desperate for that aid, surely it puts those humanitarian workers at danger, as well. the situation in gaza is dangerous for everyone. nowhere is safe right now. we're hearing about bombardments in the north and in the south. for our teams it's very difficult. there's been more un staff lost in this war than ever before. so the first challenge is getting the aid in, as we've been talking about. it's been very difficult to get these trucks across the border. the opening of kerem shalom this week is a positive step, but we're only going to see what a difference that makes once it's been up and running for a few days. and then, yes, you're right, once we get the trucks to the other side distribution remains an enormous challenge. if you think about how crowded these areas are, how unsafe it continues to be and the lack of fuel that we're still struggling with, it's very difficult for us to get the aid to the people that need it most.

in terms of the children, because that is unicef, of course, what are the greatest health concerns that they are now facing? two or three weeks ago we were hearing about malnutrition. just how dire are things now for children? it's beyond our worst fears at the moment. the rains that came last week have really increased concerns of waterborne diseases like diarrhoea, which is a great concern to children in this context, it's actually the second leading cause of death in children underfive. when children are sick with this, it really diminishes their water supplies and their salts and makes them even more vulnerable to things like malnutrition. so it's kind of a triple threat at the moment, with bombardments from the sky, the disease and the lack of food. so when you talk about diarrhoea, tell us what do the children need to treat that? obviously, clean conditions are number one, but what do you need initially to arrest that diarrhoea

to stop them losing all that water in their body? yeah, it's a very good question. we need urgently more humanitarian aid to come in with the clean and safe drinking water and sanitation supplies to help stop this crisis. we've had difficulty getting some of these really important materials across the border, simple things like soap and water, but also complex things that are needed, like construction materials to repair infrastructure that's been damaged, so that's key. and then, as you say, we might need things like rehydration salts and other nutrients to help children battle this crisis. let's get more now on efforts to restore power—sharing in northern ireland. the bbc understands that the dup has ruled out the prospect of a deal before christmas. it's been boycotting stormont since early last year in protest

over post—brexit trade rules. the government was hoping to restore devolution before the parliamentary recess on tuesday. colum eastwood, the leader of the social democratic and labour party, spoke to my colleague lucy grey. he gave us his reaction to reports of a delay in restoring power—sharing. as far as we are all concerned, the deal is almost done and all it needs now is a decision from the dup. we've been waiting since, you know, for nearly two years now for a decision from the dup. they've gotten a lot out of these negotiations and what we've had instead is rising waiting lists in the health service. we've had public sector workers out on strike because they haven't been paid properly and all because we don't have a government. so there really is no reason to wait any longer. the people are bored of all of this and they're quite angry that politicians who are being paid to go to work aren't going to work. yeah, i suppose they're saying that they're not led by a calendar,

they're led by the issues, so whatever it takes in terms of the timings of this. in terms of the impact that this has had over the last two years on things in northern ireland, can you just talk us through what it's been? i mean, presumably the civil service has picked up as much as it possibly can, but there have been limits to that, haven't there? absolutely. you know, the civil service can't take political decisions, so what we've been left with is public sector pay not being able to be increased. we've been left with waiting lists that frankly would embarrass a third world country in our health service. our health services is at the point of collapse. and right across our public services there are major problems. it takes political leaders to get in there, who've been elected by the way, get in there and do theirjob and actually make some of these decisions. but i actually don't believe any more time will give any more concessions to the dup. i think this is more about optics than anything else. i don't think they want to look as if they're getting bought off by a big financial settlement. but, i mean, ijust don't think leaving it over christmas will help.

i think the extremes will get at it and make it even more difficult for the dup to do a deal after christmas. robbie butler is the deputy leader of the ulster unionist party, and speaking to lucy grey earlier remains optimistic that a deal can get over the line soon. well, obviously it's the dup that we're all waiting for to make a decision. but in northern ireland politics, we're well used to those deadline points. and there have been instances in the past where the very last minute when it looked like the light was going out, but the light came on and i would urge my colleagues to actually put people first. they said they're going to be looking at the issues. well, there is no greater issue than the cost of living impact on our hard—pressed workers here in northern ireland, whether that be nurses,

whether it be junior doctors, whether it be teachers or support staff or indeed transport staff who already find themselves paid less than most of their counterparts across the uk, on the mainland, in gb. and any self—respecting unionist must understand that the people are in the union and people need to be put first. yeah, the government's saying that this package that it's outlined, the sdlp leader there was just saying, i think it may even improve on the 2.5 billion. they're saying that it's fair and generous in terms of the package. in terms of your understanding of what the sticking point is for the dup, what is it holding out for in particular? well, i think what has happened over this past week or two is the commentators have coupled the two issues together and they need to be decoupled. we don't have a stormont here because of the dup's opposition to the framework, which all unionists in my party share, by the way. we just have a different tactic as to how we would see the changes. the piece of work around the fiscal contribution by his majesty's

government actually is after the hard work put a place at the executive, convincing the head of the civil service and through a team at the treasury, then getting the british government to accept that northern ireland has been historically underfunded. to australia next where emergency service have been attempting to rescue hundreds of people trapped by flooding in the northeastern state of queensland. authorities say people were stuck on the roofs of their homes as rising waters cut off entire areas. severe weather warnings remain in place, with the heavy rains that have swollen rivers and engulfed roads expected to continue for most of monday. if that wasn't enough, take a look at this. a crocodile was seen swimming in a storm drain in the town of ingham. our correspondent phil mercer in sydney explained just how severe the situation is,

especially in the city of cairns. it's getting very serious up in the northern part of queensland. if you look on a map of australia, obviously it's a very big place, but if you go to the top right—hand corner, that is the area of australia we are talking about — far north queensland. the city of cairns, which is a popular tourist destination. it's a very popularjump off point, if you like, for the great barrier reef, that's experiencing its worst ever flooding on record. the local naval base has been brought in to help with many rescues. there are reports of planes at the airport being submerged. other parts of that region of queensland are suffering due to this enormous flooding, record—breaking rainfall and very dangerous flooding. australia's bureau of meteorology is reporting that some areas could well have received about 800

millimetres of rain in 2a hours. all of this is the aftermath of former tropical cyclone jasper that crossed the queensland coast a few days ago. so some very, very dangerous conditions for many, many people. we're hearing that the authorities have ordered the evacuation of an aboriginal township called wujal wujal, home to about 300 people about 2,000 kilometres north of brisbane. when it opened back in 1989, doncaster dome was the largest leisure centre in europe and now it's entering the history books once again. it's been awarded protected status. heidi tomlinson has the story. from the outside, you wouldn't imagine doncaster dome to be of historical importance. but this leisure centre built in the 1980s is now grade ii listed due to its striking architecture and bold geometric shapes. it's called post—modernist

architecture and it fits in nicely with the leisure use, because it's about giving the architect freedom to design individual bits and to take people back to a different time in age. so we're approaching the atrium, the actual dome here, david, and there are some very interesting features that you might not notice unless they're pointed out. that's right. the whole idea is to pull you through into this area and to have the illusion that you're looking at a classical column. but you've got some interesting features at the top of the column. you've got the steelwork, which supports the atrium. it's all very exposed. and you can see what the building's made of. walking through the crowds i in the six—pool swimming hall, the princess joked about feeling overdressed for the occasion. i opened in 1989 by princess diana, the venue was commissioned to drive economic regeneration.

then, it was the largest leisure centre in europe with the longest water flumes. for 3a years, families have headed to the dome for fun days out. and to this day, this is the only split—level ice rink in the country. and at this time of year, thousands of people come here to feel festive orjust glide around awkwardly and nearly fall on their backsides like i'm about to do. oh, i should have got that snowman, shouldn't i, after all? the architecture has rather fallen flat on visitors over the years. so why is it now listed? it's designed by a firm of architects who were the pioneers and specialists in leisure—centre design and it's one of their best, as well. and it's just epitomises the era. it's that transition from a normal sports centre, with more kind of formal sports, to what effectively is like a pleasure palace. the reason it's listed is because of its geometric design and its striking architecture.

i can agree with that, yeah. there's nothing else around here that looks remotely like it. i think the dome's like a thing people from outside _ of doncaster come here for. it's very modern—looking but it's moved with the times. it's looking a little bit tatty. you know, these buildings don't really stand the test of time, do they? a refresh is imminent, with 2.4 million ready to replace the dome�*s glazing so this officially historic building can shine with pride. heidi tomlinson, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. hello. the big day is just a week away, but the weather is not currently looking particularly festive. a lot of cloud out there, some outbreaks of rain. it is going to become very windy over the next few days. but as colder air tries to tuck in from the north, we do have the chance for some snow in some places later in the week. we find ourselves in something of a battleground — cold air to the north of us trying to dig in, mild air trying to push in from the south.

in between, we find the jet stream, the stream of very strong winds high up in the atmosphere, spinning up various areas of low pressure. we end monday on a pretty mild note in most places. a lot of cloud, still some patchy rain across england and wales, clearer skies for parts of the far north of england, northern ireland and scotland, albeit with this weather front pushing its way southwards. 0vernight, we see cloud and heavy rain developing across england and wales. clearer skies for northern ireland and scotland. showers, which could be wintry over high ground in scotland, maybe cold enough for frost and ice in parts of northern scotland, whereas further south it remains very mild into tuesday morning, with some outbreaks of heavy and persistent rain. that rain will tend to clear southwards through the day. behind it the skies will brighten. we'll see some spells of sunshine, but scattered showers rushing in on quite a brisk north—westerly wind. some of those showers will be wintry over high ground in scotland and temperatures dropping away. colder air pushing its way down from the north. however, by wednesday we get

back into milder air. wednesday is going to be a windy day, quite a cloudy day. there will be some bits and pieces of rain around, some heavier rain across some parts of western and northern scotland and temperatures back up into double digits for many. through wednesday night and into thursday, we looking at a potentially quite a deep area of low pressure passing to the north of the uk and, as this cold front slips southwards, well, that will bring a return of colder air. we will see some wintry showers. in fact, snow showers to quite low levels in scotland, coupled with very strong or gale force winds that could well give blizzard conditions. further south, cloud and outbreaks of rain. holding on to some mild air in the south, something colder further north. as we head into the christmas period, there's some uncertainty aboutjust how long that cold air will stick around. it may be cold enough for some of us to see snow in the run—up to christmas.

live from london, this is bbc news. israeli air strikes pound the south and north of gaza. the hamas—run health ministry says at least 110 palestinians were killed injabaliya. international pressure for a ceasefire intensifies — as us defence secretary lloyd austin arrives in tel aviv for talks with his israeli counterpart. ukraine admits artillery ammunition shortages — but a leading government official remains optimistic that international funding will continue. the mp has ruled out any deal to restore devolution before christmas, the bbc understands. —— the dup. hello, i'm maryam moshiri, welcome to bbc news now. israel's assault on gaza is showing no sign of slowing down. the hamas—run health ministry said

today 110 people were killed in air