the biden administration has given its most stark warning yet to israel over its conduct in gaza — threatening to withdraw some military assistance — unless israel allows more humanitarian aid into the enclave. 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 �*concrete measures�* to boost aid. it comes amid further israeli strikes on gaza on tuesday. health ministry. in northern gaza, an air strike killed 17 people on tuesday near al—falouja, gaza's largest refugee camp. israel says it is targeting hamas militants. with more, here's our state department correspondent tom bateman. northern gaza is under renewed israeli assault.

loud blast its offensive, it says, is to clear out hamas. but aid groups say the area is encircled and civilians who don't obey orders to leave might not survive, with nearly all aid blocked for a fortnight now. the us secretaries of state and defence have now 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 high risk of lethal contagion, having been forced into a narrow coastal area by israel's evacuation orders. the letter demands urgent and sustained actions this month to reverse this trajectory, saying israel must, starting now and within 30 days, act to boost aid supplies.

it warns that failure may have implications for us policy, and it quotes american law, which prohibits military assistance to countries that impede the delivery of aid. 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's 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 has also been facing questions over the "30—day" timeframe set out in the letter to the israeli government, and whether it's political to line up with the us election. it is not a factor at all. the bottom line is we felt it was appropriate if we are making clear to the government of israel that there are these changes that need to 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 happen overnight. we made clear this is a short window. the humanitarian situation is so dire on the ground, but it is appropriate to give them some time to work through the different issues and find ways to get the level

of trucks, food, water, medicine backed up to acceptable levels. 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, called for an investigation into an israeli airstrike which killed at least 22 people in the christian village of aitawah, many of them women and children. israel says it's targeting hezbollah, which hides among civilians. here's orla 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 have 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 airstrike 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. orla guerin, bbc news, beirut.

(meanwhile in israel, the northern city of haifa was again targeted by rockets fired from hezbollah, amid more israeli airstrikes 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 notjoin 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. 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. there�*s lots more coverage and in—depth analysis on the bbc news website and app. with the us presidential candidates locked in a tight race for the white house — kamala harris and donald trump are vying for votes in battleground states. on tuesday, fomer president donald trump held several events in georgia. early voting has kicked off in the crucial swing state. this was the scene early tuesday morning at polling centers — officials say voter turnout records have already been broken. and vice president kamala harris has been campaigning in michigan today, participating in a town hall with radio host charlamagne tha god, as she reaches out to black voters. the middle east conflict is also a prominent issue in michigan. with 211,000—plus arab americans — the state is home to the largest number in the country — about 2 percent of michigans entire population is

arab american. i spoke with this with ed o�*keefe — cbs news senior white house and political correspondent — who is in the capital detroit it who is in the capital detroit may be difficult given 1 personal it may be difficult given the personal anguish are so many have experienced or believe the biden administration has wrought on theirfriends biden administration has wrought on their friends and family back in the middle east, but today�*s main focus was shoring up support from black men while overall, about 87% of black voters across the country are back in kamala harris, and those numbers are on par with what president biden earned four years ago, it is the support amongst men specifically that seems to be softer than four years ago so there is a real support to ensure enough of them are turning out to vote for them, not only here in michigan, but also detroit with its large african—american population but also cities like pennsylvania,

milwaukee in wisconsin, and atlanta in georgia. any slippage in support or a decision to stay home could cost you thousands of votes when every single across the votes —— across the states will determine who wins this. joining me live now is wael alzayat, ceo of emgage foundation, a national civic education and engagement grassroots organization for muslim americans. always good to have you here and thank you forjoining us. your organisation recently met with kamala harris�*s the vice president as she was speaking to members of the arab american community. what was her message to you? community. what was her message to ou? . ~ community. what was her message to ou? ., ~ community. what was her message to ou? ., ., ., to you? thank you for having me on. to you? thank you for having me on- engage _ to you? thank you for having me on. engage action, _ to you? thank you for having me on. engage action, our - on. engage action, our political arm, on. engage action, our politicalarm, met on. engage action, our political arm, met with the president on the margins of an eventin president on the margins of an event in michigan and her message is that muslim american community, the arab—american community, the arab—american community are important constituencies that she wants to connect with and wants to own our vote and she was very cognizance and transparent in

terms of the moment and how difficult it is that our communities and for her and how she really is looking forward, should she become president, to do all she can to end this war. what impact do you think the message had? i what impact do you think the message had?— what impact do you think the message had? i think all of us who attended _ message had? i think all of us who attended the _ message had? i think all of us who attended the meeting - message had? i think all of usj who attended the meeting felt it was authentic and she meant what she said and we�*ve shared that with our communities. there is no need to doubt the vice president�*s intention see about the policy of the biden administration is getting not just the attention but having the real impact on —— he said in the earlier segment, our communities are in pain and are hurting and they want to see this war come to an end rather than continue to escalate so whatever she is doing on the messaging and i think she can be commended for it, it is ultimately undermined possibly by the policy itself and that needs to change. because as we all keep saying, every vote matters and the longer this war

continues, the more it will hurt her candidacy. i guess that is my _ hurt her candidacy. i guess that is my question. - hurt her candidacy. i guess that is my question. we i hurt her candidacy. i guess i that is my question. we have seen the messaging from the vice president but to this point there has been an end to the fighting or a ceasefire agreement, so to what extent you think arab—american voters trust kamala harris to deliver that if she were to be in the white house? i that if she were to be in the white house?— that if she were to be in the white house? ., �* ~ ., ., white house? i don't know about trust, it's more _ white house? i don't know about trust, it's more hope _ white house? i don't know about trust, it's more hope and - trust, it�*s more hope and expectation because ultimately either her or donald trump will be commander—in—chief and we�*ve heard from donald trump how much he disdains palestinians. he is being supported by pro—settlement donors who want to annex the west bank and israel to annex the west bank and he said some horrible things about the palestinians and also muslim and arab americans and even promised to bring back the muslim ban so they are clear eyed about the danger he represents to the community and our democracy but we are looking for any signs from the administration and possibly the future president in kamala harris that most policies will change. i think they have seen some positive

signs from her including skipping the address of the israeli prime minister to congress and essentially reiterating her support for palestinian self—determination on the need for israel to abide by international law. but ultimately again, the more the war continues and the weapons continue to flow, those statements are just rhetoric and that will be hard to bring some voters back to support this ticket.— this ticket. we have about a minute left, _ this ticket. we have about a minute left, but _ this ticket. we have about a minute left, but that - this ticket. we have about a minute left, but that pain i this ticket. we have about a | minute left, but that pain as you described it continue so do you described it continue so do you think there is a real possibility that people who are frustrated just do not vote? absolutely. that�*s what happens when voters are not motivated, let alone feel hurt and disenchanted and ultimately we are trying to make the case that if you want to see the change you deserve, you have to vote and show the community as a voting community, irrespective of the outcome, in fact, you have to show you are out there cynically engaged, but in this case when you have

kamala harris or donald trump as your only viable choices, you have to make the right choice and prevent a return to four years of donald trump and really push the next administration. if you�*re supporting an anti—war agenda, the harris ticket gives you a best way forward to advance it. we have to leave the conversation for today but thank you forjoining us on bbc news. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let�*s look at some other stories making news. the old bailey, has been hearing how sara sharif, who was 10 years old, suffered dozens of injuries in the run up to her death last year. the little girl�*s body was found at her home in woking in surrey, after herfather, urfan sharif, called the police from pakistan. he denies murder and causing or allowing the death of a child, along with sara�*s stepmother, and her uncle. the mother of dawn sturgess, the woman from wiltshire, who was poisoned by novichok in 2018— has paid tribute to her daughter, at the public inquiry into her death.

dawn unwittingly sprayed herself with the deadly substance from a contaminated perfume bottle, four months after the same chemical weapon was used to target a former russian spy and his daughter in salisbury. sir keir starmer has denied that increasing national insurance contributions for employers would break a promise made in the labour election manifesto. speculation that a rise could be announced in the budget later this month has been growing since the chancellor, rachel reeves, suggested the party�*s pledge may not apply to businesses. you�*re live with bbc news. 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 frontline, more women are stepping in. our 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. this 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: ukrainians suffer for the people - 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. let�*s turn to take a look at some other stories now... the us department of transportation has fined the german airline lufthansa $4 million dollars for alleged discrimination againstjewish passengers.the penalty stems from an incident in may 2022 when 128jewish passengers were banned from a connecting flight in germany, based on the behavior of a handful of flyers. lufthansa has already paid out $2 million in compensation. the company denied its employees discriminated against passengers, saying it agreed to a settlement to avoid litigation. footage released by south korea shows the moment north korea blew up roads connecting the two countries. pyongyang had vowed to cut off the roads and railways once seen as symbols of inter—korean cooperation. north korea says it wants to completely separate the two countries. experts say tensions between the koreas are at their highest point in years. prague is banning organised

pub crawls at night, to reduce crowds of drunken tourists. the rule will ban organised groups from 10 at night to 6 in the morning. city councillors said pub crawls are �*disrupting the night peace�* and creating safety issues. one travel group called �*prague pub crawl�* accused the city of �*covering up the city�*s real issues.�* thomas tuchel has agreed to become the next manager of england�*s national football team. the bbc has been told by two different sources that tuchel, who is german, will become the third non—british permanent manager of the england men�*s team after sven—goran eriksson and fabio capello. england have been without a permanent manager since gareth southgate resigned, following the sides euro 2024 final defeat against spain. lee carsley, who was put in charge on an interim basis, will remain in place for england�*s final two nations league matches in november. tuchel, a former chelsea and paris st germain boss, is set to formally take over after that. the hollywood actor al pacino says it�*s fun to be a father for the ltth time at the age of 84. the man famous for his larger—than—life performances since the 19705 — in the godfather, scarface and heat — has just written his first ever autobiography in which he speaks about his new child

being born last year. our entertainment correspondent colin paterson caught up with him in los angeles. great meeting you. great! al pacino, the oscar—winning actor, has for the first time written the story of his own life. al pacino. yes. the autobiography deals a lot with family and fatherhood, and you became a father again last year. it�*s wonderful. you know, i have this little person. everything he does is interesting to me, you know? so we talk, i play the harmonica with him, and we have made this kind of contact, so it�*s fun. at 83, did you have any reservations about the age? well, you know, i�*d want to be around for this child. of course i did. but things happen, and i hope i am. you�*re my older brother, and i love you. the godfather was the film which made him a star. but don�*t ever take sides with anyone against the family again. but the book also deals

with the hard times, including in 2011 when he found his bank accounts were empty. i was out of money, i was gone. and my accountant was in prison. you go into the amount of money you were spending every month. oh, my god. $1t00,000 a month. and didn�*t know about it. how does that happen? you�*ve got to be dumb enough, first of all. one possible way of making money, even after his death, is through ai and his digital likeness. i�*m not worried. i know that my children are going to take over when i�*m gone, and they�*ll take care of it. you trust them to? yeah, i trust them, i trust them. you�*re going to give them any stipulations, say, "right, don�*t let my image do this"? no, no, i don�*t care about that. we went looking for your star on the hollywood walk of fame. oh, i don�*t have a star. you don�*t have a star?! how can you possibly not? i don�*t know. there are a lot of people who have, but there�*s also a lot of people who don�*t have a star. if hollywood�*s committee are watching this interview, would you be quite up for one now?

of course. there we go. yeah, sure. come on, al pacino wants his star on the hollywood walk of fame. colin paterson, bbc news, los angeles. stay with us here on bbc news. 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, if i 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 blustery winds. 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, the winds strengthening as well, and we could see some pretty rough seas around parts of wales and the south—west, too — that rain spreading eastwards on friday night.

this is bbc news. the headlines coming up at the top of the hour, after this programme. hello, i�*m katie razzall. this week, what�*s it like to report from gaza? we speak to the bbc�*s gaza correspondent rushdi abualouf about the unique challenges of reporting from the conflict zone. it�*s all coming up

on the media show. the committee to protect journalists says one year on from october 7, at least 128 journalists have been killed in the conflict. 123 were palestinian, all killed by israeli forces, according to the cpj. the idf says it doesn�*t have a policy of targeting media personnel. we will now hear from the bbc�*s gaza correspondent. rushdi abualouf has been covering the war, first from inside gaza and since november when he left with his family from the wider region. rushdi came into the studio earlier this week while on a short visit to london. if i take you back to a year ago orjust over a year ago, you were a journalist working in gaza, been there for a long

time, lived there forever.