it's 9am in singapore, and ham in the morning in lebanon, where fresh israeli air strikes have hit southern beirut — reportedly close to the airport. we're looking at pictures of massive explosions lighting up the sky in the dahieh area, which is hezbollah�*s stronghold in the city. the idf says they were targeting a senior hezbollah official. as the sun was setting on thursday night, smoke once again filled beirut�*s skyline from new rounds of israeli air strikes. earlier on thursday, israel carried out air raids against what it called hezbollah�*s "intelligence headquarters" in southern beirut. our middle east correspondent hugo bachega has the latest. 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 i 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. us presidentjoe biden said thursday that he does not believe an israeli attack on iran is imminent. but in an off—the—cuff remark, mr biden also said the us was "discussing" possible israeli strikes on iranian oil facilities. the cost of brent crude oil jumped 5% after he made that comment. we'll have more analysis on the soaring oil prices a little later on business today. meanwhile, next monday will mark one year since hamas and other palestinian armed groups attacked israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 200 people hostage. the attack sparked israel's ongoing military campaign in gaza, which has killed more than 40,000 palestinians. one of the most senior leaders of hamas — which is classified a terrorist

organistaion by the uk, us and other governments — sat down with the bbc in a rare interview. he said the october 7 attack was justified, on the grounds that it brought the palestinian struggle back on to the international agenda. khalil al haya, the deputy chairman of the hamas political bureau, also blamed israeli prime minister netanyahu for the failure to reach a peace deal in gaza. khalili al haya spoke with the bbc�*s international editor, jeremy 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 l 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. 0n 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 l 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: | 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, i 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. meanwhile, there's a developing story in the occupied west bank. an israeli air strike on a refugee camp on thursday is reported to have killed at least 18 people. the idf confirmed in a statement that it had carried out a strike in the tulkarm region, without providing further details. video shows a chaotic scene with people gathered outside a hospital, and bodies being carried into the facility. violence has surged in the west bank since the start of the war in gaza. much of the violence has involved gunbattles between israeli security forces and palestinian fighters — this was an air strike on what palestinian oficials said was a refugee camp.

for more let's speak to daniel byman, a senior fellow at the center for strategic and international studies and a senior adviser to the state department on the international security advisory board. i will get your thoughts on gaza and the west bank in a moment. but i want to ask you about israel's actions in lebanon with hezbollah. it is in the first time that israel has gone into lebanon. what lessons hasn't learned from 2006, and what is it doing differently this time? when israel went _ differently this time? when israel went in _ differently this time? when israel went in in _ differently this time? when israel went in in 2006, - differently this time? when israel went in in 2006, it i differently this time? when l israel went in in 2006, it was completely unprepared for the fight that hezbollah was giving it. it's military hadn't scouted the area properly, intelligence was poor, and they assumed hezbollah would be easily defeated. this time it seems opposite. israel has developed superb intelligence as we have seen in the last few weeks, it is taking the threat

seriously, it's military is trained. it doesn't mean israel won't triumph over hezbollah, but it is getting harder and more effectively. —— will triumph. if more effectively. -- will triumph-— more effectively. -- will triumph. more effectively. -- will triumh. . ~ ., , triumph. if we talk about his beloved's — triumph. if we talk about his beloved's capabilities, - triumph. if we talk about his beloved's capabilities, how i triumph. if we talk about his i beloved's capabilities, how do you assess without the moment, given the strakes that israel has been able to land on them? hezbollah as a massive rocket and missile arsenal, but it is unclear how effectively you can use it. israel has killed many of its leaders, the walkie—talkie and pager explosions that israel had several weeks ago have heard a lot of the rank and file. it is unclear how well hezbollah leaders can communicate with their members, and do they trust the communications gizmo but the israeli forces have encountered strong resistance from fighters after crossing the border into lebanon. at least eight israelis have died so far and for israel that is a higher number. israel is fighting but less effectively

thanit fighting but less effectively than it would have been three orfour than it would have been three or four weeks ago. find than it would have been three or four weeks ago.— than it would have been three or four weeks ago. and how do ou or four weeks ago. and how do you think _ or four weeks ago. and how do you think israel _ or four weeks ago. and how do you think israel is _ or four weeks ago. and how do you think israel is going - or four weeks ago. and how do you think israel is going to - or four weeks ago. and how do you think israel is going to be l you think israel is going to be able to successfully carry out its campaign in lebanon without huge civilian casualties's we are already seeing large civilian casualties. there are different estimates, - civilian casualties. there are different estimates, of - civilian casualties. there are i different estimates, of course, but whatever number you and abusing it will be a very high number. a lot of what israel is doing is trying to kill hezbollah leaders that are hiding in civilian areas and otherwise israel is dealing with targets that are often in civilian areas, houses with hezbollah fighters or short—range rocket systems. and tragically, we will see continued numbers of civilians died. ~ ., ., , , died. what do you see is the endgame — died. what do you see is the endgame for _ died. what do you see is the endgame for israel- died. what do you see is the endgame for israel in - died. what do you see is the | endgame for israel in regards to activities in lebanon? israel's goal is to have its citizens, around 60,000 citizens, around 60 , 000 citizens, around 60,000 citizens who fled north of the

country, to be able to return to their homes. to be able to do that it needs to push hezbollah fighters back from the israel — lebanon border where they are supposed to be back from in any event, according to un resolutions. but more importantly, it once hezbollah deterred, to stop shooting at israel, and to make credible promises that it won't do that again. ——it wants. but is a difficult goal. what could happen is has below could be heard but be ready to fight soon again. heard but be ready to fight seen again-— soon again. what are the obligations _ soon again. what are the obligations in _ soon again. what are the obligations in regards - soon again. what are the obligations in regards to | soon again. what are the i obligations in regards to the west bank? it obligations in regards to the west bank?— west bank? it is an open question _ west bank? it is an open question in _ west bank? it is an open question in the _ west bank? it is an open question in the west - west bank? it is an open l question in the west bank. israel has become more aggressive as we have seen with recent stra kes. aggressive as we have seen with recent strakes. in the pastor was working with the palestinian authority to believe much of the area and now operations have disbanded the palestinian authority. in gazais the palestinian authority. in gaza is notionally trying to destroy hamas and is certainly backin destroy hamas and is certainly back in the organisation, but

it is unclear how much more israel can do that will make a difference and israel needs to think hard about what happens nextin think hard about what happens next in gaza and it doesn't appear to have done so. thank ou, appear to have done so. thank you. daniel- — appear to have done so. thank you, daniel. daniel— appear to have done so. thank you, daniel. daniel byman, . you, daniel. daniel byman, senior fellow at the centre for strategic and international studies. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. now, let's look at some other stories making news. a woman has been found guilty of the manslaughter of her four sons who died in a house fire while she was out shopping. deveca rose, who is 30, had left her two sets of twins alone when a fire ripped through her home in south west london in 2021. a 35—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 teagan mcfarlane, who's ia, has "potentially life—changing" injuries as a result of the incident near westminster academy on monday. two other people were also hurt — a 16—year—old boy and a staff member trying to help them.

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. prime minister sir keir starmer has previously promised to give his own mps a free vote on the subject. you are live with bbc news. 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 4 storm hit florida one week ago, nearly 8000 military personnel have been deployed to the region to help find those still missing and relocate displaced people. the federal emergency

management agency says it's given more than $20 million in immediate assistance directly to civilians. the president was surveying the aftermath of the storm. 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. let's cross live to south carolina and speak to adam keehn, director of complex emergencies at the relief and development charity, americares. thank you for talking to us about theirs. what is the key thing for viewers to understand about the damage that hurricane helene has caused? what are you seeing? it helene has caused? what are you seeinu ? , ., helene has caused? what are you seein ? , ., .,, ., seeing? it is a devastating situation. _ seeing? it is a devastating situation. we _ seeing? it is a devastating situation. we have - seeing? it is a devastating situation. we have an - seeing? it is a devastating - situation. we have an extreme amount of rainfall that fell, especially in maintenance areas of north carolina and eastern tennessee. i'm in south carolina, which was also hit. florida and georgia also affected. the communities, some

isolated, and mountains, the best of times, and when roads and bridges have been washed out, i saw cars piled up against bridges, bridges wash it away. people are devastated. the need stretches across the spectrum of anything you can imagine. spectrum of anything you can imauine. ~ , ~ imagine. we saw president biden visitin: imagine. we saw president biden visiting affected _ imagine. we saw president biden visiting affected areas. _ imagine. we saw president biden visiting affected areas. you - visiting affected areas. you talked about people's needs. what do they need most? translation: we what do they need most? translation:— what do they need most? translation: ~ ., ., ., ., translation: we are at a health based organisation, _ translation: we are at a health based organisation, and - based organisation, and americares is working with health clinics, with certain populations, people without insurance or access to healthcare. what we're first and foremost is asheville, north carolina, the epicentre of the crisis, a city of almost 100,000 people, with no running water, and hasn't been for a week. there is no electricity, internet — telecom indications are problematic. medical supplies, all kinds of supplies, all kinds of supplies, food, clothing, people us for anything, but we

are a health focused organisation and so the clinics that we are talking about our water than medicine supplies, including mental health medications and services to people who have been displaced and havejust lost people who have been displaced and have just lost everything. are fema and other authorities able to provide the resources necessary?— necessary? fema and other agencies — necessary? fema and other agencies are _ necessary? fema and other agencies are certainly - agencies are certainly mobilising resources and the american public has poured out a great deal of generosity as well. but locally as well, the counties, city governments, the state of north carolina, south carolina, state impacted, and the federal government have been pouring resources in. in a crisis like this, those affected for lack the resources mobilised are never enough. but we know that it is coming. in

the meantime, yesterday, for example, i saw a helicopter that needed to be lowering equipment so that workers could free up electric power lines that had been crashed down by the storm in a mountains area, where a health clinic we had visited was providing medicines and health services to people who had made their way, someone put and bicycle, to get the healthcare that they need. thank you for giving us that context, adam, for what has been happening on the ground, that's adam keehn, director of complex emergencies at the relief and development charity americares. 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 islands since its independence in 1968.

the chagos archipelago is located in the indian ocean, about 1000 miles south of the indian subcontinent. it's made up of more than 60 mostly 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 uk—us military base. in the 1960s, the uk evicted about fifteen—hundred local residents to make way for the airbase. they'll now be allowed to return. 0ur 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. that's all for now. stay with bbc news. 0ur our top story is available online at bbc.com, about events in lebanon and the middle east. and on business we will talk about crude oil and how it rose

5% afterjoe biden said the us is discussing the possibility of israel's strikes on the oil industry. that is all. goodbye for now. 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.

us support walker's ridge a us support walker's ridge a tentative deal with employers tentative deal with employers ending a strike that could ending a strike that could cause the american economy cause the american economy billions of dollars. plus oil billions of dollars. plus oil prices surge on fears of a prices surge on fears of a possible israeli strike on possible israeli strike on iran's facility. iran's facility. hello and welcome hello and welcome to business today. i'm steve lai. to business today. i'm steve lai. let's begin in the us where let's begin in the us where tens of thousands of striking tens of thousands of striking port workers will return to port workers will return to work, this comes after a work, this comes after a tentative agreement on wages tentative agreement on wages has reached with port owners has reached with port owners along american's eastern along american's eastern seaboard. the unit presenting seaboard. the unit presenting workers will now give itself workers will now give itself until the 15th of january to until the 15th of january to negotiate other terms of the

labor contract. the strike has lasted for