us secretary of state antony blinken returns to israel as he tries to head—off a wider regional conflict. hello, i'm sarah campbell, welcome to verified live, three hours of breaking stories and checking out the truth behind them. we start with the war in the middle east, where the crossing between gaza and egypt remains closed, though washington says it hopes it can be reopened for a few hours later today, as efforts to get aid into the territory intensify. let's just take a moment to look at the geography of gaza. the opening of the rafah crossing would also allow some foreigners, including us citizens, to leave. at the same time, hamas and israel have denied reports that they've

agreed a truce in southern gaza. these are the latest pictures from the rafah crossing, showing the crowds there. we understand that un fuel trucks did make it across the border this morning. in the past couple of hours, america's top diplomat, antony blinken, is back in israel, from egypt, where he was trying to persuade officials to reopen the border point. egypt's foreign minister is reported as saying israel had not yet taken a stance that would allow the crossing to open. over the weekend, mr blinken held talks in six arab states, with a view to alleviating gaza's humanitarian crisis and to prevent the war from escalating. our correspondent nick beake has the latest. in gaza, families who have been forced from their homes are heading south to the border with egypt. but this, the rafah crossing, has remained closed to them, trapping palestinians as well as foreign nationals.

they say they've lost everything in israel's response to hamas�*s killing of civilians just over a week ago. this gaza strip and palestine, this is like, they think there's no people here. there's people here! there's people here live! it's not right! some say they've done exactly as israel ordered and left the north of gaza only to be bombed in the south. translation: no electricity, | no water, no nappies, no milk, corpses in the street. we fled to the un school, we thought it was safe, but they targeted it and people died. across the border, a convoy of aid trucks has built up but there is still no deal with egypt to allow them in. israel cut off supplies of food, medicine and other essentials to more than 2 million people in gaza after the hamas attacks. translation: there have been reports of humanitarian aid -

being allowed into gaza in return for letting foreigners leave. at this stage, i'd like to state the crossings are closed and there's no such decision. there is no ceasefire and we are continuing our operational activity. israel says it is preparing for a major operation by air, land and sea. its most powerful ally is warning against an occupation of gaza. 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. fighterjets are leading israel's military campaign. the bombs obliterating whole buildings in densely packed gaza neighbourhoods and continue to kill civilians. israel says it's targeting hamas fighters and weapons. in tel aviv, one of many memorials to the 1,300 israelis killed in hamas attacks. the government here says

the scale of the atrocities justifies its response. most israelis seem to support what their military is doing in gaza, that hamas crossed a line. and hamas continues to fire rockets into israeli towns and cities, and that only hardens public opinion. people are also worried and angry that 199 hostages are still being held in gaza. there is no sign of the imminent release of those hostages, nor any breakthrough that would allow those in gaza to escape from this misery. nick beake, bbc news, tel aviv. lets go to our chief international correspondent. can we first of all focus on the diplomatic efforts. we

are awaiting a statement from antony blinken who has visited six arab states in the last four days and spoken to six different leaders. how would you summarise the us approach to what is happening?— to what is happening? israel, it's clear that israel _ to what is happening? israel, it's clear that israel and _ to what is happening? israel, it's clear that israel and the - to what is happening? israel, it's clear that israel and the us - to what is happening? israel, it's clear that israel and the us are l clear that israel and the us are almost in lockstep now at least at this moment. the us is doing everything it can both to show israel stand by it, stand by its right to defend itself, but also to send a clear message that israel also has to do everything it can to try to minimise civilian harm. antony blinken came to israel some days ago, he did as told of the region and spoke to every arab leader who could have some sway over one side or the other in this conflict, he has come back to israel and we have just heard that instead

of going back to the us tonight as planned he is going to go back to thejordanian capital. whenever a the jordanian capital. whenever a top thejordanian capital. whenever a top diplomat like antony blinken changes a travel schedule it is perhaps a sign that they are working on something and we know that they are focusing on two fronts. one is that they want to get that rough crossing, the only way in and out of gaza on the southern border to get the foreign nationals out. to get that desperately needed aid and food and fuel and medicine. the lorries are piling up at the crossing. secondly they want to do everything possible to ensure that this crisis does not spread. as bad as it is in israel and gaza, if it spreads further and spills across the border thenit further and spills across the border then it is an even more dangerous territory. then it is an even more dangerous territo . ., ., a ~ .,

territory. you are in ashkelon, the military build _ territory. you are in ashkelon, the military build up _ territory. you are in ashkelon, the military build up presumably - territory. you are in ashkelon, the military build up presumably they| military build up presumably they continues. have you got any sense of what you're hearing? this continues. have you got any sense of what you're hearing?— what you're hearing? this is day ten of this war- — what you're hearing? this is day ten of this war. ten _ what you're hearing? this is day ten of this war. ten days _ what you're hearing? this is day ten of this war. ten days since - what you're hearing? this is day ten of this war. ten days since the - of this war. ten days since the massacres committed by hamas in southern israel. we have seen with every day the israeli forces racing down to the border, the artillery and they are now in a closed military zone that we are not allowed to enter. throughout today we moved around the —— in southern israel which is less than a mile than the gaza border. there is the constant sound of israeli artillery. every place we went the israeli ministry moved us away. they said it was too dangerous and we could be on the line of fire. you get a sense

that the military operations are gathering pace and of course the nonstop bombardment of gaza. it seems as though israel wants to come of it was hoped they could be a ceasefire in southern gaza but that has not been reached. that is the focus so they can be more humanitarian aid and the rescue of some of the people. it has been relatively peep —— quiet. two days ago the air raid sirens went off almost every hour in ashkelon. it's been relatively quiet today although there have been missiles fired in other parts of southern israel. in border towns and official evacuation is taking place to move even more people to safety and away from that border. ., ~' , .,

let's now focus on what's happening inside gaza itself. our correspondentjon donnison has the latest. amid the destruction in southern gaza, the homeless and the hungry in their hundreds of thousands are trying to survive. and the united nations is now warning of an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. "we have nothing that we need to live," says this man, who fled south. "we're living in a dump and if we move, we'll die." amid the detritus and not enough toilets, there are fears about the spread of disease. there's food, but not enough. all this will feed less than 2,000 people, says amir, just a fraction of those in need. there are long queues to get bread, but it's being rationed. "we've been waiting here since six in the morning," he tells us, "just to get food to feed the kids."

"we will run out of flour," the baker says, "in two days maximum." clean water is also in short supply. fuel supplies needed to operate filters are dwindling. "this is all the clean water i can get," he says. "we left our homes in the north because we thought there would be "aid, but where is it?" he goes on. "give us electricity, give us water." and all the while, the hospitals in the south, like in the rest of gaza, are overwhelmed with casualties from the old to the very young. seven days, ten days, four days? those are the victims. those are the injured here in the hospital. this little baby was born amid the chaos less than a week ago. as you can see here — look. what kind of life lies ahead of her?

this face, this children, does nothing. jon donnison, bbc news. as we've been reporting — the border between egypt and gaza — is currently the only route out of the territory. but the rafah crossing remains closed, at a time when aid, fuel and water are desperately needed in gaza. and hundreds of thousands of palestinians are trying to leave the territory. live now to our reporter abdelbassir hasan who is in cairo for us. what has egypt been saying? can you explain why so many diplomatic efforts have been focused there today? why is it so crucial? we are approaching the sunset of a very busy day with no breakthrough and no significant change at the borders between egypt and gaza.

although there have been efforts there is no outcome on the ground. people are still stranded on the side of the crossing in gaza. hundreds of trucks are still waiting for the green light to enter gaza. what we have followed through the day is that denial from egypt, israel and the government in gaza that there were any kind of talks or ceasefire or partial ceasefire or an agreement to open a corridor or open the crossing for any kind of action today. the latest remarks were made by the egyptian foreign minister blaming israel for what he said was showing no support for the plans either to allow the foreign passport

holders to come into egypt or to allow the entrance of assistance and aid to the gaza strip. but he said egypt is working hard with regional and international players in order to reach an agreement. there are expectations that after meetings with the us secretary of state antony blinken and the meeting of the cabinet that a breakthrough would happen and therefore there is still hope that by the end of the day they could be a breakthrough and plans to open the borders. but so far on the egyptian side the minister of health has inspected the crossing from the egyptian side and said it was ready and even stepped above utilities with more ambulances and the intention to build a field

hospital. he said once it's open those coming from gaza will receive or will be subject to medical checks once they are into the egyptian territory. this is the situation now that the crossing. here in cairo, diplomacy is being carried out. the egyptian president has received a phone call for the first time from the russian president. the main concern was to have an immediate ceasefire to avoid more escalation in gaza and open corridors for humanitarian aid as well as safeguarding the lives of civilians from both sides, especially those who are stranded at the moment. in another significant move today, egypt has started extending

invitations for the regional summit and there is talked about over the last 2a hours and an egyptian envoy is touring the region to extend these invitations for a regional summit on the situation which is expected as somebody reported by early next week.— early next week. around the world and across — early next week. around the world and across the _ early next week. around the world and across the uk, _ early next week. around the world and across the uk, this _ early next week. around the world and across the uk, this is - early next week. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc - early next week. around the world i and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. parliament's behaviour watchdog has recommended that conservative mp peter bone be suspended for six weeks for bullying and sexual misconduct. it follows a complaint made by a former member of staff, over alleged behaviour which took place over 10 years ago. the suspension will have to be voted on by the house of commons to be approved. further school strikes are due to take place in scotland after a union voted to reject

the latest pay offer for support staff. unison, the union that represents administrators, catering assistants and janitors, said a rolling programme of strikes in schools and nurseries will take place in the coming weeks, with dates announced within days. more foreign prisoners are to be deported to their home countries under plans to tackle overcrowding injails. justice secretary, alex chalk is due to set out plans in the commons today for reducing the prison population in england and wales. figures show thatjails are approaching full capacity, with the number of inmates at an all—time high. you are live with bbc news. in northern israel, the military says it's activated a plan to evacuate dozens of villages near the lebanese border, because of the threat of cross—border rocket fire from the iranian—backed hezbollah. one israeli civilian was killed in a his brother missile attack on a village on sunday. israel carried out overnight strikes on lebanon, targeting his brother infrastructure.

no casualties were reported. live now to our middle east correspondent hugo bachega who is in southern lebanon. take us through the situation of where we are and the fact that 28 villages on the israeli side of the border have essentially been evacuated. what does it tell us? this is a clear indication of how volatile the situation is along the israeli lebanese border. 28 communities being evacuated in israel. we don't know how many people are going to be affected because our colleagues who are on the israeli side of the border in northern israel have been the sum of those villages and they say most of the villages are largely empty because most residents have left. i think this is an announcement that

came after a day of intense cross—border attacks between militants here in lebanon including those from hezbollah and the israeli military. another sign of how tense the situation is here along the border, the israeli military minutes ago said that soldiers operating along the border were fired at and they are now responding with artillery fire towards the source of the attack. so another incident being reported along the lebanese israeli border. the fear here is that if these attacks continue lebanon could be dragged into this conflict. the lebanon could be dragged into this conflict. . ., . lebanon could be dragged into this conflict. _, . , , lebanon could be dragged into this conflict. _, . , ., , conflict. the concern loss of these di - lomatic conflict. the concern loss of these diplomatic channels _ conflict. the concern loss of these diplomatic channels that - conflict. the concern loss of these diplomatic channels that are - conflict. the concern loss of these i diplomatic channels that are ongoing at the moment are to prevent any sort of escalation and where you are is exactly where the concern is.

exactly. over the weekend we heard from a number of western officials warning iran which is the main supporter of hezbollah against an escalation of the conflict and we also had the iranian foreign minister travelling across the region. he was in lebanon and had conversations with the hezbollah leader. he was in doha yesterday where he met the hamas leader. so again trying to gather support for hamas and for what is happening with the palestinians in gaza. we've heard from officials, american officials, telling iran to stay away from this conflict and reacting to those comments the iranian foreign minister said if the us is interested in preventing an escalation of this conflict it should tell israel to stop attacking

palestinians in gaza. it shows how tense the situation is, how volatile the situation is along the lebanese israeli border. one of the most senior un officials says he's in intense negotiations to get aid into gaza. the un under—secretary general, martin griffiths, told the bbc help was needed to support those who have fled to southern gaza. he accused israel of failing to comply with international humanitarian law and said civilians must be able to move safely and not be attacked. joining me live now for an update on the humanitarian response isjonathan crickx, chief of communication with unicef palestine. can you bring us right up to date with what you are hearing in terms

of what's being classed now as a humanitarian crisis?— of what's being classed now as a humanitarian crisis? what we are heafina humanitarian crisis? what we are hearin: is humanitarian crisis? what we are hearing is that _ humanitarian crisis? what we are hearing is that there _ humanitarian crisis? what we are hearing is that there are - humanitarian crisis? what we are hearing is that there are children | hearing is that there are children and families in the gaza strip have run out of food and water and electricity in medicine. one of the aspects we are most worried about is water. clean water is running out in the gaza strip after damages to water plants in the water network. we have reports that some people are now forced to drink dirty water. i was in contact with a unit staff —— unicef staff member and he said he had moved to his sister apartment and he is a father of four and he was saying that they were now living 50 square metres apartment with 17 people with very limited amount of bottled water and that they were

facing many issues by the lack of water and the lack of water for hygiene. the situation is indeed very difficult. i also want to say that we are also worried about the number of casualties. the latest report we received were of about 700 palestinian children killed and that has to be added to the israeli children who are still being held in captivity. so we are very worried about the situation getting worse. we have been talking a lot about the diplomatic efforts to re—open the crossing to allow aiding through that one channel. how vital is that? at the onset of the crisis unicef has been delivering medicine and

health and supplies to hospitals. we have been delivering water to 75,000 people. but all those resources are not depleted and this is why we are calling for the opening of a humanitarian corridor accompanied by manager adrian poses because on the ground... it is absolutely key that humanitarian aid reaches these families. ~ , ., ~ ., ., families. with your knowledge and eo - le families. with your knowledge and --eole on families. with your knowledge and peeple on the _ families. with your knowledge and people on the ground's _ families. with your knowledge and people on the ground's knowledgej families. with your knowledge and i people on the ground's knowledge of people on the grounds knowledge of gaza, you are talking about the lack of water, does gaza have a capacity because there are wells that are they the problem? are they simply not enough? you have so many people have travelled from the north now to

the south so there is even more pressure presumably on the utilities. ~ ., ., ~ , utilities. we have to keep in mind that when it _ utilities. we have to keep in mind that when it comes _ utilities. we have to keep in mind that when it comes to _ utilities. we have to keep in mind that when it comes to water - utilities. we have to keep in mind that when it comes to water the l utilities. we have to keep in mind - that when it comes to water the aqua fare which is below the gaza strip, before this escalation 95% of the water they was not drinkable. so most of the water that was drunk was from sanitation plans and other water plants. so the wells with the water plants. so the wells with the water coming out of the wells is not drinkable. this is a key issue. that is wh the drinkable. this is a key issue. that is why the extra _ drinkable. this is a key issue. that is why the extra water _ drinkable. this is a key issue. that is why the extra water is needed. in terms of your staff, how difficult now is it for unicef to work on the ground and help everybody? it’s now is it for unicef to work on the ground and help everybody? it's very difficult because _ ground and help everybody? it's very difficult because we _ ground and help everybody? it's very difficult because we have _ ground and help everybody? it's very difficult because we have staff- ground and help everybody? it's very difficult because we have staff on - difficult because we have staff on

the ground and especially when it comes to mental health and psychosocial support, but of course they are in the same situation as every citizen in the gaza strip. they are facing a lot of danger. the issues relating to the lack of water and food are also facing them. so we are worried about the overall situation that unicef keeps a policy of staying because our objective is to support the children. we of staying because our ob'ective is to support the children._ to support the children. we will have to leave _ to support the children. we will have to leave it _ to support the children. we will have to leave it there. - to support the children. we will have to leave it there. thank i to support the children. we will. have to leave it there. thank you for talking to us. do stay with us on bbc news. the second named storm of the season is on its way later on in the week so some wet and windy weather on the cards but we of two halves. the next

few days will be mainly dry. it's from mid week on was that we will see the weather turning increasingly windy with heavy rain. the storm will be heading its way gradually in from the south—west and moving towards our shows and increasingly heavy rain developing from wednesday onwards and lasting through thursday and friday. lots of wet weather on the cards for many of us. today, quite quiet out there. we have high cloud across much of england and wales. some sunshine for northern england and northern ireland and scotland. temperatures between 11 and ia celsius. tonight we will see the cloud continuing to moving for southern and south—western england and splashes of rain for the channel islands. the breeze picking up but further north we have lighter winds and clearer skies so lowest temperatures will be across parts of scotland and northern england and northern ireland. tuesday, still

relatively quiet. early morning mist and fog will clear away from central areas and then sunshine for scotland, northern ireland and eastern england but cloudy skies for wales and south—west england. temperatures around 11 to 15 degrees. as we move through tuesday night into wednesday, this low pressure in from the bay of biscay and the isobars are squeezing as well so that shows us we will have that windy spell of weather developing for wednesday. some outbreaks of rain to parts of scotland and later for northern ireland, wales and central and southern england. the winds picking up southern england. the winds picking up around that area, 35 to a5 mph gusts of wind so enough to cause disruption. temperatures starting to come up a bit so mild with the arrival of that south—westerly airflow but let's take a look at the rainfall accumulation we are expecting between wednesday and saturday and take a look at these

colours across the east of scotland, 150 to 200 mil metres of rain especially the part of angus and south—east grampian so enough to cause significant disruption. keep your eyes on the latest warnings. goodbye.

this is bbc news, the headlines: thousands of people

wait at the border between egypt and gaza — washington hopes the crossing could open for a few hours on monday. the un says advanced talks are underway to get the first aid into gaza since israel started its bombardment of the territory. israel believes nearly 200 hostages are being held in gaza. benjamin netanyahu promises to bring them home. us secretary of state antony blinken returns to israel as he tries to head—off a wider regional conflict. we are going to go to the house of commons because we are expecting a statement from the prime minister rishi sunak on the israel gaza war. these are the live pictures from the house of commons. number ten says the prime minister will reiterate the prime minister will reiterate the uk's total condemnation of

hamas's attack and he will set out the approach