i'm helena humphrey. good to have you with us. gaza is under intense bombardment as israel's war against hamas enters its fifth week. the territory's north has seen heavy airstrikes and huge explosions. phone and internet services have once again been cut. over the past 2a hours, the israeli military says that its forces have divided the gaza strip in two, separating the north from the south, with gaza city completely encircled. meanwhile, the search for survivors continues at the al—maghazi refugee camp in central gaza. the hamas—run health ministry says at least 45 people have been killed in what it said was an israeli air strike on saturday. israel's military says it is looking into whether it was operating in the area at the time. our reporter in gaza says

sunday night has brought israel's military spokesman daniel hagari told reporters that troops have spread across the gaza strip but have allowed an evacuation corridor. today, the idf forces encircled the city of gaza. they reached the city of gaza. they reached the beach at the southern part of the city of gaza and they have encircled gaza and today we have gaza north and gaza south. they have reached the shore line. they are holding the shore line. we are still holding the corridor to enable the residents at the north of the residents at the north of the gaza strip and the residents in the city of gaza to go south. it is a one—way corridor going south. we are going to continue to strike forcefully. we are going to continue our ground offensive in the north of the gaza strip and the greater city of gaza. more on that strike at the al maghazi refugee camp now. well, the site of the attack is in the center

of the strip in a camp filled with narrow alleys. our correspondent rushdi abu—alouf sent this report from the site. they are still looking under the rubble of about three or four buildings that were destroyed overnight. this is maghazi refugee camp. it's in the safe area where israel advised 1.2 million people in gaza city and the north to flee south, they said it's safer. but this destruction is in the safe area where about 50 bodies have already been recovered from this air strike. and many, many others are missing. this is the biggest strike in this very crowded refugee camp in the middle of the gaza strip. the people are fleeing south because the fighting has intensified around gaza city and the north, where israel has started its ground operation — five different battles are going on there. overnight, israel issued another warning for the people, asking them to leave gaza city and the north and to come here.

our correspondence their reporting from central gaza. meanwhile, us secretary of state antony blinken made an unannounced visit to iraq on sunday, part of his tour of the region. mr blinken said he'd had productive talks with the iraqi prime minister mohammed al sudani which included efforts to prevent the israel—gaza conflict from spreading. the secretary of state added that efforts were continuing to secure humanitarian pauses to allow more aid to reach the besieged gaza strip. it is important that the pause advance a number of things. one of them is hostages. we are intensely focused ash united states, israel, every other country that has a citizen being held hostage by hamas, to bring them home. it is important that as we are engaged in pursuing humanitarian course, this could be something that advances the prospect of getting the

hostages back. it can also advance other things that we are committed to doing, as is the government of israel and other partners in the region. antony blinken is now in turkey and he cited the humanitarian crisis in gaza. earlier, i spoke with our diplomatic correspondent paul adams injerusalem about the level of fighting currently under way in the gaza strip, and antony blinken�*s efforts to secure more aid. paul, see you there once again. the israeli ground forces say they have essentially cut gaza into. it appears we have been seeing intense fighting there. what is the latest you can tell us about the ground operation on the gaza strip?— on the gaza strip? certainly very intense _ on the gaza strip? certainly very intense signs - on the gaza strip? certainly very intense signs of - on the gaza strip? certainly| very intense signs of fighting after dark this evening. a series of airstrikes which lit up series of airstrikes which lit up the sky and were visible from some distance away. what

the israeli saying today was essentially confirming something we have more or less known for the last day or so it is they have now cut off the northern third of the gaza strip from the rest and they are pushing ever closer to gaza city which they regard as a major hamas stronghold. the problem is they are still as many as 300,000 palestinian civilians hemmed into that area in desperate conditions there. they are not receiving any aid. water is running out. they are clustered around some of the very facilities which the israelis allege that hamas is using as cover for their using as coverfor their military using as cover for their military activity, and that means that the longer this operation of squeezing gaza goes on, the more those people are in grave danger of being caught up in the violence. paul, talking about those dwindling aid supplies, the dye humanitarian situation on the ground, us secretary of state antony blinken was in the region. he made the visit to

baghdad and said that humanitarian causes would "be welcomed by all." do we know how feasible they are looking? well, this is not a ceasefire. these are just little gaps in the fighting, probably limited in time and geography to allow the aid operation to run more smoothly in the southern part of the gaza strip. this has got nothing to do with the north. nothing to do with gaza city. but it is just not happening because the israelis say they will not allow any pause in at the fighting while there is no progress on the issue of hostages. they want to get more information on the fate of the 240 also hostages, israelis and foreigners, still being held in the gaza strip. they want the icrc, the international committee of the red cross to gain access to the hostages, something hamas has not yet allowed, so as long as that problem is unresolved the question of the humanitarian

pausesis question of the humanitarian pauses is on hold and of course thatis pauses is on hold and of course that is a major problem in terms of the humanitarian situation in the south. antony bfinken situation in the south. antony blinken also _ situation in the south. antony blinken also saying _ situation in the south. antony blinken also saying that - situation in the south. antony blinken also saying that the l situation in the south. antony l blinken also saying that the us is continuing "vital energy work to stop the conflict spreading." at the same time we have seen in the israeli military say "terrorist vehicles in ii on had been hit." what more do we know about what happened there and is this raising any questions about the potential for escalations in the north? those questions _ escalations in the north? those questions have _ escalations in the north? those questions have been _ escalations in the north? those questions have been around - escalations in the north? those| questions have been around and have been on everyone's minds since this crisis erupted a month ago and we have seen regular clashes along israel's northern border with lebanon throughout the past four weeks. the details of today as well, the israeli said that hezbollah fighters fired anti—tank weapons which killed an israeli civilian. the lebanese are saying that a vehicle carrying a grandmother and three

children was hit and they were killed. so, this was another escalation in a whole series of escalations that have been taking place on that northern border. obviously, all of that is extremely worrying. it is partly why antony blinken continues to trot around the region, talking to all the regional players about what they can do to contain this crisis. the director of the cia william burns has arrived in israel tonight. he is also going to be travelling around the region, trying to use his influence for the same purposes, and the fact that you have to united states top diplomats and top spy in the region at the same time tells you a lot about the attention the biden administration is giving to this crisis. an administration which until about a month ago thought the israel—palestine situation was more or less under control. fiur more or less under control. our diplomatic— more or less under control. our diplomatic correspondence there, paul adams. diplomatic correspondence there, pauladams. many thanks. here in the us, we are officially one year out

from election day. nine republicans, four democrats and two independents are running for president in 2024 — but many predict that the race may well be a re—run of 2020, with incumbentjoe biden taking on former president donald trump. according to the latest cbs news yougov poll, biden and trump would be in a statistical tie if the election were held today, with trump leading 51—48% among likely voters. and this week will be another busy one in us politics — on monday, donald trump is expected to take the stand in his new york civilfraud trial. and on wednesday, republican presidential candidates will meet for their third primary debate in miami. joining me to break down the latest headlines in us politics is washington post live anchor, leigh ann caldwell. great to have you with us here on bbc news. let's kick off with that poll that has got everyone talking. we are one

year out from the election. it is a long time politics but nevertheless biden now trainlink trump slightly. why do you think that is? == do you think that is? -- trailing- _ do you think that is? -- trailing. there - do you think that is? -- trailing. there is - do you think that is? -- trailing. there is a - do you think that is? -- trailing. there is a lot i do you think that is? » trailing. there is a lot of reasons why that is and that is a national poll and a lot of people will dismiss national polls since we have an electoral college programme to electoral college programme to elect a president where swing states matter, but the challenge is that even polls in swing states have biden behind donald trump. there was a new york times poll out today that shows that in five swing states that president biden one in 2020 against donald trump, he is behind donald trump. a lot of voters say that president biden is too old, that he is not doing a good enoughjob on the economy, and now there is another challenge. there is the war in israel where there is a

generational divide on that issue where younger democrats especially think that there should be a ceasefire, that president biden is deciding too much with israel. so, it is issue after issue president biden is having trouble — not only with the base of the democratic party, but with independent voters as well. we have not independent voters as well. we have got donald trump set to testify in new york over his civil fraud trial there with regards to his business empire at stake. how damaging do you think it could be for him personally and whether it voters? ~ ., , , voters? well, with voters it is hard to tell. _ voters? well, with voters it is hard to tell. there _ voters? well, with voters it is hard to tell. there does - voters? well, with voters it is hard to tell. there does not i hard to tell. there does not seem to be anything hardly that voters in the republican party anyway dejected donald trump. personally though, this trial,

especially this fraud trial, could be very damaging for his business, for his own pocket book. this could be pretty devastating for him personally. but politically is a whole other story. but politically is a whole otherstory. now, but politically is a whole other story. now, what he is continuing to dominate the republican field — you mentioned the debate that is going to happen wednesday, iii republican debate. donald trump is once again going to be a no—show and the fact that he is not participating in these debates is having no impact on the republican primary. he is still 30 points ahead in some of these key states of iowa, south carolina and so as of now, regardless of his legal troubles, he is still dominating the republican fields. . , , ., fields. regardless of those le . al fields. regardless of those legal troubles, _ fields. regardless of those legal troubles, as - fields. regardless of those legal troubles, as you - fields. regardless of those legal troubles, as you say, j fields. regardless of those i legal troubles, as you say, we are still seeing some momentum there. even if that does not change voters or potential

voters minds, supporters minds, ijust wonder when it voters minds, supporters minds, i just wonder when it comes to the georgia criminal case with regards to alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election — we are now seeing co—defendants taking clear deals, which means that some of them of course will be testifying. do you think that could pose a potential risk to the former president?— potential risk to the former president? so, there is two different — president? so, there is two different issues _ president? so, there is two different issues here. - president? so, there is two different issues here. in - president? so, there is two| different issues here. in the primary, it might not have any sort of impact, even if this georgia race, because donald trump has done such a good job of convincing his supporters that he is the victim here, that he is the victim here, that the election was actually stolen, and that he is a target of the justice system. when it comes to a general electric, if he is able to win the republican primary, regardless of — like we said, despite all of — like we said, despite all of his legal challenges — that is where it is going to become

more interesting. if these independent voters all the soft republican voters still stand by the former president. so, first, we have to see how he fares in the republican primary as all of this is happening and thenif as all of this is happening and then if he is able to be successful in the general election against president biden, and that is where president biden �*s campaign team thinks that donald trump is going to be vulnerable. when it is actually a race between the two. when voters are reminded of the ks of donald trump. when they are reminded of his legal challenges — that he claims falsely that the last election was stolen, that they could be similar challenges in 2024 for a and that is where president biden's team becomes more confident that they will in fact be able to win against donald trump again. washington

ost live donald trump again. washington post live anchor _ donald trump again. washington post live anchor leanne - post live anchor leanne cordell, great to have you with us. thank you. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. german police say a gunman who took his four—year—old daughter hostage, forcing the suspension of flights at hamburg airport, gave himself up without resistance. the turkish man had demanded to be allowed on board a plane after a custody dispute with the mother. the spanish authorities say nearly 32,000 migrants have reached the canary islands by sea from west africa this year — the highest number since 2006. since friday more than 700 people have been rescued in the atlantic ocean off el hierro, the smallest of the seven islands. the un says at least 140 migrants have died trying to make the crossing since the beginning of the year. and prince william has begun a four—day visit to singapore. he began the trip touring a rain vortex indoor waterfall

and meeting with local residents there. he's there for the annual earthshot price which awards £1 million to five winners for their work developing solutions to environmental problems. you're live with bbc news. turning to ukraine, now, and in an interview with nbc news on sunday, ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky said the war is not at an impasse. his remarks follow a recent assessment by ukraine's top general saying that there will "likely be no deep and beautiful breakthrough" after 20 months of fierce figthing. on saturday, mr zelensky said the israel—gaza war was taking focus off the war in ukraine when speaking at a news conference in kyiv with the head of the european commission, ursula von der leyen.

their ben small territory and gains in the east near bakhmut. —— there have been small. there has been increasing use of artillery along the front line forcing thousands of ukrainians to leave their homes. it isn't just in the east. our corresponded jenny hill has travelled to the south of ukraine to speak to refugees who have been forced out of kherson due to heavy russian bombardment. on the shifting tides of a relentless war, fear and loss surge into odesa. this coastal city, a haven for those fleeing the front line. nina survived the second world war. now, at 91, she's a refugee again. "i couldn't sleep in kherson," she tells us. "i couldn't eat. "there were explosions. "i want to die in peace, not war." alone, among strangers,

they wait for help. odesa's aid workers struggling under the load of so many ruined lives. almost everyone who arrives here turns up with little more than the clothes on their back. some have described to us fleeing underfire. they're terrified, they're shocked. and it's here that they have to begin the process of starting a new life. this is what they've left behind. once vibrant communities, ghost towns now. those who've not yet fled under near—constant attack. translation: two months ago, we were getting one or two - aerial bombs a day — now it's 40. and shelling by artillery tanks and mortars has doubled. all along the vast front line, bitter and bloody battles — usually for a few kilometres

of territorial gain. ukraine's counteroffensive is making slow progress, and russia is also on the attack. a ukrainian unit sent us their footage as they defend the fiercely contested town of avdiivkja in the donbas region. russia's suffered reportedly massive casualties, but ukrainian soldiers are dying too. so imagine this family's fear. daria knows her husband was sent to fight in avdiivka. they lost touch with him two weeks ago. she's haunted by the memory of waving him off to war. translation: he got on the bus, and i stood there _ for a long time crying. the feeling never leaves me that i saw him for the last time.

painful to tell, hard to hear. those who recounted their stories ask only this — that the world listens. jenny hill, bbc news, odesa. for more, joining me live from tel aviv, is michael bociurkiw, global affairs analyst and senior fellow at the atlantic council — we often speak to him in odesa in ukraine. michael, you are in israel. often we speak to you from ukraine. and there have been comments this week from president zelensky that the israel—gaza war is taking away focus from fighting in ukraine. this at a time there was already warfatigue this at a time there was already war fatigue setting in. what does this mean — what does the new war in the middle east mean for the new war in the middle east meanfor ukraine? the new war in the middle east mean for ukraine?— mean for ukraine? good to be with ou mean for ukraine? good to be with you again. _ mean for ukraine? good to be with you again. it _ mean for ukraine? good to be with you again. it isn't - mean for ukraine? good to be with you again. it isn't very . with you again. it isn't very good news whatsoever. the big dealfor good news whatsoever. the big deal for ukraine, good news whatsoever. the big dealfor ukraine, of course, is

the big funding bill proposed by president biden, $106 billion of which, $61 billion would go to ukraine and $14 billion has been approved by the house, as you know, for israel. not likely to pass the senate and certainly won't be approved by mr bidon. so that huge money is in the air right now. and also ukrainians very mindful given the state of the us electoral landscape right now it could be that the republicans take over. ——mr biden. and mr trump could take over and that would be bad news for ukraine. another thing which has shifted is media attention. most of the journalists who used to cover ukraine are actually here. i have met with them and this is a very expensive water to cover with a new eight —— news agencies will have resources later to cover ukraine is questionable. it is about time for ukraine for that attention to be shifted because the point is to be made if mr putin is

not pushed back in ukraine, he will go further and further and the war will become more costly resource —wise, military wise, and in human lives for the entire world.— entire world. there are a number _ entire world. there are a number of _ entire world. there are a number of reports - entire world. there are a number of reports that i number of reports that president zelensky could pay a visit to israel. how likely do you think that is? if visit to israel. how likely do you think that is?— visit to israel. how likely do you think that is? if you asked me that 24 — you think that is? if you asked me that 24 hours _ you think that is? if you asked me that 24 hours ago - you think that is? if you asked me that 24 hours ago or- you think that is? if you asked me that 24 hours ago or so . you think that is? if you asked me that 24 hours ago or so it | me that 24 hours ago or so it would be more likely but apparently his visit was linked by israeli television and there are concerns by his side about security here. —— leaked. he wanted that to come up when he landed here in israel. but he wanted to come here earlier. i think he was rebuffed by the israeli side. he was one of the first to call prime minister netanyahu and his support. he has also equated vladimir putin's invasion of ukraine to also hamas' attacks here on israel. so one other quick

thing is one of the israeli defence correspondence i spoke to say if mr zelensky does come here he has a high popularity ratings, he has proved himself as a wartime president. maybe he will want to stick around a bit longer and give mr netanyahu some advice. that is an interesting _ netanyahu some advice. that is an interesting point _ netanyahu some advice. that is an interesting point because - netanyahu some advice. that is an interesting point because mrj an interesting point because mr netanyahu is coming to his own war off the back of a lot more political baggage. and ijust wonder what is the sense that you are getting from people, speaking to them on the ground, about their support for him. yes, a lot of anxiety. a lot of angen yes, a lot of anxiety. a lot of anger. i mean, just before coming now, i had a conversation with some internally displaced israelis. we all ran together to the bomb shelter twice this evening. you only have seconds to reach bomb shelters here. unlike in ukraine, when you have a lot more time. for average israelis, those i've spoken to,

there is a sense of security. time has really been chatted in many ways. one israeli told me this morning that, you know, we used to be able to go anywhere in the world, we felt secure, protected by israel, if there was a tsunami or an attack, and now in our own homeland we don't feel that, and also there is concern about the equilibrium here between the different groups that used to exist. a lot of this is being blamed on arrogance from the netanyahu administration that neta nyahu administration that they just netanyahu administration that they just about i netanyahu administration that theyjust about i of netanyahu administration that they just about i of the netanyahu administration that theyjust about i of the ball, ignored the warnings, and that is life here, is going to be very limited. lots of anger at him. and one more thing — she hasn't apologised for what has happened — many other intelligence and military officials have.— intelligence and military officials have. ~ . ., officials have. we have about 20 seconds — officials have. we have about 20 seconds left _ officials have. we have about 20 seconds left on _ officials have. we have about 20 seconds left on the - 20 seconds left on the programme. but having been in ukraine and israel, do you see any parallels in the conflict? yes, quickly what i mentioned

about what the anxiety, but the other factor is iran lurking about what the anxiety, but the otherfactor is iran lurking in the background providing drones to russia that attacked ukraine and also providing hamas and hezbollah with a lot of support. so that source of violence needs to be dealt with very, very quickly. violence needs to be dealt with very. very quickly-— very, very quickly. michael bociurkiw, _ very, very quickly. michael bociurkiw, as _ very, very quickly. michael bociurkiw, as ever, - very, very quickly. michael bociurkiw, as ever, great i very, very quickly. michaell bociurkiw, as ever, great to have your insides. thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. and thank you forjoining us on this new programme. we will have more for you at the top of the hour. i will see you then. hello there. we've seen some strong aurora pictures coming in over recent hours here at the bbc weather centre. this beautiful one was from the aberdeenshire area in northern scotland. but this one is from folkestone. the significance of this is if you can see the northern lights in folkestone here in the uk, you can see it pretty much everywhere. so the aurora is very strong. it's worth taking a look outside, use a camera

or a mobile phone to see the best views, because those bits of equipment are more sensitive than our eyes to low levels of light. but you have a chance over the next few hours. now, weather wise, ok, there will be a few showers coming and going, but we'll also see some fairly lengthy, clear spells. so whilst it's dark, you do have a chance of spotting the aurora. on into monday's forecast, and it's a day of sunshine and showers, really. starting off, most of us will have a fine morning with plenty of sunshine around. most of the showers really get going into the afternoon. and there could be some slightly longer spells of rain coming into west scotland and maybe northern counties of northern ireland. our temperatures continue to be a little bit below average for the time of year. now we've got more of those showers to come on tuesday. again, a lot of sunshine, the showers have been most frequent into the northwest of both england and wales. then we get this ridge of high pressure building in during tuesday afternoon. now, that should kill the showers off in northern ireland.

central and southern wales and south west england having a fine end to the day as well. now that ridge of high pressure is going to be short lived, pushed out of the way by this next weather system coming in off the atlantic for wednesday. it's going to be a wet day then, with around 20 to 30 millimetres of rain expected, could bring one or two more issues. we'll have to be careful, i suppose, in northern ireland, where it has been so wet over recent times. the rain does clear through, followed by showers, with the winds picking up later in the day from the west. now, temperatures will start to come down a little bit across northern areas, 8—10 celsius for scotland and for northern ireland. 11—13 celsius for england and wales. but towards the end of the week, this area of low pressure is going to swing through the uk, and as it does so, we'll start to get a chillier flow of air coming in from the northwest. now, temperatures might not change very much on the face of it, but i think those north—westerly winds will start to make the weather feel a little cooler. and there'll be some showers around in the week with more general outbreaks of rain heading in, it looks, for some of us,

into next weekend.

charting a new direction: australia's prime minister visits china, promising to work constructively with its biggest trading partner. as one co—working giant wework looks on the brink

of collapse we look at another who says the rising needs are a boost for the industry. hi there. welcome to asia business report. constructive economic engagement — that is what australia's prime minister anthony albanese has pledged in shanghai on his four—day visit to china. the two countries which share significant trade are seeking to thaw icy relations several years of tension over trade and technology. there seems to be a breakthrough in some spots. here is what the australian leader had to say. the government that i lead will continue to work constructively with china. as the business people in this room understand so well, it is in all our interests to have a relationship where there is dialogue and cooperation. later today he will be meeting president xijinping and the premier.

michael clarke is an expert on australia—china