two abstentions. hamas pledges not to release any more hostages until the war ends, as we learn an israeli—american believed to have been taken by hamas has died. and the us supreme court says it won't fast track a decision regarding potential immunity for former president donald trump. i'm helena humphrey, good to have you with us. after days of negotiations to avoid a us veto, the un security council has approved a resolution demanding large scale aid deliveries to gaza. it stops short of calling for a ceasefire between israel and hamas. 13 council members voted for the resolution. the us and russia abstained. the resolution was sponsored by the united arab emirates, whose ambassador to the un, says the decision �*responds to the dire situation on the ground'.

the palestinian ambassador to the un, called it a step in the right direction but reiterated calls for an immediate ceasefire — saying that 2.3 million palestinians have been fighting for their lives and facing death. meanwhile, israel's ambassador to the un criticised the resolution and said that the �*un should have focused on the humanitarian crisis of the hostages.�* russia's ambassador to the un criticised the us for not doing more to restrain israeli operations in gaza. this comes amid complaints that the resolution is watered down. us ambassador to the un linda thomas—greenfield said the us abstained because the council did not condemn hamas�* october seventh attack on israel. here's what she said after the vote. it took many days and many, many long nights of negotiating to get this right. but, today, this council provided a glimmer of hope amongst a sea of unimaginable suffering. today, this council called for urgent

steps to immediately allow safe, unhindered and expanded humanitarian access. and to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities. for more on the negotiations that led to this deal, my colleague, carl nasman spoke tojose de la gasca, the ecuadorean ambassador to the united nations, who currently serves as president of the security council. thank you very much forjoining us here on bbc news. after these days of us here on bbc news. after these days of intense negotiations, how satisfied are you now with the results of this resolution?— you now with the results of this resolution? thank you for the interview. _ this resolution? thank you for the interview. i— this resolution? thank you for the interview. i am _ this resolution? thank you for the interview. i am very - the interview. i am very satisfied for what we have come as a council from what we have achieved and, most of all, from what we can deliver for the people in need in gaza. can you cive us people in need in gaza. can you give us any _ people in need in gaza. can you

give us any insights? _ people in need in gaza. can you give us any insights? i- people in need in gaza. can you give us any insights? i know - give us any insights? i know you were involved in these negotiations. how difficult was it to get all sides to agree on some sort of language that could finally come to a vote and pass? i could finally come to a vote and pass?— and pass? i think there are thins and pass? i think there are things that _ and pass? i think there are things that take _ and pass? i think there are things that take some - and pass? i think there are | things that take some time. diplomacy sometimes works in mysterious ways. i don't know. i'm not sure if i can tell if it was very hard to find a language but what i am sure is that everyone here in the council make a part of trying to do their best to come up with a resolution that we have now seen in the resolution that we just approved. you now seen in the resolution that we just approved.— we just approved. you say that ou are we just approved. you say that you are satisfied. _ we just approved. you say that you are satisfied. not - you are satisfied. not everyone, though, is satisfied with the ultimate outcome here. there's criticism, especially from some arab nations, of the language being too vague to be meaningful. you agree? what do think of that criticism? i think of that criticism? i think perfect is the enemy of

the good and since every second and every minute counts because every life matters i am satisfied with knowing what we approved will help the people in need, it will somehow make a step forward from the solution and from that stand point i think that everything that is going forward, even this path of working through a solution, it is satisfying, of course. in the end, this text does not condemn hamas for its attacks on october seven. the us ambassador to the un said she was appalled that the council was appalled that the council was unable to condemn it. what was unable to condemn it. what ou was unable to condemn it. what you make _ was unable to condemn it. what you make of _ was unable to condemn it. what you make of those _ was unable to condemn it. what you make of those concerns - was unable to condemn it. what you make of those concerns was to mark i think many people were asking why is it that there was no condemnation of there was no condemnation of the actions of hamas?- there was no condemnation of the actions of hamas? well, the ecuadorian _ the actions of hamas? well, the ecuadorian delegation _ the actions of hamas? well, the ecuadorian delegation and - ecuadorian delegation and myself we have condemned in

every four and every time and every four and every time and every opportunity the crimes of hamas. we have said it in every forum. but this one was a humanitarian resolution, not particularly a political one. so you have to see it from that standpoint that sometimes you will not get whatever you want since you are targeting effort and not quite as a political resolution. israel has told civilians in central gaza to move south as its military expands operations. some 2 million palestinians have already been displaced since the war began. meanwhile, the white house has announced the death of a dual us—israeli citizen who is believed to have been abducted by hamas during the october seventh attacks in israel. our middle east correspondent lucy williamson brings us the latest from jerusalem. car horns blare. when israel and hamas refuse to budge from their positions, the people of gaza must move instead.

with the road to negotiations blocked, the war roams free. bureij camp the latest target for evacuation warnings. some, likejahad, had fled here to escape the fighting elsewhere. translation: the situation inside the camp is dire. - people are dying, others are evacuating. the conditions are extremely challenging. there's a shortage of blankets, clothes, essential items. nasser hospital in khan younis, one ofjust nine still functioning in gaza. the palestine red crescent says epidemics are taking hold because of a lack of food and medicine. maheda brought her son zayeed here suffering from a lung infection, blood clots and convulsions. he's spent 18 days in intensive care. translation: nowhere | is safe, nowhere is clean. i'm in despair because there is no solution. even if my child is ok,

there is nowhere safe for us to go. even the hospital is not clean. i don't know where to turn. i'm exhausted, and my child is slowly dying. new analysis suggests that two—thirds of northern gaza has been destroyed. seen from space, researchers say, gaza is now a different colour and texture. israel says the war in gaza will continue until hamas is destroyed, that it has killed thousands of the group's fighters, unearthed vast tunnel networks. but hamas rockets are still being fired into israel. and today, another israeli hostage was reported dead. gadi haggai, a 73—year—old musician kidnapped from kibbutz nir oz along with his wifejudy. muhammad was just weeks old when the war began. his grandfather buried him today, along with his mother

and father, all killed in a strike on rafah overnight. the price of war paid by a baby whose grandfather will never now know peace. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. as the war in ukraine approaches its second year, and the un security council increasingly focuses its attention on the israel—gaza war, the international rescue committee is sounding the alarm that some of the most pressing humanitarian crises of our time are currently unfolding on the african continent, and will only get worse without global action in 2024. earlier i spoke to david miliband, the ceo and president of that organisation, and the former british foreign secretary. so much of our global attention this year has been fixed on the war in ukraine, now the israel and gaza war, naturally. but what does this mean for other humanitarian crises around the world ? where do you think that our global attention might be lacking?

the irc, international rescue committee, is active in ukraine and in gaza, but we are deeply concerned that other crises involving tens of millions of people are, frankly, been ignored at the moment. we've just published our emergency watchlist, looking at the top 20 crises of the coming year, based on 65 quantitative and qualitative indicators and it's actually sudan that is number one on the list, 25 million people in humanitarian need. eight out of the top ten crises of 2024 that we forecast are in africa and in total about 260 million people are covered byjust those 20 countries in humanitarian need, so i think there is a real necessity obviously to do justice to the crisis in gaza, the ongoing war in ukraine, but i would plead that we don't forget about these other crises as well because what we do know is that when humanitarian need

is neglected, that leads to further political instability. you mentioned the african continent there. your organisation emphasises that armed conflict and climate change are increasingly converging. we'vejust had cop28 in dubai and we saw the pledge to transition away from the use of fossil fuels. is that good enough, do you think, does that go far enough when we're faced with these global crises? the short answer is no for a very simple reason, that whatever happens in the future to transition away from fossil fuels is not going to do anything about the greenhouse gases that already are in the atmosphere and that are creating a climate crisis in significant parts of africa. it's increasingly clear that crisis to do with the climate and crisis to do with political division are interacting with each other. the pressure on resources that comes from the climate crisis

is exacerbating the drivers of conflict to the extent that the top ia countries in the watchlist, ia of the top 20 countries in the watchlist are not just conflict states, they are also in the top quartile of climate stress to states because at the moment, the more fragile the country, the less likely it is to get help with adapting to climate change and thatjust exacerbates the dangers that these countries face. i do also want to ask you about how you assess the power of international institutions right now because we have seen a lot of wrangling at the un security council over resolutions in the israel—gaza war. we've also seen parties to conflict failing to uphold their responsibility to protect humanitarian access. is international humanitarian law, international institutions, are they facing their own crisis right now? yes, they are. the crisis above all is for people on the ground, aid workers and civilians, is frankly astonishing, but worth repeating that 90%

of the victims of war today are not soldiers, they are civilians. that speaks to the erosion of international norms in respect of civilian protection and, frankly, humanitarian aid which is meant to be a legal right for civilians caught up infighting. we are seeing state actors and nonstate actors increasingly acting with impunity in the crises where we work, and it's civilians paying the price. talking about civilians paying the price, one thing that's really striking, if you take the example, the situation in gaza, women, children are being disproportionately killed among the civilian population. i heard you say recently a quote, "to be a successful humanitarian organisation, you need to be a feminist organisation." tell us more about what you meant by that. what i meant was very simple. we have to recognise that the majority of clients of humanitarian organisations

are women and girls. that those women and girls face multiple inequalities, not just the displacement that men and boys face, notjust the impunity that men and boys face, but extra poverty, extra violence, extra impunity against them. levels of sexual violence against women and girls, levels of extreme poverty and exploitation, nevermind early marriage, the extra attention needed for women and girls is not yet arriving. just one statistic to back that up — less than 2% of global humanitarian aid spending goes to women—led organisations despite the fact that women and girls are the majority in these circumstances. we know from our own experience as well as our own research that when the social programmes and, vitally, the economic programmes for economic independence are brought together, women and girls can benefit enormously, even in dire situations of crisis.

but when we are talking about this level of global turmoil, i wonder, in yourjob, do you ever worry that we're just getting used to this? because if you take a look at what's happening here in the us right now, for example, just one example, tremendous difficulty getting more aid through congress to ukraine, for example. do you think that these kinds of conflicts are becoming normalised? yes, that is the great danger. 260 million people in 20 countries dependent on humanitarian aid to survive is not normal. that's a fourfold increase over the last ten years. it takes politics to stop the killing, but humanitarian aid and effective humanitarian action can stop the dying and staunch the dying and that's what we are in business to do. we depend on governments but also the voters, the taxpayers, the donors who underpin them, to make sure that we don't forget that in this world, this increasingly connected world, problems that start in one continent don't stay

on the continent. talking about those taxpayers, voters, ordinary people, i guess, people who are watching this who find it all very difficult to process, when all of this is happening around the world, for those people who feel touched, who feel concerned, what can they do? living in the united states, they can make a difference locally. the international rescue committee is unique among international ngos because we're both a humanitarian aid organisation in places far away, but we are also a refugee resettlement organisation in 30 cities across the united states, and the biden administration has expanded the number of people who are legally organised to come to the us to start a new life after suffering persecution in their own country. in 30 cities around the us those people don'tjust depend on professional irc workers but local volunteers to be their buddies, their english teachers, their navigators for the health system

or the employment system. so there is a practical way in which your viewers can make a difference as well as learning about the crises and using their voice about those issues that are further away. david miliband, president and ceo of the international rescue committee and a former british foreign secretary. thank you for your time. thank you so much for your coverage. here in washington, the supreme court has declined, for now, to decide whether former president donald trump is immune from prosecution on charges of attempting to overturn the 2020 election. special counseljack smith, was hoping to expedite the process for the four separate charges mr trump is facing. the trial was initially set to begin in march, but could be delayed for months — a small victory for the former president. in response to the supreme court's decision, mr trump denied the charges. on truth social, he claimed he is covered under presidential immunity as he contests the upcoming

presidential election in november. the case will instead first be heard by a federal appeals court january 9. a delegation of top us officials is expected to visit mexico on wednesday to discuss the immigration challenge at the southern border. the visit comes as november saw the highest tally of migrant encounters along the border for that month on record. us customs and border protection says it processed more than 242,000 migrants last month. that's 36,000 more than the same time last year. republican politicians in border states say they are, quote, "overwhelmed" including texas governor greg abbott. he signed a state law on monday that would allow officers to arrest people suspected of crossing the border illegally. biden's deliberate inaction has left texas to fend for itself. the authors of the united states constitution foresaw

a situation when the federal government would be inattentive to states that faced challenges at their borders. and in response, they inserted article i section 10 to the united states constitution, to empower states to take action to defend themselves and that is exactly what texas is doing. not even 24 hours after the bill was signed, civil rights groups sued to challenge the law. i spoke with david donatti, senior staff attorney with the aclu of texas. texas has passed one of the most anti—immigrant laws in the country and one that, to my understanding, is unprecedented in the history of our nation. the law allows any police officer in the state to apprehend somebody they expect of being here illegally or being unlawfully present in the state and that law will take into effect march 5, 2024.

so we sued in federal court asking forfederal court intervention to see to it that that law is never enforced against members of the communities that we serve. there is also a concern that this bill would conflict with the constitution. could you explain that to us? it certainly does conflict with the constitution. over 100 years of supreme court precedent confirm what is true about international law, generally, which is that a sovereign nation in this instance, the united states, has the exclusive authority to enforce its immigration regulations and, more importantly, to deport or remove people who it believes do not belong within the country. so texas is the first nation to step forward and take on this issue into its own hands which contradict the supremacy clause of the united states constitution as well as a fundamental principle of the united states sovereignty. talking about texas, essentially taking this matter

into its own hands, ijust want to read you a comment from governor abbott. he has said, "biden's deliberate inaction " has left texas to fend for itself." of course, we know that we are seeing record numbers of arrivals at the southern border right now. how do you then think that it should be handled? first and foremost we need to emphasise that these are human beings we are talking about and so when we talk about record numbers, we have to acknowledge where people are coming from and why it is that they are fleeing to our shores seeking safety. the groups that are approaching texas at this moment are very diverse, they come from all over the world. they come from not only light places like venezuela but haiti, places like the middle east, africa and asia and they are coming here because they need to to survive. we are also seeing an increase in the number of people coming with young children as families because the places where they are coming from are no longer

sustainable or habitable to them. so i believe that we need to start from the fundamental principle that these are human beings who have rights under international and united states law. the biden administration has taken several actions, some of which support migrants, the others of which we have criticised on the record. fundamentally, the issue here is that this is a prerogative of the united states as a federal government and it cannot be up to a state like texas can enforce its own vision of who belongs and who can be removed. texas goveror abbott has also bussed tens of thousands of migrants from texas to mostly democrat—run cities. the operation began in april of last year, and since then over 75,000 migrants have been bussed across the country. this includes over 27,000 to new york city, over 22,000 migrants to chicago, illinois, and over 12,000 migrants to washington, dc. and for the first time, governor abbott chartered a private flight of over 100 migrants to chicago, which launched lawsuits against companies transporting

migrants. the chicago mayor described the state some migrants are in when they arrive to the city. the conditions in which people are arriving in chicago are quite disturbing. the people who are crossing the borders, sleeping outside in the cold, out in the rain, trekking through thousands of miles ofjungles, being forced onto buses without any clear direction of where they are going, that you have a governor in texas who could care less about those families. and literally dropping them off notjust in chicago but anywhere and everywhere. it is wicked. let's turn to some important news around the world. two paramedics have been convicted in the us state of colorado over the 2019 death of elijah mcclain. mcclain was walking home from a store when he was stopped by police, placed in a chokehold, then injected with ketamine by the paramedics. a policeman was convicted

of neglectful homicide earlier this year, the same charge as the paramedics. the case drew outrage across the us during protests demanding racial justice in 2020. china's air pollution in 2023 worsened for the first time in a decade, according to a new study released friday. a finnish non—profit institute found the national average of pm 2.5 — or small particules of air pollution — increased when compared to 2013 levels. that was when beijing declared a "war on pollution," which saw air quality improve. in the uk, thousands of people gathered at stonehenge to mark this year's winter solstice — the shortest day, and the longest night of the year. dan o'brien reports. it appears that we don't have that report at this present moment. i'm not sure exactly what we're to next, but when i

do know i will let you know, if anyone would like to let the longest night of the amount here at stonehenge by humans throughout history. the winter solstice is a celebration of longer days ahead. a bigger crowd than normal this year. why do people cue at the crack of dawn to do this? everyone has a different reason.- has a different reason. yes. the stones _ has a different reason. yes. the stones are _ has a different reason. yes. the stones are amazing - has a different reason. yes. the stones are amazing and has a different reason. yes. - the stones are amazing and you don't _ the stones are amazing and you don't get — the stones are amazing and you don't get to come this close to only— don't get to come this close to only other_ don't get to come this close to only other time, so coming on the solstice and actually being able to — the solstice and actually being able to get this close is really. _ able to get this close is really, really fantastic. it�*s really, really fantastic. it's not a society _ really, really fantastic. it's not a society or _ really, really fantastic. it's not a society or cultural traffic _ not a society or cultural traffic other _ not a society or cultural traffic other than - not a society or cultural - traffic other than celebrating the turning _ traffic other than celebrating the turning of— traffic other than celebrating the turning of the _ traffic other than celebrating the turning of the sun - traffic other than celebrating l the turning of the sun coming to this — the turning of the sun coming to this point _ the turning of the sun coming to this point.— the turning of the sun coming to this point. you are so keen, what you? _ to this point. you are so keen, what you? that _ to this point. you are so keen, what you? that feels - to this point. you are so keen, what you? that feels very - to this point. you are so keen, what you? that feels very nice j what you? that feels very nice to do something _ what you? that feels very nice to do something around - to do something around christmas that away from the trappings of consumerism. it�*s trappings of consumerism. it's very magical. _ trappings of consumerism. it's very magical, and you do come for the — very magical, and you do come for the first _

very magical, and you do come for the first time, _ very magical, and you do come for the first time, i— very magical, and you do come for the first time, i highly- for the first time, i highly encourage _ for the first time, i highly encourage connecting - for the first time, i highly encourage connecting toi for the first time, i highly. encourage connecting to the people — encourage connecting to the people and _ encourage connecting to the people and the _ encourage connecting to the people and the land - encourage connecting to the people and the land and - encourage connecting to the . people and the land and nokia phones — people and the land and nokia phones hie_ people and the land and nokia hones. ~ ., ., ., ., phones. we are old fat and we were thinking, _ phones. we are old fat and we were thinking, do _ phones. we are old fat and we were thinking, do we _ phones. we are old fat and we were thinking, do we want - phones. we are old fat and we were thinking, do we want to l were thinking, do we want to get up early in the morning, and it was great. it was a really nice atmosphere. here for the spectacle _ really nice atmosphere. here for the spectacle and - really nice atmosphere. here for the spectacle and some i | for the spectacle and some i have the party. for some, it is a key moment in their spiritual calendar. i a key moment in their spiritual calendar. . , a key moment in their spiritual calendar. ., , _, ., calendar. i have been coming to to the last _ calendar. i have been coming to to the last 35 — calendar. i have been coming to to the last 35 years _ calendar. i have been coming to to the last 35 years everybody i to the last 35 years everybody australian. it isjustjoy. australian. it is just joy. it's australian. it isjustjoy. it's the centre of our belief, believe it is designed as a mirror of the universe and this is why we come here to celebrate.— is why we come here to celebrate. �* ~ , . celebrate. after wendy, great start, we finally _ celebrate. after wendy, great start, we finally got _ celebrate. after wendy, great start, we finally got a - start, we finally got a fleeting glance of the midwinter sign. another solstice ushered in by wiltshire's famous monument. dan o'brien, bbc points west, stonehenge. you are watching bbc news. i am helena humphrey in washington, dc. plenty more at the top of the hour but you can go to a

website, bbc.com/news, or follow me on x. more on the way at the top of the hour. i'll see you then. bye for now. hello there. christmas, for most of us, looks likely to be a mild one. in fact, on friday we had a pretty typical story, quite a lot of cloud around and temperatures 13 degrees across the south coast. but look at this, in the northern isles, just a daytime maximum of one celsius. and yes, there were some snow showers as well. that's because the far northeast of scotland stuck in this cold air. this weather front the dividing line between cloudy and milder conditions down to the south. but as that weather front bumps into the cold air, we're likely to see some snow, 2—10 centimetres forming across higher ground. gradually, that snow will revert back to rain through the day, some of it quite heavy across western and central scotland. cloudier, damp conditions at further south and west. the best of the breaks in the cloud, perhaps east anglia

and south—east england. but it is going to be another mild story for most of us. once again, 12—13 degrees, but staying in that cooler air for the far north—east of scotland. now, as we move into christmas eve, once again, the wind direction subtly changes to a southwesterly. milderstill, but look how many isobars. christmas eve is going to be a windy day. so if you're heading off to friends and family, keep abreast of the forecast. tune in to your bbc local radio station for traffic updates. there will be outbreaks of rain as well coming in from the west at times. but again, it will be mild for most of us with those temperatures potentially 15 degrees. it has the potential, christmas eve, to be the warmest on record. we'll keep you posted with developments of that. as we move out of christmas eve into christmas day, well, we are likely to see some rain around. little in change in the forecast. it stays quite mild for most of us. there will be outbreaks of rain. still in that colder air across scotland, so here we could see a few flakes of snow in those showers.

but it's a great day for staying indoors and indulging, really, particularly where that wet weather is sitting and those temperatures peaking, once again, generally between 9—14 degrees. but there is a glimmer of good news as we head towards boxing day. the weather fronts will gradually ease away. a ridge of high pressure builds. so if you want to get out, get some fresh air and walk off some of the excess of christmas day, you have a chance to do that on boxing day. dry, settled, and sunny for most. merry christmas.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. the last of their kind. they have endured the elements... ..fought with nature...

..and secured a future for their children.