explosions. tonight at ten — large explosions are seen in gaza, as israel says it's intensifying its bombardment. translation: over the last few hours, we have intensified - our bombing over gaza. the ground forces are also extending their operations this evening. hamas retaliates with a series of rockets fired at cities in southern israel in the last few hours. i'm injerusalem, where our international editorjeremy bowen will have his analysis of this step change in the conflict. and our other stories on the programme tonight... as hundreds of us police continue their search for a gunman in maine, the wife of one of the 18 people

shot dead tells us america needs better gun control. and, nearly a0 years after the first successful separation of conjoined twins at great ormond street hospital, some of the children it's helped meet up and share their experiences: like, we obviously do fight a lot. we do scream at each other a lot. we get mad at each other. but then we always have that bond that we know we'll be sisters forever, and we'll love each other forever, and we'll care for each other forever. on bbc london, the mayor sadiq khan calls for a ceasefire in gaza. stay with us here in bbc news for continuing coverage and analysis from our team of correspondents in the uk and around the world. good evening from jerusalem.

large explosions have been seen in the gaza strip tonight as the israeli army says it's increasing the number of air strikes on the territory and expanding its ground force operations. communications in gaza — including mobile phone and internet — have been cut off. in response to the intensified bombardment, the armed wing of hamas, designated as a terrorist organisation by the uk government, says that it has fired a barrage of rockets towards israel. this is the scene in gaza tonight. and this is the scene in nasser hospital in khan younis in southern gaza, where people are gathered after being told to leave the north of the territory by israel. the director general of the world health organization said tonight it has lost contact with its staff in gaza and with its humanitarian partners on the ground,

and that he is "gravely concerned" about their safety. i'm joined by our international editorjeremy bowen. jeremy, a significant stepping up in hostilities and also in concerns about civilians.— hostilities and also in concerns about civilians. yeah, enormously si . nificant about civilians. yeah, enormously significant and _ about civilians. yeah, enormously significant and four— about civilians. yeah, enormously significant and four civilians - about civilians. yeah, enormously significant and four civilians very i significant and four civilians very concerning because we've seen the level of casualties simply from air strikes over the last three weeks more than 7000 people dead, a high proportion of those civilians. so, people have always said that when serious ground operation start, that will probably increase. 0ne serious ground operation start, that will probably increase. one big question tonight is, is this the big invasion that people had been talking about? i think it's an invasion, by the looks of things, troops and tanks, but maybe not the very big one, because they are in one part of the gaza strip, perhaps the israeli strategy is to try and take it tranche by tranche and do

what they have to do in the north and then move on. i think it's all going to be revealed in the next few daysin going to be revealed in the next few days in terms of what they do, but what has been happening is very intense bombardment, it started just a few hours after dark. not long after dark, the bombardment of gaza intensified. israel called it expanding ground operations. hamas said it was fighting an israeli incursion into the northern gaza strip, and fired salvos of rockets back into israel. the un secretary—general�*s pleas for a humanitarian ceasefire were drowned out. this is a moment of truth, he said. history willjudge us all. the day that led up to this had moments of quiet, though not of hope. in khan younis hospital in southern gaza, they stopped for the noon prayer, after another deadly night. then israel released video

of its naval commandos raiding targets on the gaza coast. somewhere, hidden inside gaza, are more than 200 hostages taken by hamas. talks to free at least some of them were said to be going well in the hours before israel's new onslaught. many palestinians believe israel wants to force them out of gaza for good. this lawyer was writing, "my heart, my heartbeat," on the shroud of his baby, stillborn after his pregnant wife was killed. like many other civilians, they stayed in northern gaza after israel ordered them to leave. later, israel released video what it says was an attack on the hamas tunnel network. was it a clue of what was coming? israeli military commanders said again that hamas uses palestinian civilians as human shields, and they said hamas has bunkers

under gaza city's main hospital. this is an illustration of shifa hospital, and the underground facilities. i want to repeat, this is only an illustration. we will not share here the true material. terrorists move freely in shifa hospital, and other hospitals in gaza. we have concrete evidence that hundreds of terrorists flooded into the hospital to hide there, after the massacre of october 7th. about ten kilometres from gaza, in ashkelon, volunteers were signing up for duty with the israeli police. they were issued with brand—new american assault rifles by itamar ben—gvir, israel's national security minister. he has a conviction for inciting racism. many israelis think

he is a dangerous extremist. ben—gvir believes israel can eliminate hamas and destroy palestinian hopes for independence. but he was popular here at the police station. the volunteers believe his plan to arm civilians is the best way to protect their families. 0n the other side, they are not humans, they are monsters. we need to take gaza. gaza belongs to us. we need to take gaza and then we can transfer it to the palestinian authorities. but first we need to take gaza. it's beach weather, but they were empty as israel's troops prepare to go into gaza. it feels as fragile here as in the years after the holocaust, according to the former speaker of parliament. people sentimentally and emotionally, are back to �*45—�*48. we are pre—state emotionally, we are no—state economically and socially, and we have no answer what to do with the next—door neighbour. so of course there is a need for a new call, for a new paradigm. it's a very, very difficult trauma.

but a very promising renaissance. and every birth comes to the world with a lot of pain and blood. before the chance of a brighter future comes a present that is grim and getting grimmer. a hamas rocket beat ashkelon�*s defences in the last hours before the israeli offensive. and this evening... explosions. ..in the dark night over gaza, israel is sending in wave after wave of strikes by heavy artillery and aircraft. jeremy bowen, bbc news, jerusalem. might there be any link between this intensification with israel and the

ongoing negotiations on the hostages held by hamas. my ongoing negotiations on the hostages held by hame— held by hamas. my information is the are held by hamas. my information is they are not _ held by hamas. my information is they are not ongoing _ held by hamas. my information is they are not ongoing any - held by hamas. my information is they are not ongoing any more, i held by hamas. my information is - they are not ongoing any more, these negotiations. the qataris had been acting as an intermediary between israel and hamas and egypt has been helping out as well, and we were getting information actually earlier in the day that things were moving in the day that things were moving in those talks, they were hoping they might get a positive result, some kind of hostage release, perhaps even a humanitarian pause, a ceasefire of some sort in the next few days. and then all of this happened and my information is that the talks had been stalling and, well, now they are not happening at all for the time being and it's unlikely they will continue while this is going on. so there are big questions. how long is israel going to be doing this? how long will it take? mcgregor, a senior government spokesman here, a former ambassador in the uk, he said that hamas is

starting to feel israel's wrasse and they will start now giving payback to hamas for what he called those crimes against humanity —— mark regev, a senior government spokesman. regev, a senior government spokesman-— regev, a senior government sokesman, , 1, ., ~ regev, a senior government sokesman. , 1, ., ~ ,, as israel intensifies its military operations in gaza, hamas's military wing has said it has targeted two cities in the south of israel with what it calls "intense missile barrages". we can speak now to our correspondent lucy williamson who is in southern israel for us. tell us what is going on near you. well, here in ashkelon we've been witnessing this intensification of israel's bombardment of gaza. we've heard explosions throughout the evening, some of them louder than usual. the last series of explosions we heard just as jeremy was talking at the start of this programme and i don't know whether you can hear as well, but there are planes flying

overhead right now, they've been flying back and forth over ashkelon all evening. that's much more constant than we are used to hear. the sirens have also been going off tonight several times warning of rockets being fired towards ashkelon. most of those were intercepted by israel's defence system, but a couple of them did get through and hit a residential area here. what we don't know is what exactly is happening on the ground and what this intensification might signify. and what this intensification might siuni . . , and what this intensification might siuni . , ., , and what this intensification might siuni . , . , ., and what this intensification might siuni. , ., _ signify. 0k, lucy, many thanks, lucy williamson there _ signify. 0k, lucy, many thanks, lucy williamson there in _ signify. 0k, lucy, many thanks, lucy williamson there in southern - signify. 0k, lucy, many thanks, lucy williamson there in southern israel. | the head the united nations has warned that the humanitarian situation in the territory is facing total collapse — with "unimaginable consequences" for the two million people living there, unless israel lets more aid in immediately. our special correspondent fergal keane reports now on the plight of people in gaza. the processions are constant now.

and grief follows with them. these, some of the last images from gaza... ..before links were lost tonight to the world outside. the displaced seat shelter anywhere they can. confined in a place the un says is becoming a hell. samira nurala is exhausted. "you can see the pain we live in. "my husband suffers from a stroke. "i plead to the whole world to look at the palestinian people "with a merciful eye." samira is from a refugee family. newsreel: a few pitiful refugees -

rescue what few belongings they can. like many palestinians whose children and grandchildren were born in refugee camps. for nearly 75 years the un has been working to meet their welfare needs of palestinian refugees. so, if we look back over our shoulders, this is a timeline... today, as events built towards a ground attack, its representatives called for a ceasefire. what's happening now in gaza isjust a horrific slaughter. 2.2 million people, in a tiny patch of land, it's called the strip for a reason, it's 45 kilometres long by about 20 at its largest point. so it's a strip and there's nowhere for those people to go, there's nowhere for them to flee. many have tried to find sanctuary in schools. all teaching has stopped in gaza. generations are crowded together here. still the customary civilities are observed.

fatima shaat was also displaced in 1948. gaza back then was a refuge. today, it is a trap. translation: it's very hard. i live next to the toilets. i'm very sick. and more than 13 members of my family have been killed. there's not much in life she hasn't seen. or any choice about what she must now endure. in the hours before what israel called tonight's unprecedented attacks, samira comforted the children — caught in a place they cannot leave. fergal keane, bbc news, jerusalem. in response to some of these scenes from gaza, the un general assembly has tonight overwhelmingly backed a

resolution calling for a ceasefire between israel and her mass, while the white house says it supports a pause and israel's military operations to enable aides to get in. let's speak now to sarah smith. sarah, more international pressure on israel. tell us more about what has been said.— has been said. yes, the pressure is cominu has been said. yes, the pressure is coming publicly _ has been said. yes, the pressure is coming publicly from _ has been said. yes, the pressure is coming publicly from the _ has been said. yes, the pressure is coming publicly from the united - coming publicly from the united nations, as you say, and privately from the biden administration here in washington. administration officials say they don't want to comment on all of the details of israel's military operations, but they will say that they continue to supply them with munitions and they have not imposed any red lines on what israel can do. but, behind—the—scenes, they are asking very tough questions about what israel's strategy is and how they see this ending. because the real fear here in washington is that a ground offensive won't achieve what israel says it is setting out to do to eliminate hamas, but that by causing even more civilian casualties it could provoke a wider

war across the region, which is what america is desperate to avoid. now, as you mentioned, administration officials have said publicly that they are calling for a pause in the fighting to allow humanitarian aid, fuel and electricity into gaza. while in new york, the un have overwhelmingly backed that resolution which calls for an immediate humanitarian truce. 120 countries voting for that cessation in the fighting. countries voting for that cessation in the fighting-— countries voting for that cessation in the fighting. tomorrow marks three weeks since the hamas assault on israel and it was soldiers and civilians near the gaza border who were attacked. among them was a 21—year—old soldier on a military base. he was 15 days from finishing his compulsory military service and was planning a trip to thailand to celebrate, when hamas gunmen attacked his unit. this is his story. yair is packing to return to duty.

before the war started, he had been in combat, but he'd never seen anything like the 7th of october. as i ran outside through the front gate, immediately we were opened fire at, around ten to 12 terrorists. we opened fire back at them. we then were in a battle of between an hour under an hour and a half. how many of you were there? we were five. they were 12. one of us also got shot off the bat. so you were four? we were four, yeah. during the intense fighting, yair was wounded. one of the grenades hit me in a few different spots. i had a couple of pieces of shrapnel in my head, one in my chin, one in my leg. i won't lie, i had a lot of adrenaline, so i was a lot more focused on the mission. i felt ready to fight... despite being wounded? despite being wounded. i couldn't abandon my friends.

elite troops from the israeli defence forces came to reinforce the base where yair was. this footage is from them. both sides suffered heavy losses. a lot of my friends were killed. my officer, a high—ranking officer in my unit, was killed. actually, 17 overall were killed in my unit. very, very good people. it is the sort of thing that i've decided to try as much as i can to put aside right now. this present war was sparked by these attacks by hamas on you and on civilian israelis. now people in gaza are being bombed by israel. do you think this is the right way to proceed? if i didn't believe this, i wouldn't fight for this country. all we want is peace. that's all this country's interested in.

i don't like seeing children in gaza die. children in israel die. it seems so clear to me that the only factor, the only problem here, is hamas. he's prepared to fight to achieve the peace he says he wants, but the conflict has cost the lives of many he was close to. it's awful. it sucks. but... it's just reality. right now, i can kind of decide to curl up in my bed or... i don't know. but it's time for action. i'm sure that i'll have a lot to deal with once this is over. it's just the reality. the view of one israeli soldier. this whole region feels on tenterhooks tonight.

while it's unclear what the strategy from israel is, the potential for escalation is very real — with all the human suffering that that implies. there'll be more from jeremy bowen later in the programme, but that's all from me and the team here injerusalem. now it's back to you, jane, in the studio. thank you. well, earlier today, before tonight's bombardmnet, seniorfigures in the labour party joined calls for a ceasefire in gaza — increasing pressure on the leader, sir keir starmer, to change his stance on the conflict. the leader of scottish labour, and the mayors of london and greater manchester, have broken ranks to challenge sir keir�*s position on the issue. 0ur political correspondent leila nathoojoins me. it has been a fast—moving evening, but this call earlier today, does it leave keir starmer in a tricky situation?— leave keir starmer in a tricky situation? ., g ., ., situation? tonight, jane, there are louder voices, _ situation? tonight, jane, there are louder voices, more _ situation? tonight, jane, there are louder voices, more voices, - situation? tonight, jane, there are louder voices, more voices, more | loudervoices, more voices, more seniorvoices loudervoices, more voices, more senior voices from within labour calling for the party to back a

ceasefire. three marker prominent figures during the course of today joined those calls. sadiq khan, the mayor of london, and a sour, the scottish labour leader, and andy burnham, the mayor of greater manchester. about a fifth of the parliamentary party have backed a ceasefire, and several more are doing so privately, under pressure from their constituents. and you are starting to see shadow cabinet members calling for a ceasefire, without facing sanction from the party leadership. the official line is to support the idea of humanitarian causes, while also recognising israel's right to try and stop hamas from carrying out any future attacks. the question is for keir starmer, if more labourfigures continue to speak out, how long can he hold that line in the face of this threat to the unity of his

party, which he has worked so hard to cultivate, or is there a chance that this internal debate gets overtaken by events? the metropolitan police says there's been a sharp rise in reports of hate crime in london, linked to the conflict in the middle east. it's recorded more than 400 complaints of anti—semitic behaviour this month, compared to 28 in the same period last year. hate crime against muslims in the capital has also risen sharply, with 178 recorded incidents this month, almost three times that of a year ago. as hundreds of police officers in the us state of maine continue their search for a man suspected of killing 18 people in several shootings on wednesday, the wife of one man who died has told the bbc that america needs better gun regulation so that no family has to go through what she and her daughter are now living with.

police say the hunt for robert card has spread from new york to the canadian border. 0ur north america correspondent john sudworth reports now from lewiston in maine. he was waiting in the bar, on the floor, in the bar, all night. behind the headlines of every mass shooting are the partners, the parents, the siblings and the children with lives forever changed. arthur strout was murdered on wednesday night while playing pool in a bar. his wife is now struggling to explain his death to their 13—year—old daughter. "will we get to see his body? i just want to see my dad one last time." and i have to tell her, i don't know, because i don't know where the bullet holes went and... i didn't say it in so many words to her, like that. but, you know, that's hard, that she will probably never get to see him again because i can't show her something like that. i don't want it to traumatise her life.

an extensive manhunt is now focused on a stretch of river close to where the suspect, robert card, abandoned his car. the use of police dive teams is a sign they believe that he may have ended his life in these waters. but, either way, two full days on from this tragedy, they don't appear to be any closer to any kind of a breakthrough. the army reservist is reported to have been behaving erratically earlier this year, and to have threatened to carry out a shooting. but officials refused to be drawn on whether those warning signs were missed. i am not going to talk specifically about who knew what and when. we're still actively involved in a very dynamic situation here and we're focused on an individual that currently has eight warrants out for murder. we're trying to figure that part out, trying to bring him intojustice as well as investigate this crime. there will be a time... can you confirm the warning, though? can you confirm warnings were issued?

i cannot. some of the relatives, though, say they need not just answers to those questions but action. we live in maine. everybody likes their hunting. but to kill a deer, you're not going to use a machine gun. you don't need that, for that. yeah, i definitely do think the laws need to be a lot better than they are right now. but america has been here so many times before, and we can say with some certainty it will be again. john sudworth, bbc news, maine. the former prime minister boris johnson has become the latest conservative politician to join gb news as a presenter. we know what you want, and we know who you want. hi, folks. borisjohnson here. i'm excited to say that i'm soon going to be joining you on gb news. the channel says he'll start in the new year and that he'll offer "frank opinions on world affairs". gb news is currently the subject of several investigations

by the media watchdog 0fcom, after complaints from viewers. it was in 1985 that london's great ormond street hospital performed its first successful separation of conjoined twins. since then it's cared for 38 sets of twins. now 12 children — all born joined to their sibling — have returned to the hospital to share their experiences. here's our medical editor, fergus walsh. a special day for six very special sets of twins — all born conjoined, and all treated at great ormond street hospital in london. among them were brothers zion and zayne, aged six months, separated when just a few weeks old, and 19—month—old sisters annie and izzy. hassan and hussein from cork in ireland have never let physical disability hold them back.

the 13—year—olds take part in a huge range of sports, including athletics and climbing. they were born joined from chest to pelvis and were separated when four months old. but it was just the first of multiple operations. from the very first scan, at 12 weeks pregnant, giving no hope of survival, to see them almost 1a years on, over 60 surgeries later, and that's still ongoing. but to not let that define them. but separation is not always possible. marieme, on the left, and her sister ndeye are seven and live in cardiff. theirfather, ibrahima and the surgical team at gosh decided separation was just too risky because the girls share so many vital organs. they couldn't be separated because they support each other. so if you try to separate them, one will certainly not make it

after the separation. but possibly also the other twin. so these are difficult decisions, because we know they are struggling together, but they also have a joyful life that we couldn't guarantee with the separation. by contrast, ruby on the left and rosie were separated when they were just 2a hours old. now 11, the twins from south east london said they always get the same reaction when they tell people they were once conjoined. they're like, "really?" "what?" because we're separated now and they wouldn't really think that we were conjoined like that as well. are you proud of being conjoined? yes. like, we obviously do fight a lot. we do scream at each other a lot. we get mad at each other. but then we always have that bond that we know we're sisters forever, and we'll love each other forever, and we'll care for each other forever. all these twins have an enduring connection with gosh,

something they and the hospital are happy to celebrate. fergus walsh, bbc news. england have claimed third place at the rugby world cup after a tense 26—23 victory over argentina in paris. our sports correspondent andy swiss was watching. it wasn't the ending they'd hoped for, but after the despair of their semifinal defeat, could england finish their world cup on a high? remember they beat argentina in the group stage and they soon raced into the lead. a clear gap. ben earl, perhaps england's player of the tournament, starting in style. argentina though hit back. tomas cubelli scurried overjust before the break and then just after it a moment of magic from santiago carreras. really well played. suddenly, argentina were in front, but not for long, as moments later

theo dan charged down a kick and restored england's lead. it was frantic, frenetic stuff. and it was dramatic too. a penalty from owen farrell made him the tournament's top points scorer, but with minutes left, a chance for argentina to draw level. nicolas sanchez missed though and england clung on for a 26—23 victory, and with it, third place. not quite the world cup they wanted, but they've ended it on a winning note. andy swiss, bbc news. now, we'll get an update on our main story tonight. israel's military says it has intensified its attacks on gaza, with heavy bombing in the territory. an israeli military spokesperson said the strikes were targeting hamas infrastructure and tunnels. hamas, designated a terrorist organisation by many western governments, says it's responded with a "salvo of rockets". our international editorjeremy bowen joins us from jerusalem.