hello, i'm carl nasman. prime minister benjamin netanyahu says israel will intensify its fight against hamas in the coming days, adding that the war is "not close to being over". he made the comments to members of his party after a rare visit to israeli troops in gaza, where he urged soldiers to keep fighting. later on monday, he addressed parliament, and was heckled by relatives of hostages demanding the immediate release of their loved ones. israel says that 132 people are still held captive in gaza. meanwhile, aid agencies continue to warn of the desperate conditions in gaza. on sunday, 70 people were killed in an israeli

strike in the densely populated al maghazi refugee camp. the gaza health ministry says at least 250 people have been killed in the last 2a hours. shaimaa khalil sends this report from bethlehem. a warning, some of the images in her report are distressing. crowd chants: achshav! achshav! heckled by the families of the hostages. "achshav" — "now" — they chant, a demand for the immediate release of their loved ones. benjamin netanyahu reiterates the only way to get them back was to keep fighting and that this military campaign won't wind down any time soon. translation: we won't succeed at releasing all the hostages - without military pressure, operational pressure, political pressure, and that is why there is one thing that we will not do — we will not stop fighting. mr netanyahu was in gaza speaking to the troops on the ground, some of whom he said wanted to keep fighting until the end.

the war in gaza is not close to being over, said the prime minister, as the agony of gazans continues. bearing the brunt, and overcome with distress. pointing to her pain. "it hurts here, mama," she says. her mother is trying to console her. late at night, their homes were bombed. the wounded kept coming to the nearby al—aqsa hospital, already overwhelmed, with no fuel or water and minimal supplies. in gaza, there is no respite for the people, or those trying to save them. for many, it was too late. the writing on these body bags says "remains of al—maghazi." abdul rahim survived the air strike. his wife didn't. he says that in his building, several children and displaced

people were killed. translation: our block was meant to be safe, i according to the israeli military maps. but there are no safe areas in the gaza strip. in a statement to the bbc, the israeli military said it was looking into the incident, adding that it was committed to taking feasible steps to minimise harm to civilians. as the scale of the devastation becomes clear, so too does the challenge facing rescue teams who've been struggling to get in, with roads blocked after the strike. in bethlehem, christmas looks and feels very different. no tourists, no festivities, lots of prayers. this time of year, the eyes of the world would be on the birthplace ofjesus. but it's been stripped of any signs of celebration. instead, there are messages of solidarity and calls to end the suffering. for the people here, those images of destruction and death coming from gaza hit very close to home. the pain in gaza is felt very deeply here.

this year, it's replaced what is normally a time ofjoy. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, bethlehem. earlier, the bbc spoke with gemma connell. a representative of the un humanitarian affairs agency, ocha. she recently visited the al—aqsa hospital where many of the injured from the meghazi refugee camp were taken. what i saw again today, which i see every day that i'm here in gaza, is the absolute carnage and unprecedented suffering that's been caused by this war. i met a young 9—year—old boy, ahmed. ahmed came in with a traumatic injury to his head. he had been walking just outside the school that his family was sheltering in, and he passed away while i was in the hospital with him and his family. and it's stories like ahmed's that i hope make it to the world, because this 9—year—old child's doing what any nine—year—old child would be doing, except that that school was not

a school, it was a shelter, and except that he died walking outside that school. that's the type of thing that we see here every day in gaza. the hospitals are overcrowded, they are overburdened, they are working day and night. these health workers are absolute heroes, and i have no words to describe the phenomenal work that they are doing every day. but i had two doctors — two grown men, incredible professionals, heads of their professions — in tears with me today, because one of their colleagues, a nurse at the hospital, had stood there last night as the casualties entered, and one after the other, his family members were brought through the door — first his father, then his mother, his sister, his children and his grandparents, all brought through the door, one by one. and so these health workers are not only working every single day to save lives with patients piled up on each other, with patients who can't get surgery that would save their lives, but they're also dealing with the reality of the war themselves. they're not sleeping. they're working 2a hours a day to try and save as many lives as possible. and yet one of them said to me as i sat there,

"we're all waiting for the minute "when it's our families who come dead through this door." russian dissident, alexei navalny, has been found in a remote prison colony in northern siberia. he had been missing for almost three weeks. the us state department welcomed the news but says it remains deeply concerned about his well—being. mr navalny�*s spokesperson says he was moved from his previous prison outside of moscow. mr navalny is one of president putin's leading opponents. in 2020 he was poisoned. he and his supporters believe it was due to his criticism of the russian president. he's been in prison since 2021 and is serving a 19—year sentence on charges of extremism which the us state department has called unjust. the new prison he's being held in is in a semi—autonomous region in the arctic circle. ik3, is nicknamed the polar wolf colony. you can see it marked on the map there. it's considered one of the toughest prisons in russia and was founded

on the site of a former soviet gulag camp. here's what alexei navalany�*s spokesperson has said. there is no law in russia that is applied to alexei. they always create for him special conditions, and they don't have anything to do with the law. so we don't have any legal routes. we know that for sure in this new colony that his conditions would be even worse than they were before. but the thing is that this colony is very distant. it is very difficult to access. for lawyers, it will be very difficult to go there and to see alexei. it comes almost three months before a presidential vote in russia, which is expected to hand president putin a fifth term. our europe regional editor paul moss has this analysis. it is good news and terrible news at the same time. good news at the same time. good news because this man has been in a thorn in the side of the kremlin. yes, he is alive and

the lawyer say he is all right to use her words. however, this penal colony he is and is really brutal. i have not been to that region but have been in the same neighbourhood of russia. visiting a former penal colony in the far north of russia and the arctic circle. it is hard to describe how awful it is. i remember i was wearing several layers of professional grade mountaineering gear and yet i have never been so freezing cold in my life. quite indescribably so. i talk to people who worked at the prison camps there clearly were not having the benefit of the kind of clothing i was wearing. tough beyond all measure. i think also the timing of this is very interesting. there were presidential elections coming up presidential elections coming up in march, no—one has any doubt vladimir putin will win. it seems like the kremlin is really not taking any chances at all. on saturday they banned an anti—war candidate from standing on some technicality.

now this move to get him as far away as possible. his lawyer said it will be hard to visit him. they clearly do not want this man having an influence at all in a terrible way i suppose it is a complement to the extraordinary power alexei navalny still has. certainly in the kremlin imagination. for the first time in more than a hundred years, ukraine has marked christmas day on the 25th of december instead of january 7. it's a way of cutting ties with russia, which celebrates christmas according to the orthodox calendar. but for many ukrainians, there's little cause for celebration, with fears western support for the war could be waning. james waterhouse reports from the front line city of koopiansk, which was occupied for six months last year, and where russian troops remain just five miles away. christmas in kupiansk is a celebration in name only. children were evacuated from this frontline city, and only 5,000 people remain.

it used to be five times that. siren wails. 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. i 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 sofia has lived through both occupation and liberation. her dad is fighting and she's not impressed with her country's fate being determined by sceptical 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 kilometres 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. sings prayer. 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, kupiansk. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. now in the uk. the king has delivered his christmas message, emphasising the importance of universal values shared between major religions. ata time at a time of increasingly tragic conflict around the world, i pray we can also do all in our power to protect each other. the words ofjesus seen more than ever relevant. "do to others as you would have them do to you."

the speech also had an environmental message. king charles thanked those caring for our common home and praised people who volunteer in their communities. service to others is but one way of honouring the whole of creation which, after all, is a manifestation of the divine. this is a belief shared by all religions. to care for this creation is a responsibility owned by people of all faith and of none. we care for the earth for the sake of our children's children. you're live with bbc news. in nigeria, at least 113 people have been killed in coordinated attacks by armed herders on farming communities. the attacks in plateau state began on saturday and lasted until midnight on sunday , when many people were sleeping. local media say the group also burned down houses and stole farm produce. villagers were seen packing their belongings and fleeing

the area after the attacks. back in may, fighting between farmers and herders killed more than 100 people. plateau is one of central nigeria's ethnically and religiously diverse states where clashes between muslim herders and christian farmers peter okwoche — a former bbc presenter for focus on africa — has more on the conflict's history. there are many facets to this fighting in plateau state. plateau state lies at the crossroads between northern nigeria and southern nigeria, so some people call it an ethno—religious clash, because northern nigeria is predominantly muslim while southern nigeria is predominantly christian. but you add politics to the mix, you add agriculture to the mix and you add climate change to the mix, then you've got this huge flashpoint in what has been going on since the year 2000 and 2001, so approximately 23 years now.

now, the problem is the nonindigenous herders from northern nigeria who tried to move their cattle towards the south, so they can get grazing lands, and then the indigenous southerners in plateau state — the settlers — they accused these herders of allowing their cattle to eat up all their farmland and all theirfarmed produce, and then that causes, that's the immediate cause of this clash. now, like i said earlier on, most of the northerners are muslims and most of the southerners, the indigenous plateau citizens, are christians, so religion now comes into the mix. and of course when i say climate change, it's because the sahara desert is encroaching so far south into nigeria that these herders have no choice but to move their cattle towards southern nigeria,

where there is more grazing, and then that is when you add climate change to the mix. so it's a conflict that has been going on between 20 and 23 years, and it seems the nigerian government just doesn't have — or subsequent nigerian governments just haven't found a solution to it. economic growth in the us is expected to slow next year, according to the non—partisan congressional budget office. the office predicted last week that gdp will grow 1.5% next year, which is down from this year. but, they expect a rebound in 2025, with gdp rising to 2.2%. before that though, cbo expects unemployment to rise to 4.4% by the end of 202a. my colleague caitriona perry spoke to tomas philipson, who served on the white house council of economic advisors. it has been another year where the cost of living crisis and

affordability crisis has been troubling many americans and as it has around the world but we focus on the west, is next you're likely to be any better? people realise inflation is coming down in 2023 and people are that to continue into 2025. what has been the trouble in the us is incomes have not kept up the us is incomes have not kept up with inflation so that purchasing power of your earnings, so your wages, have gone down. the paychecks do not reach as far and that has been the real cost of living crisis we have had over the last couple of years in the us. at couple of years in the us. at the same time, unemployment has been at a record low as well. do you speak broadly speaking and i know you are working under president trump, broadly speaking, do you think biden nymex has been working? h0. speaking, do you think biden nymex has been working? no, i do not think— nymex has been working? no, i do not think so _ nymex has been working? no, i do not think so because - nymex has been working? no, i do not think so because if - nymex has been working? no, i do not think so because if you i do not think so because if you look at the labour market, there is low unemployment by

there is low unemployment by the number of people is about 100,000 - 200,000, that is nothing compared to the hundred 60 million or so people in the labour market and they are basically experiencing lower standards of living so it is great we have more people in the labour market but the vast majority of them were there before and if their standard of living has decreased as the way economist think of this, the price of labour, wages, have gone down and if that is the troublesome aspect, which was very different during the pre— pandemic trumpet years when we had large growth, particularly and of the lower income distribution in the us. that situation — distribution in the us. that situation with _ distribution in the us. that situation with the - distribution in the us. that situation with the wages i distribution in the us. that situation with the wages not keeping pace with cost of living, is that why we have seen so much activism in the labour market and labour

movement in 2023, so much trade union activism, protests and strike? . , , ., strike? there has been a tight labour market _ strike? there has been a tight labour market meaning - strike? there has been a tight labour market meaning that i strike? there has been a tight. labour market meaning that job labour market meaning thatjob openings have been way above the number of people wanting to go to work. it is partly attributable that we pay people attributable that we pay people a lot even if they were not working, in terms of benefits, particularly during covid—19 but even after. so the advantage of people's income if they lose those benefits has been less than in the past so that keeps labour supply held back and when the labour supply is held back, there is a tight labour market, more demand than supply and that has given unions the way to operate because you cannot have a union when you have a lot of unemployment in the economy because people are going to go elsewhere but that has given them the stage to operate. another issue looking at the us

economy is we have seen high mortgage rates continuing, what impact is that having in the longer term in the housing market and broader economy? you have seen market and broader economy? 7m, have seen enormous inflation. if you think of that in the price of credit, if you think of how much you pay to borrow money, it has reduced the demand for housing. obviously, people do not want to buy a house when it is much more expensive to borrow money but it has also reduced the supply, which is very important. people do not want to leave the house is in the us because they have such good mortgage rates during covid—19 and now they do not want to buy another house and have a double or triple the size mortgage though both supply and demand has gone down which means the volume of houses trade has been reduced dramatically. however, prices of houses have remained elevated and that is because when demand goes down, price goes down but when supply goes down, price goes up so it seems

like the supply, the reduction in supply has been more important because prices in this economy prices of houses gone up even though the purpose of the federal reserve raising interest rates for inflation to go down so the most credit sensitive mark in the economy, housing, increasing interest rates have raised prices as opposed to lower them and that is a big deal in the us because housing prices is about 40% of our inflation management. we talk about _ our inflation management. we talk about the economy of a country, all those indicators we have been discussing, also things like health standards and longevity, what is your overall assessment of the us economy? it overall assessment of the us economy?— overall assessment of the us economy? it is looking better than when — economy? it is looking better than when we _ economy? it is looking better than when we started - economy? it is looking better than when we started 2023 i economy? it is looking better. than when we started 2023 but it is a lot worse than pre— pandemic, put it that way. i think the reason the biden administration is getting low

rankings on how they have favoured or steady economy is people still have in mind if the 2018-19 people still have in mind if the 2018—19 economy, the enormous gains in real wages and purchasing power of wages for workers, low interest rates and other aspects of policy, not necessarilyjust economic, our borders was more secure, we have two wars. a lot of people are frustrated with what has happened when they compared to 2000 1819 and happened when they compared to 20001819 and 17-18 essentially. 2000 1819 and 17-18 essentially.- 20001819 and 17-18 essentially. 20001819 and 17-18 essentiall . ., ., . essentially. the former acting chair of the _ essentially. the former acting chair of the white _ essentially. the former acting chair of the white house - chair of the white house council of economic advisers under president trump, thank you forjoining us.— a christmas carol written almost a century ago has found a new audience after it was discovered by accident. cathy killick has the story.

# glad tidings of the saviour bring peace ring on, ring on, ring on while the mary... composed 90 years ago, this is as far as we know, the first public performance of this beautiful carol. it was published in the barnsley chronicle but was recently rediscovered by michael harding, when he was researching the history of barnsley town hall. it was published the same month of the downhole open and survives on crumbly pages. it downhole open and survives on crumbly pagea— crumbly pages. it was almost a full -a~e crumbly pages. it was almost a full page in _ crumbly pages. it was almost a full page in the _ crumbly pages. it was almost a full page in the newspapers - crumbly pages. it was almost a | full page in the newspapers and i have seen articles at the time and this kind of stood out. i have not seen anything like this before the paper. michael showed it to his colleague who is also a musician, drtegwen colleague who is also a

musician, dr tegwen roberts. a day later she sang and on the staircase of the town hall. she then put a video on youtube with scenes of barnsley�*s christmases past. it went down a storm and prompted more research into the writer, one arthur godfrey. he research into the writer, one arthur godfrey.— research into the writer, one arthur godfrey. he was born in barnsley in _ arthur godfrey. he was born in barnsley in the _ arthur godfrey. he was born in barnsley in the 1870s. - arthur godfrey. he was born in barnsley in the 1870s. without | barnsley in the 18705. without he would be quite well know so we had a look in the papers and actually we did not find much. what we did find wa5 actually we did not find much. what we did find was that he was a glass bottle maker in barnsley. he started at the age of 12 and it worked throughout his life in the industry but obviously wa5 his life in the industry but obviously was a really talented musician alongside that. it felt quite emotional hearing something found on a piece of paper— something found on a piece of paper being sunk in the town hall paper being sunk in the town ball as — paper being sunk in the town hall as well. it paper being sunk in the town hall as well.— hall as well. it feels really secial hall as well. it feels really special and _ hall as well. it feels really special and i _ hall as well. it feels really special and i think - hall as well. it feels really special and i think for - hall as well. it feels really special and i think for me | hall as well. it feels really l special and i think for me to sing it, songs that come alive when you sing them and also to

have the music published alongside the words, quite often you have towards published in nature and, so it is being able to understand what the composer wanted at the time and it is really, really special. cathy killick, bbc news. we will see if it becomes the new christmas classic. merry christmas. happy holiday5 new christmas classic. merry christmas. happy holidays to chri5tma5. happy holidays to you. stay with us here on bbc news hello. we had some christmas day weather contra5t5. with a high of 13.6 celsius, it was the milde5t christmas day since 2016, but at the same time, northern scotland had snow, and so it was a white christmas. this stripe of cloud here brought rain for some of us, but in the north of the uk, colder air was in place, and that colder air is now pushing just a little bit further 5outhward. so a chillier day in

prospect for boxing day. cold enough for some icy stretches through the morning acro55 northern pa rt5 of scotland. some further wintry showers here through the first part of the day. one or two showers elsewhere, but broadly speaking, it should be a much drier and brighter day with some spell5 of sunshine. some of the showers in northern scotland could turn thundery through the afternoon. and at the same time, cloud and rain will be gathering across the southwest of england and the channel islands, where temperatures will reach 11—12 celsius. but elsewhere, 4—9 celsius covers it in most 5pots. and then as we head through boxing day night, we'll see cloud and rain spreading from the southwest, things turning very wet and very windy with some 5now mixing in over high ground in northern england, and more especially acro55 pa rt5 of scotland. temperatures coming up as the night wears on. a big area of low pressure dominating the scene for wednesday. if you have travel plans on wednesday, things do not look too pretty, i have to say, with a combination of heavy rain — could well be enough rain in places to give some issues

with flooding — but also some significant 5now over high ground in the northern half of scotland. some areas could 5ee10—15 centimetres of snow, say above 200m elevation. it's possible that some 5pot5 exposed to the south—easterly wind could see even more snow than that. and the wind will be a big feature, widely a very windy day. we could see gu5t5 of 50—60mph or more, gale5 around some of the coasts. temperatures, well, quite mild in the south, actually, 12—13 celsius. a little bit colder acro55 northern parts of scotland, particularly where we will have 5now falling. and then later in the week, through thursday into friday, we'll see variou5 weather systems working from west to east. outbreaks of rain. perhaps a little bit of wintrine55 mixing in, a5 colder air tries to stage a comeback as we head towards the end of the year. that's all from me. bye— bye.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. # nothing compares. # nothing compares to you...

the point at which i start crying is on the lines, "all the flowers that you planted, mama, in the backyard, all died when you went away." becau5e a5 a young child, i had spent time living in the garden, only being allowed to enter the house to wash the floor every day. # these are dangerous day5. # to say what you feel is to dig your own grave. fight the real enemy. people say it derailed my career. but i think it re—railed my career, because i didn't want to be a pop star. # so happy christmas. # i love you, baby. # i can see... it's true i'm out of it most of the time, but i can write songs when i'm out of it. in fact, it's easier for me. # ..singing galway bay. # and the bells are ringing out for christmas day.