tonight at ten: israel carries out dozens of strikes on southern lebanon as hezbollah's leader warns that red lines have been crossed. the israeli military says they hit 30 targets today — some of the most intense bombing since the october 7th attacks we report from lebanon and israel. hassan lebanon and israel. nasrallah said their control and hassan nasrallah said their control and command centres remain intact and command centres remain intact and there will be retaliation. here the israeli government says it will do what it takes to end more than a year of chronic instability on its northern border. also tonight... the bbc has been contacted by more women who say they were assaulted by the former boss of harrods mohamed al—fayed when they worked for him. i'm completely in control and focused. the prime minister faces questions

on tensions in government, his senior advisor�*s pay, and accepting freebies. we're in springfield, ohio — after donald trump's false claims about immigrants eating pet cats and dogs there. saved! and arsenal keep their hopes alive in the champions league. the prime minister promises more affordable homes for london, but and stay with us here on bbc news for continuing coverage and analysis from our team of correspondents in the uk and around the world. good evening. israel says it has carried out around 30 air strikes on hezbollah targets in lebanon today — in what's been some of the heaviest bombing since the october 7th attacks. israeli warplanes flew low over beirut — creating sonic booms — as the leader of hezbollah —

a proscribed terrorist organisation — condemned this week's exploding device attacks. at least 37 people were killed and thousands injured by detonating pagers and walkie—talkies, in an operation widely thought to have been carried out by israel. hezbollah leader hassan nasrallah said the attacks crossed "all limits, rules and red lines". here, the foreign secretary is tonight urging british nationals to leave lebanon while commercial flights are still operational. our chief international correspondent orla guerin reports from lebanon. israeli fighterjets swooping low over beirut this afternoon, dominating the skies and sending a message to hassan nasrallah... booms ..breaking the sound barrier as the hezbollah leader was making a televised address. that's something israel likes to do.

and before he spoke today, a wave of israeli attacks in southern lebanon — perhaps the heaviest since the gaza war began. this footage appears to show some of the latest strikes. israel says it was targeting rocket launchers. hassan nasrallah said today that israel had dealt a major military blow with attacks on tuesday and wednesday. "the enemy," he said, "had crossed all red lines." first it was pagers exploding, then walkie talkies blowing up at funerals. hezbollah�*s communication system may have been the target, but a lebanese minister told us the attacks — widely blamed on israel — break international law.

minister, are you saying that these attacks are a war crime? i think they are. you know, i think that the whole world could see that these attacks occurred in markets, they occurred in hospitals, they occurred in people driving their cars. these were not people who were at the battleground, fighting. in its stronghold in south beirut, hezbollah is still mourning its dead, killed on and off the battlefield. they are getting ready here now for the funeral of another fighter. hezbollah has been hit hard this week, notjust in terms of the dead and the wounded, but the attack on its communication systems was a major humiliation. there's anger here, and there's uncertainty. many are wondering what might come next. haja miriam said, "we can expect anything from israel, but we are prepared,

both men and women." as for the wounded, she said, "we pray god will heal them. i would donate my own eyes for all of those who lost theirs." so far, it appears those killed this week were foot soldiers in hezbollah, which is classed as a terrorist organisation by the uk and the us. hassan nasrallah says the enemy has declared war and hezbollah won't stop until israel does. orla guerin, bbc news, beirut. tonight in the past few hours there has been an intense wave of israeli strikes in southern lebanon. israel says it has been targeting terrorist infrastructure. we don't yet know

exactly what has been hit and we have no reports yet of whether or not anyone has been killed. but what's very clear is that israel is intending to keep up the pressure on hezbollah. it has been firing today across the border, continuing to show that it can strike. and all of this is happening as the united states and the international community is calling on all parties to avoid escalation and show restraint. o rla restraint. orla guerin in lebanon, thank you. let's go to israel. our diplomatic correspondent paul adams is injerusalem — heavy bombing in lebanon — where is israel going with this? the thing to remember, of course, is there has been a war now between israel and hezbollah for the best part of the year. it has been a war of varying intensities and it does seem to be hotting up again. tens of thousands of civilians on both sides of the border have been forced to abandon

their homes. hezbollah clearly is intent on showing it is still a fighting force, despite what has happened to it this week. and that means that israel needs to figure out what to do next. and how to confront what could be a very serious hezbollah reaction. the head of israel's northern command is thought to favour a limited ground invasion to create a buffer zone in southern lebanon, something that hassan nasrallah mocked during his speech. we don't know if that's what the government has in mind but since it is saying it wants to see the return of its civilians to those border communities, clearly it is going to have to do something it hasn't tried before. tonight we are hearing from the israeli military that communities along the northern border are being told to minimise their movements, avoid gatherings, and stay close to bomb shelters. it does seem as though we are in for some difficult days. paul

does seem as though we are in for some difficult days.— some difficult days. paul adams in jerusalem- — some difficult days. paul adams in jerusalem. thank— some difficult days. paul adams in jerusalem. thank you. _ and paddy o'connell will have more on the growing crisis in the middle east, on newsnight on bbc two shortly. claims of a declaration of war over those exploding hand—held tech devices. we will pull the strands together with the lebanon ambassador together with the lebanon ambassador to the uk who will be in the studio. and at home, the prime minister has been told to ditch the freebies by a senior member of the labour party. she willjoin us here on this very sofa. bbc two at 10:30pm, iplayer and bbc news, for your nightly newsnight. and bbc news, for your nightly newsnight-— and bbc news, for your nightly newsniaht. ., , ., ~ newsnight. paddy o'connell, thank ou. more women have contacted the bbc saying that they were assaulted by the late mohamed al—fayed when he was the boss of harrods. more than 20 women who worked for him have already come forward as part of a bbc investigation accusing the egyptian billionaire, who died last year, of multiple counts of rape and attempted rape during his 25—year reign at harrods. many claim that during that time, the company helped cover up allegations of abuse.

our correspondent helena wilkinson has this report and a warning that it contains descriptions of sexual violence. he tried to rape me more than once and he pushed me in and onto the bed so that i couldn't move. he and he pushed me in and onto the bed so that i couldn't move.— so that i couldn't move. he was 79, nearly 80. — so that i couldn't move. he was 79, nearly 80. and _ so that i couldn't move. he was 79, nearly 80. and i _ so that i couldn't move. he was 79, nearly 80, and i was _ so that i couldn't move. he was 79, nearly 80, and i was 15. _ when mohamed al—fayed took over harrods, he quickly embraced his high—profile role and the status that came with it. to his customers and the celebrity guests he was all charm, but to many of his female employees, he was a different man, a predator. we've heard testimony from more than 20 of al—fayed's female ex—employees. i think mohamed al—fayed is a rapist. i think he's a serial rapist. gemma worked as al—fayed's personal assistant for two years. ijust didn't know which way to turn. so i'd bought a small dictaphone that i had in my pocket. and these are the transcripts from those recordings. one of them was in paris,

in his residence there, villa windsor. i said, "i just want to go to sleep on my own. "mr fayed, i don't want to. mr fayed." and he kept saying, "relax. please, relax." not long after this incident, gemma says al—fayed raped her. in 2009, gemma contacted a lawyer who told harrods she was leaving herjob on the grounds of sexual harassment. she didn't feel able to disclose the more serious allegations at the time. they agreed to pay a settlement if she signed a non—disclosure agreement. there was also one other condition. material was to be destroyed. it was shredded in front of us, including tapes i had of him. someone from hr was present for the shredding of all of the evidence i had. i thought i'd lost the transcripts, but actually what i did have was the transcriptions sent to my lawyer in my sent items of my email account.

the current owners of harrods said they had watched the documentary and expressed sympathy towards the victims. they said employees who were and that employees who were his victims had been failed, for which they sincerely apologised. they also said that the harrods of today is a very different organisation to the one owned and controlled by al—fayed between 1985 and 2010. others have contacted the bbc who also allege they were attacked by al fayed. this woman who wanted to remain anonymous we are calling melanie. i remain anonymous we are calling melanie. . , remain anonymous we are calling melanie. , ., , remain anonymous we are calling melanie. ., _ melanie. i was sexually assaulted by bein: melanie. i was sexually assaulted by being greped — melanie. i was sexually assaulted by being greped by _ melanie. i was sexually assaulted by being gr0ped by al— melanie. i was sexually assaulted by being groped by al fayed _ melanie. i was sexually assaulted by being groped by al fayed at - melanie. i was sexually assaulted by being groped by al fayed at his - melanie. i was sexually assaulted by being groped by al fayed at his parkj being groped by al fayed at his park lane apartment. it was late in 2007. at the time, melanie was in her 20s and in herfirstjob. last year she told the police. the and in her first 'ob. last year she told the police.— told the police. the police then told the police. the police then told me that — told the police. the police then told me that they _ told the police. the police then told me that they had - told the police. the police then told me that they had intended j told the police. the police then i told me that they had intended to arrest him. they had enough evidence. but they couldn't because he was unwell.—

he was unwell. tonight the metropolitan _ he was unwell. tonight the metropolitan police - he was unwell. tonight the metropolitan police said i he was unwell. tonight the l metropolitan police said they he was unwell. tonight the - metropolitan police said they were aware of various allegations of sexual offences made over a number of years, each one was investigated and no charges resulted. there were several attempts to expose al—fayed before his death, but it is only now that many of the survivors feel able to speak publicly about the abuse. publicly about the abuse they experienced. mohamed al—fayed is dead. what more can they do? mohamed al-fayed is dead. what more can the do? a, ., mohamed al-fayed is dead. what more can they do?— can they do? mohamed al-fayed described as _ can they do? mohamed al-fayed described as an _ can they do? mohamed al-fayed described as an apex _ can they do? mohamed al-fayed described as an apex predator, . can they do? mohamed al-fayed described as an apex predator, is dead, no chance of him going into the dock. there were opportunities in the metropolitan police got involved quite late in the day, 2008, 2009 to investigate the case of any is—year—old girl but the crown prosecution service decided

there wasn't enough evidence to proceed with that case to trial. three more times in 2018, 2021, 2023, the metropolitan police also conducted investigations but by the time it got under way mohamed al—fayed was dying and then died. what is possible? in theory, it's possible to investigate people around mohamed al—fayed for conspiracy, if evidence emerges that they were involved somehow in assisting in a sexual assault or a rape. there is no sign that any such investigation exists. detectives are asking women to come forward so that they can get the right help. it also in case the evidence does emerge out of anything that they have to say, and harrods who of course are under new ownership and insist they want to do the right thing, are saying that any employees or former employees should come forward, join the compensation scheme that was set “p the compensation scheme that was set up last year because they said they want to settle things as quickly as possible without lengthy legal action. ,.,

possible without lengthy legal action. ., ~ you can watch the documentary now on and there is also a podcast bbc sounds. the prime minister has insisted he is "completely in control" as rows continue within government about his chief of staff sue gray. during a series of bbc interviews ahead of the labour party conference, sir keir starmer was pressed on a range of topics. our political editor chris mason was watching. it's a bit like speed dating, this, really, isn't it? yes, it's a long list. you have onlyjust started. we've onlyjust started, we're going all over the united kingdom. a day of non—stop scrutiny for keir starmer. 26 back—to—back interviews, including 15 with bbc colleagues from across the uk. this is the prime minister's chief of staff sue gray. last night i told you about the rows within government about her, her pay, her influence is cheesing off many of her colleagues, and they're telling us about it. why is your chief of staff

being paid more than you? i'm not going to get into discussions about individual salaries of any members of my staff. i'm sure you wouldn't expect me to. with all these briefings against you, are you the one that's in control here? look, i've got a team here at number 10 and around the cabinet table who are utterly determined and focused on the change that we were elected to bring about. but clearly there are people who are very unhappy within your team and i'm wondering whether you have a grip on that and whether you are the one in control here. i'm completely in control and focused, and every day the message from me to the team is exactly the same which is we have to deliver. brief respite, then a blizzard of other questions. are you going to be the prime minister that cancels the north—south divide? people in sussex are stuckl people in sussex are stuckl in trafficjams and you have in trafficjams and you have cancelled their bypass. cancelled their bypass. you've frozen investment you've frozen investment for the levelling up fund for the levelling up fund that was promised to places that was promised to places like south shields, newcastle, like south shields, newcastle,

billingham and kendal. billingham and kendal. what is going on? what is going on? i think levelling up is really important, but i don't want it to be a slogan that is not delivered. back to the national picture, and the prime minister'sjudgment. here he was with his wife victoria when they first arrived at number 10 in july. we now know a super—rich labour donor who had a downing street pass has bought them clothes and even glasses for sir keir. why don't you buy your own suits? some people are asking that question out there. why does the prime minister need to get his wardrobe sponsored? the important thing in all this is that we follow the rules, which is really important to me, and make the declarations so that everything is transparent. this is what scrutiny looks like. no—one has ever said governing is easy. prime minister, across our region there are lots of protests, some small, some large, against pylons, against substations, against solar farms... chris mason, bbc news, at westminster. joining me now is our political editor chris mason. how difficult i this proving to

on and indicators come on, wipers on and indicators come on, and you don't understand the gears and you don't understand the gears and certainly this sue gray row feels a bit like that as a new team adjust to governing. since the news we brought you last night my phone has been full of messages from those who are big fans of sue gray and those who are delighted we brought the story to last night because they are still growing, so that is an issue the prime minister has to resolve. he won a colossal majority on a modest share of the vote and with a tricky inherited so i think it was always going to get bumpy pretty quickly. we saw the row about the winter fuel payment, an argument going on internally about how gloomy is too gloomy? downing street think it is about being honest, the difficult decisions in the budget next month, but all of this is the backdrop to the labour party conference starting on liverpool at the weekend. yes, the labourfolk are enjoying this occasion, but the backdrop is the difficulty is in

government.— backdrop is the difficulty is in government. chris mason, our olitical government. chris mason, our political editor, _ government. chris mason, our political editor, thank - government. chris mason, our political editor, thank you. -- | government. chris mason, our. political editor, thank you. -- the political editor, thank you. —— the backdrop is the difficulty in government. some prisoners who were released early last week to try free up space in overcrowded prisons haven't been fitted with electronic tags to monitor their location — despite that being a condition of their release. more than 1,700 prisoners were let out last week — thousands more will be released in the next months. the government has blamed the company that provides the tags — serco — and is understood to have held urgent talks tonight. our senior uk correspondent sima kotecha reports. our recent visit to hmp pentonville, a crowded jail like many others up—and—down the country. last week the government let 1,700 people out from multiple prisons to make more space. but now some of those released have told the bbc they have not been tagged when they should have been, like this offender who was inside for drug offences. he agreed to speak to us as long as we didn't reveal his identity. i'm supposed to be tagged on day one

of coming out ofjail within a matter of hours of leaving the place. without that tag on my leg, nobody is watching me. tags are used to monitor the whereabouts of offenders who are given a curfew when released to minimise the chances of them reoffending. that's three probation officers we have now spoken to who say this has been a problem for some time now. they are concerned that if these people are not tagged, they could pose a threat because nobody knows what they are doing or where they are. the government said the company which manages the tagging, serco, is to blame for the delays. tonight, the prisons ministerjames timpson said, "the delays to tagging are completely unacceptable. i called an urgent meeting with serco leaders this evening where they accepted the need for immediate action and personally committed to me to eliminate the backlog.

i expect this to be done at pace over the coming weeks and will be holding them to account." meanwhile, serco have said, "since we took over the electronic monitoring contract in may, we have been working hard to reduce the number of people waiting to have a tag fitted." ultimately, this is the responsibility of the government. the blame could be pointed at them if the untagged reoffend. if you're a dangerous person and you're not tagged, there is nobody keeping track of you. as far as i can tell, no one cares. i've been ringing them every day for a tag and nobody has turned up. sima kotecha, bbc news. the bank of england has decided to keep interest rates the decision, by the monetary police committee, comes as prices continue to rise slightly faster than the bank's target level, with the latest inflation rate remainingat 2.2%. well, we've chosen to hold rates today. we've made a lot of progress, inflation's come down a long way, and of course we were able to cut

rates in august. but ourjob is to make sure that inflation is sustainably at the 2% target. there are still some precious, we have seen services inflation is still elevated. so i think we are now on a gradual path down — that's the good news. i think interest rates are going to come down. i'm optimistic on that front. but we do need to see some more evidence. of course, we will be looking at this at every meeting. the city of springfield in ohio hit the headlines last week when donald trump wrongly claimed that immigrants from haiti were eating pet cats and dogs. that was during the presidential debate. now the republican candidate says he's planning to visit springfield on the campaign trail. city leaders say they'd prefer him to stay away and some residents are worried about far—right activists gathering there as they try to cope with the impact mr trump's remarks have had on their city. our north america editor sarah smith is in springfield. on the menu today, it is beef stew, as some of springfield's haitian population line up for a free meal along with other hungry residents. have a blessed day!

it's the haitians who have been the target of completely false stories about eating pets, as donald trump is relocating his anti—immigration campaign from the southern border and right into the heart of american cities with large immigrant populations like springfield. over 60 million viewers heard donald trump repeat a baseless rumour about animals being stolen. in springfield, they're eating the dogs — the people that came in — they're eating the cats. they're eating... they're eating the pets of the people that live there. the consequence in springfield has been far—right white supremacists the proud boys marching through the streets and schools and hospitals have been targeted with bomb threats, spreading fear through the city. translation: everything he says, it's just the new firestorm. - this haitian man feels so intimidated he doesn't want his face to be shown as he describes his life in springfield now. translation: i'm scared to go out | with my kids because i don't want | them to be victims if someone decides to attack me suddenly.

i feel unsafe literally everywhere — at home, on the street, and especially when i'm out with my kids. automated voice: please press 5 if you dispute this denial... - many of the haitian arrivals need help with translation, and the huge influx of up to 20,000 migrants in one small city has caused tensions and strained resources. the city says it needs more money to help assimilate people who are fleeing from gang warfare. we have been overrun with the haitians — we have been overrun with the haitians who have come in and we do need heipm — according tojesus, the kingdom of heaven is for people who welcome immigrants... pastor ruby is preaching love and understanding via facebook posts. i can't imagine being forced to leave my country by the type of violence that's happening in haiti and then come to a place like ohio and experience the kinds of things they are. itjust... it breaks my heart. most of springfield's haitian

residents are here legally, but donald trump is still threatening mass deportations. donald trump is being mocked by his opponents for spreading untrue stories about the fate of pets in springfield. but at the same time he has also focused attention on immigration, his signature issue. and while he may be spreading fake news, at the same time he is convincing some voters that they're in dangerfrom the migrants who are living in towns and cities across america. so i'm going to springfield and i'm going to aurora. you may never see me again, but that's ok. got to do what i got to do. fear travels fast, and americans are already worried about immigration. most trump voters do not really believe the tales of pets being eaten, and they will overlook his gross exaggerations if they feel someone is listening to their concerns. sarah smith, bbc news, springfield, ohio. the health care regulator, the care quality commission, says maternity care in england needs urgent reform to stop preventable harm becoming normalised.

a national maternity inspection looked at 131 units — not one was rated as outstanding for safety, only 35% had good safety ratings and the rest — 65% — required either improvement or were rated inadequate for safety. catherine burns reports. ok, mummy�*s coming in and in we go. just breathing is hard for six—year—old fateh wassan. he needs physio to keep his airways clear. he can't walk, talk, or eat by himself. but it didn't have to be like this. when his mum, sim, was in labour, she knew the pain went beyond contractions. i kept saying, "it's getting worse and worse," nobody would listen to me. i felt completely helpless, and i thought i was going to die. up we go, fateh. actually, her uterus was tearing

apart from the inside, and her baby was being starved of oxygen. my mental health has suffered catastrophically. i will never recover from it fully, and at some point i will also lose my son. as fateh has grown older, the family has adjusted to his needs. fateh, look how cool you look! he is expected to live and slowly deteriorate until his late teens, possibly early 20s. not every case is as serious as this, but the coc says harm can be physical or psychological. it warns that unless action is taken, poor care in maternity will become normalised. what needs to happen to start families like sim's going through this? the report focuses on the need for women to be listened to, things being funded properly, maternity units being fit for purpose, improving data on race and ethnicity. none of this is very

complicated but it is not the first time experts have called for it. over the years they have been several reports and recommendations about how to fix maternity safety. this time the government says it will support trusts to improve rapidly. will support trusts to improve raidl . ~ , will support trusts to improve raidl .~ , ., will support trusts to improve raidl. , ., . ,, rapidly. when it comes to the crisis and our maternity _ rapidly. when it comes to the crisis and our maternity services - rapidly. when it comes to the crisis and our maternity services across l and our maternity services across the country it is one of the biggest issues that keeps me awake at night worrying. sim issues that keeps me awake at night wor inc. ,, , issues that keeps me awake at night wor inc. ,, worrying. sim says her son's life ma be worrying. sim says her son's life may be difficult _ worrying. sim says her son's life may be difficult but _ worrying. sim says her son's life may be difficult but he _ worrying. sim says her son's life may be difficult but he is - worrying. sim says her son's life may be difficult but he is a - worrying. sim says her son's life l may be difficult but he is a miracle to her. he may be difficult but he is a miracle to her. , ., , ., may be difficult but he is a miracle to her. , ., , ., to her. he is able to smile, and that is a blessing _ to her. he is able to smile, and that is a blessing for _ to her. he is able to smile, and that is a blessing for us. - to her. he is able to smile, and that is a blessing for us. yeah, | to her. he is able to smile, and i that is a blessing for us. yeah, he knows _ that is a blessing for us. yeah, he knows he — that is a blessing for us. yeah, he knows he is — that is a blessing for us. yeah, he knows he is love, very much so, and there _ knows he is love, very much so, and there is_ knows he is love, very much so, and there is so— knows he is love, very much so, and there is so much cuddling. —— yeah, he knows he is loved, very much so, and there is so much cuddling. catherine burns, bbc news. new underwaterfootage has been released of the wreckage of the titan submersible. a public hearing has heard from a passenger who took a trip on titan a year before it suffered a catastrophic failure

killing all five on board. rebecca morelle has more. the remains of the titan submersible, in pieces, lying 3,800m down on the floor of the atlantic ocean — the footage released by the us coast guard, who are trying to establish exactly what went wrong. this is a full—scale model of oceangate's submersible. the wreckage came from the back section of titan. you can clearly see the tail cone. this is largely intact. it housed the onboard electronics. the footage shows the discovery of the rear dome. it was covered by the tail cone. next to that is the titanium end ring. itjoined the dome to the hull, which was made of carbon fibre. it's the part of the sub where the passengers were. they were on a journey to see the titanic that turned into tragedy. those who died were british explorer hamish harding, suleman dawood and his father, british pakistani businessman shahzada dawood, french diver ph nargeolet and stockton rush, oceangate's ceo. good morning. could you please stand

and raise your right hand? at the public hearing, renata rojas, who was on the support ship, was asked how the passengers were as they left for the dive. i saw five people smiling, looking forward to theirjourney. they were alljust very happy to go. and that's the memory i have. nobody was really nervous. they were excited about what they're going to see, "make sure you have your camera," that type of thing. renata had paid for a place on the sub herself to see the titanic in 2022. the sub had technical problems, but did complete the dive successfully. i knew what i was doing was very risky. i never at any point felt unsafe. but significant concerns about titan's design

have been raised during the hearings, which continue. rebecca morelle, bbc news. football now — and arsenal have started their champions league campaign with a 0—0 draw against the italian side atalanta in what was a game of few chances, asjoe lynskey reports. for one week only this season, champions league football extends to a thursday. and just outside milan is a club used to this schedule. atalanta won the europa league in may. now arsenal's job was to show this is a step up. and pushed wide by carnesecchi. in a goalless first half, it was hard to find the openings. and when the home side got the chance from the spot, arsenal's david raya kept up the trend. saved again! oh, that's amazing! through extraordinary goalkeeping, his team was still in it. but for arsenal, that save would be the moment of the match. gabriel martinelli went through but missed the target. 0—0 meant arsenal had their first point in the group stage, but they owed so much to the man who kept them level.

joe lynskey, bbc news.