced transfer of 1.2 million people is an absolute crime under the laws of war, you are simply not allowed to do it. as indeed is the collective punishment of the people of gaza, with the siege and the imposition of no food and no water and no electricity. the state of israel's response has to be proportionate, distinct, with precaution and humanity at its heart. that is a requirement of international law. it is crystal clear that the siege of gaza, where israel has imposed a total blockade by cutting off electricity, water, food supplies and preventing the access of humanitarian aid, this is forbidden under international humanitarian law. it amounts to war crimes

and crimes against humanity. you are not allowed to collectively punish a whole population. and i say to my friend, james, and to the prime minister and to the attorney general and to all others in the government, for goodness sake, please get legal advice on your responsibilities, because the terms of international law are very clear. and if we don't avert this catastrophe, we're going to find ourselves complicit and partly responsible for it. with me isjustin crump, military analyst and ceo of sibylline. react to that for me. lots of varying views today. i suspect as this continues and the ground incursion begins, we will hear much more from europe, from the west, these calls for restraint. absolutely. i think we had to go

back to what hamas was seeking to achieve with the terror operation at launch last weekend. and very much it was trying to create a situation where israel would become isolated from international support. they knew the actions they took would result in is rarely resolved to target the group and effectively they are monitoring notjust themselves but they are trying to martyr the people of gaza in order to launch a wider regional conflict in the elimination of israel. they said at the start of the operation, we want to end this, this is to end it was that the israelis have already said, we have to end it. it set the stage for the people of gaza to be trapped between the israelis and their need to respond and hamas, and their need to respond and hamas, and their need to respond and hamas, and their need to put the population in this situation. they have long hidden behind the situation. they put tunnels beneath gaza. they do

not have to follow international law. they put weapon stockpiles in locations that are being targeted. israel is not randomly bombing gaza filter everything they target the innate target because they have a reason to do so. israel will not be targeting hospitals at random and not targeting convoys of people they have asked to move out of the region. that is really important to note that there is a narrative that things are happening like this. they would not be wasting time and resources on that. they are focused on the group. reality is a mass has such an extensive network under and through the terrain of gaza and that is what makes it so very challenging to target. flan is what makes it so very challenging to tar: et. . is what makes it so very challenging to taruet. ., i. is what makes it so very challenging to taruet. . , ., ., , to target. can i get your thoughts on what is — to target. can i get your thoughts on what is going _ to target. can i get your thoughts on what is going on _ to target. can i get your thoughts on what is going on at _ to target. can i get your thoughts on what is going on at the - to target. can i get your thoughts i on what is going on at the moment? we have a unity government in jerusalem and a unity government in

jerusalem and a unity government in jerusalem and a unity government in jerusalem and will cabinet plotting and planning for, we are told, the capture of gaza city, which would be an enormous operation from three directions? underneath that city is the metro, this very complex tunnel system, in which we presume there are a number of these hostages. this will be an extraordinarily complex operation. a lot of it fought underground, one would presume. the last underground, one would presume. iia: last time underground, one would presume. "iia: last time israel underground, one would presume. ii2 last time israel went underground, one would presume. i““i2 last time israel went in underground, one would presume. ii2 last time israel went in they cleared an extensive amount of tunnels and hamas said he didn't even get into 5% of them. we know they are very extensive undeveloped networks, bunkers, rocket manufacturing facilities underground. hamas uses water pipes in gaza and turns them into rockets to fire into israel. a lot of israeli drones are looking for the sites. also hitting a missile site so it cannot be used again. this is

gaza city, the northern third of the strip. by declaring their intent, on an unprecedented level, is well warning the population, has given hamas an opportunity to move fighters and resources out from the area israel is going to target. they have given an advantage to hamas at this point. will destroying the infrastructure in gaza being enough or does israel need to continue carrying on repeating the process? what are we talking about? the majority of the population is now within 15 majority of the population is now within15 square miles in the south, crammed together, no water, no food aid but no functioning hospitals. that question on the crossing is going to build to an intolerable —— intolerable point. is it conceivable the egyptians can keep it closed. israel does not want to open the crossing and another 2 million

palestinians on its territory and those linked to the muslim brotherhood, which the current government has been at odds egypt has a role to play in this. this is a tragedy. no one wants to offer them safety and security they need. they are trapped in a way that the population of mosul and village another word because they could move out to the rest of the country. the population is bottled up almost under pressure. arab nations over the years have done comparatively little to help because they cannot sell the problem either. knowing the populations will be outraged by what they see in gaza and trying to pressurise the arab leadership into perhaps doing more in aware they have not. we are getting closer to israel and that has been pushed back. that was one of their intentions are a mountainous operation and yet trying to precipitate a larger crisis. israel has to balance to and its backers

had to balance it and not deliver to hamas all that it wants. they are hoping the population of gaza will turn to hamas and recognise that hamas is the cause of their immediate problem. i think that is unlikely to manifest. people are too focused on survival and rightly so. that is part of the intention here. hamas is using electricity, water and fuel to carry on launching rockets and charge drones. even to enable this operation. allowing that to continue sending in the area where israel would be operating off as is an advantage israel can remove. , ., remove. our viewers are looking in the riaht remove. our viewers are looking in the right hand _ remove. our viewers are looking in the right hand box _ remove. our viewers are looking in the right hand box at _ remove. our viewers are looking in the right hand box at gaza - remove. our viewers are looking in the right hand box at gaza city - the right hand box at gaza city where there has been another explosion in the last few minutes. perhaps we can also show pictures from the northern border, we have pictures from the lebanon border as well. forthe pictures from the lebanon border as well. for the moment, the lebanon border is relatively calm. today, the israeli defence force has put

into place a four mile buffer zone. we should talk about what is going on with hezbollah and the iranian influence in the region. the leader of hamas was in qatar last night to meet with the iranian foreign minister. he had been in beirut two days ago. minister. he had been in beirut two da s auo. , minister. he had been in beirut two da saao. , . minister. he had been in beirut two dasaao. ,~ , minister. he had been in beirut two dasaao. _., minister. he had been in beirut two da saao. ,~ _., ., days ago. they are sadly playing a role in the background. _ days ago. they are sadly playing a role in the background. there - days ago. they are sadly playing a role in the background. there is i days ago. they are sadly playing a role in the background. there is a | role in the background. there is a lot of conspiracy theories about what happened, as to how israeli intelligence, which is immensely capable, missed the operation by hamas. some initial stories say it had been planned in collusion with hezbollah and iran. more likely the picture at the moment is has bella and gira knew something might be going to happen, did not know the scale or the timing. —— has bella and iran. israel of god in the south, equally in the north. they have long feared that direction more than the south. many more troops in

the north are able to create security zones. they are very well equipped. that is why israel was looking to the north so much and to around behind has bella and syria as well the strikes routinely behind them. ~ , , . ., ., ., ., them. must be creating a lot of anxiety in _ them. must be creating a lot of anxiety in beirut. _ them. must be creating a lot of anxiety in beirut. the - them. must be creating a lot of anxiety in beirut. the shape . them. must be creating a lot of anxiety in beirut. the shape of| them. must be creating a lot of. anxiety in beirut. the shape of the government is that the military wing of hezbollah operates like that. we have of hezbollah operates like that. 2 have been saying it has been on its knees for decades. it keeps going. find ways to continue, like gaza, in that regard. a lot of anxiety focused on that area. we have not seen this trail back of hezbollah being in cahoots with hamas. that is what is the worry. that is why the

us is sending a second group, to reinforce the ford which is already in station in a big show to say let's not get this out of hand. hezbollah have said there are red lines which may force us to act. israel worried about fighting a war on two fronts. there were pits alone from the north will complicate the situation for everyone in israel. the war cabinet is meeting, prime minister netanyahu says the israeli military forces know the entire country is behind them and understand it is a fateful hour. we are, it seems, on the brink of this land incursion, whenever this might come. what about the discussions in that war? there has been an intense intelligence failure. they are about to send 300,000 troops into northern gaza, where presumably there is a

trap set for them. do they have enough confidence in the intelligence they are getting from gaza before they go in and how politically dangerous is their school prime minister netanyahu? in school prime minister netanyahu? i“i an operation like this, you can never have enough intelligence. a lot of the intelligence now will be tactical car in as people start to uncover the tunnel network. they will uncover things they would not have known. the one upside of the failure, if there is one, is the fact that the israelis will not take anything for granted they might have known. it will be a long, slow and cautious operation to minimise casualties. that is without doubt. netanyahu might say, we know the country is behind the forces, and i think they are. recent polling which suggests they are certainly not behind him. israelis know they have a job to do now and they will see it through. the confidence in his leadership and allowing it to happen, the fact they have ended up

in a regional conflict, or the risk of greater regional conflict, will lean heavily on him. he is under pressure to look at results about how they ended up in the situation. given the delicate political imbalance, it is a losing hope for him. his hope is he will deliver something on the ground to allow him to turn around the popularity getting people behind him. the israelis will not forget what led to this but they have a job to do and they are focused on it.— this but they have a job to do and they are focused on it. good to get our they are focused on it. good to get your thoughts _ they are focused on it. good to get your thoughts in — they are focused on it. good to get your thoughts in your _ they are focused on it. good to get your thoughts in your analysis. - your thoughts in your analysis. thank you for coming in. we will focus on the hours ahead on the humanitarian crisis in gaza city. i want to turn away from the middle east. another strong earthquake has hit western afghanistan, days after two powerful tremors killed more than 1,300 people. the epicentre of the 6.3 magnitude

quake was about 30kms north—west of the city of herat. details are still coming in, but hospital authorities in herat said one person had been killed and about 100 had been injured. many people have been sleeping in the open since last week's earthquakes, which flattened several villages in remote areas. it might limit the number of casualties. live now to our south asia regional editor, anbarasan ethirajan. thank you very much for coming on. am i accurate in the fact there have already been two earthquakes? balance massively a lot of people were sleeping in the open who perhaps have escaped that the industry from this third earthquake. it happened around 8am local time in the western afghan city of herat, when people were out in the open,

already doing their business. that saved lots of lives, in addition to those sleeping in the open four days. they were very scared to go back to their homes, some of them were damaged. number two, they do not have homes to go back to, especially those living in remote areas. that has saved many lives. we areas. that has saved many lives. we are talking about a few casualties, more than 100 injured. we are yet to get information from the remote areas. it was 30 kilometres north—west of herat city. it already witnessed two earthquakes and the one today was the third one. we also saw several strong aftershocks. the people are very scared, very panicked, and they say they do not want to go back to their homes. people are running helter—skelter as and when another earthquake happened. in the meantime, thousands of people lost their electives. they are still trying to find out what happened to their loved ones. many

villages were flattened by many families disappeared in the remote parts of western afghanistan. this has come as another shock, another painful memory of what can happen when earthquakes strike in the remote parts of afghanistan. enormous food shortages in parts of the country already. aid agencies are already stretched and in some places not able to operate. now the focus is on the middle east. does afghanistan feel forgotten? mast afghanistan feel forgotten? most afr hans afghanistan feel forgotten? most afghans feel _ afghanistan feel forgotten? most afghans feel forgotten. _ afghanistan feel forgotten? ij�*ifsii afghans feel forgotten. after the us forces left the country, they feel they were abandoned by the west because all of a sudden you have taliban coming and taking over the country. after the taliban took over, there was a huge economic crisis followed by drought in western afghanistan. they were going through a difficult period. now a series of earthquakes. last year, in

another province, more than 1000 people were killed. there are restrictions on working conditions, women not being allowed in secondary schools for girls. also banning women from attending any university. all in addition to what has been happening in afghanistan. thank you ve much happening in afghanistan. thank you very much for— happening in afghanistan. thank you very much for updating _ happening in afghanistan. thank you very much for updating us _ on that very worrying situation at the moment. let's give you some live updates from israel. prime minister netanyahu convening his expanded emergency cabinet for the first time on sunday as anthony brink and touches down in cairo. that is the view from israel towards lebanon on. we are seeing the lebanon border. things very tense on the northern border as well. hello again. it's been a pretty cold start to the day.

in fact, for some of us, it's been the first frost of the autumn. temperatures got down below freezing across many northern areas, down to minus four celsius in shap in cumbria. but even further south in oxfordshire and south wales, those temperatures got down just below freezing. lots of sunshine, though, through this morning. that will continue throughout the afternoon. it will stay dry for most of us. one or two showers just around the coast there of norfolk clipping the coastline, showers coming in across northern and western areas of scotland. but generally speaking, fewer showers compared to yesterday. still a little bit breezy across scotland, but those winds are not as strong as they were yesterday and lighter winds as well for england and wales. and temperatures this afternoon getting up to about 9 to 12 degrees celsius. if anything, it could be, in fact, a bit colder than it was yesterday. now, through this evening and tonight, still a few showers across northern scotland, down the north sea coast as well. there'll be some fog developing across northern england, parts of wales and south west england as well — that could be quite dense into tomorrow morning. and again, it's going to turn quite chilly.

these are the temperatures in the towns and cities, 2 to 4 degrees. but heading to the countryside, those temperatures once again close to if notjust below freezing. monday morning starts off, though, with this area of high pressure situated across the uk. a weather frontjust bringing some showers across the far north of scotland throughout the day on monday. there could be a few showers coming into kent, perhaps into south—west scotland as well. but for most of us it's going to be a dry day. the patchy mist and fog in the morning will clear away with variable amounts of cloud, really. so there will be some bright, some sunny spells, but perhaps more cloud compared to today. and temperatures once again, about 11 to 13 or 14 degrees. as we go through the rest of the week, that area of high pressure gradually moves away to the east and then we'll see low pressure moving in from the south. and that will bring some spells of rain, strengthening winds as well across many parts of the uk. and with that southerly flow, we are going to see milder air slowly moving its way in as well. so it won't be quite as cold

as we go through the later stages of next week. so just a summary then, really, for monday and tuesday looking dry with some sunny spells, wednesday onward, that's when it turns more unsettled. but you notice those temperatures rising about 13 to 17, perhaps even 18 degrees. bye— bye.

live from london, this is bbc news. israel's army prepares for a ground offensive of the gaza strip — the next phase of its military

operation against hamas. palestinians living in northern gaza have been given a three—hour window to move south. thousands have already fled by vehicle or on foot. the un's aid agency told the bbc that gaza is "being pushed into an abyss". the foreign office is telling british nationals in gaza to prepare in case the rafah border crossing into egypt is opened. and president biden speaks to the israeli and palestinian leaders, as the us steps up efforts to contain the escalating conflict. hello, i'm christian fraser. welcome to the programme. the israeli army says the time is running out for people in the northern half of gaza to leave, as it builds up its operations across the territory. thousands of troops are already

massed on the southern border