a minute silence is held in prague to remember the victims of thursday's mass shooting. hello, i'm carl nasman. we start in the middle east, where the hamas—run health ministry in gaza has said that more than 200 palestinians have been killed in the past 2a hours as air strikes continue. the israel defense forces say that five of their soldiers have been killed in the gaza strip since friday. fighting has been raging, despite a un resolution demanding more access for humanitarian deliveries. the us abstained in that vote. president biden and mr netanyahu spoke by phone on saturday. the white house said mr biden stressed the importance of allowing civilians to move safely away from areas

where there is fighting. he also told reporters he did not demand a ceasefire. mr netanyahu said he reiterated that the war will continue until all the objectives are met. from jerusalem, our correspondent lucy williamson has more. explosions. in gaza, this is the new normal — drone strikes in the border town of rafah, emptying the local market. 17—year—old joe, filming on his phone, still clutching his bag of shopping and calling on god for protection. america has blocked un calls for a ceasefire. israel says it needs to keep fighting to keep up the pressure on hamas. if you want a ceasefire, that, from israel's perspective, can only happen with the release of hostages. as you know, hamas continues to hold over 100 hostages. there's a chance, because they want that ceasefire, they need that ceasefire,

they will agree to the hostages but had we — to be frank, had we agreed to the un secretary—general�*s proposal over a month ago for this unilateral ceasefire, we would never have got the 110 hostages out that we did in november. israel's army said this week it had killed tens of hamas fighters in an ambush near gaza city and that it's preparing to expand operations to new areas in the south. israel is keen to show it's making progress against hamas. its security forces say 700 palestinian fighters have been taken to israel for questioning, 200 of them in the last week, but palestinian groups are still firing rockets into israel and there's no sign of the hamas leaders israel blames for the seventh of october attacks. strikes in khan younis yesterday reportedly killed around 50 people. gaza's hamas—run government says most of those killed in the war are women and children.

mass funerals held daily at hospital morgues. translation: the mask of humanity has fallen. i what is going on in the corridors of the un security council is nothing more than theatre and farce, confirming the continued murder and extermination of civilians. this is a genocide. israelis were told this war would bring security. to gazans, it's bringing the opposite. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. meanwhile in tel aviv, thousands of people attended a rally on saturday, calling on israel's government to secure the immediate release of all hostages being held by hamas. it's thought that more than 120 people remain in captivity in the gaza strip. a palestinian official says egypt has presented a new plan for a two—week truce with an exchange of israeli hostages and palestinian detainees. earlier this week, hamas said that it would not release any more hostages until

the end of the war. joining me live is mara kronenfeld. she's head of the un's palestinian aid agency in the us. thank you so much for being here and i'm sure you've been following but the un security council approving this week after days of debate a resolution into getting more aid into gaza and it stopped short though of calling for a ceasefire. what do you make of that resolution? your mind, doesn't go enough? we welcome the resolution. _ doesn't go enough? we welcome the resolution. the _ doesn't go enough? we welcome the resolution. the truth - doesn't go enough? we welcome the resolution. the truth is - doesn't go enough? we welcome the resolution. the truth is as - the resolution. the truth is as of this morning in gaza, we have not seen anything change. we are hopeful that full throated humanitarian access will be granted, that we will actually see it in practice. unfortunately, there is simply not enough aid and assistance going in as we speak and even if that humanitarian access was

greatly stepped up, there are just realities on the ground that are limiting unrwa, the organisation i work with, omitting a noir's ability and other monitoring actors to get to people in need and the problem is the israeli military is not letting humanitarian actors go north and the strip. most actors like unrwa are only able to serve those who have been displaced, who have fled to the rafah area and right now the area is 4—5 times more populated than normal. we have people sleeping in the streets, under unsafe conditions, and frankly we would welcome assistance as much as possible but how that's going to happen when war is waiting and when — in fact, our own staff who are trying to deliver aid even in buffer, which is supposed to be a protected area what they are

bombed ——in rafah. there were bombed ——in rafah. there were bomb attacks that affected our bombs inside the rafah border just recently. just bombs inside the rafah border just recently-— just recently. just circling back to the _ just recently. just circling back to the aid _ just recently. just circling back to the aid you've - back to the aid you've mentioned and we've seen images of these long lines of trucks waiting at the rafah border crossing on the egyptian side so what you're saying is that even now, after that resolution was passed calling for more aid to come in, you haven't seen any movement of those trucks? as of this morning, my colleagues on the ground have not seen additional aid but again, even when that aid gets in, how one is able to distributed outside of the area of rafah that, you know, essentially there are over i million people in right now is very difficult. even within buffer it is not so. 0ur humanitarian —— even within rafah. ——it is not safe. people

working must be protected under international law and we have had 136 of our colleagues been killed. we have had 200 people killed. we have had 200 people killed while in 180 unrwa buildings that missiles were fired at. 56 directly. there is no safe place in gaza and how can one administer aid under these conditions safely? that's these conditions safely? that's the problem. we have to stop the problem. we have to stop the killing first and foremost and unrwa is asking for and advocating for a humanitarian ceasefire to do that. the world food programme _ ceasefire to do that. the world food programme says - ceasefire to do that. the world food programme says more i ceasefire to do that. the world l food programme says more than ceasefire to do that. the world - food programme says more than 2 million thousands are facing food shortages in the territory. how concerned are you about the risk of famine in gaza —— gazans. you about the risk of famine in gaza -- gazans.— you about the risk of famine in gaza -- gazans. extremely. the combination _ gaza -- gazans. extremely. the combination of _ gaza -- gazans. extremely. the combination of the _ gaza -- gazans. extremely. thej combination of the besiegement and the limited ability for humanitarian actors to manoeuvre, as i've said, plus

we haven't seen full throated humanitarian aid come in on the last couple of days, the strip is definitely at risk for famine. right now, 90% of the population don't eat in one whole day, they go without eating at 50% of the population are facing starvation, whether extreme or severe. a famine is very possible unless there is more aid and more ability to get that aid to the people in need across the strip. we know that many _ need across the strip. we know that many families _ need across the strip. we know that many families in _ need across the strip. we know that many families in gaza - need across the strip. we know that many families in gaza are l that many families in gaza are sheltering outdoors. they are sleeping in makeshift shelters. winter is beginning. we've seen some images even of the rain is coming. what role do you think the weather will play now for anybody who is sheltering in gaza? it anybody who is sheltering in gaza? , , gaza? it is extremely, extremely _ gaza? it is extremely, extremely dangerous. j gaza? it is extremely, - extremely dangerous. we have already seen a great increase in communicable diseases, including acute respiratory infection in young children. we

know that sanitary conditions are not good. we know that samitatian in general, the whole system, is under immense stress. we expect more communicable diseases and a greater difficulty for a population that is suffering basically in what is a hell on earth right now. we've even heard a family who are burning plastic to stay warm. it's just unimaginable, sitting here in washington, dc and thinking about what fellow human beings are experiencing in this day and age. are experiencing in this day and ate. �* �* �* are experiencing in this day andaue.�* �* m, are experiencing in this day and age-— are experiencing in this day andaue. �* ,, , and age. acara one. she is the head of the _ and age. acara one. she is the head of the un's _ and age. acara one. she is the head of the un's palestinian - head of the un's palestinian aid agency in the united states, thank you so much for joining us —— mara kronenfeld. thank you. about 500,000 palestinian refugees are currently registered in lebanon. they were mostly displaced there in 19118 and 1967. for many of them, the current war in gaza is both a traumatic flashback and a worrying development for the future. lina sinjab reports

from the shatila refugee camp. a slum in the south of beirut. shatila camp is home to thousands of palestinian refugees. translation: 0ur| house was on a hill. it was very beautiful. dawood is originally from nazareth. he arrived in lebanon with his family in 19118 when he was six. we walked from palestine. like him, many arrived in 19118. up until may that year, britain had governed palestine under a un mandate on a promise to establish a national home there forjewish people. in the war that followed israel's declaration of statehood in may 19118, about 700,000 palestinians were expelled or forced from their homes. dawood's family members now live in lebanon, europe and gaza. this latest war has reopened old wounds and has pushed

people to the extreme. if you look at hiroshima, it is not as bad as what they did in gaza. they want to exterminate all palestinians, not only hamas. the bloodshed has been going on since 19118. the israeli defense forces say they are trying to minimise civilian casualties in gaza but here, there is a widespread sense of anger. many share dawood's views as now, over 20,000 people have been killed in gaza. nearly half of them are children. because of the sectarian divisions in lebanon and the palestinian involvement in the lebanese civil war in the mid �*70s, to this day, the lebanese government does not recognise any rights to palestinian refugees, not even property ownership, and poorly paid jobs are the only ones allowed for young people in this camp. the united nations agency unwra has been providing help here for decades.

security is very bad. sanitation, water is always a problem and unwra is struggling to provide these very basic services to the palestine refugees that should be standing on their own feet, 75 years later. this museum connects personal belongings of refugees. some people have even kept their old house keys, hoping one day to be back. but as war continues in gaza, the future for many looks bleak. netanyahu do not want a state of palestine, so what can we do? we are in need of a partner that will also say ok to peace. today, people in the camp have taken to the streets to express solidarity with people in gaza. generation after generation here keeps palestine in their heart and mind. lina sinjab, bbc news.

to sudan now, where thousands have fled the city of wad madani amid heavy fighting in the eastern region. the war between the army and the paramilitary rapid support forces has left sudan's second largest city in chaos with crowds of people looking for refuge from the violence. wad madani was considered one of the few remaining safe areas in the country before the rsf seized control and established a base there earlier this month. many had already fled from the capital khartoum. the un reports that 300,000 people have been displaced in the fighting in wad madani mostly by foot and overall, more than 7 million have been uprooted from their homes by the conflict. a un spokesperson described it as the world's largest displacement crisis. for more on the situation, i spoke to analyst and former nonresident fellow at the tahrir institute for middle east policy, hamid khalafallah.

we appreciate you taking the time to talk with us. i want to start with some of the events of this week. the paramilitary forces capturing wad madani, what did you make of that and do you think this could be a turning point now in this conflict? it is definitely a turning point. obviously, the significance of it stems from wad madani, south of khartoum, have not been part of the violence in the past eight months, around 500,000 citizens from khartoum sought refuge in wad madani actually after the conflict erupted in khartoum in april. so it is a city that hosts a lot of displaced people, but also a large population

who have thought for quite some time they are in a safe place, and it wasn't part of the conflict in any way. 0bviously khartoum, the capital for two militaries struggling fighting over power, it makes sense that they would fight in khartoum, that also is the traditional kind of base for iraqi support forces so it also made sense that there was a lot of fighting going there. there was no kind of justifications to go there and try to capture the cities outside the territory which they have already kind of claimed and had control over. other than they are trying to try and capture the entire country. which is a very bad negative development, at the same time people were trying to contain this and find a solution,

peaceful solution to the ongoing war but this means that it's about to be a full on war that extends to the entire country. let's talk about the humanitarian situation there. you left sudan earlier this year, you set on social media that your father, who is still in sudan, has had to flee four separate times from the violence there. can you just described for us, what was it like to be a civilian in sudan and trying to survive there? so at this point, no one is safe anywhere. and the situation in wad madani like ijust described, it was a city full of displaced people who had to become displaced again and seek safety in other places. within the country, at a time where it's almost impossible for people to leave the country. without paying so much money and going through very prolonged processes to get

visas to cross over borders, and also it's quite hard to arrange transportation outside the country. so people are moving within the country, meanwhile nowhere is safe. it's now been more than eight months since this war broke out. we saw some shifting here, it looks like the sudanese army might be on the back foot, but do you see any end in sight here? what kind of incentive is there right now for either side to lay down their arms? well, there have been much greater windows for mediation and an agreement to be reached. unfortunately mediation incidents, they were quite fragmented, we've seen a lot of competition between different initiatives for the last eight months. after the capture of wad madani, it becomes even more difficult.

as you said, what are the incentives for the forces now kind of having the upper hand if i may say in this conflict at the moment, it's very hard to make them stop. however, i think the only opportunities that are still available is exerting pressure on support forces through their supporters in the region who have been, continued to provide them armed with soldiers and funds to continue this war for eight months now, and fending that off and stopping the support that's coming in, there is no way out of this. yeah, there have been some complaints or suspected comments about the united arab emirates being involved at least on the side of the rapid support forces. hameed, researcher and policy analyst specialising in sudan's constitution building,

thank you so much. the pentagon is reporting two more attacks on commercial shipping routes in the red sea by houthi militants in yemen. it says an american naval ship shot down four drones that were targeting it. us central command also says attack drones also targeted two tankers, hitting one. no injuries were reported. it follows an increasing number of shipping operators pledging to avoid the red sea following attacks on vessels. in russia, a former tv journalist has been blocked from challenging president vladimir putin in the upcoming presidential election. yekaterina duntsova was preparing to campaign on ending russia's war in ukraine. she said she wanted to make russia peaceful, friendly, and cooperative with the world. banning duntosva is the latest anti—democratic measure in a country notorious for driving out opposition candidates before they can ever threaten president putin who's all but guaranteed to win a fifth term. 0ur reporter naomi choy smith has this report from london. well, it was a short lived presidential bid for former tv journalist turned politician yekaterina duntsova, who threw her hat in the ring

just three days ago. she's one of 29 contenders who have filed to run for president in russia so far. the candidates are expected to gather thousands of signatures from supporters before they qualify to have their name on the ballot. now, duntsova will no longer have that chance after the russian electoral commission banned herfrom running, saying she had "mistakes" on her application. and telling duntsova on saturday, "you are a young woman and you have everything ahead of you". now, duntsova had planned to run on a campaign of ending the war in ukraine and freeing russian political prisoners. those include kremlin critic who is serving consecutive prison sentences, alexei navalny. well, when asked about concerns for her own security and fears for her safety in running for president, duntsova did admit she had some fears and concerns saying that any sane person taking the step would be afraid, but fear must not win.

she also said that she believed russians were looking for an alternative to president putin at the ballot box. translation: many people write to me, "you gave us hope. - "if you manage to get registered, we were definitely vote for you." they do not see any alternative and also consider boycotting the elections. well, duntsova's disqualification leaves no notable opposition candidate to challenge putin in the presidential elections in march. now, president putin, for his part, is seeking a sixth term in office. he's been in power, either as president or prime minister, since 1999 and the upcoming elections will mark the first presidential ballot since russia launched its war in ukraine, nearly two years ago. in the czech republic, a minute of silence was held for the 1a people shot dead by a student at a university in the capital of prague. thursday's attack

injured dozens of other. the gunman killed himself after he was surrounded by police. from prague, sarah rainsford sent this report. bell tolls a nation paused today to remember the victims of an attack people here can't make sense of, but has brought pain and suffering. church bells rang out across the czech republic to mark the moment. to honour those killed when a student attacked his own university, shooting in the corridors and classrooms. so far, we know three of the dead, including lenka hlavkova, a teacher, who was 49. there are shrines like this outside universities all over the country. here at the arts faculty that was attacked, some have personal connections to the victims.

one of our... not friend, but neighbours of our city died here. she was a professor, a music professor. so, it's very, very sad. sorry... unbelievable for us, this occasion. a friend of these women survived by locking herself into a classroom to hide. translation: she cowered under the table. _ i saw her yesterday and felt sorry for her. she was still shaking. images from a body camera show the police hunt for the gunman inside charles university. at this point, the 24—year—old was prowling the corridors above. we're told most of his victims were female, but we have no idea of his motive. in the end, he turned his gun on himself. many people were seriously injured, carried out of the building by police. this attack has not only brought

horror here to prague, it is a national tragedy. there are so many questions to answer about how exactly it was possible, and how to prevent anything like it in the future. but, for now, the focus is on mourning the dead, and on remembering the injured. the mass shooting is the worst this country has ever known, and it targeted young students and teachers who should have been returning home to their families now, for christmas. sarah rainsford, bbc news, prague. let's turn to some important news around the world. rebels in burundi have claimed responsibility for killing at least 20 people and wounding nine others along the country's western border with the democratic republic of congo. the dead include 12 children, two pregnant women and a police officer, according to a government spokesman. rebecca welch has made history by becoming the first female to referee a premier league match on saturday. she took charge of the game between fulham and burnley. the ao—year—old began her refereeing career 13 years ago,

with university and sunday league games, before climbing through the ranks. in the new york city neighbourhood of dyker heights, homes have turned into their own christmas spectaculars. the south brooklyn neighbourhood has become a holiday tourist attraction. there's even tours and streetside vendors selling treats. it's all because of the over—the—top decorations with houses featuring elaborate light displays, inflatable snowmen, santa sculpture, and even snow machines. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. we had some heavy rain in scotland on saturday, and as a result of that there are a number of flood warnings in force across the north of the country. we have had some disruption too. for most of the uk it was a very mild day, but not for everyone. massive contrasts in northern scotland as the mild air butted

up against the cold. 10 degrees in braemar, ten miles down the road in balmoral, just one. and with those lower temperatures across the far north and east, well, on saturday we did see some snowfall. so for some, a winter wonderland. however, since then the snow has been turning back to rain and our main concern as we get through christmas eve is the strength of the winds. they could disrupt some travel plans that you may have, so stay tuned. the winds then will pick up over the next few hours, becoming quite gusty across england and wales with outbreaks of rain here. rain could be heavy enough to cause one or two localised flooding issues across mid wales. some showery conditions across scotland and northern ireland. for most, temperatures in double figures as we start the day on sunday. cold air still just about clinging on across the far northeast. now, the strong winds will be affecting scotland through the day, particularly late on. they could bring some distruption here. and over to the east of the pennines, winds could gust 50—70 mph, potentially strong enough to blow over some high—sided vehicles, maybe knock down one or two trees. so there is a risk of seeing some transport disruption during the day on sunday,

christmas eve, so it is worth checking conditions before heading out on anyjourneys you may have planned. and the winds could get even stronger actually for a time during the evening across northern scotland. on into monday, christmas day, for the vast majority of the uk we are in mild air, so rather than it being a white christmas it is a grey christmas. a lot of cloud around, outbreaks of rain, quite heavy rain for a time. quite windy conditions, but colder air starts to move back into northern scotland and that could start to turn some of the rain to snow across some of the higher hills of northern scotland. so for a few of you, it could just about be a white christmas, but not for many. looking beyond that into boxing day, we get colder air moving back southwards across the uk. with that there will be a lot more in the way of sunshine, so that is one positive. it will feel quite a bit colder, mind you. and there will be some showers around, particularly across scotland. one or two for northern ireland, one or two for the north—west of both england and wales. the showers could come through wintry at times,

so maybe a bit of sleet mixed in with some of these, maybe a bit of hill snow as well. bye for now.

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. this was once a place full of tourists. but when the pandemic came to cuba, country lost a source of income. —— but when the pandemic came

to cuba, the country lost a source of income. medicine and food shortages sparked unprecedented demonstrations against the government. and the biggest exodus to the us since the 1959 cuban revolution. many put their lives in the hands of human smugglers on dangerous journeys across central america. others took a shorter but treacherous route. the nearest point to cuba is about 70 miles. the south florida straits can turn deadly very quickly. there are sharks, there are jellyfish. storms can pop up unexpectedly. hundreds have died or gone missing.