in other news — king charles leads tributes to scotland's former first minister, alex salmond, who died yesterday at the age of 69. kamala harris challenges her election rival donald trump to release his medical records to prove he's fit to become us president. and hot air balloons paint the skies over new mexico at the international balloon fiesta. thank you for watching bbc news, you join us in israel as we continue special coverage of this widening war right across the region. we will start with the region. we will start with the latest from lebanon where the latest from lebanon where the health ministry says at least 15 lebanese were killed in the latest israeli air strikes across the country.

israel is now targeting villages in the centre and the north of the country away from areas which have been regarded as strongholds of the hezbollah movement. these are the latest pictures we have received from the area nabatieh i2 pictures we have received from the area nabatieh 12 kilometres from the border following the area nabatieh 12 kilometres from the borderfollowing one of the air strikes. lebanese media are also reporting that a mosque was hit in the south of the country. and across the border in northern israel and around the third largest city — which is also home to one of israel's largest, hezbollah rockets were fired into the air that morning, the air raid sirens went off alerting residents to take shelter. it has been targeted almost every day for the past week. they

come after israel says more than 300 missiles were fired into israel over the weekend when israel was marking yom kippur. forthe when israel was marking yom kippur. for the first time, israel has taken international journalists across the border into southern lebanon to an undisclosed location. 0ur middle east correspondent lucy williamson and cameraman were among the journalists allowed in. joe pwar. their access was restricted, and the pictures — though not the editorial content — were checked for military security. we hugged the old ceasefire line dividing israel from lebanon, driving fast, under the threat of hezbollah attack. israel's army broke through this border less than two weeks ago. now they're taking us in to show us one of the villages under their control, a couple of miles into lebanese territory. the army had taken control here just a day or two before.

the area still not clear of hezbollah fighters. we are literally in an area which still hasn't been neutralised. blast it's a war zone with all the implications you can hear in the background. there was hidden terrorists here in this village, face to face battles. it means that my troops are seeing their eyes, are seeing in their eyes, terrorists, and fight them in the streets. israel says these are limited, targeted raids. limited geographically, perhaps. less so militarily. wow, wow. you can see the kind of fighting that has taken place here just in the last couple of days or so. hezbollah were clearly well prepared and well armed. the army told us they'd found dozens of booby trapped houses here and demolished them. we only have their account

of what happened here and were restricted in where we could go. this is 81mm mortars. this is what they wanted to show us. caches of weapons, including sophisticated anti—tank missiles, shoulder—launched rockets and night scopes. some of them brand new, still packed into boxes. anti—tank missile. 0ne anti—tank missile, already semi assembled. preparations for a cross—border attack into israel, the army said. this is, i can say, two times more or three times more than gaza in the weapons that this village contains. this, the army says, is why it's here, not for occupation. we don't want to hold these places. we want to clean them out from all the weapons and ammunition. that's what we want. after that, we are expecting that the people will come back and understand that peace is better for them and

terrorists controlling them is a bad thing. but i leave it to the diplomats to solve. these are my guys. these are my guys, fighting. there's been bursts of small—arms fire and artillery very close by. he says his forces are fighting hezbollah 500 metres away. despite israeli control on the ground here, this is still very much an active combat zone. the fighting gets closer. we're told to leave fast. please, gentlemen, go faster. despite israel's small successes here, hezbollah has not disappeared from this fight, and israel's conflict with iran hangs over it. this is not a border war, but a regional one, playing out along a border. go, go, please go.

middle east correspondent lucy williamson working with a camera person. the lebanese health ministry has released the latest figures saying more than 2,200 have been killed in lebanon since the start of the conflict. the latest report showed 29 people have been killed in the air strikes in the centre of the gaza strip as well as in the gaza strip as well as in the north where military action has been intensifying. this comes at a time at which the world food programme is expressing concern about the food situation saying no food, desperately needed humanitarian aid has been able to enter the territory since the beginning of the month. the world food programme expressed concern that it wasn't sure how long people would be able to survive without new food being allowed to come in. on the military front, israel has escalated its operations in the north of the gaza strip around the largest refugee campjabalia. israel refugee camp jabalia. israel

says refugee campjabalia. israel says it has killed dozens of hamas militants there as well as their infrastructure. the local officials are expressing concern about the damage to civilian infrastructure as well as casualties among civilians. intense pressure there around jabalia. the other major issue across the region right now is what is happening with un peacekeepers in southern lebanon. us secretary of defence lloyd austin has raised his concerns about reports of israeli forces firing on un peacekeeping positions in southern lebanon. there are many what is called the blue line between israel and lebanon in the south of the country. around a0 nations that contribute to the the un peacekeeping forces called for an immediate halt to attacks on them. they say five peacekeeping soldiers have been wounded in recent days. at least four of those attacks were because of israeli fire.

israel continues to insist it is only targeting hezbollah but un officials, un spokespersons fort unifil have raised concern that their own peacekeepers and posts are coming under attacks. israel has called upon some of the peacekeepers to leave their posts, which they have refused to do. a short time ago, to get the latest from across lebanon, i spoke to our correspondent in the capital, beirut, jonathan head. the pattern has sort of shifted. i mean, we haven't had anything happen in here in beirut overnight. over the past week, there have been a lot of strikes here in beirut. there were 78 air strikes up to about 6 o'clock last night recorded by the lebanese authorities. nearly all of those were in the south, which gives you an idea about how intense the fighting is there. all part of that land operation by israeli forces, these thousands of israeli troops who are now inside lebanon. 23 more villages told to evacuate from the south and move north.

that's entire populations told to go. of course, they don't all go, people often don't feel they can leave their homes. you showed those scenes in nabatieh. it gives you an idea of just how devastating these israeli air strikes are, howeveraccurate they say they are. and one more un peacekeeper hit by gunfire yesterday, even after the israelis had promised that they would take this very seriously and investigate. remember, israel has told the un force there that they should leave, the un forces stayed. and as far as israel is concerned, it's now in the middle of an active conflict zone. it denies deliberately targeting the un. the un says it believes it has been deliberately targeted, perhaps to chase them out. but for the lebanese themselves, this is still an ongoing rolling humanitarian catastrophe, with 1,640 people killed in the past three weeks. hundreds of thousands of displaced. constantly moving across the country. just as an idea about how much people are being forced to move, the lebanese authorities have recorded close to 500,000 people crossing from

lebanon into syria. now, many of those the syrian refugees driven are syrian refugees driven out from the syrian civil war in previous years, now going back to syria, because it's so unsafe here in lebanon. jonathan head speaking from beirut. all the while, israeli and american officials, both defence and politicians, are keeping in close contact, certainly especially over israel's expected retaliatory attack against iran. and in the midst of this, there are reports in the media that the united states is considering sending a very advanced missile defence system to israel to boost its already much vaunted defences. it is called thaad. 0rterminal high altitude area defence — is a ground—based system, designed to intercept short, medium and intermediate ballistic missiles. its deployment would require american military personnel as well and the reports say a final

decision on its use has not yet been made, but it would no doubt be a further shield against any further possible ballistic missile attack from iran. if israel carries out its threat to respond to iran's ballistic missile attack. iran fired 180 ballistic missiles into israel. israel says most of them were intercepted but some did get through. yaakov katz is the former editor of the jerusalem post. he explained the significance if the us does deploy this advanced system to israel. it isa it is a very big move because not only is it, until now they have supported israel and defended israel with assets they have deployed in the region with aircraft and radar

and other ballistic defence system deployed in places like the persian gulf, iraq or syria. now this would actually be on the ground in israel with what we could even call boots on the ground because this would require us troops to operate the system. that would be a significant step by the president and it would show, i think, two things. one is on the one hand, to show israel america stands with you and we have your back in case you are attacked by the iranians. but it also shows the iranians, hezbollah, hamas, the houthis, and other terrorist proxies attacking israel that america is on the side of israel and if they attack israel they also will have to deal with the united states. that projection of power is no less important. yaakov katz on the signals that would be sent if america does deploy this advanced missile defence shield. let's speak to our correspondent wyre davies. yaakov katz emphasising that if

there are american boots on the ground, if there is an expansion of the already significant american support when it comes to israel's air defences, this would send a very strong signal to iran who has made it clear it would continue to strike if israel strikes it. it continue to strike if israel strikes it.— continue to strike if israel strikes it. ., , , strikes it. it also emphasises how reliant _ strikes it. it also emphasises how reliant israel _ strikes it. it also emphasises how reliant israel is - strikes it. it also emphasises how reliant israel is on - how reliant israel is on american defence systems. every time there has been some tiny bit of criticism from israel's allies, whether the united kingdom or france, netanyahu has publicly expressed that israel can do this on its own, this is ourfight, our region, and whether or not our allies back as with weaponry, it is israel's fight alone. if this defence system from the americans is deployed from elsewhere in the region and an american base, deployed in israel, it will require, as you have been saying, american boots on the ground, american military personnel to operate it. again emphasising how reliant israel is on america if there were to be a conflict with iran. perhaps benjamin netanyahu with iran. perhaps benjamin neta nyahu wants with iran. perhaps benjamin netanyahu wants america to help

israel with some sort of big conflicts to destroy iran's nuclear capabilities once and for all. the americans clearly don't want to get involved at that level and joe biden apparently has warned the israelis in this retaliatory process not to attack iran's nuclear facilities, process not to attack iran's nuclearfacilities, perhaps go nuclear facilities, perhaps go after other nuclearfacilities, perhaps go after other military facilities, perhaps some of iran's oil installations. but the wider escalation of the war is clearly something the americans are desperately keen to avoid and they don't want the next logical step perhaps for the israelis, for the americans to get involved. wyre davies, something _ americans to get involved. wyre davies, something to _ americans to get involved. wyre davies, something to watch - davies, something to watch closely. thank you forjoining us, as we continue our special coverage of this expanding and escalating regional war, as we've just been reporting the united states is considering upping its already considerable military support to israel, trying to protect its most strategic ally in the region against iran's threat of an

attack, should israel respond. and israel is expected to respond. the security cabinet will meet again tonight. they are discussing the targets, what will be hit. there is a lot of discussion around what kind of targets would send the strongest message. we will follow the latest development is back back to you in london. thank you very much to lose to sette camara chief international correspondent live injerusalem. let's look at the dave rudnick avenues. —— bendaleavenues. king charles has lead tributes to scotland's former first minister, alex salmond, who's died suddenly, at the age of 69. the king said mr salmond's "devotion to scotland drove his decades of public service". the alba party founder and former snp leader is thought to have suffered a heart attack during a trip to north macedonia on saturday. there will be a post—mortem examination. 0ur scotland correspondent lorna gordon reports. in 300 years, no—one came closer to ending scotland's union with england than alex salmond. this, in my estimation, has been the greatest campaign in scottish democratic history.

a formidable political figure, who guided a party that for decades was on the fringes of politics, to the heart of power, changing the political landscape of the united kingdom, and delivering a referendum on independence. this is desperately sad news that alex salmond has died, and i extend my deepest condolences to his wife, moira, and to his family. this is a moment that individuals will reflect on the exceptional leadership and contribution that alex salmond has given to public life in scotland, with his service in the house of commons and in the scottish parliament, and especially as the first minister of scotland. it was while studying economics at st andrews university that alex salmond joined the snp. he worked for a time as an oil economist, but politics soon exerted its pull. the mp for banff and . buchan, alex salmond, has won the leadership - of the scottish national party. mr salmond first led

the snp in the 1990s. we are going to win the battle for the hearts and minds of the scottish people. cheering but it was during his second stint that his party became a major political force. well, folks, it's, eh, it's good to be back. within three years the snp were in government in edinburgh. then in 2011, he pulled off a feat that was thought impossible, winning a majority at holyrood. alex salmond negotiated the referendum on independence with the then prime minister, david cameron. how dare they say that this country is not capable of running its own affairs? cheering he was a formidable and inescapable voice in the debate that followed, on the airwaves, and in towns and cities across scotland. in the end, the referendum result was no. alex salmond stepped down as first minister and leader of the snp... as leader my time is nearly over. ..later carrying on the fight for independence with a new political

party, alba. and the dream shall never die. i was talking to somebody, it so happens, the other day who was telling me the story of alex as a 24—year—old sitting next to a colleague at the royal bank of scotland, outlining his strategy for achieving independence for scotland, and i think he thought about that every day of his life, since being a young man and nearly, nearly brought it to fruition. in more recent years there were controversies. he was cleared of sexual assault in 2020, and he also fell out with his protege and successor as first minister, nicola sturgeon. in a statement, she said...

the former mp and msp died after being taken ill in north macedonia. it's understood he collapsed after giving a speech. alex salmond led the snp to political dominance in scotland and pushed independence to the top of the agenda. an orator, strategist and campaigner whose voice travelled far beyond the boundaries of scotland. lorna gordon looking back at the life — lorna gordon looking back at the life of alex salmond who has died _ the life of alex salmond who has died at the age of 69. you are with bbc news. let's check on the sport now with hugh ferris at the sports centre. hi. england can take a big step towards the semifinals of the women's t20 world cup later? t20 world cup later. but they'll have to beat rivals scotland in sharjah to do it. scotla nd scotland won the toss and they have had a steady start, six overs gone, no wickets lost, 29 without loss they are in that

crucial match, particularly for england at the t20 world cup. england's women have already had a good day in rugby union — they successfully defended their wxv1 trophy with a 21—12 victory over hosts canada. it was a winner—take—all clash against the hosts in vancouver. the red roses fought back from a rare deficit to take the title. the defending champions extended their winning run to 20 matches. and they've now won both editions of the tournament's top tier. mauricio pochettino's first match in charge of the united states saw them beat panama 2—0 in a friendly. the former chelsea and tottenham boss was appointed in september following gregg berhalter�*s dismissal to lead them into the next world cup for which they are joint hosts. two european—based players yunus musah and ricardo pepi got the goals in texas, with another friendly, this time against mexico, to come next on tuesday. aryna sabalenka already knows she'll be the new world number one. but she will also try and keep her unbeaten record in wuhan going in the final agianst china's 0lympic champion zhang qinwen.

sabalenka has never lost at the tournament and has already taken the first set. it is on serve in the second. novak djokovic has just fallen short is his attempt to claim his 100th tour title at the shanghai masters. he was beaten in straight sets by world number one jannik sinner. artur beterbiev has become boxing's undisputed light—heavyweight world champion beating dmitry bivol by majority decision in saudi arabia. bivol won the earlier rounds. but beterbiev forced his way back as the canadian was crowned the division's first undisputed champion since 2002. and the first ever in the four—belt era, handing bivol his first defeat in 2a bouts — a result the russian�*s team disagreed with. they can say anything. it's ok to have close fights either way but it wasn't a robbery, it was a close fight. if someone gave it 7-5 the a close fight. if someone gave it 7—5 the other way, maybe,

but bivol hasn't been here yet and look at his face when he comes in the room, and something hit him, it wasn't a ghost. the line—up for major league baseball's championship series is complete after the cleveland guardians beat the detriot tigers 7—3 to advance to the alcs. lane thomas's grand slam in the bottom of the 5th inning put the guardians 5—1 ahead. his second home run of the series. the guardians will now face the new york yankees for the chance to represent the american league in the world series against either the new york mets or the los angeles dodgers. much more on the website where you can follow the live sport throughout the day but that's it for now, back to you. we are going to stay in the united states now and the race to be the next president. kamala harris has challenged her rival donald trump to release his medical records, to prove he's fit for the job. the vice—president was speaking after the white house published a medical report that says she — is in "excellent health" and fit for the presidency. ms harris accused mr trump — who's 78 — and his team,

of a lack of transparency for not disclosing his health records. it's just a further example of his lack of transparency. that on top of his unwillingness to debate again, his unwillingness to do an interview with 60 minutes, which again is part of the norm of what anyone running for president of the united states does. and i think that it's obvious that his team at least does not want the american people to see everything about who he is. donald trump's most detailed records came more than six years ago, in 2018. without revealing his health records, mr trump's team quoted his doctor as saying that he was in �*perfect and excellent health to be commander in chief'. if elected in november, donald trump would be the oldest president in us history by the end of his term. the former president has been attending a rally in coachella in california — and he had his message for his supporters.

look at this stuff. can you believe what we are doing? she's so bad, she is so bad. it can't happen. although the way things go in this country, i guess it probably could. that's why we want to build up a lead. we have got to build up that lead because such bad things... and we've got to do it and i don't want to keep saying it. too big to rig, i don't want to say it. she's imported an army of illegal alien gang members and migrant criminals from the dungeons of the third world. they come from the dungeons of the third world. and don't forget that we have a special section online with all the very latest us election news in the run—up to november's vote. it includes the very latest poll tracker which currently shows kamala harrisjust ahead of donald trump in national poll. in the national poll. those key swing states also matter of course. find out more on the bbc

news website or app. now, finally this half hour. an array of hot air balloons have been dotting the skies across the city of albuquerque in new mexico. the international balloon fiesta is said to be the largest in the world according to organisers — with more than 500 hot air balloons ascending to the skies. they were of all different shapes and sizes. the festival concludes later on sunday. some lovely pictures there. stay with us on bbc news. i will have the headlines coming up will have the headlines coming up for you next. good afternoon. it was a cold start to this morning, many of our temperatures in low single figures, a bit of patchy frost and just the right amount of high cloud reflecting the sunlight to produce a very beautiful sunrise indeed for many of us. we are set to keep those sunny skies for the rest of today, it will be dry, but

the sunshine will be hazy with plenty of high cloud again, certainly feeling chillier than it has been and the colder air is marked in blue here, and get swept away as we head into next week when things will turn warmer, but also wetter. more on that injust warmer, but also wetter. more on that in just a moment. it is looking drive the rest of the day today, still quite windy down towards the north sea facing case, brisk north—westerly. the clouds thickening from the west, lots of high cloud, but the count thicken of northern ireland to produce patches of rain perhaps into the west of scotland and temperature is a lot lower than they have been. generally 8-11 c they have been. generally 8—11 c north to south, but still may be milder than that towards the far south and the west, because of an approaching weather front. west, because of an approaching weatherfront. it west, because of an approaching weather front. it will bring outbreaks of rain across much of england and wales as we head through tonight. some clearer skies further north and towards the south temperatures will gradually rise through the night as the milder air seeps in. we are starting off with plenty of pad for england and whilst tomorrow morning. the rx

of across east anglia will gradually clear, the best of the sunshine for the far north of england across much of scotland and northern ireland tomorrow. but it is still cold towards the north, the milder air starting to filter through further south so high temperatures here. we draw in a southerly wind as the high gradually pushes further eastwards on tuesday so it could be quite a murky start with that moist air, a bit of mist and fog around but some sunshine, probably best towards the north of high ground, outbreaks of rain pushing into north—west scotland and northern ireland later on. temperatures again in the mid—teens in celsius for much of england and where is, a little chillier further north, turning quite wet from the west on wednesday. some of this rain could contain the remnants of exoteric anne milton. look at the temperatures on wednesday, more than mild air, 21 celsius towards the south. —— ex hurricane milton. temperatures rise next week but wet and

windy at times. bye—bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines: lebanon's health ministry says 15 people have been killed by air strikes in various parts of the country, as israel continues its offensive against hezbollah. heavy fighting has been reported in the south of the country. king charles leads tributes to scotland's former first minister, alex salmond, who died yesterday at the age of 69. it's understood the former msp

collapsed after delivering a speech at an international conference in north macedonia. kamala harris has released her medical records ahead of the presidential election, which conclude she is in "excellent health". following the disclosure, the democratic nominee accused donald trump of a lack of transparency over not releasing his own health records. stargazers have been treated to a glimpse of the "comet of the century" and it's the last time it'll visit earth for another 80,000 years. now on bbc news sumi, katrina and katty with path to the presidency. hello, welcome to this week's path to the presidency, a weekly conversation

between me, sumi somaskanda