: idea of causing with a specific idea of causing trouble because of rumours and misinformation that has been going around on social media. and the local people here in southport this morning demonstrated. when i got yet there was rubble on the streets all around, but the local people had their own brooms are. i spoke to one man from manchester, he came with a broom and burger to clear up this area. all of the local seer want this image of them clearing of to be the one people rememberfrom southport, not the other images seen last night during the violence. of course, this area is literally a five minute walk. round the corner is hart street, the

scene of the horrific incident on monday when there was the multiple stabbing which led to the deaths of three young girls, aged nine, six and seven. they have been amongst those people attending the taylor swift theme dance event in a local community centre. 25 children were inside. it was an horrific scene that the emergency service turned up to. as we say, three children died and there are a number still in hospital in a critical condition, and two adults. those adults have been described as heroes and extremely brave because they, police believe, put themselves between the man with a knife and the children, to try to protect them. they are in a critical condition. throughout the morning as well as the clear up here, we have seen people continue to leave flowers at the police cordon as this community after last

night �*s vigil, which was attended by thousands of people, try to come to terms with what happened on monday. the image from us here this morning was of the community coming together yet again to clear up this area after the violence last night. thank you. stay with us. earlier we heard from the man who runs the windsor minimart, whose shop was broken into during the violence last night. broken into during the violence last niuht. , , broken into during the violence last niuht. , g night. they were basically kicking and at ll saw _ night. they were basically kicking and at ll saw they _ night. they were basically kicking and at ll saw they threw - night. they were basically kicking and at ll saw they threw a - night. they were basically kicking and at ll saw they threw a brick. and at h saw they threw a brick into it — and at h saw they threw a brick into it they— and at h saw they threw a brick into it. they were taking it in turns — into it. they were taking it in turns this— into it. they were taking it in turns. this was so strong so they couldwt— turns. this was so strong so they couldn't do— turns. this was so strong so they couldn't do it. i thought they would not come _ couldn't do it. i thought they would not come back. but then another group _ not come back. but then another group came in. they managed to break the glass _ group came in. they managed to break the glass. then i saw the fire outside _ the glass. then i saw the fire outside i_ the glass. then i saw the fire outside. i found out that was my cardboard — outside. i found out that was my cardboard. at that point i thought

they would light more. they cardboard. at that point i thought they would light more.— cardboard. at that point i thought they would light more. they set fire to cardboard — they would light more. they set fire to cardboard outside _ they would light more. they set fire to cardboard outside your _ they would light more. they set fire | to cardboard outside your entrance? yes. there was a fire over here and i found _ yes. there was a fire over here and i found out— yes. there was a fire over here and i found out later it was my bin. there — i found out later it was my bin. there was_ i found out later it was my bin. there was cardboard in there. i thought— there was cardboard in there. i thought they would push it inside so i called _ thought they would push it inside so i called 999 because a lady lives upstairs. — i called 999 because a lady lives upstairs, and there was a man at the end as— upstairs, and there was a man at the end as welt — upstairs, and there was a man at the end as welt i— upstairs, and there was a man at the end as well. i knew they were there. i called _ end as well. i knew they were there. i called the _ end as well. i knew they were there. i called the police and said there were _ i called the police and said there were people upstairs and i could see there _ were people upstairs and i could see there was— were people upstairs and i could see there was a — were people upstairs and i could see there was a fire outside, please could _ there was a fire outside, please could they— there was a fire outside, please could they do something. they said they would — could they do something. they said they would try. they tried their lrest— they would try. they tried their best but— they would try. they tried their best but they couldn't come this far. as soon as this went up they all went— as soon as this went up they all went into — as soon as this went up they all went into the shop. it is awful, you know _ went into the shop. it is awful, you know that — went into the shop. it is awful, you know that is— went into the shop. it is awful, you know. that is not the way to treat

these _ know. that is not the way to treat these three — know. that is not the way to treat these three beautiful lives that were _ these three beautiful lives that were lost. it is not right. why are they— were lost. it is not right. why are they doing — were lost. it is not right. why are they doing this? they need to be punished, — they doing this? they need to be punished, but... idon't they doing this? they need to be punished, but... i don't know, they doing this? they need to be punished, but... idon't know, it they doing this? they need to be punished, but... i don't know, it is not punished, but... i don't know, it is hot right — punished, but... i don't know, it is not riuht. , ., , punished, but... i don't know, it is notrirht. , , j not right. one shopkeeper they're very distressed _ not right. one shopkeeper they're very distressed about _ not right. one shopkeeper they're very distressed about what - not right. one shopkeeper they're very distressed about what has i very distressed about what has happened to his business. bring us the latest on the police investigation.— the latest on the police investigation. the latest on the police investiuation. �* , ., ., investigation. and 'ust on that oint, investigation. and 'ust on that point, that h investigation. and just on that point, that shopkeeper - investigation. and just on that | point, that shopkeeper already investigation. and just on that - point, that shopkeeper already we have seen a local fundraising page “p have seen a local fundraising page up and running for him to try and raise some money because as you heard him say, he has lost thousands of pounds in his business. in terms of pounds in his business. in terms of the investigation, the police arrested a 17—year—old boy on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, and they are continuing to question him. for legal reasons we are not allowed to name him as he is 17. police have not said much about

the investigation, other than at the moment it is not terror related. we know that the 17—year—old lived in a village about seven miles from here, he was originally from cardiff and moved to the southport area in 2013 and his parents were originally from rwanda. that is about all we know at the moment. the police investigation continuing. police are urging people not to look at the misinformation thatis not to look at the misinformation that is circulating on social media. they have been names on social media by the police have said they are wrong. so they are urging the public not to engage in that misinformation. what they are asking the public to do is come forward with any information they have, and indeed any cctv footage or door bell footage might help with their investigation. at the moment, that 17—year—old remains in custody and here people are clearing up after the violence last night. for here people are clearing up after the violence last night.— the violence last night. for now, thank you _

the political leader of hamas, ismail haniyeh, has been killed in iran. hamas accused israel of being responsible and said that his death would not go unanswered. hamas is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the united states, the uk and others. israel typically doesn't comment on its operations abroad, and has made no statement as yet. reports in the iranian media say the strike occurred at about two in the morning local time. it came just hours after he attended the inauguration of the new iranian president. ismail haniyeh had been leading ceasefire negotiations with israel, and his death is likely to affect any chance of progress. so let's just take a closer look at who ismail haniyeh was. born in the al—shati refugee camp in gaza, haniyeh was a key member of hamas from its inception. he was imprisoned by israel a number of times, including for three years in 1989 as it cracked down on the first palestinian uprising. at one point was expelled to south lebanon for six months. in 2003, he survived an assassination attempt by israel, along with the hamas founder,

sheikh ahmed yassin. three years later, haniyeh was appointed palestinian prime minister by president mahmoud abbas after hamas won the most seats in national elections. however, he was dismissed a year later after the group ousted abbas�* fatah party from the gaza strip in a week of deadly violence. haniyeh had led hamas's political operations since 2017 while living in exile in qatar. he was the public face of hamas's diplomacy in arab capitals, and was leading efforts to negotiate a ceasefire deal in gaza. inside hamas, haniyeh was considered to be less hard—line and militaristic than yahya sinwar, who is the head of hamas inside gaza. in the past hour the us secretary of state antony blinken has commented on the haniyeh assasination. well, i've have seen the reports and all i can tell you right now as i think nothing takes away from the importance of, as i said a moment

ago, getting to the ceasefire, which is in the interests of the hostages and bringing them home, it is manifestly in the interests of the palestinians who are suffering terribly every single day. children, women, men, in gaza who have been caught in this crossfire of hamas �*s making. it is profoundly in the interest of trying to put things on a better path, not only in gaza but actually throughout the reason because so much is tied to what is happening in gaza right now. we have been working from day one not only to try to get to a better place in gaza, but also to prevent the conflict from spreading, whether it is in the north with lebanon and hezbollah, or in the red sea, or iran, syria, iraq you name it. a big key to trying to make sure that that does not happen, and that we can move to a better place, is getting

the ceasefire. i am not going to speculate on what impact any one event might have on that. i have learned over many years never to really expect late about that because we simply don't know. what i do know is the imperative of getting the ceasefire and we will continue to work at that every day. the us defence secretrary lloyd austin has been asnwering questions from reporters on the death of ismail haniyeh. let's listen in. can you confirm if israel was behind the strike that killed the senior hamas leader in tehran and did you get any warning this would happen? i don't have anything for you on that and we have heard the reporting but i don't have any additional information to provide. i've said i don't think war is inevitable, i maintain that. there is always room and opportunity for diplomacy and i would like to see parties pursue those opportunities. certainly, what we've seen along the northern border

with israel over time, it's been a concern of ours. we're going to do everything we can to make sure we keep things from turning into a broader conflict throughout the region. i'll remain in touch with my counterpart as well as with key leaders throughout the region. have you been in touch with them today? i've not talked to them today. you've been with me all day so i've not had the opportunity to talk to them today, but i talk to them every week and i look forward to talking to them again soon. what you heard me say yesterday is that, if israel is attacked, we certainly will help defend israel. you saw us do that in april, you can expect to see us do that again. but we don't want to see any of that happen. we're going to work hard to make sure we're doing things to help take the temperature down and address issues through diplomatic means.

earlier my colleague azadeh moshiri spoke to our gaza correspondent rushdi abualouf, and asked him for his analysis on how the killing of death of ismail haniyeh will impact the political situation in the wider region. hamas is backed by iran, and it's a strong ally for iran and killing him in tehran in a place that is considered or believed to be safe for him. and we have seen him visiting tehran many times and three times since the 7th of october attack, where he became in the top list of the of israel assassination. so he must have felt safe going there. it is significant and it depends on how iran will react to this. if iran react by widespread attacks on israel or i don't know, but it's all depends on the reaction by iran. but from hamas itself, the military

wing of hamas has just issued a statement saying that this is a very serious escalation and we will respond to it. now, the question is that how hamas militarily going to respond to it? we have seen hamas in the past when they killed a senior military commander back in 2012. they have fired hundreds, maybe thousands of rockets toward israel. but now, after ten months of the war, is hamas still able to do this kind of reaction, this kind of, you know, retaliation for the killing of their leader? we will wait and see, and then we can tell how much damage to hamas military infrastructure is done. because if this war is not there, imagine if they killed ismail haniyeh before 7th of october with hamas owning maybe over 100,000 rockets. then we we can see hamas firing thousands of rockets towards israel in retaliation. but ten months on the war or after the start of the war, now,

is the question how militarily hamas is able to respond to the killing of their top leader? this is a good question. that's such a good point. it's about the resources that hamas has in terms of not just what it wants to do, but what it also can do. at this point in the war. i also want to bring some more reaction we're getting from iran, which nuances contrasts a bit from what we've been hearing so far. this is from iran's vice president. he's told us that iran has no intention of escalating the conflict. that's according to state media in iran. of course, we did also hear from the revolutionary guard corps, who are very powerful in iran, both in terms of their military capability, their economic role and their political role. we heard from there that iran and the revolutionary front, the resistance front in the middle east will respond to the assassination. so that's really a bit of mixed messaging we're hearing from iran, but it's giving us a bit

of a clue, isn't it, in terms of how of the consequences they're aware of if they get involved. and this this assassination might be a turning point in the whole war. so we might see hamas softening its position more towards the ceasefire deal. the killing of the hamas leader is considered one of the moderate... i believe, talking to many sources, even inside hamas, it's paving the way to more extremist people within the movement. but the official reaction by iran and the long war, like ten months of war, the level of damage to the hamas infrastructure militarily will always raise this question — is hamas able to respond militarily to this level of killing by their top leader? maybe this is a turning point, and we might see that israel and hamas in the end say

that there is no military solution for this, and they will agree to sit and talk, but not for now, because now is the time for hamas to bury ismail haniyeh, which will take place tomorrow in tehran. it is like an official funeralfor him. and then on friday he will be buried in doha, where his family is, and then they will sit and they will choose who is going to lead the movement in the future. and then we can know exactly where things are going, whether to more escalation or to a ceasefire. and to that point, you're referring to a statement that has come in, that the body of haniyeh will be transferred to doha. we're hearing that it will be on thursday after a funeral in tehran. i wonder in terms of the ideology of hamas and what, you know, in terms of the way yahya sinwar has reacted in the past, how much will this affect the calculation they make in terms of the risk of their response and the way that they view a ceasefire?