months since nation marks 18 months since the civil war erupted. 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 aitou, 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 air strike 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 air strikes 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. 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, and lucy williamson injerusalem 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 air strike, 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. some breaking news from reuters, the israeli military are saying that the israeli navy strikes have struck a hezbollah infrastructure in southern lebanon as the air strikes continue from israel into southern lebanon and also beirut after a five day pause. the latest line from reuters is the israeli military are saying it's navy has struck hezbollah infrastructure in southern lebanon. that is the situation on the ground in lebanon. let's turn to the situation on the ground in gaza. we can speak to

the communications director at the communications director at the un relief and works agency for palestine refugees. give us an understanding of how many trucks are getting through into gaza compared to how many trucks you need on the ground. very little trucks are coming in. the biggest concern continues to be the situation in northern gaza, an area that has been cut off, i would say, for a whole year from receiving regular supplies and regular humanitarian assistance, and throughout the gaza strip, a drop in the ocean is what is coming in, in the face of the huge humanitarian needs. israel is claiming _ huge humanitarian needs. israel is claiming that _ huge humanitarian needs. israel is claiming that some _ huge humanitarian needs. israel is claiming that some of - huge humanitarian needs. israel is claiming that some of the - is claiming that some of the aid that does eventually get through is being used by hamas in their war effort. is that something your colleagues are seeing on the ground?-

seeing on the ground? look, i know what _ seeing on the ground? look, i know what unwra _ seeing on the ground? look, i know what unwra does, - seeing on the ground? look, i know what unwra does, the l know what unwra does, the largest humanitarian organisation, we get aid from the crossing point when the israeli authorities allow us to bring it in and we ourselves, united nations workers, distribute it to people in need across the united nations shelters are spread out across the gaza strip. we shelters are spread out across the gaza strip.— the gaza strip. we saw yesterday _ the gaza strip. we saw yesterday that - the gaza strip. we saw yesterday that leaked l the gaza strip. we saw- yesterday that leaked letter from the united states calling for israel to ease the situation on the ground in gaza otherwise military aid and assistance will potentially be denied to israel, on the same day that we have seen important bits of kit going into israel from the us. what messaging does that give?— does that give? look, what i know is that _ does that give? look, what i know is that there _ does that give? look, what i know is that there needs - does that give? look, what i know is that there needs to l does that give? look, what i i know is that there needs to be much more humanitarian assistance going into gaza. what has been coming in is by far not enough. but what is really key and really overdue and about time to happen is a ceasefire. forthe and about time to happen is a ceasefire. for the sake of civilians in gaza and southern

israel, northern israel and now in lebanon. the immediate release of the hostages. and also, a standard, regular and at scale flow of humanitarian assistance into gaza.- at scale flow of humanitarian assistance into gaza. thank you forioining _ assistance into gaza. thank you forioining us- _ assistance into gaza. thank you forjoining us. and _ assistance into gaza. thank you forjoining us. and explaining i forjoining us. and explaining the situation on the ground. some breaking news coming into the bbc and we can confirm that tom dougal has been appointed the england manager. —— thomas tuchel. he will take the position on the 1st of january 2025. yesterday we were saying that we believe this would be the case but we have the official appointment and clarification now that the 51—year—old german will become the third non—british permanent manager of the england men's team after the late sven goran eriksson and fabio capello. much more reaction on our website. the inquiry into the death of a woman who died after coming into contact with the nerve agent novichok is continuing in salisbury and south—west england. dawn

sturgess died in 2018 after spraying herself with a contaminated perfume bottle that had been discarded after an assassination attempt. let's go to duncan kennedy who is following this and he joins us in salisbury. what can we expect? in salisbury. what can we exect? , ., ., in salisbury. what can we aimed?— in salisbury. what can we exect? , ., expect? good morning. the morninu expect? good morning. the morning will— expect? good morning. the morning will certainly - expect? good morning. the morning will certainly be . morning will certainly be dominated by the evidence from charlie rowley, dawn sturgess' partner. we are not quite sure what form the evidence will take. we are not expecting charlie rowley to be here in person. it may be that his statement is read out. he is a very important player in the whole of the story. in many ways, he is the link between the events that took place in salisbury in march 2018, when sergei skripal and his daughter were poisoned and the events that took place in amesbury, nine miles away, injune 2018, when charlie rowley and dawn sturgess when charlie rowley and dawn stu rgess were when charlie rowley and dawn sturgess were poisoned. he is important because of course, he is the person who found this perfume bottle that contained the novichok nerve agent at the heart of all of this. the

inquiry wants to find out exactly what happened to the perfume bottle, where it came from and where it went and what happened to it. they will be asking the question, could and should that perfume bottle has been found by the authorities in the immediate aftermath of the attack on sergei skripal and yulia skripal. charlie rowley took the perfume bottle home and presented it to dawn sturgess. we know that she sprayed it on her wrists and he got some on his hands, but apparently washed his hands off. they both fell ill and of course, a few days later, dawn sturgess died because of what happened to her. she ingested so much of the poison. charlie rowley himself is very ill, in and out of hospital, but eventually, he survived. incidentally, the flat where all of this took place, where they were living in amesbury, has since been demolished. the authorities felt that with all —— that all the cleaning in all the world would not satisfy any future tenants and it is thought that dawn sturgess' family and charlie rowley himself felt that was the best

thing for it so it was demolished. it is a patch of grass now. unlikely home of sergei skripal salisbury, which still remains. it was thoroughly cleaned and remodelled in many ways and new people have moved into it. lots of questions and more information and evidence to be put before this inquiry which brings —— which begins at 10am. and you will be following it throughout the day. thank you for joining throughout the day. thank you forjoining us. some more breaking news from the uk. we can tell you that five people including two children have been killed on the m6 motorway, one of the longest in the uk. a woman, a man and two children from glasgow pronounced dead at the scene and this is according to cumbria police. we will keep an eye on that for you. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

this week marks 18 months since the civil war erupted in sudan,

leading to the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with millions displaced and, in some parts of the country, famine. the capital has seen some of the most intense fighting, and for the first time since the war began, the bbc�*s mohanad hashim returns there, to his birthplace of omdurman, to search for his home, family and friends. i left sudan as a 19—year—old. over the years, i've returned to omdurman many times. it was always the same feeling, returning home, the familiarity of crossing the nile and the smell of the river. this is the first time i have seen omdurman since the war started last year. i check in on my mother's cousin. he survived the months this area was controlled by the rapid support forces. his house was hit by mortar fire twice. so this is the shell

that fell in the house. and the shrapnel is still in his arm. these streets and alleyways would have been alive with kids playing football and screaming and shouting. this neighbourhood is 125 years old. this is the first time it is probably this empty. i am now going to go in and say hello to my auntie. all of these are bullet holes by the rsf. they were apparently just trying to intimidate the women. this is as far south in omdurman as i could go.

as close to khartoum as i could get. this is as far as the army would allow us. i can see the yellow bridge that takes you from omdurman to khartoum. it fills me with a lot of sadness that i cannot cross to the other side of the city. it is a city divided. over the years, i have seen my neighbourhood change. many have passed away. many left to build lies elsewhere. lives elsewhere. but there was always family, cousins and relatives that stayed behind. not now. most of the residents of these homes had to flee for their lives. and now it was time to visit my old home. look at the destruction. this is perhaps one of the earliest portraits of me and my brother, a time when afro was king. and then, by chance, this rare glimpse into the workings of the rapid support forces fighting units.

this is a diary of rsf soldiers, stating the number of the force that was stationed here on the 3rd of october, 2023. there were 35 rsf fighters here. evidence of war. that is my late father during his university years. when the war started in april last year, he could not compute what was going on. i guess the shock of what was happening in sudan took its toll on him. how is this war going to end? i don't know. the suffering is immense. inshallah, god willing, one day, we will be able to come back and the people who used to live here... ..will try and build new lives. mohanad hashim, bbc news, in omdurman. and mohanad hashim

joins me now. i cannot begin to imagine how difficult that was.— difficult that was. eight was one of the _ difficult that was. eight was one of the most _ difficult that was. eight was one of the most difficult - one of the most difficult deployment i ever did for work. it was personal, in as far as part of this assignment was going back to these areas which are now part of a war zone, and to go through the emotions was quite challenging at times. we can see that. _ quite challenging at times. we can see that. we can see the absolute raw emotion. help us to understand because it was not even easy to get there, to get in. not even easy to get there, to net in. ., . �* get in. no, it hadn't... even the process— get in. no, it hadn't... even the process of— get in. no, it hadn't... even the process of trying - get in. no, it hadn't... even the process of trying to - get in. no, it hadn't... even the process of trying to get | the process of trying to get back to sit on, since may last year, approaching the sudanese authorities for access and visas and we only got the access in september. it was the first time we went and reported on what is happening in the sudanese capital properly because since then, for a year, we have been reporting on it

from a distance. but also, going back and seeing all of the relatives and people that you knew and listening to their stories first hand and experiencing the shelling, i mean, after all, the part of omdurman where we were staying was regularly shelled during the day and regular shelling was outgoing in the other direction during the night. so getting a feeling of how the war is, and then coming back and looking at it, there is a feeling of survivors guilt that i went and saw some of my relatives and my family and i know they are still there, facing the danger.- know they are still there, facing the danger. gosh, it is “ust. .. facing the danger. gosh, it is just- -- and — facing the danger. gosh, it is just... and when _ facing the danger. gosh, it is just... and when you - facing the danger. gosh, it is just... and when you talk - facing the danger. gosh, it is i just... and when you talk about your late father, he passed away and he could not comprehend how it escalated to this. ., u. �* comprehend how it escalated to this. ., .., �* ., , this. no, he couldn't. it was at the stage _ this. no, he couldn't. it was at the stage when _ this. no, he couldn't. it was at the stage when he - this. no, he couldn't. it was at the stage when he was i at the stage when he was getting very sick, when the war broke out, and hejust getting very sick, when the war broke out, and he just couldn't comprehend why the war would be brought to khartoum, a place in a country like sudan, that has

experienced protracted conflict but it has been a experienced p