beirut in the last hour or in beirut in the last hour or so. we have these pictures. you can see these massive explosions lighting up the sky. the israel defence forces they were targeting a senior hezbollah official. the strike happened near the airport as a middle eastern airlines flight was landing. the israeli military called on civilians near two buildings in the southern beirut suburb stiffly. we are also following a developing story in the region in the occupied west bank. an israeli airstrike is reported to have killed at least 18 people. the idf confirmed in a statement it had carried out a strike on the toll can't run region and updated data say the strike killed a hamas commander they believe was responsible for planning attacks. video shows chaotic scenes with people gathered outside a hospital, bodies being carried into the facility after what palestinian officials said was a strike on a refugee camp. violence has surged since the

start of the gaza war and we will bring you more information on both stories as that comes into us but turning back to lebanon because early in the day israel carried out air raids against what it called hezbollah�*s intelligence headquarters in southern beirut. our middle east correspondence sent us this report. another night in beirut and more israeli air strikes. war returns to this city. and this attack came with no warning. we went to inspect the damage. a residential building near the lebanese parliament. beirut appears increasingly under threat. this is where an emergency response group linked to hezbollah operated, now gone. "there were just emergency service workers. "this is the truth. "we only saw them helping

people out," says mustafa, who lives on the tenth floor of the building hit. the damage in this building gives you a sense of the power of this attack, and they've been cleaning up the rubble here, but we can still see some surgical masks and gloves and bandages as well. and you can probably hear the sound of drones flying overhead. this is a densely populated district here in central beirut. hasan, who's a teacher, has lived in this neighbourhood for 2h years. "there was no hezbollah presence here, military or civilian," he tells me. "hezbollah wasn't present here." these are some of the victims of the attack. they include one rescue officer and two paramedics. the recent israeli air strikes have killed 97 medical workers across lebanon, according to the health minister. the israeli military hasn't

commented about this attack. but this hezbollah mp remains defiant. translation: things are clear and our position has remained unchanged. we've not deviated an inch from it and we should continue down this path. the cemetery across the street wasn't spared the damage. these days in beirut, there's no peace for the living, or the dead. hugo bachega, bbc news, beirut. that was the view from beirut. our correspondent lucy williamson sent this report from the border. the communities along israel's northern border are now a closed military zone. the road in takes you through line of sight

from hezbollah positions. israeli forces outnumber residents along this border many times over, fresh out of lebanon, or waiting to go in. we walked the last few metres to a vantage point in a near empty kibbutz. you can start to see the buildings we've taken out. buildings used by hezbollah lie broken. nearby, the town of bintjbeil, where israel's army said today it had killed hezbollah fighters. hezbollah has said it targeted soldiers just over that hill. we're now very close to the lebanese border. locals here tell us the first hezbollah village is about a mile or so away from here. for the past year, people here have looked across this border and watched hezbollah fire rockets towards them. now, for the first time in almost two decades, they're looking across that border and watching israeli forces battle hezbollah fighters on lebanese soil. you can see into lebanon from the terrace of dean sweetland's house. when residents evacuated this area a year ago, this former british

soldier stayed. eight years after moving here from london, his son is serving in the israeli army and this is home now. it's been very noisy. the house is shaking three, four times a day. running into the shelter, taking the dogs, the dogs are going crazy. you never know if it's anti—tank. you only hear the whooshing noise. we can't continue. we can't continue this for another year, another two years of having hezbollah sitting on our border, just waiting to do an october the 7th on us, but, you know, my son is in the army, and do we want our kids being in there slaughtered where hezbollah have been waiting for this for nearly 20 years? they've been waiting for us to go in. both israel's previous ground wars here began as limited incursions. the risks of getting mired in lebanon, familiar terrain for those who trod this path before. lucy williamson, bbc news, the israel—lebanon border.

monday marks one year since hamas and other armed groups attacked israel killing about 1200 people and taking about 200 people hostage. the attack sparked israel's ongoing military campaign in gaza which has killed more than 115,000 palestinians. one of the senior leaders of hamas, classified a terrorist organisation by the uk, us and other governments, sat down with the bbc in a rare interview. he said the october seven attack was justified on the grounds of the palestinian struggle back onto the international agenda. the deputy chairman of the hamas political bureau also blamed israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu for the failure to reach a peace deal. he spoke with the bbc�*s international editorjeremy bowen.

let us go back to the 7th of october last year. why did hamas attack israel? translation: we had to sound the alarm to the world to tell them that we are a people with a cause and demands. it was a blow to israel, the zionist enemy, and a wake—up call to the international community. we had to do something that would tell the world that there is a people who have been under occupation for decades. why did your men kill so many civilians, children as well? translation: we ordered our resistance fighters on the 7th of october not to target civilians, women and children. the objective was the occupation soldiers who were always killing, bombing and destroying in gaza. we don't endorse harming civilians. on the ground, there were certainly personal mistakes and actions. the fighters may have felt that their lives were in danger. your men, who weren't in danger, they were standing with terrified civilians who were sitting on the ground, and they were standing over them with weapons. that is not a battle. translation: we've all seen how the fighters went into the houses. they spoke to the families.

they ate and drank. sorry, they were shooting them. there are videos. translation: when they went into some of the houses, none of the women and children they dealt with were terrified. those videos were published by the israeli occupation. they weren't published by us. almost a year later, gaza is in ruins. there are more than 40,000 dead, many, many of them are civilians. your capacity to fight israel has been massively diminished. was it worth all of that? translation: who's responsible for this? it was the occupation and its army. who destroyed gaza, who killed its people? who is now killing civilians in shelters, schools and hospitals? ask the world and those who created international law. we are defending ourselves. if 1,200 people from the occupation are killed, how does thatjustify israel killing 50,000 people and destroying all of gaza? isn't that enough for them? but they are motivated by the lust to kill, to occupy, and the lust to destroy.

the israelis say very clearly that they respect the laws of war, and they also say that the reason why so many civilians have died is because you and hamas fight from within the civilian population and you use them as human shields. translation: that is not true. they destroyed mosques on top of the heads of their owners when there were no fighters. they destroyed houses and high—rise buildings when no—one was in them. they bombed houses when there was not a single fighter in them. it is all israeli propaganda. why was it necessary to take more than 250 people hostage in gaza, very many of them civilians, including women and children? translation: one of the goals of the october 7 was to kidnap a small group of israeli soldiers to exchange them for palestinian prisoners. but when the gaza division completely collapsed in the face of the resistance fighters, we took a lot of prisoners. it was not our plan to capture civilians, including women and children.

some of those women who came out said that they were safely assaulted. translation: the orders and ethics of all palestinians and resistance fighters were humanitarian. we are put up according to the islamic religion, culture and national civilisation. we protect them as we protect ourselves. sexual or non—sexual assault has never been proved. there are numbers of testimonies from women who say they were sexually assaulted, some of the young woman who were taken out of the nova music festival, women saying they were sexually assaulted on the 7th and later on. the evidence is piling up. translation: i told you, the instructions were clear. there may have been abnormal acts by irresponsible people, but these were just allegations. israel says that under the right circumstances, they would have a ceasefire.

what about a ceasefire, for example, where you simply give back the hostages and the war ends? would you accept something like that? that's been talked about, i know. translation: the question is, when will netanyahu decide to stop the war? when will the world compel him to stop the war? it is the decision of netanyahu and the israeli occupation to continue the war. you could do it. you could surrender. translation: how can we surrender? people who resist the occupation do not give up. if we surrender, which is impossible, our children, our people won't give up. why should we surrender? the occupation should stop killing. reaching a cease—fire deal was within reach on the 2nd ofjuly. who came up with new conditions? netanyahu. that's why there was no agreement. gaza is in ruins, tens of thousands of people are dead, israel is now hitting into lebanon and they're feeling strong. you're not winning this, are you? translation: my family, my children, my family, my relatives and my

neighbours are in gaza. we see with their eyes. we feel their pain. we cry for their wounds. what hurts them hurts us. if the world gave us our legitimate rights, this cycle of violence would stop, but israel does not want that, the return of refugees and self—determination. the region would not calm down, no matter how much death and killing take place. for you, is the israeli state part of the future? the hamas charter said that the zionist state had to be destroyed. translation: we say that israel wants to eliminate hamas and the palestinian people. israel is crying and claiming that hamas and the palestinian people want to destroy it. let's ask what israel thinks of the palestinian people. give us our rights. give us a fully sovereign palestinian state. the israelis say that the reason why they don't accept a two—state solution is because they fear that people like you want to destroy their state and kill their people.

translation: so far, israel does not recognise - a one—state solution or a two—state solution. israel rejects it all, international resolutions, international law and our rights. do you think of yourself as a terrorist? that's what israel calls you. translation: i'm seeking freedom and defending my people. to the occupation, we are all terrorists, the leaders, the women and the children. you heard what israeli leaders called us. they said we were animals. the ongoing crisis is threatening to have an economic impact especially with oil. the price of crude oil shot up 5% after us presidentjoe biden told reporters the us was discussing the possibility of israel striking iran's oil industry in response to iran filing missiles on tuesday.

do you support israel striking iran's oilfacilities, sir? we're discussing that. i think that would be a little... anyway. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. now to other headlines. a woman has been found guilty of manslaughter of herfour been found guilty of manslaughter of her four sons who died in a house fire while she was shopping. difficult rows had left her twins alone when a fire ripped through her home in southwest london in 2021. the boys, all underfive, were unable to escape the locked house and died under a bed. a35—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm in connection with a suspected acid attack outside a school in west london. police say tikhon macfarlane, 1a, has potentially life—saving —— life—threatening injuries. two other people are also heard, a 16—year—old boy and a staff member trying to

help. a proposal to change the law to allow some terminally ill people in england and wales to end their own lives will be introduced to parliament later this month. mps last voted on assisted dying ten years ago and rejected calls to legalise it. the prime minister has previously promised to give his own mps a free vote on the subject meaning they will not have to stick to party lines. you are watching bbc news. we have breaking news on a story we have been following on the us port strike. the union says they are heading back to work for now. the international longshoreman association posted a statement saying they have reached a tentative agreement on wages and have agreed to extend the master contract untiljanuary15—20 25 to until january 15—20 25 to return untiljanuary15—20 25 to return to the bargaining table to negotiate all other outstanding issues. effective immediately, all currentjob actions will cease and all work covered by the master contract will resume. 115,000 port workers walked off the job on

tuesday, the first major work stoppage of its kind since 1977. the action threatened to re—cave in this chaos on the busy shopping season and election. president biden released a statement a short time ago: the us says it welcomes an agreement for the uk to hand over sovereignty of the chagos islands to mauritius. it marks the end of more than 200 years of british control over the islands and follows years of negotiations. mauritius has claimed sovereignty over the island since its independence in 1968. the chagos archipelago is located in the indian ocean about 1000 miles south of the indian subcontinent. it is made up indian subcontinent. it is made up of more than 60 mostly uninhabited islands. it was the uk's uninhabited islands. it was the uk's last african colony. under the agreement the key island of

diego garcia will remain home to a joint diego garcia will remain home to ajoint uk—us diego garcia will remain home to a joint uk—us military base. in the 1960s the uk that did about 1500 local residents to make way for the airbase. they will now be allowed to return. our correspondent andrew harding has more. a scattering of tiny islands deep in the indian ocean. british for now but, after today's agreement, not for much longer. the chagos islands are all uninhabited save for one, an important one, diego garcia. it is home to a big and secretive american military base. today, britain agreed to hand the whole archipelago over to mauritius but, crucially, the americans will remain in place. this is a very, very important agreement between our countries. it crucially protects the national security interests of the united kingdom and our allies, and this has been reached in full agreement with the united states, retaining the crucial base on diego garcia. it also closes down a potential route for migrants.

but some have warned that china could exploit the deal to extend its influence. it is over half a century since the inhabitants of the island were deported forcibly by the colonial power, britain. this deal will now give them the right to return home at last, perhaps even to resettle there. it's about a sense of belonging. it's something that was robbed from me, a place that we can call home. we will be free and we will be able to participate and get back what really belongs to us. that's happiness. mauritius has been campaigning for this dealfor years, recently planting their flag on one of the atolls, and winning growing international support, not least at the united nations and its top court, which called on the uk to end its illegal occupation.

finally, negotiations began and, today, reluctantly but peacefully, the government agreed to hand over one of the very last scraps of britain's old empire. andrew harding, bbc news. for more on this story i spoke to a visiting south asia expert at the us institute of peace and she told me how significant this is. it and she told me how significant this is. ., , , and she told me how significant this is. ., . . ., this is. it has been a long-standing - this is. it has been a i long-standing dispute this is. it has been a _ long-standing dispute between long—standing dispute between mauritius and the uk. it is a strategically located to the violence in the central indian ocean, so essentially, the issue is the islands were not properly decolonised when mauritius gained independence from the uk in the 1960s, so this goes a long way to resolve long—standing dispute. you this goes a long way to resolve long-standing dispute. you said strategically _ long-standing dispute. you said strategically located _ long-standing dispute. you said strategically located in. - strategically located in. explain. why? because it is in

the central indication in the indian ocean and there is a joint uk—us military base on diego garcia, critical military base the us operations both westwood, supported the combat operations in iraq and afghanistan for many years, also a critical base for operations eastward toward the waters of the pacific in the south china sea, so it is a very strategically located set of islands. presidentjoe biden is visiting states in the southeastern us where hurricane helene killed at least 200 people and caused historic damage. during his first stop in florida on thursday morning, the president received briefings from local and state officials on the response efforts. since the category 11 storm hit florida one week ago, nearly 8,000 military personnel have been deployed to the region to help find those still missing and relocate displaced people. officials are expecting a long road to recovery. in some areas, first responders are still waiting for floodwaters to drain before they can proceed with recovery efforts.

mr biden gave an update from georgia on what the government is doing to help affected communities. yesterday through inaudible request for the federal government to cover 100% of the cost of the emergency protective measures for three months, 100%. i must tell you your senator has had a little bit to do with that one when he called me beforehand, but all kidding aside we're doing the same for florida, as well as we are the north carolina. spoke to patrick fitzsimmons, mayor of weaverville, north carolina. i read you had set up a website where people could inquire about missing people and you were overwhelmed by request. can you tell us more?- can you tell us more? there is no communication, _ can you tell us more? there is no communication, so - can you tell us more? there is no communication, so it - can you tell us more? there is no communication, so it is - no communication, so it is difficult for people to call friends and relatives and say, i am alive, or the reverse. we

have set up a website to take in requests and try and match our people. today, as of today, it's received over 13,000 request because people are nervous because they cannot communicate with friends and relatives, but hopefully as communications improve, that will get better.— will get better. you said water is running _ will get better. you said water is running again. _ will get better. you said water is running again. great. - will get better. you said water is running again. great. whatl is running again. great. what do you need in the immediate and short—term? but do you need in the immediate and short-term?— and short-term? but we need mostly as _ and short-term? but we need mostly as communications. i and short-term? but we needl mostly as communications. we still have no wi—fi. one place is wi—fi. everyone is congregating there. water has come back on, power back on, the important thing is, some people have lost their homes, but the federal emergency management agency was here today and they are setting up shop to assist those people who have lost or had property damage. have lost or had property damage-— have lost or had property damaue. �*, ., ., damage. let's take a look at other headlines _ damage. let's take a look at other headlines from - damage. let's take a look at other headlines from around damage. let's take a look at - other headlines from around the world. a fire in a hospital in southern taiwan killed at least nine people,

as a typhoon batters the area. about 300 patients were evacuated and some sought shelter at a nearby commercial establishment. the cause of the fire, which was put out more than three hours later, is still under investigation, but reports have suggested it was due to an electrical fault. at least 60 people are dead after a boat capsized in north—central nigeria. the boat was carrying more than 300 people, mostly woman and children, returning from a religious festival in nigeria's northern niger state. authorities say about 160 people have now been rescued. incidents of boats overturning on the river are common, especially during the rainy season. in september of last year, at least 2a people died when a boat overturned in the same area. the world health organization approved the first mpox diagnostics test for emergency use. the test can determine if a person is infected with the virus that causes mpox. who says the tests will be "pivotal in expanding "diagnostic capacity in countries facing mpox "outbreaks."

an surge of mpox cases in the democratic republic of congo and neighbouring countries was declared a public health emergency in august of 202a. scientists confirmed that the asteroid that hit the earth and wiped out the dinosaurs was not alone. a second, smaller rock smashed into the sea off the coast of west africa creating a large crater in the same era 66 million years ago. scientitsts from heriot—watt university say it would have been a "catastrophic event". an extremely loud air blast and a magnitute 7 earthquake would have followed its landing. researchers are yet to discover why the two hit earth close together. before we go, fat bear week has officially kicked off in alaska. the decade—old competition allows viewers to livestream brown bears bulking up for a week with salmon, berries and other food from the wild as they prepare for winter hibernation. but this year's contest was delayed after a a female bear was killed by a male bear on monday. the seven—day competition has gone viral over the years with 1.4 million votes cast in more than 100 countries in 2023.

that is our programme. my colleague will take over at the newsdesk in singapore at the top of the hour. thank you for watching bbc news. hello there. it's a dry, chilly, bright start to the day on friday for much of the country. however, we have been seeing some changes taking place overnight, with a weather front pushing into northern ireland and western scotland. that's brought more cloud, breeze with outbreaks of rain, but elsewhere, it stays dry all day thanks to this area of high pressure. this is the weather front that's been working its way in off the atlantic. the first of a series of fronts tied in with low pressure there. so a cloudy start, breezy, outbreaks of rain for northern ireland, western and northern scotland. but southern and eastern scotland, england and wales, it's a chilly start, bright, some early mist and fog, and it stays dry with sunshine into the afternoon. light winds, as you can see, but breezier further north and west. temperature wise, well, after that chilly start,

we could be up to 17 or 18 degrees in the warmest spots in the south, closer to the mid—teens further north. and where we have the breeze, the cloud and the rain, it will actually feel quite cool. as we head through friday night, it stays cloudy breezy across northern and western areas, but large parts of england and wales will see lighter winds, clear skies, so, again, it will turn quite cool. perhaps a bit of mist and fog here and there. temperatures in low single digits out of town, but a recovery in temperatures for scotland, northern ireland, we're into double digits there throughout the night. into saturday, our area of high pressure holds on for at least one more day for central and eastern areas, but these weather fronts are really ganging up on us out west. so it looks like england, wales, parts of eastern scotland should see another fine day with some sunshine around after that cool start. the breeze picking up, the rain out west turns heavier later on, certainly for northern ireland. again, those temperatures mid—teens in the north, 17 or 18 in the south. but it is all change for part two of the weekend, that area of high pressure eventually breaks down, low pressure takes over and sends weather fronts across the country, more isobars on the chart.

so it's a cloudy day on sunday, more of a breeze coming up from the south, outbreaks of rain. most of the rain towards southern and western hills. the odd heavier downpour there and brightness will be limited. could see a little bit for northeast scotland at times. temperatures could be up to 18 or 19 degrees in any brightness, the mid—teens further north. but nights will start to get milder as we import this milder air off the atlantic on a south—westerly wind. the upcoming week stays unsettled with low pressure always nearby. there's a chance around the middle part of the week, we could see the remnants of hurricane kirk bring some rain and gales, so stay tuned.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. sirjohn major is perhaps the most unlikely of our modern british prime ministers. he grew up in poverty and left school with three o—levels, yet that didn't stop him rising through the tory ranks at phenomenal speed, serving as foreign secretary, then chancellor for margaret thatcher before replacing the iron lady as prime minister. file: the new prime minister, john major, moves into 10 - downing street. he picks a cabinet whose apparent emphasis is on party unity. but battles over europe, sleaze and party divisions threatened his leadership...

in short, it is time to put up or shut up. ..and by the time he was unseated in 1997, it was to tony blair and a labour landslide. in a very rare interview, the man once held to epitomise our meritocratic ideals is passionate about what his party, his country and his generation need to do to fix britain's problems to restore its pride and thrive in the 21st century. sirjohn major, very good to see you. thank you very much indeed for agreeing to speak to me. i can't help but note that you don't often do tv interviews these days, so i must start by asking why you've agreed to do this one. chuckles it's a rather unusual question but i'll give you a strictly truthful answer.

there were two reasons, really.