live from washington, this is bbc news. israel presses forward with its ground operation in gaza as it intensifies aerosol. for people intensifies aerosol. for people in gaza more devastation and critical communication outages. the situation in some areas now considered catastrophic. a week ago, the hospital was out of service because no fuel and it was evacuated but today, it was — the main building of the hospital was destroyed. and we're learning the death of friends actor, matthew perry. let's begin with the latest from gaza where the hamas run

health ministry says that the death toll has passed 8000 people. it follows attacks which killed moo people in israel with hundreds taken as hostages. the latest nighttime attack struck around 150 targets according to israel and killed key figures within hamas which is designated as a terror group by the uk, us and many western nations. israel prime minister benjamin netanyahu said the ground operation has entered the second phase with israeli troops and the north and south. he has want of the war with hamas will be long and difficult. speaking at a joint press conference he described the conflict as the second war of independence for israel and declared they will win the wine make every effort to bring the israeli hostages back home. also on saturday, in his first common since the war began

three weeks ago, hamas�*s leader in the gutters strip has offered to return hostages in return for the frank of palestinian prisoners in israeli jails. in a statement yahya sinwarsaid... a member of israel parliament and sits on the foreign effect commission, he said his reaction to hamas calling for that prisoner swell. it is not the first time that hamas is conducting psychological warfare. they are trying to confuse everybody. there were few serious negotiators in the last few days. we are trying to broker a deal between israel and hamas and it didn't go anywhere. they were playing games with the negotiators and we realised that they're not serious about it.

i think that now, when we started to apply more pressure against hamas and we are killing more terrorists, maybe that will create the atmosphere for serious negotiations. we are determined. we are determined to bring our hostages back to israel and to eliminate hamas. they are not going to escape from the atrocity they committed three weeks ago. 0ur correspondence are reporting throughout the ground. jeremy bowen now reports from sderot in southern israel. heavy artillery is pounding gaza constantly. the israelis say they're making the earth shake. and as residents of one of gaza city's refugee camps inspected what had happened in the night, that was how it felt. "it's like an earthquake," said al—ahmadi. "no—one�*s paying us attention. "it's an execution." many palestinians believe

israel wants to force them out of gaza and they interpret it as a threat, not a warning, when israel's army tells them again to move south, from places like this. as for the israeli people, prime minister benjamin netanyahu issued a solemn warning. translation: the war - inside the gaza strip will be difficult and long and we are prepared for it. this is our second war of independence. we will fight for the defence of the homeland. in sderot, the israeli town closest to gaza, the streets where hamas killed civilians and soldiers three weeks ago today are deserted. the danger didn't stop zila cohen and her son driving down here to bring a picnic to her daughters, who are doing their military service. they sat down in a car park not farfrom the border wire. the war, they said, was about survival —

hamas had shown it wanted to force them out. you can hear the war. aren't you scared? i'm scared but if my daughter here, so i go — i go where she is. and you bring lunch? yes, to all the soldiers. you know, when you are live side by side with people and you come to understand that you cannot trust them... so, what — what do you do? what is the answer for that? what any other nation would have done. much more that we are doing right now and, i'm assuring you, much more than we will ever do. the new phase of israel's assault started last night with dozens of air strikes. israel believes overwhelming military strength can pacify gaza. but military power alone has never brought lasting quiet, let alone peace, in this conflict's long history. israel claimed one of its strikes killed a senior hamas commander.

israeli tanks and soldiers moved forward into the north of the gaza strip. gaza's visible from a hill in sderot. israel will resist pressure for a ceasefire. and there's another factor. the more palestinians that israel kills, especially civilians, the greater the levels of anger and outrage elsewhere in the middle east among israel's friends, as well as its enemies. now, that doesn't guarantee that the war would spread but it does increase levels of anger and volatility in a part of the world that is already very fragile. israel's ground war has started. containing it here is now the biggest political and diplomatic challenge in the world. jeremy bowen, bbc news, in southern israel.

a diplomatic correspondent paul adams is injerusalem and we spoke to him earlier. paul, thanks so much forjoining us. so, we've had a key address today from israeli benjamin netanyahu, saying this is the second phase of the war. what does that phase look like? well, we already know what it looks like because for the last 2a hours or so, israeli forces had already been in the gaza strip in some numbers and with armoured support conducting operations in certain areas in the northern part of the gaza strip. the israelis are saying they have killed more hamas commanders. they are obviously looking to establish some kind of a foothold in the northern gaza strip from which they are likely to expand their operations in the coming days. i think perhaps we've all gotten used to the idea that maybe, we would see some huge invasion, a kind of d—day—style invasion in which all the israeli forces would go in in in one go.

i think that's perhaps less likely. i think we're more likely to see these sorts of operations but they're likely to get bigger in scope and they're likely to be longer in duration, so i think that is very much the way this is evolving. and paul, you have been reporting that the leader of hamas in the gaza strip has offered to release israeli hostages in return for hamas prisoners. what more can you tell us about that? yes, so this was the first public statement at all from yahya al—sinwar, the head of hamas in gaza, since the whole crisis began just over three weeks ago. and so, it's quite significant that he chose this moment to make that offer. what was also interesting was that shortly before that, at his press conference, the prime minister benjamin netanyahu was asked, "would you be "prepared "to release palestinian prisoners "in return for the release of the hostages?" and he didn't rule it out but he said it would be unwise

to talk about it publicly. now, we have no way of knowing at the moment whether such a deal is on the cards. there are some former senior israeli officials saying that it would be a good idea to do, that it would be a good idea to release hundreds perhaps even thousands of palestinian prisoners in return for the hostages, and there are certainly people in the region, including countries like qatar, who are trying very, very hard to engineer just such a thing. butjust to emphasise, we cannot see any sign of it unfolding at the moment. and paul, communications, as we know, are down in the gaza strip right now but i do understand that you have been receiving some voice messages from people inside the strip. what have they been telling you? well, as you can imagine, they're reporting an incredibly chaotic situation. the messages that we're getting are a little fragmentary. sometimes they're voice recordings. you can hear the sounds of explosions in the background. they talk about families desperately trying to locate missing family members, of ambulances that race

towards explosions but not knowing exactly where they are going or what they're expecting to find when they get there. life is incredibly difficult for the aid agencies that are on the ground. the un told me they have about ten satellite phones which some of their key members are trying to use to co—ordinate their activities at a time when they, the un, are looking after the interests of 600,000 people sheltering in their facilities. it's an incredibly chaotic situation under sustained gunfire and the un would argue utterly is unsustainable unless more aid gets in and unless there's some kind of pause to allow that aid to get to where it's needed. 0ur diplomatic correspondent there paul adams. when are now getting reports of that communications inside gaza are starting to come back up now after those connections

were difficult to nonexistence after israel stepped up military operation. phone and internet connections went down. earlier, a correspondent was able to get through to us and filed this report. you know, communication is very, very difficult in gaza since 2a hours, as israel cut all of the communication. mobile carriers — the two main mobile carriers are not functioning, the internet lines are not functioning in everywhere and getting information is really hard and difficult. very few people who are still having international sim cards, and they can do roaming using israeli mobile services, people who are close to the border, they still can communicate and, between time to time, they post on social media. they also — some of the local radio stations are still functioning and they were able to talk to their correspondent in the north, who described what happened last night as the biggest ever air strike that targeted this area. he said that it was

like an earthquake. we understand that the indonesian hospital was struck with an air strike yesterday. the hospital was out of service for quite a long time. like, a week ago, the hospital was out of service because of no fuel and it was evacuated. but today, the main building of the hospital was destroyed. also around shifa hospital in gaza city, there was a lot of air strikes —10—15 air strikes, according to people around shifa hospital. they are cutting most of the roads towards that hospital. communication, as i said, is extremely difficult. we are unable to verify a lot of reports about the number of people dead or injured but, as far as the health ministry was doing a press conference this afternoon, they said about 400 people were killed overnight but they said hundreds of others are missing under the collapsed building in the north.

music coming in now that internet connections in gaza are being restored. we are getting that from a group that monitors internet connections around the world. earlier i spoke about the situation in israel and gaza. earlier i spoke to barbara starr. we were also joined spoke to barbara starr. we were alsojoined by spoke to barbara starr. we were also joined by analysts from thejohns hopkins school of the johns hopkins school of advanced thejohns hopkins school of advanced education. laura, to start with you, i'd love to get your reaction on what we've been seeing play out over these last couple of hours from israel and what they're calling now the second phase of the war. right. it's almost a non—invasion invasion. they're moving into the next phase but the last thing they want to do is trigger

a second front on the northern border. i think that's why you see them — it's, you know, it's a sort of a toe in the cold water, just bit by bit, and they — that's sort of how israel tends to succeed when they have targeted strikes, not a broad fist with a pointed finger, and i think the united states is encouraging that as well because they're trying to limit the scope of the conflict. and, barbara, your reaction there? a toe in the water — potentially maybe some caution, given some of the clashes we've been seeing on the border with lebanon? well, i think that's right. i think laura's exactly on point. the us, the allies and even israel, they do not want to open up a second front. they don't want hezbollah to jump in and start attacking from southern lebanon and syria into israel. we are seeing plenty of strikes across that border already but they want to keep it under control. and so, that's one priority, even as they continue to move forward in gaza, and i think that's why there's a lot of effort on the part of the us to encourage going a little slow, picking your targets, knowing what you're going after, trying, trying to limit those civilian casualties amongst the palestinian

population. of course the latest casualty number that we are getting around 8000 people coming from the hamas authority there that have been killed already in gaza. now, laura, just coming back to you, i know you served as a senior policy adviser on the us israel palestine negotiating team. interestingly, we now have this message, this offer coming from the leader of hamas in gaza, to free these hostages in exchange for all of the palestinian prisoners being held in israel. in your mind, is that something that israel might have to consider? well, looks, from hamas�*s point of view, they achieve their strategic and military goals already, to pivot now to work on their world image. for israelis, it is exactly the opposite, but everything they have ever accomplished has been through a projection of strength and yet

they were caught off—guard. netanyahu's slogan has been "peace through strength" and now he has war through weakness. so i think the israelis are, yes, going to go for a hostage deal but only after they have a good pounding and pummelling of hamas militarily — that's the only way they can restore deterrence. don't forget that benjamin netanyahu rose to fame through a hostage crisis in 1976. his brother was a commander who led the raid and paid with his life. the first time anyone saw him, he publicly was crying at his brother's funeral, so it is not only military committee, it's personal for him, the hostage crisis. these 200 or so hostages, barbara, how much are they looming not only over the military response but potentially a political response also? i think netanyahu sort of put them as a second priority, if you will, earlier today. military destruction of hamas item number one on the agenda, but i'm not sure how long

that will be able to last. the families of these people are under tremendous strain inside israel. they want their loved ones back and, you know, it is notjust the hostages. we have a number of american citizens and non—israeli, non—palestinian citizens still in gaza trying to get out. they have not been able to do that. there are an awful lot of people who want to see the hostages and those civilians able to get out of gaza. we saw that pressure, didn't we, coming directly from the families. we did. i mean, the families, ithink, have made it clear — they want their loved ones back at the cost of releasing the palestinian prisoners, which doesn't exactly fit in with netanyahu's objective for the military defeat of hamas. so the pressure is likely to only build over the coming days, i think. laura, speaking of pressure,

we've heard now several calls for a ceasefire. we saw just yesterday the united nations passing a nonbinding resolution calling for the release of hostages, a ceasefire, humanitarian considerations. how much is the pressure mounting on israel? how should israel respond to many calls from around the globe to come and allow aid at least into gaza ? look, there is clearly an inverse relationship between humanitarian suffering in gaza and support for israel. that said, if you talk to the israelis, here's their mindset — i would rather be hated and alive than loved and death. when netanyahu said, this is like a second war of independence. what he meant was in 1948, we were fighting for our physical borders. now, we are fighting for the very idea of israel. whether safe haven of the jewish people has been turned into a slaughterhouse. so, yes, they hear the cry for a ceasefire, but for them, it really is a fight to the death. the former prime minister

once said to me, "when it comes to hamas, "all they want to do is tell us." this isn't an eye for an eye... and i don't of course we are notjust talking about how massey, we are talking about innocent civilians, people living in gaza and that is where we hear the calls even from the head of the united nations, saying aid does need to be delivered to avoid even more casualties among people who don't play any role in this conflict. absolutely, and i think that is on israel, and that is why you have president biden saying "we have got your back" but whispering very loudly in their ears, "don't forget your humanity. "how you fight this matter is, how you fight this and how "you frame this will make a difference in the long run "for your long—term survival," absolutely. that's again why the united states is so important here in framing it as a clash. this isn't israelis versus arabs, right. this is civilisation versus savagery. we are pitching a peace tent — are you in or are you out, and, israel, you need to be with us on the right

side of morality. barbara, now we've heard from several high—ranking members of israel's government, including the prime minister himself saying, essentially, "israel, brace yourself. "this could be a conflict that may not be quick, "it may go on for a long period of time." what do you expect going forward? how long could this go? well, i think the us perhaps as the military history of the last 22 years or so in its back pocket. look at what the us military, the us administrations over the years went through in fighting in afghanistan, in iraq, in syria, across africa, against terror organisations. ithink the message here is you may think that you are going in to militarily destroy hamas, but how exactly do you do that, with iran again supporting hamas so strongly, with another generation of youth coming up in the region

who are anti—us, anti—israel, and even if you killed every single person that had the label 'hamas supporter', there will be more. you cannot kill your way out of a war. any us military commander will tell you wars are resolved at the negotiating table. laura blumenfeld, we have about a minute left, i just want to give you the last word here as someone who has dealt with these sorts of issues. is this something that has a military end, or will both sides, hamas, maybe even looking towards the west bank and israel, to the negotiating table at some point? yes, we have that from secretary blinken this week when he said "we can't go back to the status quo." i think there will be negotiations on our future. when i worked for the state department under president 0bama, we focused on tangible issues, right? there was borders, security, jerusalem refugees. i think one thing that is certain going forward for the next round of negotiations, we will also have to pay attention to the intangibles, things like narrative.

the two societies of clashing narratives, and we need to address that, and trauma. this is not a world war, but the world is at war, at least psychologically, given the use of images, just horrifying, the live streaming of homicide and the suffering. so i think we're going to have to pay attention to that, going into the next round of negotiations. alceste next round of negotiations. 229 hostages are still being alceste 229 hostages are still being held by hamas inside gaza. among those sausages there are believed to be some children as well, we want to take a look at these live pictures. this is in southern gaza. you can see the main hospital they are, lots of people gathered their, ambulance on the scene as well and we have been hearing the latest death toll coming from the hamas run health ministry, now 8000 people in the territory have been killed, several others of course, many

scores of people injured and you are looking at one of the scenes there at a hospital where there is light, one of the few places where electricity is running at the moment in gaza. we will continue to monitor the situation there in gaza throughout the evening. with those hostages, several of those hostages, several of those taken by hamas our children. you are looking at three of them right there, along with their mother. there are father has travelled to petition us lawmakers to help secure their release and that of other children being held hostage in gaza by hamas, and on friday, i —— my colleague spoke with him. thank you so much forjoining us here on bbc news, and i can imagine it must be an incredible — incredibly difficult time, so we really appreciate you coming into the studio today. i understand it is probably difficult to talk about what happened to your wife and your three young children when they were taken hostage on your kibbutz,

but if you are able, can you tell me a little bit about what happened ? ah, sure. that's what i'm here for, and thanks for having me. you know, on that day, on october 7, we live in a kibbutz just right by the border with the gaza strip. my house is the first one on the fence, so it's the closest to gaza. you know, i open my bedroom window and i see the gaza strip. i have to say, we never felt threatened or anything by...anything, actually. we have a beautiful kibbutz, and we have a good, peaceful life and we're peaceful people. on that day, october 7, there were very large bombings and rockets coming our way. it was something very unusual, because we are used to things like that, but not that intensive.

well, it took a few minutes, and a girl came running to our house, my wife took her in, she was the neighbour's girl, we later learned that her parents were killed, so she came running away from the shootings. my wife took her into the shelter in our house, we have a safe room so we were heading over there. for 4.5 hours. i wasn't home. around 11, i got a...you know, i kept texting my wife, the lines were down, so we could only text, and around 11:00, i got the last message. it was, "they are coming in." that's the last message i got. and that's it. you know, i kept texting and getting no message back. i was sure that they were dead,

so, you know, everybody asked me where my family was and if they were safe, and i told them, "they're dead." you know, "i'm just alone in this world." but then, a day later, i heard news from somebody in the kibbutz that they were seen walking out alive, being led by someone, and heading over to the gaza strip. now, in usual times, this is terrible news, but at that time, when i thought they were dead, it was the best news that i ever got, so i felt like i got my family back and, you know, i'm still living on this same news, because i have no real new news since then. so, it's been three weeks and, you know, i have no information, nothing at all about my family, and this other girl, abigail.

so it is my wife, our three kids, and my friend's daughter. tell me about your family. what are they like and how do you think they're holding up? well, you know, i live on hope right now, that's why i am here, and my wife, my wife and i, we've been together for 22 years, so she is everything to me, and she does everything at home and everything for me, and so i know she's a strong. if i could pick anyone in this world to be with my kids, obviously it would be my wife. so i believe in her, and i know she's doing everything she can to... ..you know, for them. wherever they are, i hope they are together. my little one, my youngest, he is 4.5 years old. he's really great.

he makes a lot of mess around the house. but i really miss him. i wish he could make mess, a big mess right now. you know, usually i'm really angry at him, but now i guess i'lljust let him do whatever he wants. you said that you are living on hope right now, but ijust wonder how you are doing personally, and i understand that you sustained injuries in the attack as well. how are you? well, you know, i'm doing good. i came all the way over here to washington to try to persuade the world to listen to me and to do the obvious thing, which is, you know, let the families be together, my children, you know, are innocent. my wife is innocent. you know, is such an obvious thing. everybody knows it.

i've come here and i got so much support from people over here in washington, be it congressmen and senators and just people, you know, they come and some of them recognise me and just give me big hugs. a lady came today to the hotel and she prayed for us so we all prayed together. so i think everybody knows this very basic thing about innocent children, that they should be with their dad and that my wife, you know, should be at home with me, you know. i sleep alone right now. i should be with my wife and my kids nearby, playing. so... yeah, i am doing well, you know? i'm alive and well, you know, physically. but, you know, inside, i'm a wreck. of course.

just a wreck. i can imagine. you were mentioned about meeting with lawmakers here on capitol hill, a range of them, including senator chuck schumer. what kind of messages have they been giving you? what kind of support? wejust got, you know, brilliant support from everyone. i think this issue isjust an issue in humanity, it's not even, you know, an issue of conflict. it's just — we've got so much support and everybody said they will do everything they can for us, you know, try to move things around. this is america. they can do a lot, we know that, and i think they can doing the maximum they can, but we need to move around, you know, the israeli government, you know, my government, we have to make them do the right thing and hamas, ithink

they also have the same beliefs as us about keeping women and children out of the conflict. so i really don't know why it has been three weeks and nothing has been done with the children, with my kids and my wife. but we still keep the fight going on. i want to bring some breaking news out of southern california. the actor matthew perry has died, according to us media reports. he was of course best known for his role on the tv sitcom friends. la police resources confirming the 54—year—old was found unresponsive by authorities at his home near los angeles. there has not yet been a cause of death cited but there was no sign of foul play. the actor was most famous for playing chandler bing in the �*90s show friends. he had long spoken about his addiction to drugs and alcohol

and his recovery. joining me is david willis with more on this news and matthew perry, such an icon of the �*90s. what more do we know about some of these it was reported by of los angeles—based outlets and then confirmed by warner brothers a short time ago. i will read it to you. "we are devastated to learn of his passing. he was a true gift to us all and our heart goes out to his family, loved ones and all of his fans." here are the details been reported in los angeles. police responded to a 9/11 call at seven minutes past four, local time, at seven minutes past four, localtime, in los at seven minutes past four, local time, in los angeles, i home in pacific palisades and matthew perry was found dead in a hot tub apparently at his home. he was found by his

assistant it was reported. 0fficials assistant it was reported. officials have not revealed a cause of death but they said there are no signs of foul play. 0bviously, there are no signs of foul play. obviously, there will be a lot of interest in the coroners autopsy report. we're lookin: coroners autopsy report. we're looking at — coroners autopsy report. we're looking at them _ coroners autopsy report. we're looking at them images - coroners autopsy report. we're looking at them images of - looking at them images of matthew perry along with some of cast of friends. as we heard especially in his latest memoir that came out a few years ago, he was very outspoken about his struggles, wasn't he, with alcohol and drug addiction? he: fought addictions to both and turned to alcohol to basically ease the pressures of stardom and at one stage he was addicted to the painkiller vicodin following a jet ski accident in 2019 his colon burst as a result it was thought as a result of using opioids any underwent a seven—hour operation, resulting in a two week coma and five

months of hospitalisation. subsequently, he underwent 1a separate surgeries, according to his book, friends, lovers and the big terrible thing. but he was one of these people tormented really by the effects of stardom, if you like. this is a manually came from nowhere. the youngest member of the cast of friends. at first they were struggling to find someone to play the part of chandler bing but he was the obvious person when he came across the casting director, came into the radar and they were slightly trouble because, having seen this man and found that he was the perfect choice, he was committed at that stage to working on a pilot for another series. to working on a pilot for anotherseries. it to working on a pilot for another series. it wasn't actually available to them. that pilot was not taken up by the network and suddenly matthew perry was available and

the rest is history. we all know about the large paychecks that these cast members got, starting on $22,000 an episode and rose to $1 million an episode!— and rose to $1 million an eisode! : , . , episode! absolutely incredible. a stroke of _ episode! absolutely incredible. a stroke of luck _ episode! absolutely incredible. a stroke of luck that _ episode! absolutely incredible. a stroke of luck that he - episode! absolutely incredible. a stroke of luck that he got - a stroke of luck that he got the role of chandler bing and lucky for us as well that we got to spend watching him in that role. in terms of his legacy, how do you think you will be remembered, obviously for that role? i will be remembered, obviously for that role?— for that role? i think very fondly by _ for that role? i think very fondly by a _ for that role? i think very fondly by a lot _ for that role? i think very fondly by a lot of - for that role? i think very fondly by a lot of people | for that role? i think very - fondly by a lot of people who starred alongside him, particularly the cast of friends. we have had some reaction from mira savino who start alongside him in that 1994 movie parallel lives and she said "may you find peace and happiness in heaven, making everyone laugh with your singular wit", and ros childs were paired with him in the

good wife wrote "awful news, rest in peace, brother". matthew perry has died at the age of 54. david willis bringing a fake news, thank you very much. this is the live scene at gaza, and the death toll is now eight, 000, who have passed away and there we are, this is the scene as the son is actually coming up over gaza. the prime minister of israel, benjamin netanyahu now saying the warren gaza has entered a second phase, warning it will be long and difficult and he described the conflict as israel's second war of independence and declared they will win the war and bring every effort to bring the hostages held in the gaza strip back home. the prime minister has met families of israelis held by hamas and kayange

promised to do everything possible to bring —— benjamin netanyahu, to bring them home. a senior minister said he believes that hamas will not release the hostages unless they were under pressure. it was a very emotional meeting and a long meeting and the prime minister heard each and every one of them, heard them out and said what needed to be said. and without going into what was said in the meeting, i can tell you what the position of the government is. that precisely because hamas are not humanitarians, we will only get our people released if they are under very strong pressure. and only if they feel that that pressure is constantly escalating against them. and we believe that the best way to get the hostages out is to keep that pressure up, keep the pressure on hamas, keep increasing the pressure on hamas. that's the way to get the hostages out.

earlier we spoke to mark schwartz. i would like to get your thoughts on the second phase of this war. i your thoughts on the second phase of this war.— phase of this war. i think he characterised _ phase of this war. i think he characterised it _ phase of this war. i think he characterised it very - phase of this war. i think he characterised it very well. characterised it very well earlier on today and certainly, with the reconnaissance operations that were taking place earlier in the week, that was in preparation for the initial start of phase two, which you are going to send the coming days. increasing armour, mechanised infantry, certainly engineering and logistics, coming forth as the idf ground forces continue to expand their area of operations. in an operation like this, particularly as getting ready to go into gaza city, this is one of the approaches they are

taking here in the north, they have to secure all of the lines of communication from when they cross the border as they continue to cross the border which is trip intensive and requires a lot of limited clearing of all of the structures and —— deliberate clearing of structures and the suburbs. this is an extremely challenging operation and it is far more challenging of what is to come as they get into the approaches of gaza city. want to ask about _ approaches of gaza city. want to ask about going _ approaches of gaza city. want to ask about going into - approaches of gaza city. want to ask about going into gaza l to ask about going into gaza city, a very dense urban area. talk to me about the challenges of of urban warfare and what trips will be encountering going into an area like that. the bombardment taking place since late october seven, gaza city as it was known prior to october seven, city as it was known prior to 0ctoberseven, has city as it was known prior to october seven, has changed 0ctober seven, has changed dramatically with all of the

war that has taken place, which prior — provide complication for ground forces as they start doing manoeuvres. and then begin the arduous task of clearing building by building, street by street, in order to initially secure a foothold and then continue on and deliver deliberate clearing. i believe it would take tens of thousands of ground forces to do this and as paul mentioned earlier, i know i had the understanding that potentially the idf would go in with a lot more force, very rapidly, to secure a foothold but i think they are taking a more deliberate approach given the nature of the threat environment that hamas applies.— the threat environment that hamas applies. the threat environment that hamas a- lies. . :, hamas applies. the warning from prime minister _ hamas applies. the warning from prime minister benjamin - prime minister benjamin netanyahu is the bore will be difficult and also a long line —— the war will be. when you hear that, what are we looking at here? a, ~'

hear that, what are we looking at here? a, ~ , at here? months? ithink is t in: at here? months? ithink is trying to — at here? months? ithink is trying to be _ at here? months? ithink is trying to be sobering - at here? months? ithink is trying to be sobering to - at here? months? ithink is trying to be sobering to the israeli public and for the parents and the dependence of the idf soldiers getting ready to take on this ground offensive. just as we have seen significant loss of life of the palestinian populace as a result of the air campaign thus far, i believe it would take weeks, if not months, to effectively clear all of these structures above the surface, let alone all of the metro as it has been characterised by the idf that has to be clear as well. the tunnel substructures. talking about those tunnels, does the israeli military have the kind of precision weaponry neededin the kind of precision weaponry needed in order to target hamas and avoid more civilian loss of

life? , : ., , ., life? they certainly have the best precision _ life? they certainly have the best precision guided - best precision guided munitions. i think of anyone in the region, certainly. we have been a longtime ally with israel ensure a lot of our technology with them so they certainly do have precision munitions. they also have, as was reported by the defence spokesperson, munitions that can go and penetrate to try to take out some of the tunnel systems in the metro system as well. yes, they do, they do have that precision but they also do have, they have employed a lot of artillery, not necessarily all of that is precision guided, including things that come off naval aircraft orair things that come off naval aircraft or air vessels. and want to — aircraft or air vessels. and want to ask _ aircraft or air vessels. and want to ask you _ aircraft or air vessels. and want to ask you this, - aircraft or air vessels. and | want to ask you this, when aircraft or air vessels. and want to ask you this, when we are faced potentially with a very lengthy, very complicated operation, do you think it is necessary the right way to go

about this sustained ground invasion, is there potentially a better way? i invasion, is there potentially a better way?— invasion, is there potentially a better way? i certainly would not want to — a better way? i certainly would not want to question _ a better way? i certainly would not want to question the - not want to question the active—duty military advisers that have been working from the us as well there is rarely minister of defence but i do believe it would make sense to have a pause in operations to allow a significant increase in humanitarian assistance to come in, just given the nature of really the suffering that is ongoing with the palestinian populace. that will not help the idf soldiers on the ground at all when they go in. not that they will rebuild goodwill but they will need the idf, they need to take into consideration the environment that they are creating as they get ready for this ground offensive. that is very important.— offensive. that is very important. offensive. that is very imortant. a , ., important. as calls have come in from the — important. as calls have come in from the us, _ important. as calls have come

in from the us, they - important. as calls have come in from the us, they have - important. as calls have come. in from the us, they have come in from the us, they have come in from the european union for a humanitarian pause. do you think israel will heed those calls at any point soon? it’s calls at any point soon? it's difficult to _ calls at any point soon? it's difficult to say. _ calls at any point soon? it�*s difficult to say. ideally, they will. right now the idf clearly have a strategic advantage and operational advantage and where they don't have an advantage right now is in the information space. before that pay—out obviously throughout earlier today across europe and the middle east with respect to the increasing protest, not that these protesters are supporting hamas. they are absolutely speaking to the innocent loss of life and casualties that have been incurred as a result of the air campaign. so i think that needs to be taken into consideration. i would certainly take that into account. i don't believe that momentum would be lost by allowing just the basic needs that every human deserves to

have. that i caught in the middle of this conflict. pro—palestinian processor taking place around the world, many calling for a ceasefire, including in uk where 300,000 pro—palestinian demonstrators gathered in london as well as other cities for rallies calling for an end to the attacks on gaza. 0ur correspondent reports. all chant: stop bombing gaza! a protest, the organisers said, of more than 300,000 people. at one point, it stretched 1.5 miles through the streets of london. there have been many personal responses to this month's horrifying events in israel and gaza. here today, there was one central demand. what do we want? all: ceasefire! when do we want it? now! you know, when you kill- an innocent person with a bomb ora gun, ora knife, it- doesn't matter who's doing it. it's the same terrorism. in the last week, the metropolitan police has been put under pressure

by the home secretary, suella braverman, to take a tough line on any protesters who might say — or in the case of banners, write — anything which breaches terrorism laws. as far as we can tell, protesters have generally not done that today, and the policing has been light. 0rdinary people, from towns and cities across the uk, have had to prove that they are not here supporting terrorism, that they are here supporting human rights. but they are coming — despite that pressure, despite the outrageous statements from our government — they are coming in their hundreds of thousands and they are raising the flag of palestine high and proudly. all chant: we want boycotts! there were shouts of, "from the river to the sea, palestine will be free." palestine will be free! regarded byjewish groups and israel as a threat to its existence and by the home secretary suella braverman as anti—semitic. supporters of palestine say it is a call for freedom from repression and not a threat. no action was taken today by police, who were mainly holding back

in side streets. the met said there had been two arrests, linked to an assault on a police officer and racist remarks. here in cardiff and in glasgow, belfast and other cities. 0rganisers of the main demonstration say there are more to come. tom symonds, bbc news, central london. is developing political news in the us. 2024 republican presidential candidate former vice president mike pence is withdrawing from the race. he announced that decisions to a crowd in las vegas, saying that he had no regrets. everything our country is facing, i couldn't sit this one out. the bible tells us that there is a time for every purpose under heaven. travelling across the country over the past six months, i came here to say it has become clear to me, this is not my

time. : clear to me, this is not my time. . , : ,, time. earlier, i spoke with cbs news chief _ time. earlier, i spoke with cbs news chief election _ time. earlier, i spoke with cbs news chief election and - news chief election and campaign corresponded robert costa. thank you so much for joining us at this late hour. as we heard there are, mike pence dropping out on saturday, saying, hey, this is not my time. but given the polling numbers, given the low fundraising numbers, how much of a surprise is this decision? the decision was not a surprise, but it is significant in the republican party because former president mike pence is the first of the major candidates who have been contesting former president donald trump's grip on the party's base and their voters to drop out of the race, jointly suspend his campaign. 0n the question for months in the mind is only major and party leaders i have spoken within the course of my reporting is when will this be cold, be shrinking to a point where someone singular could emerge as the alternative, the leading alternative to trumpet?

and is long as they are in the race, the view is in the republican party that they are all splitting that non— from vote if they are not trumpet themselves.— themselves. out of this departure _ themselves. out of this departure of _ themselves. out of this departure of the - themselves. out of this - departure of the republican field, and of course, we have at next republican debate looming down in miami, don't we? fit. looming down in miami, don't we? : : , looming down in miami, don't we? : . , :, looming down in miami, don't we? . , :, , we? a realtest would be whether— we? a realtest would be whether people - we? a realtest would be whether people make - we? a real test would be l whether people make that we? a real test would be - whether people make that debate in miami. the republican national committee has not yet announced who is going to make that stage and make it in terms of meeting the polling thresholds in the fundraising thresholds in the fundraising threshold is necessary to earn a spot on that stage. it isn't if you make the stage in miami, on november eight, it is not a guarantee of any kind of trash and of political money because trump has decided to sit out the debates entirely. and for many of these candidates, they have spent years, is not a life time thinking about the presidency so it is hard to back away, but ultimately, money and not being on the debate stage could push some of them to think about doing what

pens did today, which is suspend his campaign. you alluded to _ suspend his campaign. you alluded to this _ suspend his campaign. you alluded to this earlier, - suspend his campaign. you alluded to this earlier, but just looking at this with a eye view, prince was on of those rare republican voices that morphs firmly spoke out against the events of january 6, he condemned some of the actions of former president donald trump at that time. what does mike pence's lack of success say about the current state of the republican party? it is say about the current state of the republican party?- the republican party? it is an examle the republican party? it is an example of— the republican party? it is an example of how _ the republican party? it is an example of how the - the republican party? it is an i example of how the republican party has not yet had a reckoning about what happened on january 6, reckoning about what happened onjanuary 6, 2021. many democrats see it as a seismic moment in america democratic history. republicans, however, are still mostly embracing trump even though he had a role in spearheading so much of the effort to overturn the 2020 election. hence's decision, and i have covered it extensively, to reject donald trump 0sman overture was to block the

certification of president biden's election enraged trump and it enraged many others. pens maintained in the right thing. since then we follow the rule of law but he has paid a political price. i was with him in iowa when pence announced earlier this yearfor his in iowa when pence announced earlier this year for his 2024 run, i have seen him on the campaign trail, and is not is popular with so—called traditional conservatives who lack is the unserved —— issues, that searing experience of january 16 alienate him evidently with so many trump voters and continued in many quarters to repeat trump as a false name that he won the 2020 election. i false name that he won the 2020 election. : false name that he won the 2020 election. . :, :, , :, election. i want to hop over the to the _ election. i want to hop over the to the democrats - election. i want to hop over the to the democrats right | election. i want to hop over- the to the democrats right now. dean phillips this week announcing that he is going to run against a sitting president, president biden on the democratic side will do what no do we know about philips and how serious of a challenge this might be? that challenge this might be? at this challenge this might be? git this moment it is not a serious challenge. he faces enormous hurdles running against an incumbent president as a late

entry, think about other logistical and political challenges he faces in the weeks and months ahead. that said, i spent time with congressmen philips in virginia this week on the eve of his announcement. he made his announcement. he made his announcement through our interview on cbs news and then ijoined him on the campaign trail to cover his first day in new hampshire. he believes that because president biden has not... has decided not to be on the ballot in new hampshire he could have a lane there to build some support. now, if philips won new hampshire next year, he would not win delegates because of the democratic party rules about that, cannot sell kalorama is now going first, new hampshire, but could a jolt should he do well that was intriguing about congressmen philips to think about is he is actively encouraging other democrats to get in the race, so his campaign is notjust about electing dean phillips president, though we would like to see that happen, he would like to see some major

democrats get in and force competition inside of the democratic party to not make it as he describes it repeatedly in his remarks coronation of president biden for the democratic nomination. robert costa, democratic nomination. robert costa. cbs _ democratic nomination. robert costa, cbs news _ democratic nomination. robert costa, cbs news chief - democratic nomination. robert costa, cbs news chief election | costa, cbs news chief election and cut campaign corresponded, thank you so much as always. to another story that we are closely following right here on the side of the world, thousands of members of mexico's armed forces have joined cleanup and recovery efforts in acapulco were at least 39 deaths are now being blamed on eric and 0tis which the city earlier this week as a category five storm. 0ur david wood l has more. the devastation is clear to see. acapulco has never recorded a category 5 hurricane, and this one has wreaked havoc along the coastline. the world meteorological organization has described the storm as one of the most rapidly intensifying tropical cyclones on record. only one other — patricia, in 2015 — has exceeded it.

the speed at which 0tis intensified took the government and weather forecasters by surprise. there was precious little time to issue warnings and prepare residents and tourists for its arrival. it's like a movie. it's like the apocalypse. it really is like the apocalypse. but i hope — i hope acapulco can recover as quickly as possible because it seems — it seems like — it seems like 90% of the buildings have been damaged. there are reports supermarkets have been looted. the authorities say a security force of 17,000 personnel has been deployed across the area to maintain order. furthermore, the mexican army and navy have established an air bridge, says the government, to accelerate the distribution of humanitarian aid. acapulco is home to 800,000 people. 200,000 homes have been damaged. many are destroyed. initial estimates suggest

the cost may run to $15 billion. those repairs will have to wait. translation: we are asking for food and water. _ we have no electricity. the electricity poles are down. we need food. that's what we are basically asking for. many locals are also struggling to communicate with friends and family with cell networks out of action. but the immediate concern is to eat and drink. with supply chains under pressure, thousands of litres of water and food supplies are being distributed. it's a monumental challenge. david waddell, bbc news. we leave you now with another live view of what is taking place in gaza as the sun has come up there, you can see the scene in gaza city with the death toll now being moved up to about 8000 people. we will continue to monitor what is going on in that region right

here on bbc news. hello, there. it's been a very wet night across parts of england and wales with heavy, thundery rain spreading its way northwards — that rain becoming confined to the far north of england and scotland throughout sunday. elsewhere, we'll see sunshine and showers and winds for many. it will be blustery, especially eastern scotland. so, here it is, this troublesome area of low pressure, which has brought the showers and longer spells of rain, the weather front which brought the heavy, thundery rain across southern areas lying across scotland. we'll see some heavy rain across the far north of england, southeast scotland through sunday morning. some torrential downpours here could see some localised flooding, strong, gusty east—northeasterly winds with huge waves crashing up onto north sea coasts. we could see some coastal inundation as well. the rain clears away from northern ireland — scattered showers and bright spells here. england and wales, a blustery day to come with sunny spells, scattered showers — most of these showers across southern and western areas. those temperatures range

from around 10 to 14 or 15 degrees across the country from north to south. sunday evening, and overnight, it stays wet again across large parts of scotland, particularly eastern scotland. with those strong and gusty winds continuing, we could see further flooding issues there. northern ireland, the far south of scotland, england and wales will see a clearer night and lengthy clear spells. in fact, variable cloud, a few showers, particularly across southern and western coasts, and temperatures generally 7 to 10 celsius. so, monday, we start the new week off on an unsettled note. again, heavy, persistent rain, northern and eastern scotland with strong, gusty winds. southern scotland, northern ireland, england and wales, actually a better day, ithink. more sunshine around. but there will be further showers, southern and western areas — again, the odd heavy and thundery one — and temperatures 10 to 15 degrees. now, if we run the pressure chart on through the new week, we see a brief spell of fine weather for tuesday and then, an area of low pressure brings wet, windy weather on wednesday and there's a potential of a very deep area of low pressure hurtling in thursday, which could bring some disruption, chance of some

gales or severe gales, so stay tuned. tuesday, at this point, doesn't look too bad. there will be further showers around, especially across southern and western areas. maybe some more persistent rain for eastern scotland but quite a bit of dry weather around with some sunshine. slightly lighter winds too. temperatures of 10 to 15 degrees. but turns more unsettled wednesday. thursday, like i showed you, we could see a spell of some stormy weather, so stay tuned to the forecast. take care.

attacks on gaza. 0ur correspondent reports.

this is bbc news. communications in gaza being restored after 24 hour blackout and a growing humanitarian problem. france actor matthew perry has died at the age of 54. idf forces prepare for a ground assault. we begin with the latest on gaza where the hamas health ministry has said the death toll has now passed 8000 people from the ground assault and aerosol from israel. these is a lot of pictures from gaza you consider summarising on the

gaza strip and getting report the