this comes asjoe biden heads to the region to show support for israel, even asjordan cancels a planned summit involving the us president. hello. i'm sumi somaskanda. it is good to have you with us. we start with the latest developments in the israel—hamas war. jordan has cancelled a planned summit with palestinian and arab leaders, even as presidentjoe biden heads to the region to show his support for israel. he had been scheduled to attend the gathering in amman, before tuesday's attack on a hospital in gaza city. that blast has killed hundreds of palestinians, according to health officials in gaza. hamas has blamed the devastation on an israeli air strike. israel says the blast was caused by rockets misfired by another group, palestinian islamichhad. both sides deny responsibility. let's get more on tuesday's hospital attack.

here's our international editorjeremy bowen. loud blast. the missile hit the hospital not long after dark. man shouts. you can hear the impact. the explosion destroyed al—ahli hospital. it was already damaged from a smaller attack at the weekend. the building was flattened. shouting. very soon, video was posted from gaza of bodies laid out near the ruins of the hospital. so many dead and the size of the explosion, together looked to be having a profound impact on what was already the most dangerous crisis in the middle east in a generation. the wounded were taken across gaza city to shifa hospital. the israeli army's first response said hospitals were highly sensitive and not

targets of its military and urged caution about what it called the unverified claims of a terrorist organisation. that statement will not be believed by palestinians and by millions of others in the middle east who see these images. the wounded and the dying pouring into shifa from al—ahli arrived at a hospital already overwhelmed by thousands of casualties from israeli air strikes. it was already struggling to treat patients after israel cut off fuel, water, food, and deliveries of medical supplies. jordan and egypt condemned israel for a dangerous escalation. jordan said the international community should pressure israel to stop its attacks to prevent what it called wide cycles of violence.

as fury and fear gripped palestinians, israel denied that it was responsible. i can confirm that an analysis of the idf operational systems indicates that the barrage of rockets was fired by terrorists in gaza, passing in close proximity to the al—ahli hospital in gaza at the time it was hit. intelligence from few sources that we have in our hands indicates that the islamic jihad is responsible for the failed rocket launch which hit the hospital in gaza. pictures on social media showed many children are among the casualties in gaza. so many people needed treatment that the corridors of shifa hospital were packed.

it's also causing even fear among the hundreds of thousands of palestinians who fled to gaza's southern border with egypt, after israel told them to leave their homes. there's 8,000 people here at night and it is usually raucous, loud, kids are running around, but tonight there is silence, absolute silence. you can't hear a thing. people are just in absolute shock about what has happened. it is really, really shocking. and, and, ijust don't know what to say. i have no words. anger spilled onto the streets of the occupied west bank. the other part of the palestinian territories that are separated from gaza by israel. since hamas attacked out of gaza on the 7th of october, they have been fears 0ctober, they have been fears that mass casualties caused by israel's response could ignite west bank towns that have been the centre of unrest for well

over a year. the young man on the streets, and palestinian armed groups in the west bank, will not believe israel's denials. the latest from ismail�*s prime minister blaming what he called barbaric terrorists for the attack. the attack is a seismic event in a war that might spread elsewhere in the middle east. the palestinian president has cancelled a meeting with the us president, who is due in israel tomorrow morning on a mission that was aimed at easing the plight of palestinian civilians, and who will now walk into an even deeper crisis. jeremy bowen, bbc news, in southern israel. 0ur gaza correspondent, rushdi abualouf, has been covering the conflict from the ground, and has this update on the hospital.

they were treating people on the corridor of the hospital. they were doing surgeries for people seriously injured. they are volunteers, people, nurses, students of the medical and the universities rushing to the hospital to help and support the doctors, and the hospital are really struggling to save people's live. it is like more than three hours now since the explosion in the hospital. people with their hands are still trying to remove the rubble and find any survivors. transporting, finding the bodies and taking bodies to the hospital. there is no place to put the bodies. they put the bodies in the courtyard of the hospital and they are making surgeries in the street. the bbc has spoken to officials from both the israeli and palestinian governments. both have different takes on who is responsible

for the strike. we start with mark regev, senior advisor to prime minister netanyahu, and former ambassador of israel to the united kingdom. all indications are that this was not israeli orders, but this was rather a hamas rocket that fell short. now, this was rather a hamas rocket that fellshort. now, i this was rather a hamas rocket that fell short. now, i want to explain this. from past conflicts with the terrorists in gaza, we know that, on average, about 33% of the rockets that they shoot at us fall short and land in gaza. that's a fact. that's documented. numbertwo, we that's a fact. that's documented. number two, we know that at the time of this tragedy in gaza, there was a barrage, a huge barrage, against targets in central israel. i urge you to be cautious. there are indications, very, very serious that not us. hamas wants to have a propaganda victory, saying israel has killed innocent civilians. there is no evidence to support that claim and let's just wait and see how

this develops. look, israel does not target hospitals,.. we don't do it. the bbc also spoke with mustafa barghouti, a palestinian legislator and leader of the palestinian national initiative. he pointed the finger squarely at israel, saying the strike was years in the making. it isn't unacceptable, deliberate war crime against the civilian of gaza, bombarding the baptist hospital where thousands of people were trying to take... thinking they were in a safe place, where patients were there forgetting treatment, and then this israeli air strike, which took the lives of 500 people at least, and i'm sure the number would rise, because there are so many badly injured people who could die at any moment. this was a deliberate attack, unacceptable attack, a war crime that should not have happened and should not be accepted. and this in my

opinion reveals to you the level of israel's feeling of total impunity and lack of accountability, not only to international law, but to human beings everywhere. as we mentioned earlier, jordan has cancelled a planned summit it was going to host in amman with president biden and the egyptian and palestinian leaders. according tojordan�*s foreign minister, there is "no use "in talking now about anything except stopping the war". earlier, the palestinian president mahmoud abbas had already pulled out of the summit with mr biden, instead returning to the west bank, to hold an emergency meeting of the palestinian authority's leadership. biden is currently on his way to the middle east, where he is still expected to meet with israel's prime minister on wednesday. while aboard air force one, john kirby of the us national security council expressed optimism they will be able to get aid into gaza. 0ur north america editor sarah smith has more on the president's trip. this is an extraordinary trip, which was a very high—stakes

gamble, even before the news came in of this hospital bombing. it's a visit with two purposes, really, and both of those twofold missions got considerably more difficult today. firstly, he wants to go there to demonstrate what he calls his ironclad commitment to israel and to its right to defend itself. now, that is a position that joe biden has had for well over 50 years now, but it is a position that is much, much more uncomfortable to defend tonight than it was even just this morning. the other thing he wants to try to achieve is to get israel to allow emergency humanitarian aid into gaza and to put in place some kind of measures to try to protect innocent civilian lives. thatjust looks a lot more difficult now as well, because you've got the american president, flying into a situation where the hamas leader says it's the fault of the us, that this hospital bombing has happened, because america gives israel cover for its aggression,

he says. as you were reporting, the palestinian president, mahmoud abbas, cancelled his meeting withjoe biden, and then, at the same time, israel are going to ask him for over $10 billion worth of emergency military aid. so he is arriving in a situation that was already complex, and it is now considerably more volatile, before he even touches down. daniel byman is a senior fellow at the center for strategic and international studies, and has written extensively on the middle east. hejoined me earlier. daniel, very good to have you with us on bbc news tonight. news tonight. we will get to president biden�*s trip in a moment. i first want to start with this horrific attack on the hospital, and further escalation in this conflict and get your thoughts on it. so, as you said, this is one of the worst things you could imagine. 500, perhaps far more, people, innocent people,

horribly killed. as your reporting indicated, we do not know who is responsible so far. but i would say that even if responsibility is determined, there will be audiences that do not believe it. certainly, hamas and others will always claim israel is responsible, even if it is proven to be palestinian islamichhad or another group. this is going to harden views of israel, and is already causing damage to the united states in the region, where people have been very critical of the very strong biden administration support, and it is the sort of terrible tragedy that has marked this conflict in the past, where it sounds a bit stale, but we have seen the sorts of mistakes occur where a lot of innocent people died as military operations escalated. what do you think it will mean to israel's stated aim of eradicating hamas from gaza?

eradicating hamas from gaza is an exceptionally difficult end goal. more realistically for israel is doing hamas a lot of damage. it would be measured in terms of killing or capturing leaders and destroying hamas infrastructure, whether arms caches, or its overall military support in gaza. israel is preparing to go in on the ground in gaza. that will be an exceptionally difficult and bloody operation, simply the terrain of gaza, where everything is built up, and hamas colocated military and civilian infrastructure means that it's very hard to target hamas leadership without destroying large amounts of civilian infrastructure. and some people have fled the area but many remain and there will be unfortunately far more dead people as this operation commences. and that is something that will be impossible for israel to avoid. i want to also ask about

president biden�*s trip to the region. the summit that he was intended to hold injordan is cancelled, because of this hospital strike. where do you think this leaves his trip in terms of the stated mission to work on the humanitarian crisis in gaza 7 president biden is going in part because he wants to go and show israel and many americans that he stands 100% largely behind israel. and he is also doing it because he believes that if he does so, he will have more ability to get israel to make concessions on things like humanitarian issues. i do believe that this trip has been warmly received by israelis and makes biden popular, far more popular than a democratic president has been for quite some time, and it does allow the united states to push israel on things like humanitarian corridors, supplies,... just to jump in there,

if he is seen meeting with israel and not engaging with palestinian and arab leaders, how do you think that will come across the region? there is no question the region is already very critical of the united states. we have seen widespread demonstrations where people have been chanting anti—us slogans. this is even before the hospital bombing. people do not, then probe, blame the united states for providing... arab governments will be cautious as a result, but the key issue right now is trying to make sure that there is some israeli military co—ordination with the humanitarian operations. that it's not simply israel going on 100% on the military side. but, yes, there is no question the strike makes it much harder. you have written or said that what we're seeing a decline of us power and engagement in certain parts of the world, including the middle east. what did you mean by that? the united states, they had one

goal in the middle east which was to pivot towards china, dealing with russia, russian new canaan. these were priorities. the middle east has a way of sucking the united states back in. by trying to reduce its presence, its influence. we have seen a range of powers go the wrong way and that in my view has made the region less. that in my view has made the region lem— that in my view has made the region less-— region less. will we see this war widened _ region less. will we see this war widened beyond - region less. will we see this war widened beyond the - region less. will we see this - war widened beyond the current conflict? ., , ., war widened beyond the current conflict? . , ., ., conflict? that is a real possibility. _ conflict? that is a real possibility. we - conflict? that is a real possibility. we have . conflict? that is a real. possibility. we have seen conflict? that is a real - possibility. we have seen an aggressive israeli response. we have seen strikes from syria. we haven't seen an escalation, but tension is very high, passion is very high and things like the strike mean anger will propel groups like hezbollah

and governments to try and act. daniel, really interesting to get your perspective on bbc news tonight. thank you so much. ., ~ news tonight. thank you so much. . ,, ,, around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other headlines. us congressmanjim jordan has fallen short in the first round of voting to become us speaker. 20 fellow republicans voted against him. he could only afford to lose four members in a floor vote. jordan is looking to fill the role, left empty, after the former speaker, kevin mccarthy, was ousted, two weeks ago. a second vote is expected to take place on wednesday. belgian police have shot dead a man who killed two swedish nationals in brussels on monday. the 45—year—old man was shot in a cafe. a third swedish citizen was seriously injured in the attack. the shooting took place five kilometres, or about three miles from the stadium, where belgium was playing sweden in a euro 2024 football qualifier. india's supreme court

has declined to legalise same—sex unions, dashing the hopes of millions of lgbtq+ people seeking marriage equality. the court instead accepted the government's offer to set up a panel to consider granting more legal rights and benefits to same—sex couples. activists said they were disappointed by the decision and would continue pushing for legislation. you're watching bbc news. let's look more closely now at the fallout from tuesday's events in gaza city, and see how they're rippling throughout the region. 0ur correspondent john donnison has more on that. gunfire fury tonight in the west bank. in ramallah, youths battled with palestinian security forces who responded with tear gas and sound grenades. earlier, as reports of the hospital strike came in from gaza, thousands took to the streets in protest. there is anger directed at israel, but also at president mahmoud abbas

and his palestinian authority, which many perceive as weak and lacking legitimacy. mr abbas announced he was cancelling a meeting with president biden, scheduled for tomorrow injordan, and was flying home. chanting there were mass protests there this evening too and clashes outside the israeli embassy in amman. translation: during | the foundation of israel, when it occupied this area, they are breaching international humanitarian law. geneva agreement is obvious in this regard. medical centres or hospitals should not be touched. in turkey also, thousands rallied against israel. as the war in gaza escalates, it is a dangerous moment for the wider region. jon donnison, bbc news. the us state department has raised its travel alert level for lebanon, advising citizens not to travel there. that's because of recent clashes between israel and hezbollah fighters. in the latest conflict,

the israeli army says it has killed four militants trying to cross from lebanon. 0vernight, the israeli airforce carried out more air strikes on targets linked to the iranian—backed group hezbollah, deemed as a terror organisation by the uk government. the concern is that the israel—hamas war could spill over to other parts of the middle east. when �*sergeant i' saw these men crossing the border, she knew what to do. translation: i was on my shift, and i recognised a group of terrorists on the screens. i understood that something was wrong. i won't lie, it was very scary to stand here by the border. the observers in the south, all the forces who were caught up in the attack there, i personally know a lot of people who have been abducted or murdered. for more than a week, there have been exchanges of fire between lebanon and israel, and as they intensify, this is where israeli soldiers keep tabs on the border. they call this the �*war room'. there is another one exactly

the same right behind it, and all of these screens, all of the time, right around the clock, are being watched and monitored, and they're showing cameras that are trained on the border with lebanon, people are watch and waiting. if they see anybody try to infiltrate, try to come across that border, they immediately raise the alarm. translation: they are the eyes of the soldiers, _ the eye of the forces in the field, of the entire border, and they are playing an important role. we are a company of strong women, female soldiers that know theirjob and mission, and know that they play a very important role in this war. israeli troops are now massing in the north in large numbers. it is a visual reminder of what is at stake and how seriously the threat is being taken. the us is working behind the scenes to stop an escalation. but iran, which backs hezbollah, isn't ruling out opening a new front. translation: restraint

cannot be one-sided, i you can't advise lebanon's hezbollah to have restraint, but tell netanyahu you have the freedom to commit whatever crimes you like against civilians. these are tense hours along this fragile dividing line. if it breaks, the whole region will feel the consequences. anna foster, bbc news, on the israel—lebanon border. we've learned in the past few hours that 31 americans were killed and 13 are still accounted for since the hamas attack and the events that followed. that's according tojohn kirby of the us national security council. meanwhile, more stories are coming to light of the victims of the violence, both israeli and palestinian. right now, we want to bring you the story of a 13—year—old british girl, yahel, who had been missing from her home in israel since the hamas attacks. her family has now confirmed that she was indeed killed as lucy manning reports. 13—year—old yahel,

just a few months ago, celebrating the moment a jewish girl enters adulthood, a future she now won't realise. murdered by hamas, her older sister noiya missing. her british family shared these pictures. they said yahel was beautiful, full of adventure and mischief, a bundle of unbridled energy and joy, cheeky and sharp. "we will forever miss her," they said. yahel truly lived her life. brave enough to jump out of a plane with the family on a skydiving trip. she made them all laugh before shejumped. this family hamas tried to obliterate. yahel, murdered. british—born mum, lianne, also murdered. sister noiya and dad eli, missing. yahel, she was the funny one from the girls. she was speaking very fast,

and i remember telling her, "yahel, just slow down!" she would sit with me and show me pictures on her phone. yahel�*s uk relatives said she and herfamily loved coming here for christmas and easter, enjoying the british festive season. lianne, her mum, had moved to israel when she was just 19 to volunteer on a kibbutz. lianne was the one you wanted to celebrate with. she knew how to sing, she taught me how to drink beer, and we were good friends. you still have hope for noiya and for eli. of course, of course. until we get a clear message, i do not want to say it, but now i have to arrange the funeral of lianne and yahel, and i don't even know how to do it, because i never did one funeral. how can you arrange two or three orfour?

"yahel brought light into our lives," said herfamily, "for the too short time she was with us." lucy manning, bbc news. this crisis is ongoing, and so is the bbc�*s coverage. for the latest, please visit our website, bbc.com/news or the bbc news app. we have the latest news and analysis from our teams in israel, gaza and around the world. that's all from washington. i'm sumi somaskanda. we leave you with some pictures of london as we hand off to our colleagues there. thank you for watching andrew stay with us. —— and do stay with us. hello, there. it's been a fine start to this week, but things are set to turn more unsettled, very autumnal, and even quite stormy as we see strong winds, gales and heavy rain spreading northwards across the uk. so some of this rain and strong wind likely to cause some disruption

towards the end of the week. now, it's storm babet, which the met office have named, will be pushing northwards during wednesday, wednesday night, across the uk, then parking itself across the north of the uk for thursday and friday. so rainfall totals really will be mounting up, and i can show you this, in fact, on the rainfall accumulation anomaly — you can see all areas seeing a lot of rainfall, but it's eastern scotland, parts of northeast england that bear the brunt. some of the heaviest of the rainfall sits here, where we have some concerns with the risk of some localised flooding, but because of the recent flooding across scotland, the ground is saturated, the met office have issued an amber warning for this east—northeast corner. could see up to 150, maybe 200mm of rain by the time the week's out. that could cause some disruption. wednesday starts off fine for many — central, northern, eastern areas, plenty of sunshine. it will be windy, mind you. rain starts to pepper northern ireland, and then southern britain, first signs of storm babet pushing in here later on wednesday.

some of this rain could be quite heavy and thundery, but strong and gusty winds for all areas, even though it will be quite mild, 14 to 16 degrees — might not feel like that because of the strength of the wind. storm babet continues to move northwards across the uk during wednesday night, parks itself across northern england, northern ireland, southern scotland. that starts thursday morning, some showers pushing into southern areas later on. it will be a mild night to come. this is the pressure chart then for thursday — looks like the weather front will be hanging around across northern and eastern scotland. rainfall totals really mounting here, strong gale—force winds, particularly for the northern isles and north sea coasts here. further south, it'll be a mixture of variable cloud, some showery bursts of rain, some of which could be heavy and thundery, but mild, despite the wind and the rain — 15 to 18 celsius. similar story, as we head into friday — it looks like the northern half of the country will see the heaviest of the rain. again, northeast england could bear the brunt of the heavy rain on friday. elsewhere, it's clear spells, but also a mixture of showers, some of which could be

heavy and thundery. again, mild in the south, cooler in the north. see you later.

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme.

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. how does a society protect those most vulnerable, particularly children, from exploitation and abuse? all this because israel was attacked from gaza by car's rule is, the moo men, women and children killed. mr; rule is, the 1400 men, women and children killed.— and children killed. my guest is the chief _ and children killed. my guest is the chief palestinian - is the chief palestinian diplomat in london. hamas, it seems, wanted a devastating war, but what about palestinians not with hamas? what are the options. —— what

are their options?