hello. at least 70 people have been killed by an air strike in the al—maghazi refugee camp in gaza, according to the hamas—run health ministry. camp in gaza, according body bags have been piled outside the al—aqsa hospital, where many of the victims were taken. israel says it is investigating the incident. it comes amid scaled back christmas celebrations in bethlehem and across the occupied west bank. let's take a look at some live pictures this morning — this is the scene in southern israel on the border with israel. our correspondentjoe inwood has been monitoring the latest developments. for the people of gaza, there is no respite. this was once a residential block — reduced to rubble.

multiple generations of families are said to have been killed, seemingly caught unawares. translation: we were having dinner, when suddenly the bombing started - without any warning. in an instant, our house collapsed. the victims were taken to the nearby al—aqsa hospital. in a population as young as this, children are so often the victims. this incident already has one of the highest single death tolls since this war began — and it is expected to rise. israel maintains it tries to avoid civilian casualties, but the people of gaza are paying a huge price for this war. the idf released new footage showing what it says are tunnels under the strip —

used for military purposes. translation: hamas operates from civilian areas. _ it uses them to cover its terrorist activity. it is a very complex challenge that we face, and we do it well so our forces in the field achieve good results — like the brigade that found the tunnel network. while the vast majority of destruction has been in gaza, the west bank has not been spared. in the place where christianity was born, they marked the birth of christ by remembering the deaths this conflict has brought. we used here to have the lighting of the tree — christmas tree in the middle here. and we used to have a big christmas market in the playground down in the school. and we used to celebrate every night, at least for a week before. but this year we are just praying by night the holy mass, and we will pray for peace. but those prayers are yet to be answered.

this has been the most devastating conflict between israelis and palestinians in modern times — and it shows no signs of ending. joe inwood, bbc news. live now to cairo where we can speak to saddam sayyaleh. he's the regional development lead at anera american near east refugee aid. i understand that you have been coordinating some of the aid that is going through to gaza from the rafah crossing. tell me about the situation when it comes to aid at the moment. situation when it comes to aid at the moment-— situation when it comes to aid at the moment. ., ~ , ., ., the moment. thank you for hosting me toda and the moment. thank you for hosting me today and merry _ the moment. thank you for hosting me today and merry christmas _ the moment. thank you for hosting me today and merry christmas to _ today and merry christmas to everyone. i have been deployed. i am based injordan and have been deployed to egypt since the beginning of the war, trying to coordinate the entry of aid through egypt to gaza. so far, we have been

a little bit successful in allowing some of the aid to get into gaza that we are focusing on food. so far it has been able to distribute 8 million food parcels, vegetables, baskets, shelter cleaning. we were able to do overi million medical treatments for the health facilities inside gaza with five pop—up health clinics inside gaza. as you know, we are looking inside gaza at the situation which is very dire. we are looking at nine out of ten people who are eating less than one meal a day. and this is a testament by the world food programme and integrated food security classification that was activated just recently, that is

ringing the alarm that we are looking into a famine in gaza. we are looking at 85% of gaza that has been displaced. we are looking at 1.9 million people out of their homes. �* ., . ., , , homes. and how much relief has this un resolution. _ homes. and how much relief has this un resolution, the _ homes. and how much relief has this un resolution, the security _ un resolution, the security council's vote last week, made if anything in terms of a difference to the aid that is getting through? unfortunately, since the very beginning of the war, and this is a reality, humanitarian aid is not enough. the amount of trucks that are going inside gaza are not enough. on a normal day before the war we were looking at a minimum of 500 trucks going inside gaza. today, we are looking at less than 100 trucks going inside gaza and we are looking into a catastrophe because the displacement, the need is

massive. it's children have dehydration, they're not eating. the world food programme are saying nine out of ten people are eating less than one meal a day. so that is a testament that the aid that is going in is not enough and we need more of that. and we need more humanitarian aid to be allowed in. there are organisations that have a great response since the beginning of the war because of the humanitarian situation inside gaza that we need to support and push for more humanitarian aid to get inside gaza. and is there anything more your contacts on the ground can tell us about this air strike today at the refugee camp? we are hearing that at least 70 people have been killed there? ~ , ,., , least 70 people have been killed there? ~ , , ~ ., ., least 70 people have been killed there? ~ , ~ ., ., ., there? absolutely. we have a team, we have been _ there? absolutely. we have a team, we have been operating _ there? absolutely. we have a team, we have been operating in _ there? absolutely. we have a team, we have been operating in gaza -

we have been operating in gaza for over 45 years. our team are from gaza. the humanitarian workers are at the critical position because of the communication blackout. the bombardment that is happening in a very chaotic way. we are hearing every day from our team about the risk of distributing aid but as well about the bombardment that is happening all over gaza that is challenging the humanitarian distribution inside gaza. that is creating barriers, even if you have aid it is still very difficult to get that aid to where it is needed. so we need a ceasefire, we need more humanitarian aid getting into gaza to support children, women, 85% of people who are displaced inside gaza. ., ~ , ., people who are displaced inside gaza. . ~' , ., , people who are displaced inside gaza. ., ~ ,, , . people who are displaced inside gaza. ., ~ , . ., gaza. 0k, thank you very much for brinuain gaza. 0k, thank you very much for bringing is — gaza. 0k, thank you very much for bringing is up-to-date _ gaza. 0k, thank you very much for bringing is up-to-date on - gaza. 0k, thank you very much for bringing is up-to-date on the - gaza. 0k, thank you very much forj bringing is up-to-date on the work

bringing is up—to—date on the work that your organisation does and on the situation in gaza.— live now to bethlehem and our correspondent shaimaa khalil. are much more subdued christmas this year. are much more subdued christmas this ear. �* , ., year. bethlehem feels and looks ve , year. bethlehem feels and looks very. very _ year. bethlehem feels and looks very, very different. _ year. bethlehem feels and looks very, very different. christmas l year. bethlehem feels and looks| very, very different. christmas is supposed to be the height of the season of celebrations here in bethlehem. the eyes of the world would have been on this place, the birthplace ofjesus, the birthplace of jesus, the celebrations, birthplace ofjesus, the celebrations, leading the world into the marking of christmas. and yet it looks nothing like its festive self. i have been for days and i have been in the major square where the huge christmas tree is supposed to be, where it would be heaving with activity, pilgrims, tourists celebrating christmas. none of that is happening. instead, yesterday, in the place where the tree was supposed to be, many dozens of

palestinian children held a palestinian children held a palestinian flag and waved it with a message of solidarity with gaza's children. the scouts were saying we pray for gaza. you do feel that these images that come out of gaza, including of course we what you saw including of course we what you saw in joe's including of course we what you saw injoe's report on what you have been reporting, they hit very close to home here because many here also have family and friends trapped inside gaza. i spoke to one young man who was on the phone to his father and his father is trapped in a church in the east of gaza city and his dad was telling me that is just destruction all around us. and they are very reluctant to move because he says that the roads leading to areas in the south are extremely dangerous but also he said that many people who have moved to supposedly safer areas have been killed and that is the complaint that you hear, even from people who made it out of the rubble. they have been evacuated from gaza city to

come to central gaza only to be hit like they had last night. i come to central gaza only to be hit like they had last night.— like they had last night. i wanted to ask you _ like they had last night. i wanted to ask you as _ like they had last night. i wanted to ask you as well _ like they had last night. i wanted to ask you as well about - like they had last night. i wanted to ask you as well about reports| like they had last night. i wanted i to ask you as well about reports we are hearing that egypt has now put forward a new proposal for a ceasefire. we have been hearing in the last week or so that talks have resumed and we haven't really heard much more. what more can you tell us about that? ., much more. what more can you tell us about that? . , , much more. what more can you tell us about that?— about that? yeah, this is another ro osal about that? yeah, this is another proposal from — about that? yeah, this is another proposal from the _ about that? yeah, this is another proposal from the egyptians. - proposal from the egyptians. remember, in cairo last week there was a bit of hope that negotiations could be under way, serious negotiations under way. they hit a setback when hamas said there will be no deal to exchange hostages without a ceasefire which is out of the question of the israeli government. this is a three phase proposal, which could see weeks of, separate weeks of humanitarian pauses. but crucially negotiations on releasing all civilian hostages

in the first phase then female soldiers in the second phase and then all the hostages ultimately in exchange for several palestinian prisoners in israeli jails and crucially the hope is for a push for these humanitarian pauses. we have heard reports from the israeli media of officials saying the war cabinet is going to meet later today to discuss this. an official was saying this is a first draft, there are going to be many other drafts until a decision is made. we have heard that several times remember with the un resolution as well. but potentially this could lead to some serious negotiations but i think what doesn't change is the stance of both sides. remember, israel has suffered one of its biggest soldier losses in the last 48 hours. and benjamin netanyahu has had to acknowledge this but said the war is not going to stop, this is going to be a long war. hamas keeps firing

rockets in israel. sirens were sounding near tel aviv. and unless those two stances budge, humanitarian aid on that ceasefire is not going be possible and i think this is where the big challenge that egypt and other negotiators is going to be. fit, egypt and other negotiators is going to be. �* ' . , ., , egypt and other negotiators is going tobe. m , , to be. a difficult christmas this ear for to be. a difficult christmas this year for so _ to be. a difficult christmas this year for so many. _ to be. a difficult christmas this year for so many. thank - to be. a difficult christmas this year for so many. thank you i to be. a difficult christmas this l year for so many. thank you very much. pope francis has used his christmas eve sermon to appeal for an end to the conflict between israel and hamas. speaking to a congregation of more than 6,000 people at st peter's basilica in the vatican he said jesus' message of peace was being drowned out by the "futile logic of war". the pope also suggested people had lost touch with christian values. around the world and across the uk this is bbc news. here in the uk, an appealfor peace in the middle east has been echoed by the head of the catholic church in england and wales. cardinal vincent nichols says he is extremely worried after two

women seeking shelter in a church in gaza were reportedly killed by israeli snipers, a claim denied by the israeli defense forces. the cardinal says catholic parishioners may be forced to leave. i think their biggest fear and my biggest fear is that somehow they will just biggest fear is that somehow they willjust move, just go. there is nowhere safe. they want to stay. they have always stayed there. they have always looked after the needy, the 54 have always looked after the needy, the 5a seriously handicapped children who were there. sometimes times of darkness help us to focus on what is really of lasting importance. and there is no doubt in my mind that the person of christ and the birth that we celebrate is and the birth that we celebrate is an indomitable light that shines into the human heart. you're live with bbc news.

for the first time in more than a hundred years ukraine will mark christmas today instead of in january. it's a way of cutting ties with russia who celebrate according to the orthodox calendar. these are the live pictures from st michael's cathedral in kyiv. for the first time believers of different religious denominations celebrate christmas on the same day, december 25th. services are being held across ukraine. as ukrainians mark a second christmas at war president zelensky said he is praying for victory and for evil to be defeated. his holiday address came after us politicians were unable to agree on military aid worth almost £50 billion for kyiv. our ukraine correspondentjames waterhouse reports from the city of kupiansk near the eastern border which was occupied for six months after russia's full—scale invasion and comes under almost daily

attack. christmas in kupyansk is a celebration in name only. children were evacuated from this front line city, and only 5000 people remain. it used to be five times that. siren sounds days are punctuated with artillery shells and sirens. life continues for those who've stayed. but it's a tense existence. translation: we all live in fear of death when we go to work. - we don't know what can happen, whether russia will strike with rockets. we all live on the edge. we don't know whether we'll come back home alive. 17—year—old sophia has lived through both occupation and liberation. her dad is fighting, and she's not impressed with her country's fate being determined by skeptical

western politicians. translation: perhaps they should | come here and see for themselves| what the situation is like, and how much the aid is needed. if there's no help for ukraine now, russia will take its aggression further. the russians are eight kilometers to the east of the city. but what ukraine's military is worried about is them pushing once more up to the oskil river, before making another push. and that is the point kyiv is trying to make. if western support was to further slow down, then russia won't stop there. it still wants the whole of ukraine. the briefest of pauses for a christmas prayer. large gatherings are dangerous here when russian drones loiter above. instead of these troops forcing out their invaders, it is them repelling constant attacks.

translation: it's day and night. there are no breaks. it's 24/7. we have more targets, so we need more shells. they throw lots of men and machinery into battle. they don't pity anything. it's hard to sell a victory, which seems distant. ukraine's struggle to contain western doubt has left it with a new year looking far from certain. james waterhouse, bbc news. the ukrainian capital kyiv is not very far from the frontline where its soldiers are fighting the russian troops. so how does it feel to celebrate christmas under the constant shadow of a war? james waterhouse gave his impressions. it is the first time in more than a hundred years that ukraine celebrates christmas on the 25th of december. but it is a very difficult time, we are not seen much in the

way of festivities in this part of ukraine. large gatherings are a rare occurrence, it is somewhere that comes under frequent assault from the sky. it is a0 miles from the russian border. but president zelensky was keen to strike an optimistic and hopeful tone in his christmas address where he said he would pray for a ukrainian victory and in his words for evil to be defeated. he's put dilemma spoke of previous struggles that ukraine are gone through, whether under the soviet union or nazi germany. he is drawing direct parallels but i think these are incredibly difficult times. 12 months ago his military had liberated swathes of territory throughout the autumn. there was a belief that ukraine wouldn't stop there and a belief that ukraine can still win this war. i think that belief is enduring but there is a pragmatism starting to creep in too. because the last 12 months has seen ukraine's counteroffensive but it

has also seen russia not only hold on to the fifth of ukraine that it has taken and occupied but it has also shown russia can defend it too. and this is a war which favours the defender in a way. when ukraine is still the smaller box in this fight if you like, it has got fewer men, fewer resources than russia. russia is now starting to make its size count. we are in a war of attrition. we have seen dozens of drones shot down again overnight. that is now part of a regular routine in ukraine. and we are seeing ukraine repelling wave after wave of russian attack in some parts of the front line, we're even seeing it scale down its military operations in others because the waning western support isn'tjust putting ukraine's future military hopes intojeopardy, it is affecting them right now. we have heard western governments say we are in it for as long as it takes for ukraine, we can't allow russia to win. but there is a political reality setting in, whether it is

opposition mps, whether it is a new government that doesn't want to provide new support for ukraine. and the argument here is that this is what russia has been waiting for. any kind of peace deal on negotiation suits vladimir putin because it lessens the urgency on western support to continue and it allows russia to continue being on a war footing so it can make a allows russia to continue being on a warfooting so it can make a push, ukraine argues, in the coming months or even years the kyiv once more. let s get some of the day s other news now. police in serbia's capital belgrade have used tear gas to disperse protesters after some attempted to force their way into the city hall. the protesters are accusing the government of manipulating last week's local and parliamentary elections. serbia's president, aleksander vucic has dismissed the criticism as "rubbish and lies". police in sri lanka say they have arrested more than 13,000 suspects during a week—long drive against drug traffickers across the country. they say the operation led to the seizure of almost aaokg of various types

of narcotics, including heroin. more than a thousand addicts have been sent to a military—run rehabilitation centre. police in indian—administered kashmir have launched an investigation into the deaths of three civilians who were found dead a day after they were reportedly taken into questioning by security forces. there's been widespread anger in parts of the poonch district, near the line of control that divides the kashmir region held by india and pakistan. the chinese capital, beijing, has experienced its coldest december since records began in 1951. the city endured nine consecutive days with temperatures lower than minus ten degrees celsius. six months ago beijing recorded its hottest everjune day when the temperature crossed forty degrees celsius. king charles is spending his second christmas as monarch with other members of the royal family at sandringham. the king will attend morning service at the church on the

estate before his christmas message is broadcast this afternoon. well, we can go live to sandringham and join our royal correspondent daniela ralph. what is the programme today for the royals? the big public moment today is of course church when the family head to the mary magdalene church on the sandringham estate as they do every christmas day to worship. this behind me is the queue to be able to stand in front of that church hoping to see some of those senior members of the royalfamily to see some of those senior members of the royal family as they come out. of course coming out on christmas day to be here, many have been here for several hours since the very early hours of the morning is for the most ardent of royal watchers. those who do come today have a very good chance of speaking to senior members of the royal family so that is why they're here and that is what they have been to do today. the royal party will be led by the king and the queen. expect also see the prince and princess of wales and their three children george, charlotte and louis

here today. and i think this year the mood will be a little bit different to last year. last year of course was three months after the death of queen elizabeth and this was very much then a family in mourning. anybody who has lost anybody will know that that feeling of the first christmas can weigh very heavily. this year, it will feel different. it has been a solid yearfor feel different. it has been a solid year for the feel different. it has been a solid yearfor the king. feel different. it has been a solid yearforthe king. he feel different. it has been a solid yearfor the king. he of course has had his coronation, which went smoothly. he has had three state visits under his belt so it has been a very steady, sure—footed year for the king and i think the mood here among the royalfamily the king and i think the mood here among the royal family at sandringham will be much more celebrated this year. daniela in sandringham, thank you very much. around the world, services, events and santa runs have been taking place to mark one of the holiest days in the christian calendar. here are some of the best christmas images from around the world. pope francis presided over christmas eve midnight mass in st peter's basilica

at the vatican. worshippers here are praying at a service in st francis church in sri lanka. jesus in the manger of a nativity scene in the bangladeshi capital dhaka. here children in lviv wore traditional dress for a christmas celebration in ukraine. and surfers at bondi beach in sydney dressed festively for the occasion. before we go we were speaking to daniela about the royal family today. well, this picture has been released from the royal family. it is part of the royal family christmas release of pictures there. so there you have a picture of the royal family there. and so there you have a picture of the royalfamily there. and let'sjust

recap our top story before we go. we can take you live to the scene in southern gaza. this is the border looking into gaza from israel. and it comes of course as we have been reporting that at least 70 people have been killed by an air strike in a refugee camp in gaza. that is according to the hamas run health ministry. and we have been seeing body bags piling up outside the hospital. stay with us here on bbc news. hgppy happy christmas, i hope you're having a lovely day. whether for the rest of today remains very cloudy, rain on and off, snow on the hills of scotland on and off. boxing day is looking sunnier. these weather fronts in the south and also the north, this one will pep up through the course of the day and the other

when it engages with the cold air especially in the hills of scotland will produce no. as much of lean as five to eight centimetres. in some of the heavier bursts you can see it at lower levels. the rain coming in across wales will push into southern england and also eastern england where it still is mild. highs of 1a degrees, considerably colder across scotland. through this evening and overnight the rain clears away from southern england. a few showers coming into northern ireland, southern scotland and also northern england but a lot of clear skies and it is going to be cold in the north, cold enough for some frost and also some ice across parts of scotland. that takes us into tomorrow. tomorrow the northern england and also southern scotland will have a legacy of cloud and a few showers but it will tend to break up and then we have a lot of dry weather, a fair bit of sunshine, the crowd building in the south—west and here we will see rain and the wind is

starting to strengthen and a cooler day than today. that is courtesy of this clutch of weather fronts that will push northwards and eastwards overnight tuesday into wednesday, taking some heavy rain. windy everywhere and some snow as well. the strongest winds are likely to be across the south coast of england on the english channel, gusting 50 to 60 miles an hour. there will be heavy rain around as well and as that pushes across the pennines, the lake district and into scotland we will see some snow but it is in scotland we are likely to see the most amount of snow, above 200 metres. ten to 15 centimetres. strong winds as well so that will be blowing and in the heavier bursts we could well see some of that getting down to lower levels at times. still colder in the north and comparatively mild, tickly for the time of year, in the south. as we move through the latter part of the week, on thursday it remains unsettled with showers and rain, snow in the hills and then it turns a bit cooler.

this is bbc news, the headlines. the hamas—run health ministry reports that at least 70 people have been killed in the al—maghazi refugee camp. dozens of injured people were rushed to nearby al—aqsa hospital. the health ministry says three houses were hit in the attack that happened late on sunday. ukraine celebrates its first

christmas on the 25th december, as part of its further shift from russia. the country had previously used thejulian calendar, also used in russia, with christmas falling on 7th january. president zelensky changed the law back injuly to, as he said, "abandon russian heritage". the danish shipping giant maersk says it's preparing to resume shipping operations through the red sea and gulf of aden. the announcement comes as a us—led international military operation was deployed to prevent the targeting of commercial ships by houthi—controlled drones. now on bbc news nobel minds 2023: episode one. hello and welcome to nobel minds with me, zainab badawi, from the royal palace in stockholm. we'll be hearing from this year's nobel laureates. in the audience, we're joined by some of their family and friends, as well as students from here in sweden.