welcome to world news america. welcome to this new, extended hour of world news america, where we'll bring you a full hour of live news and analysis from here in the us, the uk, and around the world. we begin in gaza, where israeli air strikes killed at least 50 palestinians on tuesday, according to the hamas—run health ministry. video has emerged of an air strike landing near medics rescuing an injured pregnant woman in northern gaza and separately, an israeli missile narrowly missing an ambulance. both are scenes from jabalia. medics said 17 people were killed there on tuesday near al—falouja, gaza's largest refugee camp. israel's latest air raids come as the united states is now threatening to withhold some military aid to israel over the humanitarian situation in gaza. us defense secretary lloyd austin and secretary of state

antony blinken sent a letter to israel's military, which was then leaked to the media. it says israel must, within 30 days, act on a series of, quote, "concrete measures". our correspondent tom bateman has more details. dolomite northern gaza is under renewed israeli assault. the area is encircled and civilians who don't obey orders to leave might not survive — with nearly all aid blocks for a fortnight now. the us secretaries of state and defence have written to the israeli government demanding it stops blocking convoys. the letter was sent to the israeli government on sunday. it says the us has deep concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in gaza,

warning that 1.7 million civilians are at higher risk of lethal contagion, having being forced into a narrow coastal area. the letter demands urgent and sustained actions this month to reverse this trajectory. adding israel must, starting now and within 30 days, act to boost aid supplies. it warns failure may have implications for us policy. northern gaza is under renewed israeli assault. loud blast its offensive, it says, is to clear out hamas. critics have long accused the us of failing to leverage its weapons supply to israel to get what it wants on the protection of civilians in gaza. it has always rejected that, but now it is issuing its starkest warning yet to the israelis to do more to get aid in and to do it now. at the state department, officials say the letter is a matter of us law.

good afternoon, everyone. there will be those who say you've had a year to write this letter to issue such a stark warning to the israelis. why has it taken so long? you shouldn't assume that the letter is our first intervention with the government of israel. about the situation, just over the past few months, we have been making it clear to them that we needed to see results, and we haven't seen the results. president biden�*s pressure on its government is increasing near the end of his term, but the war in gaza may yet last a lot longer. tom bateman, bbc news, washington. state department spokesman matthew miller faced questions over the "30—day" timeframe set out in the letter to the israeli government, and whether that timing is impacted by the upcoming us election. it is not a factor at all. the bottom _ it is not a factor at all. the bottom line is we felt it was appropriate if we are making clear to the _ appropriate if we are making clear to the government of israel that there _ to the government of israel that there are — to the government of israel that there are these changes that need to be implemented, that we give them an

appmpriate _ be implemented, that we give them an appropriate period of time to implement them. i didn't think it appropriate to send a letter and say this should — appropriate to send a letter and say this should happen overnight. we made _ this should happen overnight. we made clear this short window. the humanitarian situation is so dire on the ground, — humanitarian situation is so dire on the ground, but it is appropriate to -ive the ground, but it is appropriate to give them — the ground, but it is appropriate to give them some time to work through the different issues and find ways to get the — the different issues and find ways to get the level of trust, food, water, — to get the level of trust, food, water, medicine backed up to acceptable levels of. let's get reaction from laura blumenfeld — former senior policy adviser on the state department's israeli—palestinian negotiating team. good to see you again. what do you think about the timing of this letter? why now? i think about the timing of this letter? why now?— think about the timing of this letter? why now? i think there's three interesting _ letter? why now? i think there's three interesting things- - letter? why now? i think there's three interesting things- the - letter? why now? i think there's i three interesting things- the who, three interesting things— the who, the what, and the win. i think the 30 days are significant. november the 5th is the presidential election and after that, what some may call a lame—duck biden presidency, hill have a free hand to exercise the leverage that will to take into

account as much as these next three weeks. there have been conversations before, but they've never put it in writing, and as the italians say, la carta canta, the paper sings. i also think the who is important, that it came not only from the secretary of defence, but the secretary of state. it's important to show that it's not just a diplomatic effort, but its military to military. finally, the what. they're saying there's no aid delivered, the military aid will be affected, and that is a matter of survival for the civilians in gaza and survival for the civilians in israel. the stakes couldn't be higher at this very kinetic time, which is the last 21 days of the presidential race. but which is the last 21 days of the presidential race.— which is the last 21 days of the presidential race. but we heard the auestion presidential race. but we heard the question asked _ presidential race. but we heard the question asked by _ presidential race. but we heard the question asked by our _ presidential race. but we heard the question asked by our state - question asked by our state department correspondent at the briefing earlier, and a question

many are asking is more than a year into this war, what impact is a letter like this going to have? well, i think that the letter is one side of a coin, the other side of that coin being a missile—defense battery that's being deployed as we speak. i think they are both the same kind of currency, saying israel, we're going to put boots on the ground for your defence in the we expect concrete conditions on the ground in gaza and also frankly in lebanon to change. i do think we have leverage. —— they have. we've seen that, i think netanyahu's first target choice with iran, would have been to go after the nuclear facility, and second choice would have been the oil production sites. so, we are seeing some kind of leverage being exercise. it's not enough and i believe after the election, you will see a very different picture out of the us. we saw that after the election in 2016

where president 0bama was coming to the end of his second term, where there was a un security council resolution condemning israel on settlements and united states abstaining. there will be more examples to come. tote abstaining. there will be more examples to come.— abstaining. there will be more examples to come. we know the israelis are _ examples to come. we know the israelis are looking _ examples to come. we know the israelis are looking at _ examples to come. we know the israelis are looking at it, - examples to come. we know the israelis are looking at it, but - examples to come. we know the l israelis are looking at it, but what response do you anticipate? i have to say right — response do you anticipate? i have to say right now. — response do you anticipate? i have to say right now, they _ response do you anticipate? i have to say right now, they are - response do you anticipate? i have to say right now, they are kind - response do you anticipate? i have to say right now, they are kind of l to say right now, they are kind of in full gangster mode. i was surprised to hear the president of israel's response to the commander of hezbollah, saying his day will come. i think they're in a cheesy revenge movie where they've had their list. it was hamas number one, hezbollah number two, a number three. we're coming to the end of this revenge cycle, you could call it, and i'm hoping for if this retaliation comes, we managed to put the brakes on it. i think we're looking at an explosion in the best we can do is control it.—

looking at an explosion in the best we can do is control it. laura, good anal sis we can do is control it. laura, good analysis -- — we can do is control it. laura, good analysis -- great — we can do is control it. laura, good analysis -- great analysis - we can do is control it. laura, good analysis -- great analysis as - analysis —— great analysis as always. analysis -- great analysis as alwa s. . ., analysis -- great analysis as alwa s. ., ,, i. analysis -- great analysis as alwa s. ., ,, ., , in lebanon, the deputy leader of hezbollah has suggested the only solution to the conflict with israel is a ceasefire. but naim qassem also warned that his iranian—backed militia group was prepared to continue to inflict "pain" on israel and keep fighting. it comes after the un's human rights office, human rights office called for an investigation into an israeli air strike which killed at least 22 people in the christian village of aitou, many of them women and children. israel says it's targeting hezbollah, which hides among civilians. here's 0rla guerin. death tolls don't tell life stories. this is shana qasim, a young mother. she fled israel's attacks in the south, only to be killed with her baby in an airstrike in the north. they died with relatives and neighbours from a shia border village. all had sought refuge in a christian district. typically, these areas

are not targeted. "0h, mother mary," says this man, seeing the destruction that came without warning. israel says it struck a hezbollah target and is investigating the claim that civilians were killed. it's more than a claim, here and elsewhere. in recent weeks, we've travelled around lebanon, reporting on half a dozen airstrikes that killed only civilians — 53 in total. that's according to relatives, rescue workers and neighbours and, in some cases, officials. this was september 27th in the sunni border village of shaba. an israeli air strike killed nine civilians, including four children, all members of an extended family.

nasri hamdan can now kiss his son yusuf only on the screen. the 15—year—old was here at his grandparents' house helping with livestock. "it's a massacre," he says. "if it's a war, they should hit military areas. "these are civilian areas. "may god rest his soul. "hopefully, he's in heaven." nearby, relatives mourn for one of the dead — a pregnant woman. this is her husband, mohammed. his unborn child was found in the rubble, ripped from his wife's womb. 0rla guerin, bbc news, beirut.

meanwhile, in israel, the northern city of haifa was again targeted by rockets fired from hezbollah amid more israeli air strikes into lebanon. it's been two weeks since benjamin netanyahu ordered a ground offensive into southern lebanon. lucy williamson in jerusalem has this assessment of the conflict so far. israel insists its ground invasion will be limited and targeted, but its aerial war with hezbollah is spreading. israel bombing targets further north in lebanon, and hezbollah sending more drones and rockets further south. a small, unsophisticated drone hit an army base near haifa on sunday, killing four soldiers and injuring more than 50. israel's air defences failed — not even a siren to warn of the attack. two weeks in, this ground invasion is taking place amid an expanding regional war.

last week, the israeli army took internationaljournalists into a village it said was once a stronghold of hezbollah's elite radwan force. israeli tanks now guard the entrance. an israeli flag waves from a mosque on a nearby hill. movements here were restricted by the army, but this is the only way for journalists to see what's happening on the ground. beneath this house, half demolished by an airstrike, a tunnel, where israeli forces said they battled hezbollah fighters last week. a fully equipped bunker with kitchen, bathroom and a dormitory where israeli troops say they found sniper rifles, explosives and ammunition, snacks and ashtrays and a half drunk cup of coffee still on the table. having lived next door to the hezbollah leader and hezbollah tunnels for years, israel is changing its approach. no raid like the 7th of october can occur.

and for that, we need to get with our boots here to find this bunker. otherwise, it will stay here and hezbollah will come back here. you've lived with that threat for years, and hezbollah did not join the cross—border attack, and you've assassinated nasrallah. is the ground offensive necessary? for years, we've been calling the world, un, unifil, europe, to make sure that this area will get clean. and it didn't happen, so we need to act. we paid the price. we had a wake up call on the 7th of october. we will not pay this price again. outside, a huge explosion from israeli forces nearby. outside, a huge explosion from israeli forces nearby, troops watching for signs of hezbollah fighters. this war is drawing in israel's allies.

today, a us missile defence system arrived, along with dozens of american troops to help defend against iranian missiles. israel's insistence on a limited, targeted ground invasion is part of a multi—front war. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. and of course, there's lots more coverage and in—depth analysis on the bbc news website and app. early voting has begun in the battleground state of georgia, one of 16 states where polls have opened ahead of election day. this was the scene early tuesday morning at polling centres across georgia, with voters lining up to cast their votes. and officials say the peach state has already broken turnout records, with around a quarter million people casting ballots on day one. georgia is also one of the states where a battle is brewing over how to count and certify the vote. on tuesday, a state judge ruled that local election officials cannot delay or decline to certify election results. that's after former president donald trump and his allies pressured county officials to block the certification of his loss in 2020. and last month, the state's

republican—controlled election board approved a controversial rule requiring a hand count of the number of ballots cast on election day. despite mr trump's repeated — and false — claims of vote rigging, us officials say elections are safe and secure. but they are pointing to threats by foreign adversaries like iran and russia to influence voters in the race for the white house. with me now to discuss all this isjen easterly, director of the us cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency. they're a government agency working on the security and resilience of critical national infrastructure. thank you so much forjoining us. i want to start with what we saw in georgia because this is a critical battleground state. we saw a judge ruling that county election boards have to certify election results. this is something we know lawmakers and many voters after 2020 are worried about. will all votes be counted safely and fairly? 50. worried about. will all votes be counted safely and fairly?- worried about. will all votes be counted safely and fairly? so, i saw that rulin:

counted safely and fairly? so, i saw that ruling today _ counted safely and fairly? so, i saw that ruling today and _ counted safely and fairly? so, i saw that ruling today and that _ counted safely and fairly? so, i saw that ruling today and that is - counted safely and fairly? so, i saw that ruling today and that is really l that ruling today and that is really on a matter of administration. but i think it speaks to the point that i've been making about our confidence in election officials. i know that the secretary of state reference berger, who we work with on the ground, we provide support to officials to include resources like security assessments, exercises and training. i know he welcomes that and it's an indication that state and it's an indication that state and local election officials understand how to run elections. they are on the front lines of and securing elections, and i do have a confidence in those state and local election officials. we have frankly spent so much time over the last eight years since election infrastructure was designated as critical infrastructure. i know how tirelessly they work to ensure that everyone of their citizens votes are counted at cast. irate

everyone of their citizens votes are counted at cast.— everyone of their citizens votes are counted at cast. we also saw several 's in georgia — counted at cast. we also saw several 's in georgia including _ counted at cast. we also saw several 's in georgia including requiring - �*sin georgia including requiring all ballots to be checked against machine numbers. are you worried —— that that could slow the process and so some confusion? i -- that that could slow the process and so some confusion?— -- that that could slow the process and so some confusion? i would again defer to the election _ and so some confusion? i would again defer to the election officials, - and so some confusion? i would again defer to the election officials, but - defer to the election officials, but i think you make the exact right point. this country has a lot of trust issues with respect to confidence in elections. we know that our foreign adversaries — russia, iran, china — are specifically focused on undermining american confidence in the security of our elections and stoking partisan discord. frankly, anything that gives comfort to those views from ourforeign that gives comfort to those views from our foreign adversaries that gives comfort to those views from ourforeign adversaries really undermines the american confidence in our democratic institutions. i

find that to be very problematic. i think with the american people need to understand is that there's been an enormous amount of work done over the past eight years to improve the security and resilience of election infrastructure. the reality is election infrastructure has never been more secure in the elections take hurdle community has never been better prepared. —— stakeholder community. the american people should have confidence.— community. the american people should have confidence. despite some of those should have confidence. despite some of these foreign _ should have confidence. despite some of those foreign adversaries _ should have confidence. despite some of those foreign adversaries that - of those foreign adversaries that have been mentioned, they said iran, russia and china will use criminal and coercive tactics to undermine some of that confidence. what is the biggest threat that the us is facing in terms of those adversaries? it’s in terms of those adversaries? it's not 'ust in terms of those adversaries? it�*s notjust those foreign in terms of those adversaries? it�*s not just those foreign adversaries, although that is a very real threat, and frankly, the office of the director of national intelligence, cisa and the fbi have been very

proactive in providing updates every few weeks. that is one part of the threat. we also see cybersecurity threats. very real physical threats that are coming out of unfounded claims of election fraud. unfounded claims of election fraud. unfounded claims of election fraud. unfounded claims of the election of 2020 did not represent the will of the american people. disinformation? that is driving _ american people. disinformation? that is driving a _ american people. disinformation? that is driving a lot _ american people. disinformation? that is driving a lot of _ american people. disinformation? that is driving a lot of the - american people. disinformation? that is driving a lot of the threats| that is driving a lot of the threats that we're seeing. harassment, swatting, bullying, threats of violence of both parties and their families, largely stemming from that disinformation about elections being fraudulent. and that is being driven by ourforeign fraudulent. and that is being driven by our foreign adversaries who are loving this chaos that they're able to create. the truth is our election infrastructure is incredibly secure. i do not believe it would be possible for a foreign adversary to actually hack into elections, to

have a material impact in a way that could not be detected. however, these foreign adversaries could effectively do per section hacking —— perspective. if} effectively do per section hacking -- perspective-— -- perspective. 30 seconds left, very short. _ -- perspective. 30 seconds left, very short. i _ -- perspective. 30 seconds left, very short, i know. _ -- perspective. 30 seconds left, very short, i know. a _ -- perspective. 30 seconds left, very short, i know. a lot - -- perspective. 30 seconds left, very short, i know. a lot of - -- perspective. 30 seconds left, l very short, i know. a lot of people have said they're concerned about fraud in this election. are you worried about americans back to confidence? i worried about americans back to confidence?— worried about americans back to confidence? ., ~ , .,~ ., confidence? i want americans to know that they should _ confidence? i want americans to know that they should have _ confidence? i want americans to know that they should have confidence -- l that they should have confidence —— americans' confidence. 98% of voters will cast their ballots in jurisdictions that have paper records and multiple layers of control. cybersecurity protections, �*s physical access controls, postelection audit, pre—election testing, election infrastructure is secure and americans should have confidence that their votes will be counted next cast. jen. confidence that their votes will be counted next cast.— confidence that their votes will be counted next cast. jen, thank you so much forjoining _ counted next cast. jen, thank you so much forjoining us. _ we're going to move to the war.

ukraine says it shot down 12 attack drones launched by russia overnight, but that's an almost nightly occurrence 1,000 days into russia's full—scale invasion. across the country, ukraine's military relies on volunteers to help protect the skies — and with so many men being called up to the front line, more women are stepping in. 0ur eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford joined one patrol who call themselves the witches of bucha. drones buzz. the buzz of danger over kyiv. russia's attack drones arrive here almost nightly now, forcing ukraine's air defences into this deadly game of search and destroy. so, outside the city, they're supported by volunteer teams. we followed one in a recent air raid, as they rushed to help protect the skies. they call themselves the witches of bucha

because, apart from him, they're women — stepping in as ever more men are sent to the front line. a vet and a manicurist helping assemble a machine gun that's more than eight decades old. it's ancient, but effective. the team say it's downed three drones so far. valentina is saying that the drones could see the light and could respond to that, they don't know how the drones are going to behave. so they're saying we need to work in the dark, essentially. on her tablet, yulia spots two drones in the air. but not close yet. translation: of course, it'sl nervous work because we need to be focussed, to react to the slightest sound. this is how the bucha witches now spend their weekends.

lesson one, on storming a building. not perfected yet, but these skills are empowering for women who lived through the russian takeover of their region and were terrified. translation: i remember how we were under occupation. - i remember all that horror. i remember the screams of my own child. i remember the dead people when we were fleeing. that's where i find the strength to go on. they combine doing all this with their dayjobs. a maths teacher and an office manager tired of feeling helpless. translation: ukrainian suffer for the people - translation: ukrainian suffer for the peoples . who are no longer here, those taken by the stupid war.

then they were recruiting women here and i tried it and didn't fall apart. this full—scale war will soon be 1,000 days old and valentina's life has been transformed. but the women here refuse to give up believing in victory and in their role trying to bring that about. sarah rainsford, bbc news, near bucha. here in the us, more than 800 veterans who were kicked out of the military for their sexual orientation will receive honorable discharges, the pentagon announced on tuesday. just over a year ago, the department of defense started reviewing the records of former service members who were discharged with a less than honorable status under "don't ask don't tell". that now—repealed policy banned troops who identified as gay or lesbian from openly serving in the military, and discharged some of them without an honorable status. tuesday's announcement may give those former troops access to veterans benefits, that had long been denied because of their discharge status. stay with us here on bbc news,

as in the next half—hour, we'll bring you more from the ground in gaza. the palestine red crescent society tells us they're seeing "unimaginable human suffering". and the godfather of hollywood, al pacino, talks fatherhood, money and artificial intelligence. moses stories and much more coming up moses stories and much more coming up next. —— for those stories. we'll be right back. hello. areas of heavy and, in places, thundery rain to take us through tonight, but it won't be a cold night by any means. now, to show you the temperature — normally this is how temperatures compared to normal over the next few days, the oranges and the reds show temperatures above average, peaking really on wednesday and thursday, but remaining above average as we go through into the weekend. driving it all is this area of low pressure.

it's allowing those southerly winds, but because of its proximity is why we're going to see those areas of rain. so, for the night ahead, it's going to be a case of heavy, thundery rain in the south and west to begin with, pushing its way northwards and eastwards. some drier, clearer spells east anglia and the south—east later on and temperatures not dropping a massive amount — 10—14 or 15 degrees. that's not a million miles away. it should be in an afternoon, never mind first thing on a wednesday morning in october. so, to start the day, lots of cloud in the north and west. still some areas of rain around thundery for one or two. it's going to come and go. northern england, scotland, northern ireland during the morning, linger though into the afternoon for some across scotland. we then see another batch of rain develop across wales and the south west and the channel islands later, but with some clearer skies. lincolnshire, east anglia and the south—east, bit of sunshine through the afternoon here could lift temperatures to around 21 or 22 degrees — that's around six degrees above where we should be for this stage in the year. another batch of heavy thundery rain then works its way northward and eastwards

as we go through wednesday night and into thursday, affecting most parts actually, with some clearer skies in the west later. so, it might turn a bit fresher here in the west by the end of the night, but still, temperatures in double figures, if not mid teens for some. but here's the chart for thursday. instead of southerly winds as those weather fronts go through, it's west or south—westerly ones, so the winds will be as strong, but still not cold winds at that early rain across parts of scotland, typically north and east, maybe through central areas clears. sunny spells for the vast majority, but we could see some showers, even some lengthier ones around these western areas around the irish sea in particular with some but away from that, with the sunshine out and lighter winds, it may actually feel a little bit warmer than wednesday. into friday, we start to inject a bit more moisture into the atmosphere, so more cloud around. still some sunny spells through central eastern areas in the west, though the cloud will be thickening up through the day. outbreaks of rain become heavy and prolonged,

i'm sumi somaskanda in washington and this is bbc world news america. the us warns israel it could cut some military assistance unless more humanitarian aid is allowed into gaza. that comes as israeli air strikes hit across gaza, including around jabalia in the north of the territory. prison inmates and guards tell the bbc that gang warfare is rife in manyjails in england and wales, with overcrowding making the issue worse.

welcome back to world news america. we return our focus back to gaza, where officials from the hamas—run health ministry says israel's offensive over the past year has now killed 42,000 people. on tuesday, a letter was leaked from the us secretary of state and secretary of defense, telling israel the us would withhold some military aid to israel over gaza's humanitarian situation if steps are not taken to alleviate the crisis. the united nations says it's been able to deliver food to northern gaza for the first time in weeks, as israel continues to attack what it says are hamas positions in the area. for more on what's happening on the ground in gaza, i've been speaking to the spokesperson of the palestine red crescent society, nebal farsakh. the un says it has delivered the first food to the north of gaza in two weeks and it is describing the situation on the ground there as desperate. what can you tell us about the situation in northern gaza in particular?—

in particular? good evening, thanks for havin: in particular? good evening, thanks for having me- _ in particular? good evening, thanks for having me. the _ in particular? good evening, thanks for having me. the situation - in particular? good evening, thanks for having me. the situation north i