i'm helena humphrey. good to have you with us. hamas has accused israel of war crimes, after the hamas—run health ministry said at least 70 people were killed in an israeli strike on a refugee camp in the centre of the gaza strip. a ministry spokesman said that a densely populated residential block was destroyed in the al maghazi refugee camp — with many people reported buried under the rubble. israel says it's investigating the incident. from bethlehem in the occupied west bank, shaima khalil has more. what we understand from the hamas—run health ministry is that the air strike hit this densely populated residential block. it's several buildings in very close proximity

to one another. the death toll is likely to rise. because of the large number of families living in that block, but also because many, many people are still stuck under the rubble. one man who had lost his daughter, his grandchildren and his son—in—law had said that his family was ordered to evacuate from gaza city because of the israeli military operation. he said, "we came to central gaza only to die." he said, there's just no safe place. there are two big challenges ahead after this. one is that the palestinian red crescent said that the air strike has caused the main road connecting these refugee camps, to shut down. that's going to make it very difficult for rescue teams, for ambulances to get through. but also remember that the hospitals in gaza are struggling, whether it's fuel or lack of supplies or water. so as this rescue operation scrambles on, it's also going to be difficult for the medical staff.

the world health organization has described the situation at gaza's largest hospital as "absolute misery". the un agency has visited four hospitals in gaza — including a maternity hospital — and says there's an urgent need for fuel, food and clean drinking water. sean casey is an emergency medical team coordinator at who, speaking from inside al—shifa. it's still absolute misery, with people still on the floors. it's almost impossible to walk. critical cases, doctors and nurses, absolutely scrambling. people crying out that they need blood for sons and daughters who are dying. there's almost nothing that this team can do, this very small clinical team can do, to help all of these people. it's absolute chaos still. earlier, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu said the war in gaza has come at a "very heavy price", with more than 150 israeli soldiers killed. in a message posted on social media, mr netanyahu promised that

israel would win against what he described as the "barbarism" of hamas. in bethlehem, it's a very different, and somber, christmas this year. shaimaa khalil sent this report. a message from the children of bethlehem to the world — the city looks nothing like its festive self this time of year. there are no celebrations, but there's lots of solidarity. the latin patriarch ofjerusalem latin patriarch of jerusalem made latin patriarch ofjerusalem made a point of entering the church of nativity wearing the traditional black and white rar chequered palestinian scarf. there's no atmosphere of feast, because we are in a war. a terrible war. and we are here to pray — but also tonight to ask notjust for the ceasefire — ceasefire is not enough. we have to stop these hostilities and to turn the page. because violence generates only violence.

on days like this, jawdat and his father would have been talking about christmas preparations. not this year. jawdat�*s family is stuck in northern gaza. he tries to reassure his father that he will make it out alive and that they will be together again, but his dad is overcome with grief. a week ago, jawdat�*s grandmother nahida was shot twice in the stomach. his aunt samar rushed to help, and was shot in the head. jawdat�*s parents and relatives had been sheltering in the holy family church. now they've buried their loved ones there. the family blames israeli snipers for their deaths. the idf says it will continue its investigation. "there is still shelling around us," his father tells me. before he says goodbye, he has one last message for his son. "may god be with you, my son," he says, "take care

of your sisters." the war in gaza weighs heavily on bethlehem. visitors from around the world would have been here by now. it's empty, the city is empty from happiness, from joy, from kids, from santa, from every celebration, there is no celebration this year. we cannot be happy because, you know, we are not in another side of the war. translation: it so difficult, we are really struggling. - look at bethlehem, it has never been this way. - the atmosphere is heavy with absence, the absence of any features of celebration, the absence of tourists, of pilgrims who would normally fill this square. bethlehem is many miles away from the war in gaza but the pain is felt deeply here. in manger square, a nativity

scene in the rubble has replaced the giant christmas tree, a tribute to the children in gaza and the call to end their suffering. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, bethlehem. pope francis has appealed for peace in the middle east during his christmas eve mass at the vatican. speaking from st peter's basilica, the pontiff said that jesus�* message of peace was being drowned out by what he called the "futile logic of war". translation: tonight, - our hearts are in bethlehem, where the prince of peace is once more rejected by the futile logic of war, by the clash of arms that even today prevents him from finding room in the world. ukraine says that russian attacks on the southern region of kherson have killed five people. meanwhile, russian—installed officials in the eastern town of horlivka say that one person was killed by ukrainian shelling. it comes as ukraine's orthodox christians prepare to celebrate christmas on december

25 for the first time, with vigils taking place across the country, including in the capital at st michael's monastery. ukraine has traditionally used thejulian calendar, also used by russia, where christmas falls on the 7th of january. but in a further shift from russia, mr zelensky changed the law injuly, saying it allowed ukrainians to "abandon the russian heritage". president zelensky celebrated the change in a christmas video message. translation: today, all ukrainians _ translation: today, all ukrainians are _ translation: today, all ukrainians are together. l translation: today, all. ukrainians are together. we translation: today, all- ukrainians are together. we all celebrate christmas together, on the same date as one big family, as one nation, as one united country. and today, our common prayer will be stronger than ever. the people's prayer. today, it will unite millions of voices — more than ever before. and it will be heard today without a time difference of two weeks. and it will be heard together with europe and the world. the us military says a drone which hit a tanker in the indian ocean on saturday was launched from iran.

iran has been accused of backing houthi rebels in yemen — who've been attacking ships in the red sea in recent weeks. the us says it's also shot down four drones in the same waters. the possibility of hostilities spreading further across the region will concern many international leaders, as rob watson reports. could the drone strike on this tanker being escorted to a port in india signal a dangerous new threat to shipping in the region and an escalation of iran's involvement? just a few days ago, a senior iranian commander threatened to close the mediterranean and straits of gibraltar, so the prospect has to be taken seriously. but its foreign minister claims escalation is not in iran's interest. translation: for us, regional security is very important. - we are not seeking to as expand the scope of war. the solution to the problem is not to establish a so—called coalition in the red sea, but to stop the bloodshed of women, children and

civilians in the gaza strip and the west bank. there have already been over 100 attacks on shipping in the red sea by the iranian—backed houthis based in yemen. us accuses tehran of supporting and funding such attacks and is establishing a coalition to patrol the red sea to protect what it calls a threat to global trade, not just israel's. the houthis are not attacking just one country, they are really attacking the international community. they are attacking the economic well being and prosperity of nations around the world. the sophistication of houthi attacks against shipping, including this extraordinary airborne assault on a vessel in the red sea filmed by the attackers themselves, is already having an impact. hundreds of ships have been diverted from the area at extra cost to owners and customers alike. but despite such attacks and rising tensions, both the us and iran do seem anxious to avoid a wider war.

the shipping companies and their customers will be watching nervously. rob watson, bbc news. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. the uk is preparing to send a warship to guyana, where a long—running dispute with venezuela has flared up. at issue is an oil—rich region which covers two—thirds of guyanese territory. in recent weeks, venezuela has renewed its claim to essequibo. guyana is a former british colony and is a member of the commonwealth. serbian police dispersed hundreds of protesters outside belgrade city hall, demonstrating against allegations of fraud in last weekend's general election. protesters threw rocks and used flagpoles to break windows. riot police fired tear gas. the country's president dismissed the allegations of vote rigging as lies pushed by political rivals.

the uk home secretary, james cleverly, has apologised for making what he called an "ironicjoke" about spiking his wife's drink at a downing street reception. according to the sunday mirror newspaper, he also mentioned rohypnol — a so—called "date rape" drug. on the same day, mr cleverly had promoted a raft of new government measures to tackle spiking and described of new government measures to tackle spiking. it as a "perverse crime". you're live with bbc news. manchester united has announced that the british billionaire sirjim ratcliffe is buying a 25% stake in the premier league club for around $1.6 billion. under the terms of the agreement, he'll take control of football operations, including recruiting players and managing staff. our sports editor dan roan has more. when sirjim ratcliffe toured old trafford earlier this year, the british billionaire was hoping to buy manchester united. instead, he'll become a minority shareholder of the club he says he's always supported. the founder of petrochemicals giant ineos, ratcliffe's already invested in sailing and cycling teams and owns a third of mercedes

in formula i. the owner of two football clubs, including nice in france, manchester—born ratcliffe last year failed in a bid to buy chelsea, at the time hinting to me that united was his real goal. some would argue you should be trying to buy the club that you grew up supporting. yes, i mean, i can understand that. but manchester united's not for sale. with its rich history... commentator: they were supreme soccer champions of europe! - ..legendary players... cantona! ..and dominance under managerial great sir alex ferguson, united became a commercial powerhouse with a globalfan base. but since 2005, it's been owned by the glazer family and, after years of protests from fans unhappy with the club's debt, a lack of investment in old trafford and on—field decline, last season, the americans put the club up for sale. qatari banker sheikh jassim wanted to buy it outright but withdrew, leaving the way clear for ratcliffe. one of united's top executives

explained why fresh investment was needed. we're doing this for a very positive reason. we know we've got real ambition and a plan at united and we wanted to make sure that we attract the right investment to be able to deliver that ambition. ratcliffe has spent more than £1 billion acquiring 25% of united and taking control of the football side of the club's business, and many hope this represents a new era. the glazers have still got a controlling interest. they�* re very clever businesspeople and jim ratcliffe knows this deal isn't ideal, but he felt that it's the only deal that he could get done. it's a very complicated one. is it better than nothing? i would like to think that, yes, it is. i'd like to think that this heralds a brighter future for manchester united, but that's the optimistic fan in me. after a drawn—out and divisive process that's lasted more than a year now, many united fans will be dismayed that the glazers remain in overall control here at old trafford. the challenge facing sirjim ratcliffe —

to convince them that he is the man to lead a revival in the footballing fortunes of this club. ex—british cycling chief sir dave brailsford oversees ratcliffe's various sports teams and he's set to have a key role at united, the pair experiencing mixed fortunes at nice since ineos bought it in 2019. some environmental campaigners say the petrochemicals company uses sport to give it a more positive image, but those involved defend the investments. what do you think jim's motivation is? he loves a challenge, bigger than any, and that's, i guess, the drive for the america's cup and probably, when you look at man united, that's a team that's been struggling in recent years. there's no bigger challenge in sport right now than turning man united around, so i think that's what drivesjim. but ten years have now passed since united last won the premier league and, after a difficult start to this season, the challenge facing ratcliffe is a formidable one. dan roan, bbc news.

voters in chad have approved a new constitution that the country's military rulers say will pave the way towards a return to democratic rule. 86% of voters approved the resolution but a boycott by the opposition led to a turnout of 64%. critics accuse the government of voting irregularities and say the vote could help cement the power of the junta leader, general mahamat idriss deby, who seized power when his father was killed by rebels in 2021. the oil—producing country is one of the poorest in the world. 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 in 202a. sudan has been embroiled in civil war since april of this year and is now number one on the irc�*s emergency watchlist of countries on the brink of crisis. others include the gaza strip, where millions are at risk of famine since the war between hamas and israel began on october seventh. the territory ranks number two on the list.

ukraine — a country at war with russia for nearly two years — is also on this list. earlier in the week, i spoke to david miliband, the ceo and president of the irc and the former british foreign secretary, about the worsening situation. david, so much of our global attention this year has been fixed on the war in ukraine. now, the israel and gaza war, naturally. what does this mean for other humanitarian crises around the world ? where do you think that our global attention might be lacking? well, 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, being ignored at the moment. we've just published our emergency watchlist, which is looking at the top 20 crises of the coming year. it's 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 aid, 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, it 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. 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?

well, 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 1a countries in the watchlist — 1a of the top 20 countries in the watchlist — are not just conflict states, they are also in the top quartile of climate stressed 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. and 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 and 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. i mean, the crisis above all is is for people on the ground — aid workers and civilians. it's frankly astonishing but worth repeating that 90% of the victims of war today are not soldiers, they are civilians. and 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. i mean, talking about civilians paying the price — one thing that's really striking if you take the example, if you take 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, never mind early marriage. the extra attention that's needed for little girls

is not yet arriving. —— the extra attention that's needed for women and girls is not yet arriving. just one statistic to back that up — less than 2% of global humanitarian 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, you know, when we're talking about this level of global turmoil, i wonder, in yourjob, do you ever worry that we're just getting used to this? because, you know, if you take a look at what's happening here in the us right now, for example, just one example, tremendous difficulty 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.

i mean, 260 million people in 20 countries dependent on humanitarian aid to survive is not normal. that is a fourfold increase over the last ten years. and 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 that continent. well, talking about those taxpayers, voters, ordinary people, i guess, people who are watching this to 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 the international ngos because we're both a humanitarian aid organisation in places far away but we're 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. and in 30 cities around the us, those people don'tjust depend on professional irc workers, they depend on local volunteers to be their buddies, their english teachers, the navigators for the health system or the employment system. and 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. all right, david miliband, president and ceo of international rescue committee and former british foreign secretary, thank you for your time. thank you so much for your coverage.

for those who celebrate, christmas has now arrived in many parts of the world. here in the us, we've still got a few hours to go, so live let's check on santa's whereabouts live, courtesy of norad�*s radar and global mapping system. just to let you know he is currently over the atlantic, heading towards porter rico. he has already delivered over 5 billion gifts! norad, or the north american aerospace defense command as it's actually known, has been tracking santa's annualjourneys since 1955, when a child misdialled an unlisted phone number after seeing a local newspaper ad. she thought she was calling the north pole. instead, she called an air force colonel, who re—assured her that father christmas was well on his way. meanwhile, people around the world have been taking part in festivities, including in the uk, where tv audiences watched the annual christmas carol concert hosted by catherine, princess of wales, joined by william, prince of wales.

in nigeria, people enjoyed the illuminations and holiday displays set up throughout lagos, despite fuel shortages and power cuts. those lights aren't connected to the national electricity grid. and in athens, people gathered outside city hall, wrote their christmas wishes on paper lanterns and released them into the sky. you're watching bbc news. i'm helena humphrey in washington. thanks for your company. we'll have more at the top of the hour. and if it is christmas where you are, from all of us here, have a very happy one. hello there. it is going to be a white christmas, but only over the hills of northern scotland. it's too mild elsewhere. and on sunday, it was the warmest christmas eve since 1997. temperatures in the south reached 15.3 celsius. and these are the temperatures that we've got first thing on christmas morning, ranging from maybe close to freezing in north east

scotland to 12 degrees across southern england, where we're going to see some cloud and we're going to see some rain developing, and more rain develops in that cloud across england and wales. northernmost parts of england and northern ireland seeing sunshine and showers. just gets wetter through the day in scotland — mostly rain but over the hills in the north, there will be some fresh snow falling here, and that's where we've got some cold air. but otherwise, it is going to be a mild day, particularly across the southeast. 1a degrees here, but some gusty winds as well. so, we're seeing cloud and rain across many parts of the country on christmas day. boxing day is going to look and feel quite different. mind you, the weather systems that are bringing in the cloud and bringing in that wetter weather are going to slide away and things will calm down a bit as we head into tuesday. there's still going to be a few wintry showers blown in on those brisk winds across the far north of scotland on boxing day and there may be a few icy patches but for large parts of the country, it's going to be dry with some sunshine. there is more cloud and rain in the channel that will edge back into the south—west

of england in the afternoon and some cloud will push ahead of that into parts of england and wales, turn the sunshine a bit hazy. temperatures are going to be lower but the winds are going to be lighter as well. now, things change again for wednesday because that rain that's in the southwest is going to come northwards again on that weather front wrapped around the area of low pressure and the winds will be strengthening as well. the strongest of the winds, actually, on wednesday could be through the english channel and along the south coast of england — gusts of 50, 60 miles an hour. it's going to be wet across many places, briefly some snow over the pennines. but as that wet weather continues northwards into scotland, here, we could see the snow lasting a little bit longer. now, for many, it may well be rain, but over the hills above about 200m, there could be 10—15 centimetres of fresh snow. and of course, it's going to be colder here. elsewhere, though, it is going to be a mild day. despite that wet and windy weather, particularly in england and wales, temperatures will widely be into double figures but we're going to turn a little cooler later in the week.

voice—over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme.

i come here mainly to walk the dog in the morning and in the afternoon, and then also, it's a great place to just clear your thoughts. i've come to london to meet gurinder chadha, a pioneering figure in the film industry — the first british asian woman to direct mainstream features in the uk. films that have won major awards and become international hits. in her movies, some eight feature films in all, from her best—known bend it like beckham... no—one can cross a ball or bend it like beckham. ..to her more recent musical drama blinded by the light... stay away from the girls! ..she has brought the screen to life with authentic stories using appealing actors, music... # she's a lady! ..and humour to portray british asian life. the asian experience in the uk has long been herfocus.

born in nairobi, gurinder chadha came to the uk