tipping the middle east into "the abyss" and urges both parties back from the brink. president biden says an israeli occcupation of gaza would be a "big mistake" but says he stands by israel's right to respond to hamas' attacks. people in poland have finished casting their votes in what some have described as the most significant parliamentary elections since the end of communism. hello. welcome to bbc news. the united nations is warning that hospital fuel reserves in gaza are likely to run out in the next 2a hours, possibly endangering thousands of patients. un chief antonio guterres has warned the israel—hamas conflict risks tipping the

middle east into "the abyss". he's demanded hamas immediately release hostages and israel let in aid. it comes as the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, says his military is ready to begin a ground offensive at any moment aimed at crushing hamas, after its fighters killed more than 1,400 israelis and took more than 150 people hostage last week. an estimated 300,000 israeli troops are massing near gaza, but israel has given no indication of when an attack might begin. 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. we can show you these live pictures of gaza city right now, where it's currently 7am. 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. we can show you the border between gaza and lebanon as well, live this morning. we have received reports from the us embassy in israel saying people may wish to move closer to the rafah crossing, the gaza egypt border, sighting us media reports which says the rafah crossing will open for a few hours, today, monday. reports that the us media is reporting on, reporting the us embassy in israel, when we get more detail

we will update you. the bbc�*sjeremy bowen is in southern israel. he has this report. 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. 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 israel said it has decided to resume water supplies to southern gaza. but it's unclear whether this

will ease water shortages there as no electricity is available to pump it. there is also limited phone and internet connection in parts of the territory. 0ur correspondentjon donnison spoke to on one gaza resident spoke to one gaza resident about the impact of the past week. we are evacuating, we are leaving our houses... bisan 0wda is a 25—year—old film—maker in gaza. she's been posting a video diary about life under fire. ..and other safe places, but there's 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. pray for us. and later that night, israel did bomb the ramal district of gaza city, reducing much of it to rubble. this is the first bottle of water that i'm

going to drink from it. with a complete blockade of gaza in place, bisan, like millions of others, has been running out of basic necessities. there is no food, there is nothing. then on friday, another warning from the skies — israel dropping leaflets, telling more than a million people in the north of gaza to flee to the south. 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's 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. 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. now, some voices in israel are calling for another occupation. but earlier, president biden warned israel off that path, and reaffirmed his commitment to a two—state solution.

here is he is speaking to scott pelley from our partners at cbs news. 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. in a separate statement, the president also said he was "shocked and sickened" by the murder of a six—year—old palestinian boy and the attempted murder of his mother in an attack which has been linked to his muslim faith and the hamas attack on israel. mr biden described the killing as a "horrific act of hate" which had "no place in america" and stands against the country's "fundamental values". the boy was stabbed 26 times with a military—style knife in plainfield township, around a0 miles from chicago, on sunday. a 71—year—old man has been charged with first—degree murder, attempted murder and two hate crime charges.

here in the uk, prime minister rishi sunak will address mps today to say what the government is doing to support israel, and to address the growing humanitarian crisis in gaza. diplomatic efforts are under way by several world leaders to prevent the violence from spreading. palestinian authority president mahmoud abbas has called for the release of detainees on both sides, and said the actions of hamas do not represent the palestinian people. and the us secretary of state antony blinken is expected back in israel after talks in six separate countries in the region. he's indicated egypt may open its border crossing to gaza to allow aid in, and let foreign nationals out. gerald firestein is a former us ambassador to yemen and he served as deputy consul general injerusalem. he says the us secretary of state's mission to the middle east is more than necessary.

i do think it's extremely important, not only that secretary blinken go to these capitals and talk about a us perspective, and of course, try to enlist their support in limiting any potential expansion of this conflict. but i also think that it's important for secretary blinken to hear what's on the minds of our interlocutors in the region. and if you look at the nuances that are beginning to appear in us statements, president biden�*s statements, secretary blinken�*s statements, you see an increasing focus on the humanitarian situation in gaza, concern about the palestinians. i think that probably is a reflection of the concern and the worry that he's hearing from his counterparts in the region.

in terms of this offensive, which i think inevitably is going to go forward, there's also an issue of the scope and the extent of the offensive. and i think that what we're probably going to see is that, while the israelis were initially talking about something that would last for weeks, perhaps even months, it's becoming increasingly clear that they may not have that kind of time, that the international community is going to become increasingly focused on the need to end this conflict. that the objective that they had laid out of the destruction of hamas is perhaps an unachievable one, and that they need to find some solution that comes in less. and then the big question is that, at the end of this round of fighting, we need to find a way of moving forward to try to begin the political process again. a scorched earth policy

on the part of the israelis won't permit diplomacy to succeed in the future. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. the uk government will pledge to send more foreign prisoners home, with ministers under pressure to act amid serious pressure on prison capacity. justice secretary alex chalk has already signalled plans to send fewer "low—level offenders" to prison, as he prepares to set out a range of reforms covering england and wales later today. delegates at the scottish national party conference have backed humza yousaf�*s plan to use the next general election result to push for independence negotiations with the uk government. the first minister's new strategy is based on calling for independence if the snp can win a majority of scottish seats, which would be at least 29.

this month's property asking prices in the uk have seen the smallest rise in more than a decade, according to property website rightmove. the average new seller asking price across britain increased by 0.5% this month, which is the weakest 0ctober rate since 2008. you're live with bbc news. the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has promised to destroy hamas, and his defence forces seem set for a major offensive into gaza. but what are the challenges israel's forces will face? 0ur defence correspondent jonathan beale has this assessment. this is who israel's now at war with. hamas, who last week crossed the border, solely focused on taking life, murdering women and children. for most, it was, in effect, a suicide mission.

the left side of my head was hit with shrapnel from an rpg or a grenade, hard to say exactly what. got shot in my finger on my left hand, and a bullet got wedged in the left side of my neck. yoav, who grew up in london, was among the first israeli military casualties of this war. he won't be the last. we've been asked to hide his identity. he says israel's fighting an enemy unlike any conventional army. they have only one interest, which is to killjews. there was no preservation of their ability to go home afterwards. they were going to die doing whatever they wanted to do, and that meant killing as many people along the way, they'd die doing it. this isjust some of their arsenal. israel today displaying to journalists weapons they've seized. they say this is just 20% of the weapons hamas brought into israel,

and it is just a fraction of what israeli forces will face when they go into gaza. israel says many of these are built in factories inside gaza itself. are you worried about israeli forces going in if they've got factories producing this? i'm not worried. the idf can deal with everything that stays in that room and more. but this is only a fraction of what they have. the tightly packed streets of gaza is where israel could soon be fighting, which hamas knows best. it could be littered with booby traps and roadside bombs, and their network of hidden underground tunnels. brutal urban warfare can favour the defender. hamas still has one bargaining chip — more than 100 israeli hostages. 0ne israeli, who's helped negotiate prisoner exchanges in the past, is once again

working his hamas contacts. they're still talking, but he's noted a dramatic change of mood. in the first days, they were boasting their bravery and their heroism and how they surprised israel. and in the last few days, the tone is very different. their tone is, "we're going to fight to the death, we're not afraid of dying". israel is preparing for a major offensive. but invasions are often easier to plan than to execute — and getting out harder than going in. jonathan beale, bbc news, southern israel. live now to washington, and we can speak to hussein ibish, senior resident scholar with the arab gulf states institute. it's good to have you on the programme. listening to jonathan's report there, talking about israel's next

move, how it is preparing, what do you think hamas is doing in terms of preparations? i do you think hamas is doing in terms of preparations?- terms of preparations? i think the are terms of preparations? i think they are bracing _ terms of preparations? i think they are bracing entirely - terms of preparations? i think they are bracing entirely for. they are bracing entirely for they are bracing entirely for the hottest possible welcome for the israeli troops, many of them are reservists, many of them are reservists, many of them are reservists, many of them are not used to close quarters combat. hamas obviously spent many months, possibly more than a year, probably with some help from hezbollah and certainly with help from the quds force of iran, preparing the attack on southern israel, which was extremely effective as well as brutal and vicious. it was a killing spree, but they encountered not only much weaker defences than they expected, but also they themselves were more effective than anticipated. but they will have put in at least as much effort during that same period of months, over a year

possibly, into preparing to meet the counter attacks. so they are hunkering down, they are braced, i think they are ready for the israelis. an israeli gentleman just said ready for the israelis. an israeli gentlemanjust said in the piece you had before me, the piece you had before me, the idf can deal with everything. he was very cavalier. i would everything. he was very cavalier. iwould not everything. he was very cavalier. i would not be that confident if i wear him. frankly, the israelis have already been surprised by what they have encountered from hamas last saturday, and they were surprised by hezbollah several times, as hezbollah developed more capabilities. so i'm not sure they know exactly what they are going to be encountering.— what they are going to be encountering. israel says its objective — encountering. israel says its objective is _ encountering. israel says its objective is clear, _ encountering. israel says its objective is clear, to - encountering. israel says its| objective is clear, to destroy hamas. is that realistic? ida. hamas. is that realistic? no, it's not possible, _ hamas. is that realistic? no, it's not possible, because - it's not possible, because hamas is a brand, it's a name. as long as you have palestinians willing to call themselves hamas, hamas exists.

and in fact, really, they have started the more serious conversations... they said that for the first couple of days, and then they shifted to saying hamas cannot be tolerated as a sovereign adjacent to israel, which is a very different thing. even that cannot be prevented, except if there is a direct and prolonged israeli reoccupation of the streets of gaza city, khan younis, and the other towns, streets and villages itself. and that obviously is something else hamas will have prepared for. long term insurgency. it might take a bit of time to get going after the israelis have really exhausted the damage they are preparing to do in the ground attack, but sooner rather than later, i think it could become a slow and steady abattoir for israeli conscripts. a lot of israelis killed and captured by

an insurgency, which will gain strength as it goes along. secretary of state antony blinken is talking to israeli government officials again today. as you have seen, he has been on a tour of arab countries. what do you think he has achieved?— has achieved? well, i don't know. has achieved? well, i don't know i'm _ has achieved? well, i don't know. i'm not— has achieved? well, i don't know. i'm not sure - has achieved? well, i don't know. i'm not sure exactly| has achieved? well, i don't - know. i'm not sure exactly what he is saying to them. if he is wise, what he is saying to the israelis is, you need to act with restraint. you are being lured into a trap, if you go full bore into the streets and towns and cities of gaza, you are going to be falling into a trap. yes, you may want to exact some revenge, you may want to try to restore deterrents insofar as you think you can, as it hamas could be deterred, i think they have shown they can't be, but let's just say, all right, you want to follow the long—standing doctrine... you want to kill

closer to ten to one palestinian civilians compared to israeli civilians that died, 0k, to israeli civilians that died, ok, but get out as soon as you can, don't get sucked into a prolonged reoccupation. if you do that, and we are talking to the saudis, and we are talking to you, we can go back to the negotiating table quickly. because what hamas and their iranian sponsors are trying to do is, he would be saying, exercise a veto over our decision making, your decision—making and saudi decision—making. we are trying to negotiate a big agreement that would change everything for all three of us, especially israel and saudi arabia. you are going to give a veto to people because they are willing to murder 11100 people? that is the wrong way of doing things. he would also say, consider what your enemies want you to

do, and don't do it. and then consider what they were trying to get you not to do, and go ahead and do that. work with us, work with leanne, let's get the deal done. easier said than done, but that is what he will say. —— work with riyadh. done, but that is what he will say. -- work with riyadh. thank ou for say. -- work with riyadh. thank you forjoining — say. -- work with riyadh. thank you forjoining us. _ as the israeli defence force prepares for its offensive, aid groups say the situation in gaza is developing into a "humanitarian catastrophe". the international committee of the red cross says hospitals there risk turning into morgues. gaza's biggest hospital, al shifa, has continued to receive a steady flow of injured gazans. on sunday, the palestinian health ministry said 300 people, mostly children and women, had been killed in 2a hours, with more than 800 injured. let's get some of the day's other news now. exit polls suggest the governing law and justice party in poland has lost its parliamentary majority in sunday's general election,

and a coalition of opposition parties might form the next government. votes are still being counted. turnout was estimated to be the highest since the end of communism in poland more than 30 years ago. we'll have more on this in our business coverage in 20 minutes. in5 minutes. the businessman daniel noboa has won ecuador�*s presidential election. the 35—year—old heir to a banana production company becomes the youngest ecuadorean president. mr noboa took about 52% of votes. the top business stories next on bbc news. stay with us. 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.

live from london, this is bbc news. poland is likely to see a change in government as exit polls show the ruling law and justice party may lose control of its parliament.

sam bankman—fried had too much power too soon — we talk to the author who spent months with the former crypto mogul before ftx collapsed. and it all began with a mouse — the walt disney company celebrates its 100th birthday. we look at this cultural revolution. hello, i'm sally bundock with the top business stories, and we start in poland where the first predicted results in its general election suggest the ruling law and justice party is on course to win most seats in the country's general election, but is unlikely to secure a third term in office. instead three liberal parties — including donald tusk�*s civic coalition — has a better chance of forming a coalition. sunday's election saw the biggest voter turnout since the end of communism in poland more than thirty