this is bbc news. communications in gaza being restored after 2a hour blackout and a growing humanitarian problem. france actor matthew perry has died at the age of 54. idf perry has died at the age of 5a. 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 territory foley getting back online after residents were plunged into a phone and internet blackout on friday making communications they're very difficult and that is when israel stepped up operations inside gaza. israel has been bombing gaza since the october seven hamas attack that killed some moo people and hundreds more were taken hostage. israeli defence forces i think it's latest nighttime attacks struck 150 targets and killed some key figures within hamas, designated as a terror group by the uk, us and many other western nations. the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu says a ground operation has entered a quote second phase with israeli troops on the north and south and warned the wall with her mouth will be long and difficult. —— the war with hamas. this is vision of a joint news conference. the

prime minister described the conflict as the second war of independence are declared if they would win the war and bring every effort to bring hostages back home. also on saturday, in his first comment since the war began three weeks ago, the leader of hamas in the gaza strip offered to release a lot of the ages he held in gaza with return of all palestinian prisoners in israeli jails. in a statement, a spokesperson said they are ready for an immediate exchange deal including the immediate release of all prisoners and the zionist enemy,. we have this report from 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. earlier i spoke to a long—time pentagon pentagon correspondence. just to start with you, laura, your reaction on what we have been seen playing out from israel and what they are calling now a 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, look, 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 dead. 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. where 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 kill us." this isn't an eye for an eye... we are notjust talking about hamas, 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 matters, 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, need to come to the negotiating table at some point? yes, we heard 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. intangibles matter. for more insight, my colleague spoke with mark schwartz, the former us security co—ordinator former us security co—ordinator for israel. i would like to get your thoughts on what i would like to get your thoughts on what we i would like to get your thoughts on what we have i would like to get your thoughts on what we have seen unfolding on the second phase of the war. it unfolding on the second phase of the war-— of the war. it is great to be with you — of the war. it is great to be with you tonight. _ of the war. it is great to be with you tonight. i - of the war. it is great to be with you tonight. i think. of the war. it is great to be l with you tonight. i think paul characterises very well earlier today. certainly with the reconnaissance operations that were taking place early in the

week, that was in preparation for this start of phase two which you are going to see in 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 very troop intensive and requires a lot of limited clearing of all of the structures and deliberate clearing of structures and the suburbs. while this is an extremely challenging operation, it is far more challenging of what is to come as they get into the approaches of gaza city.

i want to ask about that — going into gaza city, a very dense urban area there. talk to me about the challenges of urban warfare and what troops will be encountering going into an area like that. the bombardment taking place since late october 7, gaza city, as it was known prior to october 7, has changed dramatically with all of the war that has taken place, so that provides some complication for israeli 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 deliberate clearing. i believe it would take tens of thousands of ground forces to take on this operation,

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 environment that hamas applies. the warning from prime minister netanyahu today that this war will be difficult and also a long one. when you heard that, what are we looking at here? months? longer than that? i think he is trying to be sobering to the israeli public and for the parents and the dependents of the idf soldiers that are 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 certainly 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 needed in order to target hamas and avoid more civilian loss of life? they certainly have the best precision guided munitions. i think of anyone in the region, certainly. we have been a longtime ally with israel, we've shared a lot of our technology with them, so they certainly do have precision munitions. they also have, as was reported by their defence spokesperson, munitions that can go and penetrate to try to take out some of the tunnel systems

and the metro system as well. so, yes, they do, they do have that precision, but they also, as you know, they have deployed a lot of artillery, not necessarily all of that is precision guided, including things that come off naval aircraft or naval vessels. turning to some other news and matthew perry has died at the age of 5a. he was best known of course for his role on the tv sitcom friends. they confirm that the 54—year—old was found unresponsive by authorities at his home near los angeles. there has not yet been a cause of death, but no sign of foul play has been found. the actor was famous for playing chandler bing. he was long spoken about his addiction to drugs, alcohol and his recovery. earlier, i

spoke with our corresponded david willis. it was reported by of los angeles—based outlets and then confirmed in a statement by warner brothers a short time ago. i willjust read it to you. it says, "we are devastated to learn of his passing. "he was a true gift to us all. "0ur heart goes out to his family, loved ones "and all of his fans." here are the details that are being reported in los angeles. police responded to a 911 call at 4207, local time, in los angeles, a home in palisades and matthew perry was found dead in a hot tub apparently at his home. he was found by his assistant. officials have not revealed a cause of death but they said there are no

signs of foul play. obviously, there will be a lot of interest in the coroner's autopsy report. we're looking at some images of matthew perry, along with some of cast of friends there. as we heard, and especially in his latest memoir that came out a couple of years ago, he was very outspoken about his struggles, wasn't he, with alcohol and with drug addiction? absolutely. 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, of using opioids and he underwent a seven—hour operation, resulting in a two week coma and five months of hospitalisation. he subsequently underwent

ia 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 was a man who really came from nowhere. he was the youngest member of the cast of friends. at first, they were struggling to find someone to play the part of bing, but he was the obvious person when he came across the casting director, came into their radar and it were, and they were slightly troubled 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. so he 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! absolutely incredible. a stroke of luck obviously that he got the role of chandler bing, lucky for us as well that we got to spend watching those 10 years watching him in that role. in terms of matthew perry's legacy, how do you think he will be remembered, obviously for that role? i think very fondly by a lot of people who starred alongside him, particularly of course the cast of friends. we have had some reaction already from mira savino who starred 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 5a. david willis bringing us breaking news, thank you very much. we wa nt we want to live with someone live images of the gaza skyline. the sun has risen over the gaza 's writ. we are hearing that communications after a 24—hour blackout is slowly being restored and cyber territory. a phone and internet access coming back online. the latest appearing from the israeli military. officials are telling dollars that my gaza civilians they should move south where humanitarian efforts will apparently be expanding that according to israeli military officials. this all comes of course as israel continues its operations by ground and by air inside the territory. that as we know now that the death toll also rising to more than 8000 people according to the hamas health minister. stay tuned 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 1a 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.

voiceover: this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. i think it was early 2022 when i saw my first teddy bear swimming butterfly stroke at the olympics, followed swiftly by a cute corgi living in a house made of sushi. how about you ? all of these images, of course, were created using something called generative artificial intelligence. now, we've become used to artificially generated

images, pictures of things that have never actually existed.