has seen the temperature rise to a whole new level. also on tonight's programme: rishi sunak says the pro—palestinian march scheduled for armistice day this weekend is "disrespectful" following a meeting with the head of the metropolitan police. matt hancock should not have been health secretary during the covid pandemic. that's what the head of the civil service at the time told prime minister boris johnson. is there light at the end of the tunnel on rail strikes? rmt members are to vote on a pay deal that could end the long—running industrial dispute. if it were done then it is done, thenit if it were done then it is done, then it were well it were done quickly. and david tennant talks to us about playing macbeth and the 400th anniversary of shakespeare's first folio. and coming up on bbc news.

finally some respite for england at the cricket world cup — as a ben stokes century helps them beat netherlands for a much needed win in pune. good evening from ramallah, the seat of the palestinian authority here in the west bank. the pa, as it is known, is responsible for governing 3 million palestinians here, but has limited control over the territory, which under international law is illegally occupied by israel. the war further south in gaza is deeply worrying to people here, with the palestinian authority president mahmoud abbas being one of many arab leaders calling for a full ceasefire

in israel's military campaign. today has seen thousands more palestinians in northern gaza head south away from israel's relentless bombing campaign targetting hamas. but the g7 group of leading industrialised nations, including the uk and america, have stopped short of calling for a ceasefire and instead want what they're calling "humanitarian pause" to allow more aid into gaza and civilians out. israel has mainly focused its operations in the north of the territory, trying to destroy hamas, a group designated as a terror organisation by the uk government and responsible for killing more than 1,400 people and seizing as hostages over 200 others on october 7th. israel says its forces have now surrounded gaza city, thought to be hamas�* main stronghold, with troops entering from the north and the east. israel says it's now opened a humanitarian corridor for a few hours today and is again urging

civilians to head south. our first report is from paul adams. slowly but surely, israel is conquering gaza. its army, which provided these pictures, fighting its way into enemy territory. determined to leave no trace of the group behind. finding and destroying a network of tunnels, and encountering resistance. palestinian gunmen in their own back streets, hitting israeli forces where and when they can. it's a one—sided battle, but it's going to take weeks. across the besieged city, the toll in civilian lives is rising inexorably. bodies carried away on the roof of a

car. that is my cousin, he says, and her married daughter. she was four months pregnant. those who can't or won't leave are crowded into hospitals and schools. the —— there is shelter here, but for how long? translation: , ., ., , translation: death would be easier than this life- — translation: death would be easier than this life. what _ translation: death would be easier than this life. what kind _ translation: death would be easier than this life. what kind of _ translation: death would be easier than this life. what kind of life - than this life. what kind of life are we living? we are not living. every two years, there is a war. there is no water, no food, there is nothing to drink, but there is injustice. for the second day in a row, thousands of palestinians were on the move, heading south along shattered streets away from their city, away from their homes, with no idea when or even if they will ever be back. and when they reach the south, there is no guarantee of safety. the air strikes are fewer than before, but here in khan younis, mohammed stands at the place where 35 members of his family died

yesterday. translation: ~ , ., yesterday. translation: g ., ~ translation: my daughter was killed in m house translation: my daughter was killed in my house was _ translation: my daughter was killed in my house was demolished. - translation: my daughter was killed in my house was demolished. look, i in my house was demolished. look, the whole neighbourhood was destroyed. i lost the whole family, old and young. my daughter used to play with her cousins. they all were killed. most israelis still back what their army is doing in gaza, but they don't necessarily support the government. here injerusalem, government. here in jerusalem, outside government. here injerusalem, outside parliament, bereaved families have gathered to demand their prime minister's resignation. this man lost his mother and father, both in their late 70s, when hamas gunmen set fire to their home in october the 7th. the government betrayed my parents, betrayed _ the government betrayed my parents, betrayed 1400 victims, betraying 240 kidnapped. sol betrayed 1400 victims, betraying 240 kidnapped. so i am here. i betrayed 1400 victims, betraying 240 kidnapped. so i am here. lam here to say, _ kidnapped. so i am here. lam here to say, go — kidnapped. so i am here. lam here to say, go. no. the faces of the hostages held in gaza are everywhere. the young, the

old. you can't miss them. no one really knows how many of them are even still alive, and no one's sure what's the best way to bring them home. the government says it is all about keeping up the pressure on hamas. where is this war going? poll suggest the government's goals are not universally understood, and israel's allies abroad are increasingly worried about the lack of a long—term plan, and the dreadful human cost. paul adams, bbc news, jerusalem. let's speak to jeremy bowen, who's in southern israel. he has spent part of the day with israeli forces actually inside gaza. jeremy, what did you see? first of all, clive, we went to the edge of the gaza strip, where there is a really massive build—up of israeli troops, tanks, forces, and

special forces going israeli troops, tanks, forces, and specialforces going in. you can see the dynamism of their military operation. they took us in armoured vehicles into... part of the deal was i had to agree to not say exactly where it was, but it was on the approach to gaza city. on the way there, while i was at the destination, i did not see one building that was not either destroyed or badly damaged. i did not see one palestinian civilian. the whole place is essentially a wasteland. they wanted to show us components for drones, offensive drones that could drop bombs, that they said they had founded a workshop. two floors of workshops, and a family apartment at the top, including what is obviously a kids bedroom, and they said that showed that hamas used civilians as human shields. one thing i would say, the big, big question is, whether the

security israel is getting, it says, from what it is doing, justifies the vast level of destruction as well as the human casualties it is inflicting. 0k. inflicting. ok. jeremy, thank you for that. jeremy bowen, i'm sure we will have more from you at ten o'clock tonight, with your report. having got inside the territory itself. well, while the world's attention has been on the situation in southern israel and gaza in recent weeks, lives are also being lost here in the west bank, which has been occupied by israel since 1967. the united nations says at least 150 palestinians have been killed here since the october 7th hamas attacks. the majority are civilians, including at least 44 children, with some dying at the hands of armed jewish settlers, whose presence is illegal under international law. the un says three israelis have also been killed in palestinian attacks. jon donnison now reports from

tulkarm in the northern west bank. and a warning — there are scenes in his report that you will find upsetting. gunfire. this war is not only being fought in gaza. gunfire. this funeral, in the west bank town of tulkarm, forfour gunmen killed by israel this week. there's anger and defiance, but also grief... ..and fear of what's to come. even before the war, the west bank was at boiling point and the fury of what's happening in gaza, as well as israel's crackdown on militants here as well as civilians, has seen the temperature rise to a whole new level. it's a dangerous moment.

"we have been refugees in this camp for 75 years," says this 82—year—old. "everyone hasjust been laughing at us." the stress on the people, they cut the streets, cut the cities, kill people, kill children. everything is stress. does it feel like war here as well? maybe. maybe in two months, the war here in the west bank, with gaza. it's connected. there is no gaza and the west bank. it's all palestine. and in parts of the west bank over the last month, it's already looked like war. israel, it says, targeting terrorists, including from hamas, who are fighting back. and israel has been using bulldozers to rip up the streets. it says as punishment for palestinian attacks.

"they came and destroyed the camp, and then they came again "with bulldozers," he tells us. "it's always like this." israeli raids of palestinian towns and villages are happening night and day. taha was just 15 when he was shot dead by an israeli soldier, as his sister looked on in horror. the un says the majority of palestinians being killed in the west bank are civilians, including children. and they are suffering notjust at the hands of the israeli army, but also armed jewish settlers, in attacks like this last month, which left the victim still in intensive care. in the background, an israeli soldier looks on. palestinians say israel allows settlers to act like a militia, with impunity. in this case, the army says

it's investigating what happened. and for some, it's become too much. mohammed khalid's family has farmed this land in the occupied west bank for generations. but this week, they were packing up to leave. translation: we have lost our land | because we couldn't confront them. | we escaped out of fear. no one was there to protect us. land has always been at the heart of this decades—long conflict. and palestinians are losing. john donnison, bbc news, in the west bank. some of the ripple effects of the war in gaza there on the west bank. now, a strange story amid the ongoing crisis, with two british nationals and two dependents of british citizens claiming they've been sent back to gaza after escaping the territory on monday. they claim that family members were able to travel on to cairo,

but they were not on a list for entry to egypt. yogita limaye has that story. 72 hours out of hell. then, back in it. these british citizens were let out of gaza, but now they've been sent back in. he did the passport... abdulrahman al—harazi, an interpreter. his name wasn't on a list of evacuees, but his family's was. his wife is heavily pregnant, and he has three young children, so abdulrahman was allowed to leave. i spoke to him over the phone from jerusalem. he says the uk government didn't act in time. i was expecting someone to help, someone to help me and my kids, who are in tears, and my wife, who needs hospital. i thought someone would really

look at us with mercy. ahmed sabri is a british doctor stuck in the same situation. just because i am of palestinian origin, i'm not as equal as any other human. i'm sorry. i didn't want to say this, but this is the reality. it's a disgrace. making it to the border meant the families slept in shelters, escaping bombs. now, separated from their loved ones, the men set off to find refuge again. the uk government says it won't comment on specific cases, but is working round the clock to help. yogita limaye, bbc news, jerusalem. the continuing trauma of those trying to escape the fighting in gaza. we'll have much more at ten, including a report from jeremy bowen inside the territory, but there's

more analysis across the bbc. i'll be back at ten, but now over to you, jane, in london. clive, thank you. and thank you to the whole team there. rishi sunak has described the pro—palestinian march scheduled for armistice day this weekend in london as "disrespectful". the prime minister met the head of the metropolitan police sir mark rowley this afternoon and asked for reassurances that the force is taking "every step necessary" to safeguard remembrance events. here's our political editor chris mason. for the last four saturdays, parts of central london have looked like this. but this saturday is armistice day and so a question, should a march go ahead on a day of commemoration? is the metropolitan police say they would only request the government banned it if there was a threat of serious disorder but they say there isn't, as things stand. the prime minister says he

isn't happy about it. this stand. the prime minister says he isn't happy about it.— isn't happy about it. this is a decision that _ isn't happy about it. this is a decision that the _ isn't happy about it. this is a l decision that the metropolitan police commissioner has made and he has said that he can ensure that we safeguard remembrance for the country this weekend as well as keep the public safe. at myjob is to hold him accountable for that and we asked police for information on how they will ensure that happens. mr sunak added the demonstration is this respect full and he called this man, who runs london's metropolitan police, in to see today. mil man, who runs london's metropolitan police, in to see today.— police, in to see today. all those matters of _ police, in to see today. all those matters of taste _ police, in to see today. all those matters of taste and _ police, in to see today. all those matters of taste and decency, i police, in to see today. all those - matters of taste and decency, whilst i understand them, are not for us. the reason — i understand them, are not for us. the reason we have an independent police _ the reason we have an independent police service is my concern and our concern _ police service is my concern and our concern is _ police service is my concern and our concern is two things, it is the law and the _ concern is two things, it is the law and the facts as they are today that io and the facts as they are today that go towards — and the facts as they are today that go towards how we manage things. these _ go towards how we manage things. these then— go towards how we manage things. these then the brushstrokes of this rout, the key facts right now, police say, there is not a threat of serious disorder on armistice day and even if they requested the government banned a march, eight

static demonstration could still legally happen. here is where and when the march is due to take place, in central london but after the two—minute silence and not that close to the cenotaph. the march organisers claim the government is trying to undermine their cause. what i think is now happening is that actually the government is looking at this and saying, let's use the cook of armistice day to add to that effort of delegitimisation but i think there is something particularly astute with an argument that says a protest calling for a ceasefire is a somehow inappropriate on armistice day. d0 ceasefire is a somehow inappropriate on armistice day.— on armistice day. do you think the government _ on armistice day. do you think the government is _ on armistice day. do you think the government is manufacturing - on armistice day. do you think the government is manufacturing a - on armistice day. do you think the | government is manufacturing a row here? , and government is manufacturing a row here? yes. and listen to the historical — here? yes. and listen to the historical association - here? yes and listen to the historical association organising the commemoration at the cenotaph, going out of their way to avoid being dragged into this. would you think to make the case that a protest, a march happening on the same date should not happen or are you relaxed about it happening? we

don't want to stop other people enjoying — don't want to stop other people enjoying their democratic right as we don't — enjoying their democratic right as we don't want them to interfere with our assembly and we don't want them to interfere with ourassembly and our we don't want them to interfere with our assembly and our ceremony that we have _ our assembly and our ceremony that we have been doing for the last 30 years _ we have been doing for the last 30 ears. ,., , we have been doing for the last 30 ears. , ., years. retired soldiers from the british army. — years. retired soldiers from the british army, the _ years. retired soldiers from the british army, the chelsea - british army, the chelsea pensioners, visited downing street this afternoon ahead of armistice day. commemoration, protest, freedom of speech and, yes, politics. this week has the lot. these two events are undoubtedly both freighted with emotion and, yes, there have been some of those videos you might have seen on social media at the fringes of the demonstrations that some would regard as deeply offensive. this afternoon the metropolitan police has said that since those horrific attacks in israel a month ago, they have made 188 arrests involving hate crimes and acts such as violence linked to the protest in london and they have of course been tens and tens of thousands of participants in those demonstrations. and rarely do

you come across in my line of work a protagonist caught up in a political row who politicians are seeking to defend, those organising the commemoration at the cenotaph, less keen to be drawn into the row. tonight the prime minister has said that freedom is important and freedom does come with the right to protest. he said the test of that freedom is whether our commitment to it can survive the discomfort and frustrations of those who seek to use it, even if we disagree with them. chris, thank you very much. chris mason. and now news away from events in the middle east. a former head of the civil service has told the covid inquiry that he made it clear to prime minister borisjohnson during the pandemic that he thought matt hancock should not be health secretary. lord sedwill also apologised for suggesting that "chickenpox—style parties" should be held early in the crisis when the virus's spread was inevitable. our deputy political editor

vicki young reports. by borisjohnson's side mark sedwill saw first hand how this group of ministers dealt with a crisis no one seems to be prepared for. today he admitted he and other officials should have done more before the pandemic hit. there was an assurance that plans were in place to manage it. and in hindsight, it would have, as you suggest... those plans should have been interrogated more carefully by me at the cabinet level. in the weeks before lockdown in march 2020, scientific advisers felt it was inevitable covid would spread. lord sedwill admitted he suggested chickenpox—style parties. it must have come across that someone in my role was both sort of heartless and thoughtless about this, and i genuinely am neither. but i do understand the distress that must have caused and i apologise for that. and what about his relationship with the downing street team?

in this whatsapp exchange, another senior official, simon case, wrote... lord sedwill replies... and a diary entry by the chief scientific adviser, sir patrick vallance, included this... "sedwill came back saying this administration is brutal and useless. " did you say those words? i don't doubt sir patrick's memory. it must have been a moment of acute frustration with something, i don't know what. not for the first time, there were questions about the honesty of matt hancock. mr sedwill revealed he had told borisjohnson to replace his health secretary. i don't think i would have used the word sack with the prime minister himself although i acknowledge i said it to mr case. but he would have been under no illusions as to my view about what was best. lord sedwill was critical of the way many decisions about covid were made. next month, senior politicians

will have their say. vicki young, bbc news, westminster. there's a glimmer of hope in the long—running rail dispute, as members of the rmt union are to vote on a pay deal that could end the continuing waves of strikes. our transport correspondent katy austin is with me. how optimistic can rail travellers be? it certainly feels like a breakthrough. it has been nearly a year and a half since these strikes began on the railway and actually rmt workers employed by network rail settled their dispute in march, following a members vote. the dispute with 14 of the train companies, the companies that run services, has continued and only recently rmt members working for them backed strike action for another six months. now they will get a vote and that is on proposals which include a 5% backdated pay rise for last year, and if workers

vote in favour of that, the threat of strikes over christmas and into next spring would be lifted. securing this year's pay rise, 2023, would still depend on changes to working practices being negotiated with individual operators at local level so we are not quite at the end of the process with this but if this offer, this memorandum of understanding as they call it, is accepted, there is a process now that could lead to a resolution. just a reminder, a different union, aslef, which represents most train drivers, also has an active dispute and very little progress in that and there is very much still the threat of strikes in the train drivers dispute. of strikes in the train drivers disute. . ~' ,, of strikes in the train drivers disute. . ~ ,, ., of strikes in the train drivers disute. . ~ ., ., carol vorderman is leaving her show on bbc wales after breaking the corporation's rules on social media. the presenter has been posting criticism of the government on social media and says she is not prepared to lose her voice. the bbc recently published new social media rules for stars and staff.

the possession of nitrous oxide, more commonly known as laughing gas, is from today illegal. offenders face up to two years in prison and dealers up to 14 years. use of the gas as a recreational drug soared during the pandemic. it's now one of the most used drugs by 16—to—24—year—olds in the uk. the government says the ban will combat antisocial behaviour and reduce the drug's harmful health impact. here's our home affairs correspondent tom symonds. you've got the bbc in the club! catch me on the news! in this part of birmingham, nitrous oxide, inhaled from balloons, is the drug of choice. i know what would . cheeryou up, mate. this substance is used all over the uk but birmingham has a high rate of hospital admissions.

the silver capsules, often seen littering the streets, are being replaced by these much bigger bottles, branded smartwhip, and used in catering. activists in birmingham collect hundreds a week. the government's brought in this ban because of worries about anti—social behaviour... let me just finish this balloon and then i'm good. ..and the health effects. it definitely started off as doing it forfun, but it actually ended up, like, being one of the most addictive, like, nastiest things i've ever come across. this young woman is constantly using it and she's asked us not to identify her. it got to the point where we'd stop to go get a takeaway or something like that, and i wouldn't even stop doing balloons whilst i was eating. roughly how much had you used, would you say? five or six of these kind of things. yeah. yeah, ok. some users don't notice the harm

nitrous oxide is doing them, but at birmingham's hospitals, they do. it depletes the body of the vitamin b12 and the sheath around the spinal cord starts to degrade. when you lose that normal myelin i sheath, which is the insulation, i because of the functional b12 deficiency, that means - the electrical signals don't travel properly down from the brain - through the spinal. cord to your nerves. and that's exactly why the patient presents with tingling _ in their hands or feet or difficulty walking or unable to walk. - drugs experts have questioned whether a ban isjustified, but the government wants to stop open misuse of this substance on streets like this in birmingham. it's gone for criminalisation, but there's been a decades—long debate about whether that works. tom symonds, bbc news. and you can watch the documentary drugs map of britain on the bbc iplayer now. 400 years ago, an extraordinary book was published. the first folio contained most

of the works of william shakespeare, compiled by several of his friends a few years after his death. without it, many of shakespeare's plays would have been lost. our culture editor katie razzall has been talking to david tennant, who's about to play macbeth on stage in london. but here, upon this bank and shoal of time, we'd jump the life to come. david tenna nt�*s macbeth. but in these cases, we still have judgment here. macbeth wasn't printed in shakespeare's day. around half of his plays would have disappeared after his death without the decision 400 years ago to publish the works together in the first folio. i have done the deed. didst thou not hear a noise? i heard the owl scream and the crickets cry. i without the folio, we would have been robbed of renowned performances and timeless words. i'm sitting here at the end of my first day of rehearsals for macbeth. it wouldn't exist. we wouldn't have a copy of it.

that's true of antony and cleopatra. that's true of twelfth night. a bunch of the plays wouldn't exist at all. soldiers, break rank! now, the royal shakespeare company has chosen 37 new plays to celebrate shakespeare's 37. the writer of this history play is just 11 years old. the rsc picked new playwrights to reflect our times, with staged readings here at the new vic theatre in newcastle—under—lyme. blow, winds and crack your cheeks! rage! this winning entry, called the doris effect, gives a king lear speech a modern twist. until you have drenched our solar panels and drowned the council who put them there. 0h, hello, jerry. it's based on the playwright�*s own experience of how a renewable energy company's plans split his west midlands farming community. it's a sort of microcosm for what has happened in the nation, as it were, happened in our community, which is divisiveness

and divisiveness is everywhere. annie? no. another play, life goes on, is about grief. it's written by an a—level student from northampton. on this anniversary of the first folio, around 1700 of the words we still use were invented by shakespeare. it just goes to show that that's probably an even better reason to immerse yourself into shakespearean plays and see what he's written, because he's really impacted not just the words that we speak, he kind ofjust amplifies the importance of the words that we use. to be or not to be, i that is the question. i think what shakespeare managed to do is he managed to capture the human experience, and it feels weirdly modern, actually, that he writes about the moment he was in,

which seems to, by dint of his genius, also be the moment we are in. and the moment for a surprise. a replica of the first folio. yes, and this is a present for you from the british library who own the first folio. oh, how amazing. has he signed it? no, he hasn't. sadly not. katie razzall, bbc news. nice present. time for a look at the weather. here's chris fawkes. contrasting fortunes today, across parts of eastern england we were struggling with a lot of cloud and it was raining for most of the day in parts of sussex but contrast that with brighter skies across most parts of the country, sunshine but a big shower clouds loitering in northern ireland here. you can trace those clouds notjust into northern ireland and western scotland but all the weights into the atlantic to the greenland and that is coming our way tomorrow is. it will stay pretty unsettled and showery, quite a

changeable picture. overnight, the majority of the showers are