supply in southern gaza following a conversation between president biden and the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu. meanwhile, thousands of other palestinians continue to flee from the north of gaza — the un estimates nearly a million palestinians there have now been displaced. and the us secretary of state antony blinken is to return to israel following talks in the region — he says that israel should take every precaution to avoid harming civilians. the way that israel does this matters. it needs to do it in a way that affirms the shared values that we have for human life and human dignity. hello, i'm ben thompson. the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, says the military is ready to begin at any moment a ground offensive

aimed at crushing hamas. thousands of people in the gaza strip are continuing to flee south after an order by israel for more than a million people to evacuate. these are the latest developments in the israel gaza war. israeli troops continue to mass near gaza ahead of an expected ground offensive — but it has given no indication of when it might mount an attack. these pictures show tanks arriving today. the israeli air strikes on gaza continue — it says it is targeting hamas positions. hamas is designated as a terror organisation by many western governments including the uk. gazan health officials say the number of palestinians killed has risen to 2,670, with 9,600 others wounded. the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has held the first meeting of his emergency cabinet. he described those who killed more than 1,400 israelis as "monsters".

mr netanyahu said that his country's forces were ready at any moment to demolish hamas. in gaza, a hospital serving thousands of patients in khan younis has warned that it will run out of power completely on monday, due to israel's blockade of the territory. israel has said it has turned water pipes into southern gaza back on. the un aid agency told the bbc gaza is "being pushed into an abyss". egypt's president, abdel fattah al—sisi, says israel's reaction to the attacks by hamas has gone beyond self—defence and amounts to collective punishment. he was speaking to america's top diplomat, antony blinken, in cairo. after the talks mr blinken urged israel to do everything possible to avoid harming civilians. in the next hour, we will be live with our correspondents across the region. but first this report from our correspondent, nick beake, who is in southern israel.

gaza is bleeding. its hospitals, already full, deluged with more patients. these, some of the youngest victims in this latest chapter of an ancient conflict that's now erupted so violently. israeli air strikes continue to kill civilians in gaza, bringing more searches amid the rubble, often in vain. translation: dozens - of families were massacred. we are beyond capacity. we're treating people in the corridors and on floors. this is a very dangerous situation. israel says this is self—defence to ensure its survival, and that this aerial bombardment is a proportionate response to the atrocities hamas committed a week ago. israel claims this strike killed a mastermind of the attacks. from outside gaza, a glimpse of the aftermath of the israeli raids. all day, we heard militaryjets heading towards their targets. israel says its assault on gaza

is onlyjust the beginning, that it will be followed by a major offensive by air, land and sea. united nations agencies say that gaza is being pushed into an abyss and that by forcing the evacuation of more than a million palestinians, it is, for the most vulnerable, a death sentence. israel reinforced this ultimatum that civilians in the north of gaza must move to the south. it said it opened another supposedly safe corridor for three hours today. it accused hamas of blocking routes. translation: residents of gaza city, i call on you again. _ hamas is trying to prevent your evacuation. we will allow it. get out of gaza city and the surrounding areas, for your own safety. many gazans who have tried to seek shelter at schools run by the united nations say getting out is impossible.

translation: they said leave towards the south, but there is no transportation. some cars got bombed by air strikes. during the night, the children hugged me and screamed, "save us, save us". gaza's border to the south with egypt has been closed, so leaving that way has not been an option. there are trucks full of aid waiting to go into gaza, but for now, they're going nowhere. a population of more than 2 million trapped, as israeli forces say they're on their way in. nick beake, bbc news, in southern israel. ever since last weekend's unprecedented attack by hamas, israel and egypt have not allowed journalists to enter gaza. but palestinians trapped inside have been trying to get their stories out. 0ur former gaza correspondent, jon donnison, has been speaking to one young woman who over the past week has been documenting her daily life there.

we are evacuating, we are leaving our houses. bisan 0wda is a 25—year—old film—maker in gaza. they told people to evacuate to this place. all week, she's been posting a video diary on instagram about life under fire. 0ther safe places, but there is no safe places in gaza. last monday, israel warned people in her neighbourhood to flee their homes. bisan decided to head for shelter at a nearby hospital. and later that night, it did bomb that district of gaza city, reducing much of it to rubble. this is the first bottle of water. i'm going to drink from it. with a complete blockade of gaza in place, bisan, like millions of others, is running out of basic necessities. there is no food, there is nothing in the shelters or even

in the neighbourhoods. and then on friday, another warning from the skies. at 6am today in the morning, thousands of people, all the people living in the northern and western side of the gaza strip got a call from an israeli number. it's a recorded call and the recording is telling us that we must leave our homes for the southern areas of the gaza strip because they want gaza empty and it will be destroyed. and so they went, in their hundreds of thousands. but not bisan. she and her family decided to stay put in the north, and later that day, another update from the hospital. do you remember when i said that they did push people to evacuate from the northern to the southern areas via a safe route, as they said? ok, that was a trick. that was a trick. they targeted ambulances,

cars and buses. israel says it's investigating what happened in an apparent air strike on the main road heading south. 0utside, look, there is no electricity at all. as bisan waits to see what the night will bring, she gives her own sign—off. it's now 10pm. i collect my stuff to my bag in case we need to evacuate as fast as we can if there was bombing around us or on us during the night hours. this is my daily routine. what about yours? tell me. jon donnison, bbc news. pray for us. live now to our middle east correspondent tom bateman. tom, we know that israeli troops continue to gather near the border, but there is no indication of any timeframe. what is your assessment

of what happens in the coming hours? well, the israeli military said this morning that it would be a political decision about when a ground invasion starts. we know they are effectively ready to start a form of ground offensive. they said that will be extremely large, by land, sea and air. that was in the updates it was given yesterday. but they have said it is now down to the israeli government over the timing. we have had antony blinken, the us secretary of state, as you were mentioning, in the region, this shuttle diplomacy that has gone on for three days now. he has said he will return to israel tomorrow. we have to bear that in mind when talking about a ground offensive. clearly, with the us secretary of state in town, it may have a bearing on the military decisions, but we don't know. what mr blinken was

saying was also important. a couple of points to make. first, he gave some positive signals about the rafah crossing, saying it will reopen. that is the crossing on the border between egypt and gaza. the significance of that is that it would mean some palestinians could get out of gaza, those who hold dual nationality, those who hold a foreign passport. they have been told to go close to rafah in anticipation of the opening of the border. the egyptians have been trying to get aid convoys in through that cousin, but the israelis bombed it during the week and were preventing that from happening. so some positive signals about that. that would bring some much—needed relief to that catastrophic humanitarian situation we have been hearing about in the gaza strip. the other point about antony blinken was that in all of these meetings, he has been talking about the need to prevent a regional conflagration, a

regional explosion from all of this. after his meeting with mohammed bin salman, the saudi crown prince, he said it had been very productive. that is a positive sign at this stage, given that there is a line of communication between the saudis and their arch rivals the iranians. iran has the power to direct hezbollah in lebanon to dial up or dial down its activities. this remains an extremely dangerous situation. the return of mr blinken to israel suggests that some talking is still happening. suggests that some talking is still ha eninu. . , suggests that some talking is still haueninu. . , . ., happening. thanks very much. tom touched on — happening. thanks very much. tom touched on the _ happening. thanks very much. tom touched on the humanitarian - touched on the humanitarian situation that is deteriorating and gaza. today the heads of the arab league and african union have been meeting to discuss what is going on. in a joint statement, the delegates said that israel's planned ground invasion of gaza could lead to a genocide of unprecedented

proportions. let's get more on this with gamal roshdy in cairo. he is the spokesperson for the arab league. the words you issued in that statement said genocide of unprecedented proportions. what is your assessment of what happens next? figs your assessment of what happens next? �* , , ., your assessment of what happens next? ~ , , ., ., your assessment of what happens next? �* , ., ., , next? as you mentioned, the words were chosen — next? as you mentioned, the words were chosen carefully _ next? as you mentioned, the words were chosen carefully by _ next? as you mentioned, the words were chosen carefully by both - next? as you mentioned, the words| were chosen carefully by both sides, the african union and the arab league. the leaders of both organisations sat together today and they saw eye to eye. they are on the same page regarding how we describe the situation unfolding in gaza. this is important. the word is not an exaggeration, this is exactly how they see the situation that might unfold if israel goes on with the declared plans of a land operation

or a massive invasion of gaza. it would result in something that could amount to a genocide. you are understandably calling on the united nations and the international community to take a firm stance before it is too late to stop the catastrophe occurring before our eyes. catastrophe occurring before our e es. ~ . catastrophe occurring before our e es, ~ ., ., , ., catastrophe occurring before our ees, ., .,, ., . catastrophe occurring before our ees. ., ., , ., . eyes. what does that stance look like and how _ eyes. what does that stance look like and how confident _ eyes. what does that stance look like and how confident are - eyes. what does that stance look like and how confident are you i eyes. what does that stance look like and how confident are you it| like and how confident are you it will be responded to by israeli authorities?— will be responded to by israeli authorities? , , ., authorities? yes, exactly. the two organisations _ authorities? yes, exactly. the two organisations think _ authorities? yes, exactly. the two organisations think that _ authorities? yes, exactly. the two organisations think that if - authorities? yes, exactly. the two organisations think that if israel i organisations think that if israel launches the operation and if there are no red lines, if it goes on with the plans that we heard from israeli officials, this could be like hell in gaza. it is already held in gaza

as we are all following the news, but it could be worse. so both leaders of the regional organisations, two important regional organisations, were trying to call on the united nations to prevent something very bad from happening. 0f prevent something very bad from happening. of course, we know the united nations does not have an army. but that was why they were calling on the moral compass of the international community. both organisations, the arab league and the african union, they don't have armies to do something material on the ground. but they have moral weight and they can call on parties to shoulder their responsibilities.

we think something catastrophic, and this is not an exaggeration or hyperbole. the situation is, as you described a minute ago, your correspondent described it as worsening by the minute and gaza. so what is the solution here? you have talked about the international community adhering to common principles of humanity and justice. that is a common refrain. we have talked about the international laws governing civilians, for example. how should that be policed, and will it be policed? the how should that be policed, and will it be policed?— it be policed? the solution at this staue it be policed? the solution at this stage calls _ it be policed? the solution at this stage calls for — it be policed? the solution at this stage calls for a _ it be policed? the solution at this stage calls for a humanitarian - stage calls for a humanitarian corridorfor stage calls for a humanitarian corridor for assistance to get into gaza and maybe for the wounded to

get out of gaza. what is urgently needed is a humanitarian corridor. as your correspondent mentioned, the rafah crossing is out of service because it has been bombarded three times by the israeli forces. so israel is putting a complete blockade. this is a situation unprecedented even in previous rounds of confrontation in gaza. usually, there was a channel where you could send at least basic needs. but what we are watching now is collective punishment, millions of people cut off from the outside world. no electricity, nothing. and we know the gazans were already in a situation of humanitarian crisis before the israeli operation. 50 before the israeli operation. so it's getting very ugly. thank you

for being with us. that was gamal roshdy, a spokesperson for the arab league. let's talk now to gabriella waaijman, the humanitarian director at save the children international. the arab league are saying this could lead to a genocide of unprecedented proportions. do you agree? the unprecedented proportions. do you auree? , ., ., , , agree? the situation is absolutely dramatic inside _ agree? the situation is absolutely dramatic inside gaza. _ agree? the situation is absolutely dramatic inside gaza. it _ agree? the situation is absolutely dramatic inside gaza. it is - agree? the situation is absolutely dramatic inside gaza. it is alreadyj dramatic inside gaza. it is already having horrendous consequences for children. and we are deeply concerned that any further escalation will have dramatic consequences for people in gaza. as the colleague was mentioning, there is no safe place left in gaza. there are no shelters left. there is no water, no food. children are terrified. this is as traumatic as it gets. terrified. this is as traumatic as it nets. �* , , , terrified. this is as traumatic as itaets. , , it gets. all the eyewitness accounts we have received _ it gets. all the eyewitness accounts

we have received and _ it gets. all the eyewitness accounts we have received and the _ it gets. all the eyewitness accounts we have received and the people i it gets. all the eyewitness accounts| we have received and the people we speak to and gaza tell us how desperate the situation is right now. given what you do, where are you able to help? i was thinking perhaps of the border with egypt, where many people are now massing. they are unable to leave, and the humanitarian crisis in the south of gazais humanitarian crisis in the south of gaza is getting worse by the hour. yeah, our staff in gaza are among the people affected. like everybody else, they have had to leave their homes. they are in the shelters or outside the shelters, since there isn't enough room for everybody in the shelters. the inside gaza, there is very little they are able to do. our staff need assistance and are not able to give assistance. i heard from one of our colleagues who was able to get through to us. i know him, he is an absolute stalwart

normally, but he said he is losing hope. he said his dream these days isjust a wake up hope. he said his dream these days is just a wake up with his children in his arms. he is incredibly worried. we need to prepare ourselves as best as we can to provide assistance if and when the board is open and we can get something across. we are in contact with the israeli authorities and the egyptian side to get access into gaza. ., egyptian side to get access into gaza, ., , egyptian side to get access into gaza. ., , , , ,, ., gaza. some of this feels helpless at the moment. _ gaza. some of this feels helpless at the moment, but— gaza. some of this feels helpless at the moment, but if— gaza. some of this feels helpless at the moment, but if you _ gaza. some of this feels helpless at the moment, but if you are - gaza. some of this feels helpless at the moment, but if you are able i gaza. some of this feels helpless at the moment, but if you are able to l the moment, but if you are able to make a difference for the people that need your help, what does that help look like? we that need your help, what does that help look like?— help look like? we have bought medical supplies _ help look like? we have bought medical supplies and _ help look like? we have bought medical supplies and food i help look like? we have bought- medical supplies and food packages and non—food items like soap, buckets, things that you need other than food. and we have trucks. we

are collaborating with the egyptian red crescent, because all assistance on the egyptian side is coordinated through the egyptian red crescent. they have an agreement with the palestinian red crescent for a handover at the border that is facilitated by the authorities. the road on the egyptian side is also affected because it has been bombed. so the road is difficult to pass. but save the children and other aid agencies are collectively putting as many goods as we can on the road. your focus is clearly on protecting children, given what you do. what specific help are you able to provide for children who are caught up provide for children who are caught up in this? provide for children who are caught u- in this? , , ., provide for children who are caught u- inthis? , ,., , ., up in this? this is of course not the first time _ up in this? this is of course not the first time that _ up in this? this is of course not the first time that children i up in this? this is of course not the first time that children in i up in this? this is of course not i the first time that children in both israel and palestine have been

affected by an escalation in the conflict. let me be clear, this is notjust conflict. let me be clear, this is not just an escalation, conflict. let me be clear, this is notjust an escalation, this is of a magnitude we have not seen before. but we have experience with very traumatised children, so we provide what we call child protection services. we do games with children. we organise what we call child friendly spaces. we have psychosocial support services that monitor these children and we have good ways to make them speak and open up. for the severe cases, we have referral pathways to more professional help where needed. we also provide educational support and of course the basic life—saving support. of course the basic life-saving su ort. ., of course the basic life-saving su ort, ., ., . of course the basic life-saving su--ort. ., ., . ., , support. you touched on the safety of our support. you touched on the safety of your workers _ support. you touched on the safety of your workers who _ support. you touched on the safety of your workers who go _ support. you touched on the safety of your workers who go into - support. you touched on the safety of your workers who go into help i support. you touched on the safety i of your workers who go into help and then get caught up in the crisis. what are you hearing from your staff

on the ground about how safe or clearly unsafe they feel and whether they are able to get to any place of relative safety?— relative safety? there is no place of relative _ relative safety? there is no place of relative safety. _ relative safety? there is no place of relative safety. deconfliction l relative safety? there is no place| of relative safety. deconfliction is a term the parties use when there is a term the parties use when there is a safe area, but there are no safe areas. we are hearing from our staff that they are saving the little water they have. they are running out of food. my colleague sent a heartbreaking e—mail. he said, i fear that these might be my last words to you. i am here with my children, all below ten years of age. and i have nothing left but to hope that tomorrow, we'll wake up and we are all still alive. that's how bad it is.—

and we are all still alive. that's how bad it is. there will be a lot of people _ how bad it is. there will be a lot of people this — how bad it is. there will be a lot of people this around _ how bad it is. there will be a lot of people this around the i how bad it is. there will be a lotj of people this around the world, feeling helpless, unable to provide assistance over what is happening both in israel and in gaza. what would you say to people about what help they may be able to offer? that help they may be able to offer? git the moment, access to gaza is not there. but there will come a day when access opens up. we are preparing ourselves to be able to go in at scale because the needs will be overwhelming. we will need a lot of money. we will need to buy goods. we will need to rent trucks and other logistical services. so financial gifts are really needed. so support aid agencies in this time of need. ,., ., ., ., so support aid agencies in this time of need. , ., ., i. , of need. good to have you with us. that was gabriella _

of need. good to have you with us. that was gabriella waaijman, i of need. good to have you with us. that was gabriella waaijman, the l that was gabriella waaijman, the humanitarian director at save the children. it's worth saying, there are so many moving parts in this conflict, the bbc live page has full details of what you need to know including the latest update we just heard from tom bateman, our correspondent injerusalem. we have had the rhetoric from the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, saying he will eliminate hamas. but there are questions about what happens after and what does the future for gaza? tom bateman says we are getting close this weekend about thinking within parts of the israeli government that make we are getting close. the quote — gaza should be smaller when this is over, according to an israeli minister. so already thought about what the outcome of this war will be. it is the old adage that a war is easy to start and difficult to end. we have heard that a lot is this conflict

escalates. that is the scene right now in gaza. it looks very dark, because there is no electricity. the israeli authorities had turned on the water supply to gaza, but a lot of residents in gaza are telling us that the electricity is needed to operate the pumps that would facilitate water returning to hospitals, medicalfacilities and hospitals, medical facilities and homes. hospitals, medicalfacilities and homes. we have had eyewitness accounts of people, many in overcrowded houses in the south of the country, still finding it difficult to access running water. that is the scene as israeli troops continue to mast near gaza ahead of what is expected to be a large ground offensive. but there is no indication of when that may happen. stay with us on bbc news. for most of you, today has been dry

with plenty of sunshine and glorious skies. underneath the sunny skies, you could make out some snow along the tops of the scottish mountains in glencoe. meanwhile in cumbria, what a beautiful weather watcher picture we have here from the keswick area. in cumbria, we had a particularly cold start to the day. you can see the extent of the sunshine from the satellite picture earlier, but across northern scotland we did have this weak weather front that brought some persistent rain into northern parts of aberdeenshire, with showers for western scotland. 0vernight, that zone of rain will push northwards, crossing 0rkney and shetland, so there will be read here for a time. 0therwise, there will be read here for a time. otherwise, it's a dry night with clear skies and it will turn cold again. temperatures in towns and cities get down into low single figures. in the countryside, cold enough for a nip of frost. tomorrow, high pressure dominates, so for most, it's another dry day. across western areas, there will be more

cloud in the sky. bright or hazy sunny spells are likely to come through at times. central and eastern parts of scotland and england have the best of the sunshine. but there are likely to be showers working into the thames estuary and a few showers for 0rkney and shetland. for tuesday, there is and shetland. for tuesday, there is a greater risk of seeing mist and fog patches to start the day. these could be slow to clear. another fine day for most on tuesday, but there will be some rain moving into parts of south—west england and southern wales towards the end of the day. temperatures start to come up a bit, and for the middle of part of the week, it is or change. low pressure moves across the uk, bringing a zone of heavy rain and strong winds. 0n of heavy rain and strong winds. on wednesday, the heaviest rain will be falling across england and wales, where we could see up to a0 millimetres of rain. that could cause one or two issues. as well as the rain, we are going to have strong winds developing, particularly for scotland. the best of any limited sunshine might be

across the north—west of scotland, temperature is about average. beyond that, we get heavy rain moving across northern england, northern ireland and on to scotland for thursday. that eases away, but then we have another low pressure coming in for friday, with more heavy rain to end the week.

this is bbc news. the headlines:

israel continues its bombardment of the gaza strip, with fighter and the us secretary of state antony blinken is to return to israel following talks in the region — he says that israel should take every precaution to avoid harming civilians.