two rockets at israel's largest city, tel aviv. hamas released footage of what it says shows the rockets being launched towards the city. explosions were heard there but there were no casualties reported. it comes as us secretary of state, antony blinken, is reportedly postponing his visit to the middle east. he was expected to be in the region ahead of thursday's ceasefire talks between israel and hamas. the us has been pushing for both parties to return to the negotiating table. america's ambassador to the un told a security council meeting the goal was to "turn the temperature down" in the region. as world leaders scramble to de—escalate tensions, iran and hezbollah are vowing to avenge last month's killings of the hamas political leader, ismail haniyeh, and a top hezbollah commander. on the ground, the war in gaza continues, with israel claiming to have killed around 100 hamas fighters in rafah in southern

gaza in recent days, and palestinian medics saying 19 people died in israeli air strikes tuesday, with four—day—old twins, their mother and grandmother, reported to be among the dead. lucy williamson has more from jerusalem. for four days, mohammed abu al-qumsan was a father. this day will haunt him for ever. the day he left his newborn twins, ayssel and asser, at home with their mother, while he went to collect their birth certificates, and returned to find them killed in a strike on their building in deir al balah. today, he prepared to bury them. a new parent, comforted like a child. "i didn't even have time to celebrate them", he said. gaza's health ministry says 115 infants, including ayssel

and asser, have been born and killed during this war. we asked the israeli army why the twins�* family home was bombed and are waiting for a response. fighting has continued across the gaza strip, with both israel and hamas under fresh pressure to agree a ceasefire deal to calm spiralling regional threats. today, hamas released this video which it said showed he rockets being launched from gaza towards tel aviv. israel's army said one had crossed into israeli territory and fallen into the sea. in the southern city of khan younis, displaced residents, not long returned, fled artillery and air strikes again. "who will breast—feed this baby?" one resident cried over the ruins of a building. "all her family were killed, even her mother."

reem abu hayyah, three months old, was pulled from the rubble, bruised and battered, the only survivor of an air strike that her grandmother says killed her parents and eight siblings, along with ten other people. translation: they are the terrorists, the ones| that kill children. they are supported by america. out of 20 people, this one is the only one left. the focus on gaza now is shrinking as the threat of regional conflict grows. but each child left without a family, each father left without his children, is adding to the long shadow of this war. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. let's bring in ambassador gina abercrombie—winstanley, formerly a senior us diplomat specialising in the middle east, now president of the middle east policy council.

welcomed. when you watch re orts welcomed. when you watch reports like _ welcomed. when you watch reports like that _ welcomed. when you watch reports like that it - welcomed. when you watch reports like that it is - welcomed. when you watch reports like that it is a - reports like that it is a reminder of what everyone is trying to come to an agreement on which is an end to the fighting in gaza and a return home for the hostages who are still being held.— still being held. where do you think inaudible _ still being held. where do you think inaudible standing - still being held. where do you think inaudible standing at | still being held. where do you l think inaudible standing at the moment when it comes getting those talks to actually take place on thursday? we those talks to actually take place on thursday? we know they have hit some _ place on thursday? we know they have hit some bumps _ place on thursday? we know they have hit some bumps with - place on thursday? we know they have hit some bumps with the - have hit some bumps with the hamas announcement it will not participate in the upcoming negotiations, but we will see. we still have a couple of days and the pressure on both sides at this time is enormous. the package you just played brings home the human cast and i think everyone needs to keep that front and centre, that so many lives are being lost, futures

destroyed, psychological impact on israelis as well as palestinians, and that courage and leadership from the leader of hamas, from the leader of israel to get to the table and get the deal done and this is something the entire international community is pressing for — to get those ceasefire talks completed. indeed. there has been a lot of rumour and speculation about the secretary of state's reported visited the region which we are now hearing have been postponed. what do we see as him not going? how significant is that? there are a number — significant is that? there are a number of _ significant is that? there are a number of reasons - significant is that? there are a number of reasons that - significant is that? there are i a number of reasons that might have contributed to him postponing the trip. number one, whether the expectation is now lowered about the beginning of those negotiations and of

course when you send a senior official, you send the secretary of state to the region, there is an expectation there will be results, positive results, from his visit and if indeed it is clear thursday's negotiations are not going to work, obviously that would be a reason for him not to go. the other reason, of course, is what may having coming from his or iran. they have waited until now. the psychological weight of waiting for an attack from iran orfrom hezbollah is definitely taking a toll on israelis. it is very difficult right now, but iran in the past has tried to remain with the n red lines, certainly the attacker on children in the northern part of israel did not stay within those red lines, but likely was not the intended target. right now we are all

asking both sides to ratchet it down, not take the region into further violence and as i said, the pressure on hamas will be intense, from the egyptians, from others dealing directly with hamas leaders and of course our side and others are talking to the israelis as well, reminding, if they need reminding, of the cost of what further conflict will bring to their people.— further conflict will bring to their people. very briefly, if i ma , their people. very briefly, if i may. you _ their people. very briefly, if i may, you touched - their people. very briefly, if i may, you touched on - their people. very briefly, if i may, you touched on iran | i may, you touched on iran there. iran not really seen ring to heed any of those calls from western leaders including briton's sir keir starmer, who spoke to the president, asking him to not retaliate. are we still watching full some sort of move from them? is that your sense? i of move from them? is that your sense? ~ ., ' sense? i think we have 21. there are _ sense? i think we have 21. there are words _ sense? i think we have 21. there are words and - sense? i think we have 21. there are words and there j sense? i think we have 21. - there are words and there are deeds. we are all putting things in place with all the

ships, submarines the united states is sending the region, the drumbeat of the international community, which is do not take this further, you can imagine the same messages were being sent to israel as well, in a tit—for—tat, both sides are doing this and we have to keep that in mind, but to have someone killed in drone territory is something the iranians are going to have to deal with, iranians are going to have to dealwith, either deal with, either internationally if dealwith, either internationally if they decide to attack or domestically about what it means for their own security. what it means for their own security-— security. gina _ abercrombie-winstanley, seeurity- gina — abercrombie-winstanley, former abercrombie—winstanley, former ambassador, thank you for joining us on bbc news. ukraine's president, volodymyr zelensky, has said his country now controls 7a communities in the kursk region of western russia a week after launching its surprise military incursion there. the operation has given ukraine its biggest battlefield gains since 2022.

russia has vowed to retaliate a week into the offensive and ukraine's military chief says its troops continue to conduct operations. over the last 2a hours, they advanced i—3km northeast. that's despite russia insisting that its forces have prevented further capture of its territory. president biden said ukraine's incursion posed a real dilemma for putin. ukraine's foreign ministry claims it does not want to occupy russia, but that they intend to move forward with its military action until moscow agrees to peace. president zelensky said some russian soldiers who surrendered in the attack could be exchanged for ukrainian prisoners of war. russian officials say they opened 400 temporary shelters across the country to accommodate the estimated 30,000 people who evacuated from towns and cities along the border. in total, more than 120,000 people left their homes so far since the start of the incursion. 0ur ukraine correspondent, james waterhouse, reports. ukrainian soldiers in western—made vehicles,

driving into russia, a potentially seminal sight which few saw coming. the russian guards were quickly overwhelmed. it has been a while since this border crossing was used in peacetime, and the ukrainians have not stopped here. the central square of sudzha. a ukrainian armoured vehicle drives through a russian town. it's a military inversion which has restored momentum and morale to kyiv�*s war effort. and instead of directing events in ukraine, moscow's reacting to surprises at home. more of its kursk region is falling in the most dramatic of battlefield changes. "we've just been to this russian supermarket, "and the selection isn't very good," remarks this soldier. slava ukraini! russia is struggling to contain this weighty offensive, but it is trying.

across the border in ukraine's sumy region, evidence ukraine is deploying some of its best troops for a goal that is still unclear. military equipment is branded with a triangle, the symbol of this operation. ukraine is committing to this gamble, but success might not come here with the capturing of territory across the border. it may well come elsewhere, where russian forces might be forced to redeploy. if this gamble doesn't come off, the consequences for ukraine's war effort could be catastrophic. for the border villages habitually hit by russian glide bombs, there is no fear of what moscow's response might be. translation: i want them to take it and do this. - translation: russia attacked first, not us. j now our guys responded,

showed what we're capable of. if we had permission to do this earlier, we would have captured russia a long time ago. in the city of sumy, evacuees give their details to be rehoused. as with across the border, tens of thousands have been moved after an increase in air strikes. ukraine has benefited from secrecy, but its civilians less so. in a choreographed briefing you would usually see in moscow, the head of the armed forces, oleksandr syrskyi, tells president zelensky they are still advancing. translation: first, - i thank our guys and girls. also, i ask you not to forget to develop our important next steps. what ukraine does next will be crucial, especially with the moment of surprise now behind it. james waterhouse, bbc news, sumy region.

elise labott, foreign affairs journalist and the host of cosmopolitics on substack, shared her analysis on the gravity of ukraine's incursion. what we are seeing are the biggest battlefield gains for ukraine since 2022. this is hugely significant. what is the mood among the us officials in relation to that? i mood among the us officials in relation to that?— relation to that? i think this is something _ relation to that? i think this is something they _ relation to that? i think this is something they would - relation to that? i think this i is something they would have liked to see a long time ago. you remember last summer they were thinking about some kind of offensive that never was. i think now the idea is they are definitely putting russia on the back foot. you see russians scrambling, vladimir putin and the kremlin moving, reinforcements to these areas that ukrainians have taken over and complaining about a lot of the things the russians have done to ukraine and so you heard today national security council spokesmanjohn kirby council spokesman john kirby say, this council spokesmanjohn kirby say, this is vladimir putin's wore and if he wants to end

what is happening in russia he can get out of ukraine. i do think there is a little concerned that ukrainians can keep it up, that they say they don't want to hold onto any territory and hold russian territory, but that ukrainians could be in for some losses once the russians have reinforcements. i think the us is hoping this will boost ukrainian morale, this will damage russian morale, but really strengthen ukraine's hand at the bargaining table because this is really how it is going to end. we because this is really how it is going to end.— because this is really how it is going to end. we have heard from some _ is going to end. we have heard from some senators _ is going to end. we have heard from some senators who - is going to end. we have heard from some senators who have | from some senators who have beenin from some senators who have been in ukraine calling for all those restrictions on us provided weapons from being used in russia to be lifted. it is there likely to be any movement on that? i is there likely to be any movement on that? i think the us will be _ movement on that? i think the us will be very _ movement on that? i think the us will be very careful- movement on that? i think the us will be very careful about . us will be very careful about it now because this is the first time the ukrainians are ——or any country has been on

russian soil in decades. certainly, that ukrainians have not been there in this time in the war, so i think the us has already loosened some restrictions. i think the biden administration will be very loath to increase the... lifting the restrictions. i think the restrictions they will lift, though modest, they will lift, though modest, they will be cautious about it. for months ukraine _ will be cautious about it. for months ukraine was asking for more help from the west. that is finally started to filter through including f—16s. how much do you think it has bolstered ukrainian forces? it definitely has. ukrainian forces were complaining and urging the us all along. let's get these weapons. we can hold territory, try and reverse some of these gains and i think now you have seen a lot of these weapons come through, there is still training they are waiting for, but the ukrainians are showing they can use that equipment to further their aims

in the war. i think again the question is where does this and? i think all sides know it is going to have to be at the negotiating table. clearly, the russians have not been able to defeat the ukrainians and even though these incursions into russia and the territory they seize is quite significant i think about 1000 square metres, the russians still have 100,000 square metres, which is 18% of ukrainian territory, so they may the us is hoping the ukrainians can retake some of that territory. i don't think they want to see it expand more into russia, but certainly, the weapons delivered and the passing of that package has helped not only boost the ability of the ukrainians, but certainly the morale. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. a bbc investigation has found that a priest in blackburn

who was assessed as a potential risk to children and young people was given a six—figure pay—off by the church of england. canon andrew hindley has been the subject of five police investigations, including into allegations of sexual assault. he has never been charged, and he has always strongly denied any wrongdoing. a 13—year—old girl has pleaded guilty to threatening unlawful violence during disorder outside a hotel housing asylum seekers at aldershot in hampshire. the teenager, who can't be named because of her age, will be sentenced next month. more than 350 people have now been charged and 120 convicted linked to the violent disorder and riots over the last two weeks. a 32—year—old man has appeared in court charged with attempted murder after an 11—year—old girl was stabbed in leicester square in london on monday. ioan pintaru, a romanian citizen, is also charged with possession of a bladed article. he was remanded in custody to appear at the old bailey next month. you're live with bbc news.

senior health officials in africa declared a continental public health emergency on tuesday over a new outbreak of mpox. cases of the highly infectious disease, previously known as monkey pox, have spread quickly this year. data released by the africa centres for disease control and prevention show at least 887 new confirmed and suspected cases of mpox have been reported in the past week, bringing the total for the year to 15,132. 16 african countries have reported cases, including the democratic republic of congo, which has more than 90% of the recorded infections. 461 people in africa have died from mpox this year. jason kindrachuk is associate professor in medical microbiology and infectious diseases at the university of manitoba in canada. he'sjoint head of a global research partnership investigating the global

spread of mpox. welcome to the programme. you've visited the region not too long ago. what did you see on the ground? we too long ago. what did you see on the ground?— too long ago. what did you see on the ground? we were located in kinshasa- _ on the ground? we were located in kinshasa. we _ on the ground? we were located in kinshasa. we have _ on the ground? we were located in kinshasa. we have not- on the ground? we were located in kinshasa. we have not seen i in kinshasa. we have not seen many cases in the past 18 months within that city and it is expansive, close to 20 million. we have seen a few cases here and there, in pockets. the majority of infections are still largely in rural regions, a very expensive country. what we have seen has been a mobilisation of local staff and many different international partners that are bringing together resources and on shoestring budgets trying to provide whatever they can for a response. provide whatever they can for a re5ponse-_ provide whatever they can for a resonse. ., . ., ., i. response. how alarmed are you b the response. how alarmed are you by the spread? _ response. how alarmed are you by the spread? we _ response. how alarmed are you by the spread? we are - response. how alarmed are you by the spread? we are talking l by the spread? we are talking about a number of countries across africa now.— about a number of countries across africa now. yes. i think i look at _ across africa now. yes. i think i look at this _ across africa now. yes. i think i look at this from _

across africa now. yes. i think i look at this from the - i look at this from the perspective _ i look at this from the perspective of- i look at this from the i perspective of overtime i look at this from the - perspective of overtime we i look at this from the _ perspective of overtime we have continually — perspective of overtime we have continually been _ perspective of overtime we have continually been alarmed, - continually been alarmed, ceriainly— continually been alarmed, ceriainly at _ continually been alarmed, certainly at the _ continually been alarmed, certainly at the increase . continually been alarmed, j certainly at the increase in trajectory _ certainly at the increase in trajectory of _ certainly at the increase in trajectory of cases - certainly at the increase in trajectory of cases over. certainly at the increase in i trajectory of cases over time. the _ trajectory of cases over time. the last— trajectory of cases over time. the last 18 _ trajectory of cases over time. the last 18 months _ trajectory of cases over time. the last 18 months have i trajectory of cases over time. | the last 18 months have been unprecedented within dr congo. that has rung a lot of alarm bails and early in 20231 think many of us were concerned about the potential for international spread within the continent of africa. we are now seeing that and we need to appreciate as well it is notjust mpox within endemic regions that continues to spread. still seeing the vestiges of clade two mpox in other parts of the globe circulating so this is an important situation, something we need to get a handle on. so ou are we need to get a handle on. so you are two variants, is that what you are saying?- what you are saying? yes, basically _ what you are saying? yes, basically two _ what you are saying? yes, basically two different i what you are saying? yes, i basically two different types, clade two, associated with a global epidemic in 2022, tends to have less inaudible in humans. clade one, endemic in

central africa, what congo has been hardest hit by, that particular virus is what is circulating now and what is moving through dr congo into some of the eastern african countries as well.— some of the eastern african countries as well. the question is, what countries as well. the question is. what can — countries as well. the question is, what can be _ countries as well. the question is, what can be done _ countries as well. the question is, what can be done and i countries as well. the question is, what can be done and what| is, what can be done and what is, what can be done and what is being done to contain it? what can be done is the long—standing question for about five decades. we need to get vaccines in country, we have to get therapeutics in and appreciate there are resource limitations are we need to increase things like diagnostics support, testing support, healthcare support. support, healthca re support. those support, healthcare support. those things are critical. the other piece is sustained research and response funding. many international partners coming together to try to help out with response where we can. we are all doing this through grant funding we have been able to bring into our laboratories. we cannotjust do this based on those grounds. we need more sustained funding for the

region and the specific inaudible.— region and the specific inaudible. ., ~ . inaudible. thank you so much forjoining _ inaudible. thank you so much forjoining us— inaudible. thank you so much forjoining us and _ inaudible. thank you so much forjoining us and you _ inaudible. thank you so much forjoining us and you have i forjoining us and you have returned from the continent as well. thank you for sharing your insights.— the head of the fire service in greece said there are no longer any active fires in the wider athens area but firefighters remain on high alert for potential flare—ups. milder winds and efforts by emergency services helped to get the blaze under control. the eu says it's mobilising support for greece. our europe correspondent jess parker is there, and she sent this report. shadows in the night as this monster blaze ripped into the outskirts of athens. whether a firefighter, soldier or citizen, they tried to contain the flames. it was all hands to the pump. now, with daylight, this is what's left. thanassis, a stone merchant, leafs through the scorching hot wreckage of his business. he fears there's up to £25,000 worth of damage.

translation: the fire | passed through and burnt all the wooden pallets. everything that was here is now useless. pallets, marble, tiles and even further beyond. everything is garbage now. as water bombers work to douse hotspots from on high, on the ground, there's anguish. and while everything was happening, even our school burnt down. all of our memories were there. it's just a couple of metres down the line. marina despairs that greece goes through this time and again. the fire department is so underfunded. it has nothing to do with personal responsibility and everything to do with how the government is handling this. and the answer is that it's simply not. it's not handling it. the authorities say their response was rapid in the face of extreme conditions, including drought. down there, you can see the path of the fire as it burned its way to the city of athens, the heat and high

winds the perfect conditions to allow the blaze to spread. this is a city that, over decades, has sprawled its way into the hills and forests. unwise, say some, in an area populated with highly flammable pine trees, igniting a far bigger question. igniting a far bigger question. i am pessimistic in terms of agriculture and health. these are fresh scars on this landscape that mark a familiar agony for greece. jessica parker, bbc news, in athens. you can get full details and

analysis on the bbc news website. we are reporting on the conflict in the middle east and that comes ahead of talks slated for thursday., says it will not take part in those talks. we will have more on that story, so stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. tuesday wasn't as hot or as humid, but still with some sunshine across norfolk and suffolk before we got a few light showers, temperatures reached a very warm 29 degrees. other parts of the uk have cooled down a bit already, and it's still quite mixed through the rest of the week. there'll be some sunshine at times, but we're also going to find some spells of rain, and our weather essentially is going to be coming in from the atlantic. at the moment things have slowed down a bit and this weather front still bringing some rain early in the morning, particularly across the midlands. but a sunny start and a chilly start in scotland. some sunshine for northern ireland. it will cloud over here

in the afternoon and later in the day into western scotland. but more sunshine develops across northern england, wales and the southwest. and even though we've got more cloud, the midlands towards the southeast, that should tend to thin and break up a little bit. we will trigger a few showers in the southeast in the afternoon. it's not going to be as warm here as it was on tuesday, of course, 23 or 2a degrees and elsewhere, those temperatures very similar to what we had on tuesday. so our weather is coming in from the atlantic, and this is the next weather system to bring some wind and rain in from the north west. and it could be quite wet through much of thursday across scotland and northern ireland. this band of rain is only moving slowly into northern england and wales. it's going to be late in the day before we see some sunshine, but through the midlands, towards the southeast it may well be a dry day with more broken cloud we've got a chance for things to warm up again. temperatures could reach as high as 27 degrees, but for scotland and northern ireland, it's likely to be a cooler day on thursday. that rain is slowly moving its way southwards,

and that weather front will eventually take some rain into more southern parts of england. it could hang around for a bit on friday, we're likely to find the rain tending to move away from the southwest, but the southeast it could be a bit more of a struggle. that rain could still be around into the afternoon at least more cloud. we've got sunshine elsewhere once again until you reach the far northwest, with a bit of rain coming in here again as the breeze tends to pick up. so temperatures scotland and northern ireland 19 degrees at best. otherwise our top temperature further south 23 or 2a celsius. i think it's those sort of temperatures that we'll see over the weekend. so not a hot weekend, but it looks like a fairly decent weekend. most places will be dry with some sunshine. just a few showers, perhaps towards the northwest.

wholesale inflation cools in the united states raising the prospect of an interest rate cut from the federal reserve. and indonesia gears up for independence day celebrations at its new capital city despite setbacks. i'm steve lai. welcome to business today. let's begin in the us where the first of two key inflation reports were released overnight. wholesale prices eased by 0.1%, implying that inflation has come off its highs, and that the us federal reserve could

be closer to lowering the cost of borrowing. economist peterjolly explains why the signs for a rate cut in september are growing. it really does help the case for the fed to cut rates in september. remembering that the chairman set this up after the last meeting. he said if inflation keeps evolving, as they hope which means getting better, than they will be in a position to cut rates. he did not commit to that but they would be in a position to cut rates in september and this was a good read. we had a bunch of reads before that september 18 meeting but this is one and there is another one tonight and a few more later on. consumer price data forjuly is expected to be visible tomorrow what are your expectations? you can almost pick your inflation but they will almost be running between 2.5, 3% depending on your pick. most people wanted to ease a little further. the headline rate has been

running a little over three