hamas don't represent all the palestinian people. it would be a mistake for israel to occupy gaza again. gaza faces a deepening humanitarian crisis as essential supplies dwindle amid a near—total israeli blockade and ongoing airstrikes. the un chief warns the conflict risks tipping the middle east into "the abyss" and urges both parties back from the brink. i'm helena humphrey, thanks forjoining me. the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, says his military is ready to begin a ground offensive at any moment aimed at crushing hamas. an estimated 300,000 israeli troops are massing near gaza, but israel

has given no indication of when an attack might begin. here you can see tanks arriving on sunday. mr netanyahu has held the first meeting of his emergency cabinet since hamas fighters killed more than 1,400 israelis and took more than 150 people hostage. meanwhile, israeli airstrikes on gaza continue. israel says it is targeting hamas positions. hamas is designated as a terror organisation by many western governments, including the us and uk. gazan health officials say the number of palestinians killed has risen to 2,670 with 9,600 others wounded. hamas says that less than half of the 1.1 million people living in northern gaza have now moved south in the last 48 hours, after israel's warning for civlians to leave. the united nations says hospital fuel reserves will run out in about 2k hours, possibly endangering thousands of patients.

in the last few hours, un secretary general antonio guterres has called for israel to allow the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid to gaza, saying the region was "on the verge of the abyss." hundreds of tonnes of aid from several countries is currently at the closed rafah border crossing between gaza and egypt. it's also where scores of foreign nationals, including us citizens, are waiting, hoping to leave gaza. us secretary of state antony blinken, after his diplomatic visit to egypt on sunday, said he's "confident" the border could partially open soon. we'll have more from inside gaza injust a moment. but first, here's the bbc�*s jeremy bowen with the latest in israel. along the border, it looked like the eve of battle. in the next few days, israel will send its armed forces into the gaza strip. israel declared its war aims even before the tanks arrived here.

first, demolishing hamas, so it can never be a threat again. and avenging more than 1,300 people, mostly its own civilians, massacred by hamas. in the last few days, the border has become an armed camp. israel says its offensive is anchored in justice, security and morality. it has mobilised 360,000 reservists. border communities, like kibbutz kfar aza, that were barely defended when hamas stormed in, are now staging areas for the offensive. 0ne certainty is that, when israel's soldiers move forward, many more palestinian civilians will die. gaza was pounded again — the eighth day in a row.

mohammed's sons, daughter and cousins have been killed, eight of them, with three bodies still trapped in the rubble. they were children, he said, they didn't carry guns. many palestinians see the body bags and believe israel's campaign against hamas is also aimed at forcing them out of gaza for good. the price of losing, said this hard—line israeli politician, is for gaza to get smaller, that is the language palestinians understand. the hamas massacres, and the response from israel they have unleashed, destroyed what seemed to be the status quo. fear is already a winner. the soldiers look like they're ready for whatever comes next.

in tel aviv, the war cabinet has been meeting at the ministry of defence, finalising details, making decisions. there are big questions, though — how long the operation will take, and what happens afterwards. this afternoon, israeli troops patrolled the gaza boundary. very soon, they will cross it, and this long conflict hurtles into its next destructive chapter. jeremy bowen, bbc news, southern israel. as civilians in gaza continue to seek safety in the south, the city of khan younis has seen its population more than double nearly overnight. more than one million people are now there. people have been queing for water, after the us said israeli officials had recently "turned the water pipe back on in southern gaza". there is also limited phone and internet connection in parts of the territory. my colleague rushdi abualouf

has been reporting from a hospital in khan younis, and he sent us this update. 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 expecting tomorrow midnight, should all the generators in the hospital here will stop. this hospital is providing services not only for 4,000 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. israel says its looming ground invasion is meant to completely eliminate hamas from gaza.

the israeli military occupied the enclave from 1967 until it withdrew in 2005. some voices in israel have called for another occupation. but today president biden warned israel off that path, and reaffirmed his commitment to a two—state solution. would you support israeli occupation of gaza at this point? i think it would be a big mistake. look, what happened in gaza in my view is hamas and the extreme elements of hamas don't represent all the palestinian people. and i think that it would be a mistake for israel to occupy gaza again. but going in and taking out the extremists, the hezbollah up north, but hamas down south, is a necessary requirement. do you believe hamas must be eliminated entirely? yes, i do.

but there needs to be a palestinian authority. there needs to be a path to a palestinian state. and you believe israel would pursue that after what's occurred? not now, not now. but i think israel understands that a significant portion of palestinian people do not share the views of hamas and hezbollah. live now to khaled elgindy, senior fellow and director of the program on palestine and palestinian—israeli affairs at the middle east institute. great to have you back with cars. —— with us. khaled, wejust heard there from the us president, saying he doesn't want to see an occupation of the gaza strip. if hamas is removed from power, what do you see

in terms of who takes control? what happens next in the gaza strip? what happens next in the gaza stri - ? . , what happens next in the gaza stri . ? ., , ., what happens next in the gaza stri? . , ., , ., what happens next in the gaza strip? that is a question no one knows _ strip? that is a question no one knows the _ strip? that is a question no one knows the answer - strip? that is a question no one knows the answer to. l strip? that is a question no l one knows the answer to. i'm fairly certain no one in the israeli political or military leadership has any idea what that means, to eliminate hamas. my that means, to eliminate hamas. my sense is it is an unattainable goal, the sort of thing that needs to be stated for public consumption, but i'm not sure how meaningful it is. certainly the israelis have not planned for anything resembling a day after. you cannot bring the palestinian authority back into gaza on the backs of israeli tanks. it's already suffering from a serious legitimacy crisis among its people. that would seal its fate as a kind of collaboration regime. the tragic reality is the israelis don't have an endgame beyond the military

option, and nobody knows what comes next. option, and nobody knows what comes next-— option, and nobody knows what comes next. before we even get to that stage — comes next. before we even get to that stage of _ comes next. before we even get to that stage of course, - comes next. before we even get to that stage of course, we - to that stage of course, we have the present day reality. let's touch on that, the humanitarian situation inside gazais humanitarian situation inside gaza is dire. israeli troops are amassing close to gaza. what are you anticipating happening within gaza in the hours and days ahead? the thing to remember about the humanitarian situation is it was in large part brought on by the us, the european union and the us, the european union and the uk, when they gave israel a blank cheque to cut off the power, food, water to 2 million human beings. and have yet to call for a ceasefire, eight days in. so this humanitarian disaster, i think, days in. so this humanitarian disaster, ithink, is in days in. so this humanitarian disaster, i think, is in large part the result of western in action. also, just to point out something that was raised in

the initial report. hamas is... israel is not bombing hamas targets only. israeli leaders, political and military leaders, say this repeatedly, i'm not sure why people don't want to listen. they are bombing civilian targets, they have said so repeatedly, and yet everyone is pretending they are fighting only hamas. we have seen convoys that were told to evacuate, bombed on the roads, trying to flee to safety. the reality is nowhere is safe in gaza. i reality is nowhere is safe in gaza. ., ., ., ., gaza. i want to ask you about the situation _ gaza. i want to ask you about the situation for _ gaza. i want to ask you about the situation for the - gaza. i want to ask you aboutj the situation for the hostages as well. who we believe to be inside gaza. the un is calling on hamas to release all hostages. do you think there is any situation in which they heed that call? it's hard to imagine how that would happen. it's one of the

few areas, i suppose, hamas has any sort of leverage. certainly they should be released and returned safely. but i'm not sure hamas being threatened with total annihilation has any real incentive to do that. find real incentive to do that. and what about — real incentive to do that. and what about the _ real incentive to do that. and what about the situation for the palestinians? washington has been pressing egypt to open its border crossing with the palestinian territory. if that happens, what could we see there? is there a risk for a refugee crisis potentially there as well?— refugee crisis potentially there as well? ., , ,., , there as well? oh, absolutely. i thinkthat _ there as well? oh, absolutely. i think that would _ there as well? oh, absolutely. i think that would be _ i think that would be catastrophic. upwards of1 catastrophic. upwards of 1 million, catastrophic. upwards of1 million, 2 million palestinians to be expelled essentially from their homes yet again. 70% of

gaza's population are actually refugees. palestinians have a long history. they know in every instance in which they have been turned into refugees, they have never been allowed to return home. so i think most palestinians would reject that prospect. egypt has rejected it, because they also understand that there is no such thing as a temporary palestinian refugee problem. israel's history, i think, makes that clear. it's quite reckless, frankly, for the international community... instead of urging israel to stop bombing civilians, to ask egypt to take in refugees that most people understand will never be allowed to return. senior fellow and director of the programme on palestine and palestinian israeli affairs at the middle east institute, thanks for being with us. thank

ou. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. at least two people have been killed and more than 150 injured by a 6.3—magnitude earthquake in west afghanistan. residents in the city of herat said they had just begun to return to their homes after two previous powerful quakes when the latest tremors hit. more than 1,300 people were killed in last week's earthquakes. at the scottish national party conference in aberdeen, the party signalled it would push for independence negotiations with the uk government, depending on the result of the next general election. the snp approved a motion which said winning a majority of scottish seats at the next election would be a mandate for holding a new referendum. officials at hong kong international airport have uncovered 11 kilograms of suspected cocaine hidden in the cushions of this electric wheelchair. the haul, worthjust

over £1.2 million, was found when a 51—year—old man was going through customs on saturday. you're live with bbc news. returning now to the conflict in the middle east. it's been nine days since hamas launched its devastating assault, killing 1,300 israelis. we have the story now of one israeli family that was ripped apart. the small community of netiv haasara, just minutes from the gaza border, was one of the first communities attacked by hamas. that's where this couple, bilha and yakov inon, lost their lives. yakov was a farmer, his wife an artist. earlier, i spoke to their son, israeli travel entrepeneur mauz inon. mauz inon, thank you so much for being with us on the bbc today. i want to start by

saying how sorry i am to learn of your loss. if you wouldn't mind, to begin with, tell me a little bit about your parents. thank you for inviting me, thank you, bbc. my parents were amazing, loving persons, people. my mother was born in a kibbutz. my father was born in another kibbutz, which is also in the news recently. they got married and lived in the kibbutz for about 20 years. where they grew our family, my three sisters, me and my brother. b, three sisters, me and my brother-— three sisters, me and my brother. �* ., ., , ~ brother. a loving family. and if ou brother. a loving family. and if you can. — brother. a loving family. and if you can. just _ brother. a loving family. and if you can, just tell _ brother. a loving family. and if you can, just tell us - brother. a loving family. and if you can, just tell us a - if you can, just tell us a little bit, if you are able to, about what happened to them last saturday.—

last saturday. friday night, they dined _ last saturday. friday night, they dined with _ last saturday. friday night, they dined with my - last saturday. friday night, they dined with my sister's| they dined with my sister's family. and otherfamily family. and other family members. family. and otherfamily members. unfortunately i wasn't there. my aunt in tel aviv, about 50 minutes' drive. at 11pm, after eating, laughing and celebrating life, and their grandchildren, their loving family, they went back home. they love their house, they love the community of netiv haasara, they went back home. they were among the first victims of the hamas attacks. their house was hit by a missile, launched 50 metres from their house. it burned, completely burned, with them inside. i completely burned, with them inside. ., completely burned, with them inside. . , ., ., inside. i am so sorry to hear that. inside. i am so sorry to hear that- how — inside. i am so sorry to hear that. how did _ inside. i am so sorry to hear that. how did you _ inside. i am so sorry to hear that. how did you find - inside. i am so sorry to hear that. how did you find out i that. how did you find out about what had happened? around

7:30m, about what had happened? around 7:30pm. my _ about what had happened? around 7:30pm, my father _ about what had happened? around 7:30pm, my father text _ about what had happened? around 7:30pm, my father text cars - about what had happened? around 7:30pm, my father text cars in - 7:30pm, my father text cars in the whatsapp group of the adults, we call it. that there were sirens and rockets falling, which is unfortunately kind of normal. that they are in the safe room. i gave them a call if you minutes afterjust to check on them, and that's exactly what he said, they are in the safe room. many missiles and even fire around them. five minutes after, while drinking coffee, i tried calling again, but that was it, i couldn't reach him. since then. that is a devastating _ reach him. since then. that is a devastating situation, - reach him. since then. that is a devastating situation, and i | a devastating situation, and i want to ask about how your family is dealing with this now? of course, naturally, you are grieving. your country is

also at war. how are you coping with these two huge things? we are ve with these two huge things? - are very supporting family and community. and we've done the shiva, the seven days of mourning. we've done it in our way, without even a funeral. we are surrounded by loving people. we are coping, and taking care of our childrens, my parents had 11 grandchildrens, but basically on saturday morning, with the news... we gathered together, in my sister's house, and waited for the news. and then

about five in the afternoon, one of the neighbours call us and told us there is no hope for them any more. together with 18 other members of netiv haasara, and the hundreds, more than 1000 other civilians from the communities exactly where we were born, it's a catastrophe for the entire community. some of them lost 10%, 20, 30%, maybe even more of their community members. it'sjust devastating. of their community members. it's just devastating. bud of their community members. it's just devastating.— it'sjust devastating. and so now, of course, _ it'sjust devastating. and so now, of course, as - it'sjust devastating. and so now, of course, as you - it'sjust devastating. and so i now, of course, as you know, we've got a situation in which israel is preparing for a ground offensive. what are your thoughts on the military response that we've seen from israel this past week? i response that we've seen from

israel this past week?- israel this past week? i must tell you. _ israel this past week? i must tell you. i'm _ israel this past week? i must tell you, i'm not— israel this past week? i must tell you, i'm not crying - israel this past week? i must tell you, i'm not crying for. israel this past week? i must | tell you, i'm not crying for my parents, i'm trying for those who are going to lose their lives in this war. we must stop the war. the war is not the answer. i bade you, i beg all the viewers and listeners, to do everything in your power to put pressure over everyone that is relevant to stop the war immediately. —— i beg you. in ourfamily, we are not immediately. —— i beg you. in our family, we are not seeking revenge. revenge willjust lead to more suffering. and to more casualties. and even though it's the most horrible day, it was the most horrible loss of civilian lives in israel since the foundation of the country, i'm afraid that the numbers can

be much bigger. enormous number. and we must do everything to stop the war. and i'm afraid for the soldiers, for the civilians, from both sides. from gaza and in israel. that will pay in their life. it's so important in this very hard time to go on this interview and to cry to the world, stop the war, please, just stop the war.— world, stop the war, please, just stop the war. mauz, i know that ou just stop the war. mauz, i know that you have — just stop the war. mauz, i know that you have been _ just stop the war. mauz, i know that you have been working - just stop the war. mauz, i know that you have been working on | that you have been working on projects to promote peace between communities. how do you think this war can be stopped? i believe in a shared vision thatis i believe in a shared vision that is based on partnership, that is based on partnership, thatis that is based on partnership, that is based on partnership, that is based on partnership, that is based on equality. that

is based on peace. we have to do more. i promised myself that i will do more. i will dedicate my life... my parents... to do all within my power to bring peace to this land. we must bring peace to this land. this is my promise. that i will do everything that i can.- everything that i can. mauz inon, thank— everything that i can. mauz inon, thank you _ everything that i can. mauz inon, thank you for - everything that i can. mauz inon, thank you for being l everything that i can. mauz i inon, thank you for being with us, condolences to you and your family, thank you.— family, thank you. thank you very much. — family, thank you. thank you very much, thank— family, thank you. thank you very much, thank you. - family, thank you. thank you very much, thank you. mauz| family, thank you. thank you - very much, thank you. mauz inon s-ueakin very much, thank you. mauz inon speaking to _ very much, thank you. mauz inon speaking to me — very much, thank you. mauz inon speaking to me earlier. _ hundreds gathered at a vigil in central london on sunday to commemorate israeli victims killed in the hamas attack. many were draped in israeli flags carrying posters

which said "bring them home" with names and faces of the hostages captured by hamas. it comes a day after tens of thousands of people took to the streets across the uk in a show of solidarity with palestinians in gaza. to other news now, and in poland, parliamentary elections have been taking place. poles have just finished casting their votes in what some have described as the most significant elections since the end of communism. the right—wing law and justice party is seeking to secure a third term in office, locked in a fierce battle with the liberal opposition led by former european council president donald tusk. the first exit poll released in the last hour suggests the governing law and justice party may have lost its majority in parliament and that opposition parties may be able to form a coalition to force the government from power. and you can get all the latest from the situation in israel on our website. (gfx) —— bbc.com slash news or the bbc news app.

we have a live page that is constantly being updated, with news and analysis from our teams on the ground in israel, gaza, and around the world. we can look at some live pictures of gaza city. the early hours of the morning, with israel saying it has been targeting hamas positions. you're watching bbc news. i'm helena humphrey in washington, dc. thanks for your company. i'll be back with more at the top of the hour. goodbye for now. hello, big changes happening weather—wise again this week, but at the moment, still feeling very much like autumn. temperatures below the seasonal average, lots of dry weather,

blue sky and sunshine, pretty autumn colours over the weekend, and high pressure still dominates as we head through monday. it will push ever so slowly further eastwards, eventually allowing low pressure systems to push in from the south—west. it's another chilly start to the day on monday, bit of patchy frost again possible across england and wales in particular. temperatures a little milder across northern ireland and scotland with more in the way of cloud. but that cloud will tend to break up, i think, as the day wears on. so some brightness and sunshine emerging, especially through the afternoon. maybe a few isolated showers. we'll see some showers towards north sea—facing coasts for england and wales. it's a sunnier start to the day, but more cloud will build through the afternoon. temperatures likely to peak again a little below the seasonal average, 11 to 1a degrees celsius. it's still windy across the northern isles on monday and it will turn windier towards these channel coasts too, as we head towards the end of the day. why? well, this area of low pressure pulls in from the south—west. it's going to turn pretty unsettled for much of

the rest of the week. but on tuesday, again, it is largely dry, quite blustery, with a brisk easterly wind, especially towards the south, there'll be outbreaks of rain edging into parts of cornwall, western wales, i think by the time we get to the end of the day. further north, largely dry, top temperatures peaking between 11 and 15 degrees celsius, starting to draw some milder air in along with these weather fronts. and they're due to push further northwards and eastwards as we head throughout the night on tuesday and into wednesday. so turning much more unsettled across the border, brisk easterly to south—easterly wind blowing. there'll be outbreaks of rain. some of that rain likely to be heavy at times, especially across the south west of england, wales, those showers pushing up through to parts of scotland as well. but in the milderfeeling air, temperatures will rise as high as perhaps 18 or 19 degrees celsius across the south—west and the channel islands. but then the focus of that rain will change as we head through thursday and friday. and it's quite likely that we'll see some of the heaviest downpours across central and eastern areas of scotland. and there are already met office weather warnings in force.

there could be some exceptionally heavy rain in these areas. severe gales, too, towards the east coast. here's the outlook for our capital cities, turning milder but much more unsettled. bye bye.

a coalition government headed by the former ceo

of air new zealand chris luxon is going to take over as voter anxiety of the cost of living looms large. india's biggest it companies are hiring fewer workers as its business. we have a live report from mumbai. welcome to asia business report. let's start with news from new zealand where the national party is now working to form a coalition government after provisional results showed saturday's general election ousted the labour party which had been in powerfor six years. the man expected to be the country's next prime minister, christopher luxon, leader of the national party is also a former ceo of air new zealand and has promised to us hus experience in business to bring down the cost of living which has been one of the main issues in the election.

new zealanders have been feeling the pinch from