and, with thousands fleeing northern gaza, a warning from america that israel should not become occupiers when the war is over. it is imperative that palestinian people be central to governance in gaza and in the west bank as well, and that, again, we don't see a reoccupation. and also on tonight's programme... matt hancock should have been removed as health secretary in 2020, a former top civil servant has told the covid inquiry. saka in for arsenal... scores! it's been a dramatic night of football with arsenal and manchester united in champions league action. if it were done, it were well if it were done quickly.

and celebrating shakespeare's first folio, the collection that saved his plays, and his language, for us. and on newsnight at 10:30... we'll go deeper behind the headlines and speak live to the key players on today's big stories. plus — a first look at tomorrow's front pages. good evening. we're live in ramallah, the seat of the palestinian authority, here in the west bank, territory which, under international law, is illegally occupied by israel. as you can imagine, the warfurther south in gaza is deeply worrying to palestinians here. and tonight, israel's military is claiming hamas has lost control of the north of the territory, after weeks of relentless israeli bombing.

tens of thousands of civilians have been on the move today, heading south, away from israeli air strikes and shelling targeting hamas, a group designated as a terror organisation by the uk government, and responsible for killing more than 1,400 israelis and seizing over 200 hostages. we'll have the very latest from across the region, withjon donnison in tulkarm, in the north of the west bank, where tensions are rising between palestinians and israeli settlers. yogita limaye is injerusalem, with the story of some of the britons still stranded in gaza. but first, jeremy bowen, has been with the israeli defence forces inside the territory. while the bbc retained editorial control of the report, the sections featuring the israeli military have been cleared by the idf. like young soldiers in many wars, israeli troops looked excited, not apprehensive, as they made their final

preparations to join israel's invasion of the gaza strip. they're moving in as the war approaches a critical point. their colleagues already inside the strip have surrounded gaza city. these men might be part of the next stage, locating hamas tunnels and fighting street by street. israel's prime minister promised his country a mighty vengeance against hamas. but with so much firepower, one question — is israel following joe biden�*s advice not to be blinded by rage, to defend itself, but also protect the lives of palestinian civilians? we went into gaza with the israeli army on condition we didn't reveal their positions. video shot after they took us through the gap in the fence into gaza — though not this script — had to be submitted to their military censors. we got out of the back of an armoured vehicle and walked into a wasteland.

after a month of air strikes and more than a week of tanks and troops, every building i saw was damaged or destroyed. they wanted to show us what they said was a hamas weapons factory, in this wrecked structure. this is their scuba diving equipment that's meant to come from sea, from their land to our land. and they made drones that drop bombs, he said, in this workshop. places like this, he said, originated the 7th of october attacks. but upstairs was a family apartment. the soldiers said it was more proof that hamas used civilians as human shields, building bombs underneath a bedroom used by children. the officer said hamas — not israel — was responsible for civilian deaths. we know, intelligence. we know what we hit. we know the targets, they're approved by our command.

it's not that i wake up and my objective is to ruin the city. i aim for enemy and enemy only, and i use all in my power to hit the enemy only. sojudging by the destruction here, the enemy was everywhere, you'd say? yes. israel's strategic equation measures the destruction and death it's brought to palestinians in gaza — civilians as well as hamas — against the pain of its own people and the importance of making them feel safe again. the overriding impressions i have from being here is, first of all, the level of force that israel has brought to bear on the gaza strip — a vast amount of military power. in addition, the level of destruction, massive destruction, thousands of homes gone. israel says a military necessity, self—defense.

this woman's view was different. she said it was because of israel's bombardment, because nowhere was safe, because there was no food or drinking waterfor the children and because israel had bombed the bakeries. israel said 50,000 palestinians moved south after it promised safe passage. hamas released more videos of its fight against israel in gaza's streets. it claims victories but it is vastly outgunned. hamas cannot win a toe to toe fight with israel but guerilla tactics, hit and run, might drag the war out for months, and force a ceasefire. more israeli tanks were moving forward as we left the gaza strip this evening. israel's western allies support the invasion. but america's reminders about the laws of war and the pressure for humanitarian

pauses suggest even israel's closest allies are queasy about this war�*s human catastrophe. jeremy bowen, bbc news, gaza. israel clearly tightening its grip on the territory and we will hear from jeremy with a bit more in a moment. but a warning tonight from us secretary of state antony blinken saying there should be no israeli occupation of gaza when the current conflict comes to an end. speaking after a meeting of g7 foreign ministers injapan, he called for the territory and the west bank to be united under the palestinian authority. it is also clear that israel cannot occupy gaza. now, the reality is that there may be a need for some transition period at the end of the conflict but it is imperative that palestinian people be central to governance in gaza and in the west bank as well.

antony blinken speaking earlier today. let's speak to jeremy bowen, who's in southern israel, but as we've seen has been with israeli forces inside gaza. i don't think there was anyone who believes that hamas are going to win this war and clearly the americans are looking towards the end game when the fighting is over. and that was a very clear warning so how do you think things could pan out once the conflict comes to an end? first of all, the conflict comes to an end? first of all. don't _ the conflict comes to an end? first of all, don't forget _ the conflict comes to an end? f "st of all, don't forget hamas probably have a different definition of victory to israel. if they can keep fighting, as far as they are concerned, they will not be beaten. i think that once the fighting stops, through whatever means, then perhaps the really difficult part starts. because the palestinians will still be there. the problem will still be there. the problem will still be there. the problem will still be there punter who will run the territory? the israelis have

said, by mr netanyahu has said they want to retain security control —— prime minister netanyahu punter that applies some sort of palestinian governance but which palestinians would like to do that on israel's say so? the americans believe the only way forward is to move towards that old failed idea up to and out of a two state solution, in other words independent palestine alongside israel. this current israeli government is viscerally opposed to such a notion, which would, for example, mean it would have to pull back settlers from the west bank where at the moment the settlers it backs are pushing very hard against the palestinians and the palestinians say they are running riot.— the palestinians say they are runnina riot. , , . ~ the palestinians say they are runnina riot. , , ., ~ , ., running riot. 0k, jeremy, thank you, jeremy bowen _ running riot. 0k, jeremy, thank you, jeremy bowen reporting _ running riot. 0k, jeremy, thank you, jeremy bowen reporting from - running riot. 0k, jeremy, thank you, l jeremy bowen reporting from southern israel. 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 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. this evening, israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, condemned such attacks by settlers, saying they were being carried out by a tiny handful of people who were damaging israel's international reputation, and they would not be tolerated. 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 some of you may find distressing. 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 khaled'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. the rising tensions beyond the frontier of gaza here in the west bank. now, the strange story amid the ongoing crisis of two british nationals and two dependents of british citizens claiming they've been sent back to gaza after escaping the territory on monday. they say that family members were able to travel onto 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... abdalrahman alharazin, 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 abdalrahman 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 sabra 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. i have been waiting for three days in egypt, and on egyptian soil i thought i am safe, and they are sending me to the most dangerous place in the world. 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 struggle of ordinary civilians trying to escape the fighting. that's it from me and the bbc team here in ramallah on the west bank.

but there's more analysis right across the bbc. so now, mishal, it's back to you, in london. clive, many thanks. here, the prime minister says he's had assurances from the metropolitan police chief that every possible step will be taken to safeguard armistice day events — with a pro—palestinian march also scheduled to take place in london on saturday. the protests have been taking place for the last few saturdays. the route for november the 11th is scheduled to be away from the cenotaph but rishi sunak has said it was disrespectful for it to take place on a day of commemoration for the war dead. members of the welsh parliament, the senedd have voted in support of an immediate ceasefire in gaza. the labour—led administration abstained from the vote, after the first minister, mark drakeford, said he favoured "humanitarian pauses" in the fighting instead. labour backbenchers were given a free vote. the covid inquiry was told by a former head of the civil service today that in the early months of the pandemic he thought the health secretary

should be replaced. mark sedwill said borisjohnson knew his views on matt hancock. he also apologised for believing the virus could be controlled through "chickenpox—style parties. " 0ur 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 seemed 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 and 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 suggested borisjohnson 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. members of the rmt union are to vote on a pay deal that could halt 18 months of their industrial action on the railways. 1a operators have put forward an offer including backdated pay rises and job security guarantees in what the union's boss has called a "welcome development." a dispute with train drivers in the aslef union remains ongoing. nhs england has written to hospital chiefs saying they will have to scale back planned operations and treatment because of the costs of strikes by health workers. some plans to invest in technology will also be put on hold. bbc news has learned that nhs england has asked the treasury for more than a billion pounds

to cover what it's called "significa nt financial challenges. " results from state elections in parts of the us have provided a boost for candidates from president biden�*s democratic party. and in ohio, people voted to change the state constitution to guarantee the right to an abortion. 0ur north america editor, sarah smith, on what the results could mean for next year's presidential race. celebrations as 0hio votes to guarantee women access to abortion. words cannot describe how i'm feeling right now. we did it! they won a substantial victory in this conservative state. this result�*s notjust important to people who support abortion rights in ohio. it could have really significant consequences for next year's presidential election. abortion access clearly motivates a lot of voters, and it could be one of the few

things that persuades them to come out and supportjoe biden. what we know is that the republican party, whether that's here in ohio or nationally, continues to fight for extreme abortion bans at the state level and at the national level. so this issue will be really important through the entire 2024 cycle, no matter what you're running for. the large, influential anti—abortion movement in america has been suffering electoral defeats ever since the supreme court overturned abortion rights last year. turning now to the abortion case that has gained international attention... 0hio hit the headlines when a ten—year—old rape victim had to travel out of state to get an abortion. it's stories like this that turn voters off strict abortion bans. this year, the march for life is celebrating... donald trump calls himself the most pro—life president but recognises it can be a vote loser. you're not going to win on this issue, but you will win on this issue when you come up with the right number of weeks. republicans in virginia tried

to follow that advice... virginia republicans support a reasonable 15 week limit. ..arguing it's democrats who are the extremists. but it was democrats who triumphed last night. women are not without electoral or political power. _ you ain't seen nothing yet. president biden may be facing dire opinion polls, but he knows the power of the abortion issue, and that it mightjust get him reelected. sarah smith, bbc news, columbus, ohio. some football news and in the champions league, arsenal remain top of their group after another home win against sevilla. the gunners need just one more win to ensure progress into the last 16. elsewhere, there was late drama for ten—man manchester united in copenhagen. andy swiss was watching the action. how is this for a welcome? manchester united emerged to a message from the copenhagen fans — your theatre of nightmares, a warning that soon looked just a little bit silly.

what a start this is! rasmus hojlund put united ahead and when the former copenhagen player made it 2—0, it seemed it was he that was doing the haunting. but in a flash, everything changed. a clumsy challenge from marcus rashford and he was sent off. and how copenhagen capitalised. mohamed elyounoussi pulled one back and after a handball by harry maguire, it was a penalty and somehow it was 2—2 at the break. scores! but the drama had barely begun. this time a copenhagen and handball and bruno fernandes fired united back ahead. but their ten men could not cling on as two late copenhagen goals gave the hosts a 4—3 win. it was crazy, it was chaotic but for united, desperately disappointing. arsenal, meanwhile, remain top of their group after they beat sevilla 2—0. goals from leandro trossard and after the break from bukayo saka. for them at least, a straightforward night. andy swiss, bbc news.

it is 400 years since a number of shakespeare's plays were published — shortly after his death — in a collection known as the first folio. without it, many are likely to have been lost — as would the phrases he used that became part of our language and remain so, centuries on. to mark the anniversary our culture editor katie razzall has been talking to some of those celebrating — and performing — shakespeare's work today. 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. my husband! 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. tomorrow... ..and tomorrow... possibly the most famous speech from macbeth, "tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day." it'sjust an examination of what it is to... to look at eternity in the face and to feel like you are shelled out, hollowed out, and those words express that in a way that nothing else really does. without the first folio, we would have lost so many of those plays. 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 1,700 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. this is, like, a present? yes, and this is a present for you from the british library,

who own the first folio. wow! how amazing! has he signed it? no, he hasn't! shame. sadly not. katie razzall, bbc news. at least one tomorrow because mike worth of weather in the forecast? low pressure for the next few days, lots of rain showers coming our way. a mixed picture today, lots of clouted outbreaks of rain to the south and east, we manage sunshine elsewhere that pretty big thunderclouds working into northern ireland and southern scotland. looking out for speckled cloud, trace it back into the atlantic to near greenland, this is all shower clouds set to come our way, so an unsettled looking picture. heavier bursts of rain across northern england and wales at the moment, one

or two showers elsewhere and clear spells, temperatures at three to seven celsius at night, cold for the north—east of scotland where the winds for light and they will have the clearest skies and a touch of frost into thursday. most of the showers start across western areas, into the afternoon, just about anywhere could see a shower, the driest weather for parts of northern scotland, north—east england, showers into wales and south—west england very infrequent, longer spells of rain. in two friday the winds come down more from the north—westerly direction, meaning the majority of the showers will be draped around coastal areas. inland areas have a decent chance of it being dry with plenty of sunshine. around seven to 11 celsius for many. the weekend starts fine with sunshine, there is a?. �*s weather as

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