live from washington, this is bbc news. israel's prime minister insists forces will not leave a key strip of land along gaza's border with egypt. it's the latest sticking point in ceasefire talks with hamas. police in the us state of georgia say a 14—year—old student will be charged and tried as an adult, after four people are shot dead at a high school. ukraine's president orders a government shake up, at a critical moment in the fight against russia. hello, i'm sumi somaskanda. good to have you with us. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is facing sustained pressure to secure the release of hostages held in gaza. protesters took to the streets of tel aviv for a fourth straight day this week, as families of israeli hostages call for the return of their loved ones. diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire and hostage release deal are at a stalemate. hamas says that is partially due to mr netanyahu's demand

that israel maintain a military presence in the philadelphi corridor. that's a small buffer zone between gaza and egypt's sinai desert. mr netanyahu said israel is committed to destroying hamas and bringing the hostages home. he warned of the potential consequences should israel relieve its military pressure on hamas. our middle east regional editor mike thomson has more on the prime minister's comments from jerusalem. tonight, benjamin netanyahu double down on his insistence that israeli troops will not be withdrawn from the philadelphia corridor. that is the strip of land separating southern gaza from egypt. is that it is absolutely vital that they stay that to stop hamas smuggling weapons from egypt into gaza. he said, if we let this happen, we could have another october the seventh all over again. interestingly though, he had talked in the past about not moving for at least 42 years.

this evening he was referring to 42 days early so they may be some wriggle room there. but he has said basically, if we leave troops on the border, even if it does kill the deal, if we remove them, then the deal could kill us. he went on to say that as far as he is concerned, the israeli people are united on this issue. yet in fact this country is very far from in fact this country is very farfrom united. this is the fourth day of protests by people who feel the ceasefire deal impossible to sign could be a death sentence for hostages. tonight they've been protests and fire on the streets of tel aviv. this is an issue that is going to buy an increasingly hot over the

coming days. joining me live is james jeffrey, former us deputy national security advisor and former ambassador to iraq, turkey and albania. good to have your back on bbc news. i want to ask you what you make of prime minister by macca's insisted that israel must remain on the gaza egypt border. we know there has been some dissent with arm achieves and we have seen those protests has well. what do you think of this strategy?— this strategy? thank you for havin: this strategy? thank you for having me _ this strategy? thank you for having me on. _ this strategy? thank you for having me on. benjamin - having me on. benjamin netanyahu has a point. the problem is he also has his own political future to consider and that mixes with his role as responsible official for israel's security but remember eight out of nine members of this cabinet, and 49% of israeli people were supportive. reporting from israel, a journalist got it exactly right. in the first phase, where is it would withdraw from

the populated or built up areas of gaza but not entirely from gaza, he said that means they will stay in much of the philadelphi corridor because thatis philadelphi corridor because that is by his definition not a populated area so he claims he is not changing the initial presentation of the plan that president biden dead. and also it is important for israel's security. he and others have said in phase two, the second 42 day period, in edm, is what is committed to withdraw but only if negotiations succeed. the trash in the end, israel is committed. the trash in the end, israel is committed-— committed. but is this not a stickin: committed. but is this not a sticking point? _ committed. but is this not a sticking point? this - committed. but is this not a sticking point? this is - committed. but is this not a sticking point? this is war. committed. but is this not a l sticking point? this is war and eace. sticking point? this is war and peace- this — sticking point? this is war and peace. this is _ sticking point? this is war and peace. this is not _ sticking point? this is war and peace. this is not an - sticking point? this is war and peace. this is not an incursion or another one of these battles

of choice that at times they do. israel's survival is is to avoid a second attack out of gaza. it is hard to imagine hamas not reconstituting itself after the flow of weapons and money can pass through egypt into gaza as we saw up to october seven so he has a security point that many israeli support, not all. nearly 11 months since the hostages have been taken an immense humanitarian suffering, tens of thousands of people killed in gaza, palestinians killed in gaza, palestinians killed and a huge health crisis. we have seen this huge polio vaccination campaign. what pressure can be applied for a temporary if not a permanent ceasefire? the us has a roblem permanent ceasefire? the us has a problem and — permanent ceasefire? the us has a problem and you _ permanent ceasefire? the us has a problem and you put _

permanent ceasefire? the us has a problem and you put your - a problem and you put your focus on it. much of the media and world attention has been on the humanitarian crisis, the tragedy of the people in gaza, the casualty levels have been extremely high and the retelling of hostages. but again, this is a wall and one side will emerge as the victor is seen by everybody in the region... is seen by everybody in the region- - -— is seen by everybody in the reuion... ., region... could i ask you then, what does _ region... could i ask you then, what does victory _ region... could i ask you then, what does victory look - region... could i ask you then, what does victory look like - region... could i ask you then, what does victory look like for| what does victory look like for israel? �* ., what does victory look like for israel? �* . ., israel? ben'amin netanyahu selt it israel? benjamin netanyahu spelt it out. _ israel? benjamin netanyahu spelt it out, hamas - israel? benjamin netanyahu spelt it out, hamas can - israel? benjamin netanyahu. spelt it out, hamas can never regain control of gaza. by macca's words it no longer has a military capacity to challenge israel. —— benjamin netanyahu. challenge israel. -- ben'amin netanyahmfi challenge israel. -- ben'amin netan ahu. ., ., , ., ., netanyahu. how does that align with the current _ netanyahu. how does that align with the current military - with the current military operation we have seen because at the moment it is not clear if hamas has actually been decimated, if their forces if hamas has actually been decimated, if theirforces have been decimated? if decimated, if their forces have been decimated?— decimated, if their forces have been decimated? if you look at the israeli _ been decimated? if you look at the israeli casualties, -

been decimated? if you look at the israeli casualties, if - been decimated? if you look at the israeli casualties, if you - the israeli casualties, if you look at the temper of action, hamas is basically returned to an insurgency. it can last as an insurgency. it can last as an insurgency. it can last as an insurgency basically forever. the question is can it rebuild itself into an armed force that can threaten israel and take over gaza? benjamin netanyahu thinks that if he stays under the philadelphi corridor or if it is left open, egypt and the united states can find a way to block the corridor, that will be the subject of negotiations in the second phase, then he may be considering pulling his troops out in the second phase. he has indicated that but it is not as clear as the first but which he was down for the first 42 days. great to have you on bbc news as always. thank you for your analysis tonight.— police will charge a teenager with murder after two students and two teachers were shot dead at a high school in georgia. the suspected attacker was identified as 14—year—old colt gray. he was a student at

apalachee high school, nearly 50 miles northeast of atlanta. emergency responders surrounded the school on wednesday, as students evacuated to the school's stadium. authorities said the attacker surrendered and was taken into custody. at a press conference, officials said no connection has yet been found between the shooter and the victims, and that he will be tried as an adult. let's listen to what the county sheriff had to say. i was born and raised here. i went to school in this school system. my kids go to this school system. i'm proud of this school system. my heart hurts for these kids, my heart hurts for our community. but i want to make it very clear that hate will not prevail in this county. i want that to be very clear and known. love will prevail over what happened today. i assure you of that. not long after news of the deadly attack, us presidentjoe biden urged

republicans and democrats to work together to pass new laws on gun reform. our correspondent nada tawfik has the latest. the superintendent of apalachee high school says they will close for the remainder of the week and that they will be offering grief counselling to the student, who just over a week into the school year found themselves having to shelter as gunfire rang out in their classroom. in fact, the sheriff who spoke, said his kids went to that school district and so this hit very close to home for him. now, there has also been some political reaction. presidentjoe biden has said that we cannot continue to accept this as normal and has urged congress to work with democrats to push through some gun—control measures, including universal background checks and

bans on assault rifles. and if the two leading presidential tenderness, kamala harris and donald trump also made statements. donald trump saying his heart is with the victims and their families. his heart is with the victims and theirfamilies. and calling the gunman a sick, deranged monster. kamala harris on the other hand saying it is outrageous in the united states that parents have to wonder whether children would come home safe from school, saying there is a way to change things and it is an issue in this election. joining me live is kris brown, president at brady, a nonprofit organization that advocates for gun reform. thank you forjoining us and we note tonight that is a community school in shock, grieving over what happened. what is your reaction to what we saw today? i what is your reaction to what we saw today?— what is your reaction to what we saw today? i am wearing a shirt, i we saw today? i am wearing a shirt. i were _ we saw today? i am wearing a shirt, i wore it _ we saw today? i am wearing a shirt, i wore it on _ we saw today? i am wearing a shirt, i wore it on purpose - shirt, i wore it on purpose today, it references what queen

oliver, the son of manny and patricia oliver, he was killed on february ia, valentine's day, 2018 and i on february 1a, valentine's day, 2018 and i am wearing the shed today, not only to pay on to him but because his parents were at cnn doing a media hit about their effort to stop gun violence, including shootings at school and i was with them after that media hit at 10:30am today. it is when i understand the school shooting happened. the answer to your question, it is horrific and i cannot, as a mum, as a human being and as a person, who is an american, say that it person, who is an american, say thatitis person, who is an american, say that it is anything else for me as a human being but what is

worse is for the families impact and then for other survivors like manny and patricia, traumatising to an extent that we have not fully internalised. obviously we have not because guns and the number one killer of our kids. fist not because guns and the number one killer of our kids.— one killer of our kids. at this oint one killer of our kids. at this point we _ one killer of our kids. at this point we don't _ one killer of our kids. at this point we don't know- one killer of our kids. at this point we don't know really i one killer of our kids. at this - point we don't know really much about the shooter or what motivated him. we do know that he was stopped by to school resource officers, officers deployed in a school. they are part of a security procedure, things like locked school doors. do you think this is a safety procedure, having these offices they, school classroom doors locked, a part of what prevented this tragedy spreading even further? i don't know. it spreading even further? i don't know- it is _ spreading even further? i don't know. it isjust _ spreading even further? i don't know. it isjust a _ spreading even further? i don't know. it isjust a guessing - know. it is just a guessing game. i mean, i hope so. i certainly hope so but as i talk to paras across this country, i am travelling the country, as i do very often with myjob and when i talk to parents, the

number one fear they have dropping their kids at school, regardless of redundant security measures, are are my kids are safe and will they come home? so yes, security measures, i'm not going to say they are not important and we will be speculating for years on that and i doubt we will ever know the answer because we're to prove a negative but the real answer, unless we have laws that require folks to pass background checks, to ban assault weapons, to have extreme risk laws and ensure that every america american who chooses a gun in the home safely stores that gun, we have not solved the problem. let me ask ou not solved the problem. let me ask you this _ not solved the problem. let me ask you this and _ not solved the problem. let me ask you this and as _ not solved the problem. let me ask you this and as you're - ask you this and as you're speaking, we're watching a press conference, an update from the county sheriff and we bring an update on what he says a little bit later. let me ask it is, gun reform has been

extremely difficult to achieve on a national level. georgia has a liberal gun laws as well. what do you believe of the measures you just mention can actually be achieved? i measures you just mention can actually be achieved?— actually be achieved? i know what we did. _ actually be achieved? i know what we did. under- actually be achieved? i know what we did. under what - actually be achieved? i know what we did. under what we | actually be achieved? i know. what we did. under what we did two years ago which i hope get more coverage. —— i know what we did. the bipartisan cyber community act, the most comprehensive federal law ever to pass pass with 16 republican votes in the united states senate and it provided unprecedented funding to gun violence but also expanded the brady law, the background check system, more than any lot we had and provide the funding to state that pass laws to remove guns from violent individuals, from people who are at risk, funding to those states, but you cannot change certain states unless they change themselves and georgia, as you alluded to, is a great example.

it is one of the weakest states in terms of gun laws. it does not require a permit to carry a gun in public, it has no background checks, it has no extreme risk laws, it has no requirement that guns be stored safely and no laws in effect in most of the other states to protect the public so, yes, we need stronger federal laws. the biden harris administration has been more effective in that than any administration we have ever had but we also have to have stronger state laws as well, as your question alludes to. ~ ., ., to. we will have to live the conversation _ to. we will have to live the conversation they - to. we will have to live the conversation they fitted . to. we will have to live the i conversation they fitted today but thank you so much for joining us on bbc news tonight. thank you for having it. really appreciate it. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news: former uk cabinet minister priti patel has been knocked out of the conservative leadership contest in the first round of voting by tory mps.

known for her tough stance on immigration, dame priti spearheaded the conservative government's flagship scheme to send some asylum seekers to rwanda. voting by conservative mps will continue in the coming weeks, until there are two candidates left, leaving party members to pick one of them to be the new leader. the body of a 32—year—old british man has been found in mallorca, and a woman remains missing, according to emergency services on the spanish island. spain's civil guard has been rescuing people after torrential rains, and rescue teams had been looking for the two hikers since monday. both were reported by spanish media to have been swept away by floodwaters. sir brian may has said he had a minor stroke which caused him to temporarily lose control over his arm. the 77—year—old queen guitarist announced in a video on instagram that he had the health scare about a week ago. may said he is doing ok. you're live with bbc news. ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky said his government needs

new energy, after making the biggest reshuffle of his cabinet since the start of russia's invasion. five ministers handed in their resignations before the expected move. among them, some of the most powerful members of mr zelensky�*s cabinet. they include the foreign minister, dmytro kuleba, as well as ukraine's top negotiator with the eu. the minister in charge of arms production, thejustice minister, and the environment minister are also standing down. their replacements are expected to be announced on thursday. their replacements are expected to be announced on thursday. the reshuffle comes as russia intensifies its attacks on ukraine. at least seven people were killed overnight wednesday in the city of lviv, which is less than 50 miles from ukraine's border with poland. that raid came a day after the deadliest single russian attack this year. 53 people were killed and nearly 300 injured in a strike on a military academy in central ukraine. our ukraine correspondent, nick beake, has more from lviv.

the soldiers of the 22nd mechanised brigade, the first ukrainian troops to break into russia month ago. they rapidly seized more than 100 settlements and 600 russian prisoners of war according to key. the men filled in action are now back in ukraine. regrouping. we met them just a few miles from the russian border. translation: we went far into the _ border. translation: we went far into the accursed _ border. translation: we went far into the accursed region. - far into the accursed region. we were alone as of the owa team. we were on foreign soil and we felt like winners. team. we were on foreign soil and we felt like winners. [30 and we felt like winners. do ou and we felt like winners. do you know — and we felt like winners. do you know how long he will be a russian territory? i5 you know how long he will be a russian territory?— russian territory? is that amicable _ russian territory? is that amicable b _ russian territory? is that amicable b that - russian territory? is that amicable b that as - russian territory? is that amicable b that as long l russian territory? is that l amicable b that as long as russian territory? is that - amicable b that as long as we are told. we will show what ukraine is all about. —— translation: we will go as long as we have to.—

as we have to. ukraine is waiting — as we have to. ukraine is waiting for— as we have to. ukraine is waiting for vital - as we have to. ukraine is waiting for vital backup l as we have to. ukraine is . waiting for vital backup from the west. these latest recruits at a secret training camps are in their a0s at a secret training camps are in theira0s and at a secret training camps are in their a0s and 50s, having spent their lives far from the trenches but with the country now desperate for trips, they are being fast tracked to the front ukraine is on the back foot and key part of the battlefield at home but the recent incursion into russia has given a big morale boost and also given as it wore a new dimension. more trips had been recruited and trained but at the same time, ukraine now faces tough strategic decisions. should they be deployed to the east of ukraine, where moscow is seizing more land by throwing tens of thousands of soldiers into battle or should they go into battle or should they go into russia to hold the recent gains? these and told us they backed the kursk incursion. translation: i backed the kursk incursion. translation:— backed the kursk incursion. translation: i think this is the riaht translation: i think this is the right thing _ translation: i think this is the right thing to _ translation: i think this is the right thing to do. - translation: i think this is the right thing to do. look i translation: | thinkthis is. the right thing to do. look how long they have been on our

land. we cannotjust sit there while they are capturing our territory. what will be do then? will we become their slaves? ., ., ~ slaves? through taking the fi . ht slaves? through taking the fight into — slaves? through taking the fight into russia, _ slaves? through taking the fight into russia, ukraine l fight into russia, ukraine initially galvanised its public but president clinton is gas taken a gamble, his troops now fighting on yet another front. —— president zelensky. nick beake, bbc news, poltava. the us has charged and sanctioned executives at the russian state—funded broadcaster rt, accusing them of participating in a kremlin—backed operation to interfere in november's presidential election. the us treasury department alleges rt's editor in chief, margarita simonyan, and her deputy covertly recruited social media influencers to sway us public opinion. eight other people have been charged and sanctioned, and the usjustice department has seized 32 internet domains

allegedly used to spread disinformation. our north america correspondent jenny kumah has more. there is some 65 days until the us presidential elections and the biden administration has called out what it says is russian interference in that vote. multiple government agencies have announced a range of measures to tackle the spread of russian disinformation and that includes visa restrictions, sanctions and indictments. amongst that, the us treasury department has indicted the managing editor of the russian state broadcaster and her deputy. they are accused of spending £10 million to secretly pay unknown company in tennessee to spread thousands of videos on social media. in a statement to the bbc, rt has dismissed the claims in a mocking statement saying 2016 cold and it wants its cliches

back. a reference to russian interference in the past us elections. —— called. russia wanted to so division amongst american voters and undermined international support for ukraine which russia invaded two years ago. the us says it is notjust russia doing this, it is also pointing to iran and china and last month it accused iran of hacking the trump campaign and leaking documents. it is also accused iran of trying to hack the harris campaign. with election less than nine weeks away, the latest polling shows donald trump and kamala harris in a dead heat with voters in several battleground states. a new cnn poll shows harris leading trump a8% to a7% among likely voters in georgia and nevada. they are tied at a7% among likely voters in pennsylvania. but on the us economy, voters

polled in six swing states suggest a clear preference for trump over harris. on wednesday, vice president kamala harris held an event in new hampshire to highlight her plans for new economic initiatives. ms harris proposes a tax benefit of up to $50,000 for new small businesses, which expands the current $5,000 of tax relief for start—ups. the harris campaign says the plan is part of a goal to boost new small business applications by 25 million over four years. ms harris says her new initiative will boost entrepreneurship and lower costs for small business owners. something she believes will not happen under her opponent, republican presidential nominee donald trump, who has called for lowering the corporate tax rate. he intends to cut off federal programmes that give loans to small businesses. he plans to give billionaires massive tax cuts and to cut corporate taxes

by over $1 trillion, even as they pull in record profits. his plans will add more than $5 trillion to the national debt and that is on top of the $2 trillion tax cut he gave them when he was president and when he exploded the deficit. the trump campaign attacked vice president harris�*s economic record on wednesday, calling presidentjoe biden's economic plans "wea k". in a statement, the trump campaign claimed harris has "put the middle class last" saying that as vice president, she has had 3.5 years and done nothing but cause problems for american families. adding, mr trump visited pennsylvania on wednesday to hear from voters in a televised town hall. right now, fox news is airing the hour—long pre—recorded event moderated by sean hannity. both the trump and harris campaigns are ramping up their presence in pennsylvania as they try to win over voters in what's become a crucial battleground state. we will have more on that

in the next hour. an update on the recent press conference, police in georgia said the suspect denied making threats when questioned more than a year ago in connection with threats of a school shooting posted online and we heard as well that the government used an ar platform style weapon and that the 1a—year—old is said to be booked in court on wednesday night. again that update on the school shooting in georgia. the suspect was identified as 1a—year—old colt gray and the shooting took place at apalachee high school, 50 miles northeast of atlanta and that students students and two teachers have been killed. ——to students. we will bring update in the coming hour. thank you so much for watching bbc news. you can go to our website for all the latest around the clock. see you at the top of the next hour.

hello. we're expecting a real mix of weather over the next couple of days. for some northwestern parts of the uk, it's going to turn sunny and very warm, but further south for southern england and south wales, we're expecting some heavy rain. perhaps in one or two locations, a months worth of rain injust a couple of days — that could cause some disruption. it's all because low pressure is continuing to swirl to the south of us, this band of rain here becoming quite slow moving, particularly, i think, across the southwest of england. but around that area of low pressure, we're drawing in some humid air, so further north and west with some sunshine it will feel very warm. now, during thursday, these southern parts of england and south wales will see some rain at times — that rain turning heavy and persistent in the southwest later on. further north, a lot of low cloud, mistand murk, some spots of drizzle, but the best of the sunshine where you get some shelter from the breeze. western scotland and northern ireland, temperature—wise, well, maybe along some north sea coastjust 15 or 16 degrees, but elsewhere

18—21 with a slightly more humid feel. but as we head into the evening, this heavy rain affecting south west england, clipping into south wales, and overnight, it looks like we will see more rain pushing along the south coast. so with that rain really totting up, there is the risk of flooding, some disruption. further north, largely dry, some mist and murk and low cloud for north sea coast. quite a muggy start to friday morning. more rain through the day on friday across southern england, perhaps pushing northwards into south wales and the midlands, perhaps east anglia as well as we go through the day. further north, while still some areas of low cloud, mist and murk for some northern and eastern coasts, but further west, some good spells of sunshine, and look at the temperatures — liverpool at 26 degrees, parts of western scotland at 25 degrees, so feeling warm and quite humid into the weekend. our area of low pressure continues to swirl to the south of us, throwing some showers northwards. still quite a lot of mist and murk and low cloud.

could be some fog around to start, saturday morning. should see some spells of sunshine, and again, in the sunshine, feeling very warm with those temperatures, perhaps up to around 25 degrees. into sunday, more of the same, really. some showers, particularly in the south. some sunshine, too. still feeling warm and muggy.

us presidentjoe biden will reportedly block the nippon steel takeover of us steel. we'll explain why the deal has become such a contentious election issue. and we'll have a special report from bangladesh, on how the country's bustling textile sector is navigating political turmoil. i'm steve lai. welcome to business today. let's start in the united states. us presidentjoe biden is planning to block the takeover of us steel by japan's nippon steel on national security grounds — that's according to multiple us media reports. the $15 billion deal would have created one of the world's largest steel companies outside of china and had been hailed by investors as an answer to the us company's financial woes. shares in us steel fell more than 20% after reports of the decision. here's ritika gupta with more.

nippon steel's $1a billion bid to acquire united states steel