injerusalem it in jerusalem it is iiam injerusalem it is ”am in the morning in israel and the gaza strip. the israeli military says it's carried out a significant incursion into the gaza strip to attack hamas positions. speaking to the bbc an israeli defense forces spokesman says soldiers carried out the tactical raid towards central gaza to, in his words, "prepare the battlefield for future operations". take a listen. the tactical raid, which means that the forces went in and then went out during the night in order to prepare the battlefield and to prepare ourselves for coming operations. our forces are now back in israel. the activity occurred during the night and was concluded successfully without any significant event.

it is not the first time the idf has carried out limited ground raids into gaza, but this comes as benjamin netanyahu insisted a ground invasion of gaza was coming following questions here in israel and abroad about why it was taking so long. the prime minister speaking on prime—time television in israel on prime—time television in israel on wednesday night said the timing of the offensive was still to be determined and it would be reached by consensus. there are many pressures on israel's political leaders to delay this widely anticipated attack by ground. for the latest here is our correspondent tom bateman. israel's prime minister said in a televised speech that israeli forces are preparing for a ground invasion but did not give any clues as to the timing. translation: we are raining hellfire on hamas. _

we have already killed thousands of terrorists and this is only the beginning. simultaneously we are preparing for a ground invasion. i will not elaborate on when, how, or how many. israel's bombardment of the gaza strip has continued, the un said the most intensive yet in the past 2a hours, with hundreds killed. the qatari news network aljazeera said the family of its correspondent was killed in a strike on a refugee camp in the strip. meanwhile, the un says its fuel reserves in gaza are almost out and it has begun reducing its humanitarian operations. hospitals are stopping all but emergency operations, with the un warning more hospitals and shelters could be forced to close. meanwhile, the world health organization said that without fuel, babies in incubators who need life support will simply die, meanwhile, the world health organization said that without fuel, babies in incubators who need life

support will simply die, reiterating that safe and sustained access is needed, or, it says, there will be more suffering and death in gaza. to treat patientss you need electricity, for surgical theatres, for incubators, dialysis machines. so we need fuel. fuel is also needed to desalinate the water so hospitals have clean water. clean water is of vital importance in hospitals to keep patients safe and provide health services. meanwhile the world health organization reiterated its call for hamas to release all of the hostages abducted from israel on humanitarian and health grounds. it warns many hostages had pre—existing health conditions. there have been further calls now for a humanitarian pause in the fighting to allow more aid in. but for now, the war goes on. tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem. there has been a chorus of voices

from around the world, un agencies, human rights chief, urging for a ceasefire to allow the desperately needed aid to enter gaza. we are going to speak to someone who has a lot of experience in this area. lets speak now to sir mark lowcock. he was the un under—secretary—general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator between 2017 and 2021. hejoins me now from london. thank you very much forjoining us on bbc news. thank you very much for “oining us on sac newt thank you very much for “oining us on sac "mi thank you very much for “oining us on bbc newsi i - thank you very much for “oining us l on bbc newsi i must on bbc news. good morning. i must beain b on bbc news. good morning. i must begin by asking _ on bbc news. good morning. i must begin by asking you. _ on bbc news. good morning. i must begin by asking you, your— on bbc news. good morning. i must begin by asking you, your successor| begin by asking you, your successor martin griffiths, we understand, has been denied a visa to come to israel to try to find a solution to this humanitarian catastrophe stopping all the years he worked here on this crisis did that ever happened to you? crisis did that ever happened to ou? ., ,. . ., crisis did that ever happened to ou? ., ., ., , you? not in gaza or the occupied territories. _ you? not in gaza or the occupied territories, although _ you? not in gaza or the occupied territories, although i— you? not in gaza or the occupied territories, although i must- you? not in gaza or the occupied territories, although i must say l you? not in gaza or the occupied i territories, although i must say the syrian authorities in 2019 basically said they wouldn't give me a visa because there are cross with what i

felt i had to report to the security council about the bombing campaign with their iranian and russian allies in civilian areas in syria. this is something that happens from time to time and generally speaking things get normalised. martin griffiths has been able subsequently to visit syria. i wouldn't take this too seriously. the really big issue is how and when can we get a large scale humanitarian relief operation up scale humanitarian relief operation up and running across the rafa crossing into gaza? i up and running across the rafa crossing into gaza?— up and running across the rafa crossing into gaza? i am sure you have been — crossing into gaza? i am sure you have been following _ crossing into gaza? i am sure you have been following this - crossing into gaza? i am sure you have been following this closely, | have been following this closely, there has been a proposalfor a humanitarian pause, a humanitarian ceasefire, and none of them are getting through. what is your worst fear if it doesn't happen? weill. getting through. what is your worst fear if it doesn't happen?— fear if it doesn't happen? well, as ou

fear if it doesn't happen? well, as you know. — fear if it doesn't happen? well, as you know. gazza _ fear if it doesn't happen? well, as you know, gazza is— fear if it doesn't happen? well, as you know, gazza is not _ fear if it doesn't happen? well, as you know, gazza is not a - fear if it doesn't happen? well, as you know, gazza is not a place - fear if it doesn't happen? well, as i you know, gazza is not a place which produces any of its own food or basic essentials so everything has to come across either from israel or egypt. and there has been a blockade for two and half weeks now and that is what the facts provided in the clip you have just run, is what the facts provided in the clip you havejust run, medical supplies and everything is running out. what is needed, if we are not to get to the situation where the largest loss of life comes not from the bombing and shooting at the military activities, but from the consequences of people having no food to eat or no clean water or no medical facilities, food to eat or no clean water or no medicalfacilities, therejust food to eat or no clean water or no medical facilities, there just has to be access. it is going to need to be on a large scale. hundreds of trucks a month will be needed, dozens of trucks a day, otherwise there will be massive loss of life. you would be able to imagine the

intense negotiations behind—the—scenes involving israel, involving no doubt the united states, going right up to the top, to the un secretary—general. what levers does the united nations have now when even the secretary—general himself is coming under such heated criticism? ~ , ., ~ ., ., , criticism? well, you know, as we alwa s criticism? well, you know, as we always say _ criticism? well, you know, as we always say in _ criticism? well, you know, as we always say in the _ criticism? well, you know, as we always say in the un, _ criticism? well, you know, as we always say in the un, the - criticism? well, you know, as we always say in the un, the un - criticism? well, you know, as wej always say in the un, the un has criticism? well, you know, as we i always say in the un, the un has no hard power or money, all it has is a voice and what people will allow it to do. aid agencies have money, which is not a problem in this case, and the other is safe access. i think you can see through reports of negotiations on a resolution in the seer —— security council, the need for humanitarian access, you can see some of the public manifestations of the private diplomacy that you described there. the question is how quickly that gets translated into a

large—scale relief operation. because until that happens, there is a threat of a very large scale loss of life. ibis a threat of a very large scale loss of life. �* , ,, a threat of a very large scale loss of life. ~ , i. ~ ., a threat of a very large scale loss oflife. a ~ ., ,, ., of life. as you know, mark, from the bearinnin of life. as you know, mark, from the beginning the _ of life. as you know, mark, from the beginning the word _ of life. as you know, mark, from the beginning the word unprecedented l of life. as you know, mark, from the l beginning the word unprecedented has been used because it is truly unparalleled, unprecedented attacks against israel and now unprecedented suffering in gaza. you know the situation in gaza and israel close up, have you ever seen a crisis of this enormity? i up, have you ever seen a crisis of this enormity?— this enormity? i will give you one little example — this enormity? i will give you one little example of— this enormity? i will give you one little example of why _ this enormity? i will give you one little example of why i _ this enormity? i will give you one little example of why i think - this enormity? i will give you one little example of why i think it. this enormity? i will give you one little example of why i think it is | little example of why i think it is unprecedented. i don't remember an example of a case where the un itself has lost so many of its own staff. 35 staff of the un are killed as a result of the bombardment over the last two and a half weeks. you will remember very well in 2003 when the un was bombed by extremists in baghdad and 21 un lives were lost.

that is just one little example of the scale of this tragedy. it sort of reinforces why there needs to be away sooner rather than later to de—escalate, otherwise things will simply get worse and worse. that has the potential, as you have reported, to have much wider implications. indeed, that you very much for joining us with your insights into this deepening crisis, including what the united nations has described as a humanitarian catastrophe in gaza. as we have been reporting the un agency running humanitarian operations in gaza says it may be forced to take a decision about how much assistance it can continue to provide because of a lack of fuel. half of gaza's two million residents rely on unrwa for food. though limited deliveries of aid has now begun reaching gaza,

israel won't allow fuel in fearing it could end up in the hands of hamas. it is only allowing food, medicine and water. it is only allowing food, medicine and water. a short time ago we heard from juliette touma from unrwa. over the past 2a hours, we were forced to ration the use of fuel at unrwa. and we have started reducing some of the services, including in the health facilities and in the health areas that we support. we are appealing to all parties and those who have influence over them to bring in a shipment of fuel to support the unwra operations inside the gaza strip. what we are seeing in the gaza strip is unprecedented, unprecedented levels of suffering. two million people are being strangled, gaza is being choked with very, very little assistance that's coming from outside.

with the largest humanitarian organisation on the verge of stopping its operations. we are being banned from undertaking the mandate that was entrusted to us by the general assembly. all we're asking for is to be able to do our work. it's a good start. however, they're not enough. we received just over 60 trucks, which is less than 1% of what gaza used to get on a regular basis every day before the war started. so it's a drop in the ocean of overwhelming needs. so we need much more and we need a regular humanitarian supply line that also includes fuel that comes into gaza on a daily basis without interruptions. using the phrase now used by all un agencies working in gaza, a drop in the ocean of need. it is overwhelming the people of gaza. it

is widely believed, as now seems clear, and widely anticipated and expected, the grand attack by israel has been delayed and for many reasons. because of the 200 hostages still being held there and the need to get aid in and israel has to make its own military preparations. we understand they are doing that with the americans. let's get a bit more insight into the thinking here in israel about the ground attack. our middle east correspondentjohn batemanjoins us. there middle east correspondentjohn bateman joins us. there was an important speech last night by the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu. it is clear it will happen but they are still vague about exactly when.— happen but they are still vague about exactly when. what he said was we are ready — about exactly when. what he said was we are ready and _ about exactly when. what he said was we are ready and we _ about exactly when. what he said was we are ready and we have _ about exactly when. what he said was we are ready and we have always - about exactly when. what he said was| we are ready and we have always been ready and when there is a decision, this new war cabinet, that includes very experienced former generals, and the chief of staff, so the leadership of the current military, and i think that is to try and offset some reporting in israel that

there is effectively already a kind of blame game between the political echelon and the military, first over the security failure that allowed it to happen in the first place, but also about the timing of the ground invasion. there is a sense now that benjamin netanyahu may be hesitating, that the army are waiting because of the massive challenge this will involve. we saw him basically trying to say we are ready, we will go in when we decide and a decision is being made. then we had this morning a very important statement i thought from the israeli military, released with pictures importantly, of what they said was a limited incursion into the northern gaza strip. we have seen those pictures of tanks going in through the perimeterfence, tank fire, the perimeter fence, tank fire, inside the perimeterfence, tank fire, inside gaza before coming out. it is exactly the kind of thing you would expect. they are probing and try to destroy hamas defences. it is exactly what you do before a ground invasion, but it doesn't mean it is imminent. they need to keep up the

momentum and the pressure on hamas and this is one way of doing it, to show they are ready and they will go in when they like, but it is also about not allowing the morale of the troops to drop as they wait. you remember. _ troops to drop as they wait. you remember, after _ troops to drop as they wait. you remember, after the seventh they said they had carried out a limited ground red and then there was nothing for a long time and now we see images. they also must be cognisant of the mood they are hearing, that their leadership will destroy hamas and they don't see it happening. there are a lot of factors play on the minds of the military and the politicians. absolutely. remember, the psychological elements of this are important, the narrative of war is incredibly important. when things are announced and shown, remember it is notjust about are announced and shown, remember it is not just about as getting are announced and shown, remember it is notjust about as getting a sense of what is going on, but it is about how it is perceived, how it will

affect the wider conflict and the warring parties, so that is important to remember. of course the israeli public wants to know what is going on and here you have the state showing it is still ready for a response, and that is important. but the fact those 220 hostages remain in captivity, including the elderly and children, we have heard on the bbc this morning from relatives of one elderly lady who said one of the boys from a kibbutz being held would be celebrating his 12th birthday today and now he is in captivity. so there is a very, very important issue of the politics around this because there is all of that discussion internationally about trying to secure their release. that is a significant factor in the timing of a ground invasion, a huge pressure on benjamin netanyahu. so many factors, tom bateman, thank you very much forjoining us with your observations. you are watching bbc

news around the world and across the united kingdom. let's take a look at some stories making news in the uk. accommodation costs take up almost all the average maintenance loan received by university students in england says student housing charity unipol. in the last two years, average student rent has gone up by more than 1a%, while maintenance loans have risen 5.2%. the government could face a judicial review after excluding some health workers from a one—off bonus. intended to recognise work carried out since the covid pandemic thousands of outsourced staff, such as community nurses and physiotherapists, won't receive it. for the first time in years the poppy of remembrance has undergone a change. the new flowers for the royal

british legion's annual appeal are now entirely plastic—free and can be recycled. you're live with bbc news. social media has been flooded with false claims about the situation in the middle east, with some of the most brazen posts downplaying the violence committed against children. when two 11—year—old boys were killed — one palestinian, one israeli — their deaths were denied on social media. it was much to the anguish of their families. it was much to the anguish of theirfamilies. their stories are symbolic of the information war being waged. let's bring in disinformation and social media correspondent, marianna spring. she has been looking at the story of

two boys which tell a much wider story. thank you. they lived roughly 23 kilometres apart on either side of the israeli and gaza boundary. they were both four years old. here are the pictures of them and their faces appeared on my social media feeds over the past couple of weeks, but not for the reasons you might expect. i have tracked down family, friends and witnesses and in both cases they tell a tragic story. let's start with omar. he was killed following an air strike by israeli forces east of gaza city. i spotted post about his death being shared on x, formerly known as twitter, by pro—israeli accounts. they showed a small body wrapped in a white blanket and they were falsely suggesting it was not a real baby but instead a doll. the false claims about the doll was bred by all kind of accounts, including by the state of accounts, including by the state of israel's official account and dozens of others. they reached

millions of people. i tracked down the original clips and photos link to the video and spoke to two palestinian photojournalist to confirm these were taken outside the mortuary at the al shifa hospital on the 12th of october. they confirmed this little boy in the video was called omar and showed additional images which i matched up with the original footage to verify the child was my identity. i was shown a video clip of his older brother describing what happened. translation: we went out to the street to play. - the strike happened and my brother had gone to buy something. the strike hit our neighbour's house and the rubble fell on him and he died. the two photojournalists also put me in touch with omar's mum and i verified her identity through social media. she said she was shocked and very sad about the claim that had been made about her son, adding, they have no right to say he is a doll. the israeli government are lying and evading their crimes and massacres. i —— a spokesperson for

the israeli embassy in the uk did not comment directly on the social media posts or the circumstances of omar's death, but they told the bbc it is important to review instances of disinformation, but also in —— accuse the bbc of spreading misinformation. ex did not reply for requests for comments. emyr was killed by his whole family when hamas attacked his home in a caboose on the 7th of october. this photo are shared by the israeli government online, describing them as an entire family wiped out by hamas terrorists. but, along with support, i was surprised by some of the posts and comments i was seeing and any pictures of the family. several accounts that supported hamas said that he had been a paid actor because hamas didn't kill kids. other said this wasjewish propaganda at its finest, declaring there is no evidence that emyr had been killed. these were not accounts

with huge followings, but the cumulative effects of the post bolster false narratives online, suggesting hamas had not killed children in spite of the evidence. i spoke with the close family friend and she confirmed his parents had been shot dead and he and his sisters were killed when their home was set on fire. she has been shocked by the reaction online. i think to deal with their death is hard enough and to hear all these comments makes it even worse. how can i respond to that? like, why do i need to prove they died, like why five graves needed to be filled yesterday with their beautiful bodies. this is not just this is notjust about the boys. rather this story and their stories illustrate the broader battle being waged online to control and often distort how this war is perceived. the anguish of israeli families,

israeli families, palestinian families, losing their loved ones, including their children, but also the anguish of families whose loved ones are missing, israelis as well as what is believed to be dozens of nationalities. we have been given an update by the israeli defence forces spokesperson and it is being said the families of 220 hostages have been notified. 224 hostages. that is more than the last figure and since then four hostages have been released largely through qatari mediation and through the assistance of other countries, including egypt. one organisation which has a special responsibility for prisoners and hostages are the keepers of the geneva convention, as well as having a major humanitarian role to play. stephen ryan is from the international committee of the red cross. have you been able to get any information on the whereabouts or

the well—being of the hostages? what i can tell you on the issue of the hostages is although we have not been able to get any new information about the well—being or the whereabouts of the hostages, we have continuously asked to visit them. we have continuously request that they receive humanitarian assistance and medical care and that they are able to let theirfamilies medical care and that they are able to let their families know that they are well. most of all, we continue to ask for them to be released because the taking of hostages is illegal under international humanitarian law. we saw the white vests and your red cross symbol on the last hostages were released and you are playing a role when they do come out of captivity. yes. you are playing a role when they do come out of captivity.— come out of captivity. yes, our role is to act as — come out of captivity. yes, our role is to act as a _ come out of captivity. yes, our role is to act as a neutral— come out of captivity. yes, our role is to act as a neutral intermediary. | is to act as a neutral intermediary. we do not get involved in the negotiations when they are going to

be released. that is between the parties. our particular role is to recognise that we are not on one side or the other, that we are there to make sure that people get humanitarian assistance and in the case of the hostages to make sure that they are able to contact their families. i know my colleagues and i are proud to be able to ensure that this can happen, we are also absolutely committed to providing humanitarian assistance to people that are affected by conflict across the occupied territories, as well as ensuring we are able to continue to visit detainees across the region, whoever they are and wherever they are. ,, , , ., , whoever they are and wherever they are. ,, , , . , ., are. stephen ryan, i wish we had more time- _ are. stephen ryan, i wish we had more time. we _ are. stephen ryan, i wish we had more time. we are _ are. stephen ryan, i wish we had more time. we are coming - are. stephen ryan, i wish we had more time. we are coming to - are. stephen ryan, i wish we had more time. we are coming to the are. stephen ryan, i wish we had - more time. we are coming to the end of this half hour of the programme, but i am sure we will speak to you again because you play so many crucial roles in the escalating crisis. you have been hearing that all of your staff inside gaza have

been displaced and some are missing. it is the plight of all aid agencies working here in incredibly difficult and dangerous conditions. you are watching bbc news. hello. our very unsettled, changeable spell of autumn weather continues over the next few days, but we'll see a bit of blue sky at times. this is the picture earlier on in newcastle, county down. but we've also got some big shower clouds around and really over the next few days, for the remainder of october, expect showers or longer spells of rain. it's looking particularly wet across parts of eastern scotland as we head towards the weekend. so this is the expected rainfall accumulation over the next few days. green accumulation over the next few days. cars in aberc of green cars in aberdeenshire and east of scotland where we could be up to 100 millimetres of rain falling on that very saturated ground, so more flooding is possible through the weekend. we have got low pressure, this swirl of cloud to the west of

the uk, and these weather fronts will be driving their way gradually eastward. today the persistent rain will be in east anglia, lincolnshire, up towards easter scotland. some showers will be quite persistent across the far north where it will be windy. sunny spells and scattered showers returning to northern ireland, wales and the south—west of england. a few showers in the midlands. tonight we will keep the breeze for parts of northern scotland, the south—west of england, driving in further showers here. some misty patches through central patches of england and wales and it will be frost free tomorrow morning. friday, still low pressure to the west, really not moving in a hurry. the winds and driving around the area is a low pressure brings in more showers up to southern england and wales and the irish sea coasts as well and this easterly wind will drive in further persistent rain in parts of north—east england and eastern scotland. not too heavy at this stage, but rainfall totals will be mounting up in the south and east

of scotland. temperatures ten to 15 degrees. that low pressure is not moving into the weekend, so we have got further frontal systems driving around that low pressure, sweeping in from the south—west. the heaviest of the showers in southern england and through the irish sea coasts once again, but the easterly breeze bringing more rain across the east of scotland, so flooding is a possibility. temperatures between ten to 16, fairly typical for this time of year. the outlook through the weekend into next week, some sunshine but blustery and at times heavy downpours.

this is bbc news. we are waiting to cross to westminster where the prime minister will give a speech very soon about the threats posed by artificial intelligence. it comes off the back of a new government report which ones it could increase the risk of cyber attacks and trust in online content by 2025. as i mentioned, we are expecting to hear from the prime minister how the uk government aims to make ai safe and establish the uk as a global leader in al safety. this is rishi sunak.

applause good morning, everyone and thank you, adrian. iam good morning, everyone and thank you, adrian. i am delighted to be here, the place where modern science has been written for centuries. i am unashamedly optimistic about the power of technology to make life better for everyone. power of technology to make life betterfor everyone. the power of technology to make life better for everyone. the easy speech for me to give, the one in my heart i want to give is to tell you about all the incredible opportunities before us. this morning i was at moorfields eye hospital and they are using artificial intelligence to build a model that can look at a single picture of your eyes and not only diagnose blindness, but predict heart attacks, strokes or parkinson's. that is just the beginning. i genuinely believe technologies like ai will bring a transformation as far—reaching as the industrial revolution, the coming of electricity or the birth of the internet. as with every one of the internet. as with every one of those waves of technology, ai

will bring new knowledge, new opportunities