on the other side of this fence is mexico. arizona is the only battleground state on the border, so issues of immigration and border control are of massive importance to the voters here. welcome to newsday, i'm steve lai. there has been a dramatic turn in the middle east conflict with israel announcing that it has killed the leader of hamas, yahya sinwar, the man widely believed to be behind the october 7th attacks. dna tests confirmed the 61 year old died along with two other hamas members during an israeli ground operation in the city of rafah on wednesday. one of israel's top targets, officials hold sinwar responsible for organising and directing the worst—ever attack on the country.

about 1200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage. the family members of two israeli hostages held in gaza have told the bbc — sinwar�*s death is a "brief window of opportunity" for benjamin netanyahu's government to negotiate the return of the hostages. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu spoke after the confirmation of sinwar�*s death. translation: this is a milestone in taking | down the evil of hamas. hamas will no longer. rule over gaza. this is the beginning. of the day after hamas. this is opportunity- for you residents of gaza to finally liberate yourself from his tyranny. - to hamas terrorists let me say this — your leaders are runningi away and they will be taken down. - if you take down your weapons and return our hostages, - we will allow you to come out and live. _ but at the same time, -

let me also say if you hurt our hostages, you will be taken down. - we will settle - the score with you. us presidentjoe biden says yahya sinwar�*s death marks a good day for israel, for the us and for the world. speaking after his death was confirmed, vice president kamala harris said us special operations and intelligence personnel had worked with their israeli counterparts to track down sinwar and other hamas leaders: israel has a right to defend itself and the threat hamas poses to israel must be eliminated. today, there is clear progress toward that goal. hamas is decimated and its leadership is eliminated. this moment gives us an opportunity to finally end the war in gaza. our international editor, jeremy bowen has more on the dramatic events from jerusalem. at the beach south of tel aviv, a lifeguard picked up his microphone.

"attention, all bathers. "it's not 100%, but there's a strong chance that the rat from the tunnels known as yayha sinwar is dead." and then it was confirmed. they knew sinwar�*s death was a big victory for israel and a big defeat for hamas. the israeli army released drone footage showing he was still fighting in his last moments. they said sinwar, on a chair at the back of the room, had thrown two grenades and obviously wounded, tried to fend the drone off with a stick before he was killed. it had been a chance encounter and at first they didn't realise who they'd killed, then soldiers saw the dead man resembled sinwar. yahya sinwar, born in 1962, grew up in a refugee camp in gaza. he spent 22 years in israeli jails for killing four palestinians who'd collaborated with israel,

so the security services had dental records and dna to identify his body. injail, he learned hebrew, studied his enemy and believed he'd worked out how to fight them. 0n the 7th of october last year, in a meticulously planned series of attacks, sinwar and his men inflicted israel's worst ever defeat. and a collective trauma that is still deeply felt. the killing of civilians, the hostage—taking and the celebrations of their enemies recalled for many israelis the nazi holocaust in the second world war. prime minister netanyahu said the war would go on. today he said, "we made clear once again what happens "to those who harm us. "we showed the world the victory of good over evil. "but the war is not over yet. "it is difficult and it is costing us dearly." israel's response, a year

of war, continued this morning. around 25 palestinians were killed and dozens more wounded in the latest big raid onjabalia camp in northern gaza. israel said it bombed a hamas commander centre. doctors said the casualties they saw were civilians. israel's response to the 7th of october attacks has killed at least 42,000 people in gaza. its war aims of destroying hamas and freeing its hostages have not been achieved, so killing yayha sinwar is its biggest victory yet. the hamas organisation that sinwar and others built before the 7th of october attacks is largely broken. left of sinwar is ishmail haniyeh, hamas political leader who was assassinated injuly. israel doesn't let us into gaza to report, but this reaction in khan younis was filmed for the bbc.

translation: this war is not dependent on sinwar - nor on any other leader or official. it is a war of extermination against the palestinian people as we all know and understand. the issue is much bigger than sinwar or anyone else. many leaders have beenl assassinated before him, like ishmail haniyeh, i but someone else will always step in and the j struggle will continue. back in israel, a few people stop to celebrate at the forensics lab where sinwar was taken. tonight israelis are relieved and happy that the enemy has been killed but hamas still has its hostages, is still fighting and will get a new leader. jeremy bowen, bbc news, jerusalem. i'm joined now by mara rudman — former white house deputy assistant for national security affairs and a former deputy in the us office of the special envoy for middle east peace.

this killing, does it move israel_ this killing, does it move israel closer— this killing, does it move israel closer to _ this killing, does it move israel closer to the - this killing, does it move| israel closer to the stated aims _ israel closer to the stated aims of— israel closer to the stated aims of ending _ israel closer to the stated aims of ending hamas- israel closer to the stated | aims of ending hamas and getting— aims of ending hamas and getting hostages- aims of ending hamas and getting hostages back? i aims of ending hamas and getting hostages back? [itl aims of ending hamas and getting hostages back? it moves israel closer _ getting hostages back? it moves israel closer to _ getting hostages back? it moves israel closer to the _ getting hostages back? it moves israel closer to the aims - getting hostages back? it moves israel closer to the aims of - israel closer to the aims of destroying hamas and i would describe it more as decimating and taking out the top leader, that person, in yahya sinwar, who both created and perpetrated and developed and implemented all that has happened to date and wreaked terrible harm on the palestinians around him in gaza which was part of this calculated aims. so a major step forward for israel but you also heard with benjamin netanyahu a caution about the hostages because bringing them out remains a priority and a challenge. out remains a priority and a challenge-— out remains a priority and a challenue. ~ ., ., ., challenge. we also heard from netanyahu _ challenge. we also heard from netanyahu for _ challenge. we also heard from netanyahu for palestinians - challenge. we also heard from netanyahu for palestinians to l netanyahu for palestinians to reject hamas rule and have the same reaction to the lebanese,

so at the same time people are dying under israeli fire, so is that a hard message to get across? it that a hard message to get across? ., , , across? it would be better if there was — across? it would be better if there was a _ across? it would be better if there was a different - across? it would be better if l there was a different message for palestinians in the west bank and gaza and in terms of being able to work with the lebanese government on a way forward for the lebanese people. but for palestinians in the west bank and gaza they need to see a pathway forward and need immediate assistance in gaza and all sorts of humanitarian assistance and need to see there is a hope for a betterfuture need to see there is a hope for a better future for themselves and children and grandchildren and children and grandchildren and that ultimately is what will make israel more secure and safe and stable for the future and that kind of language is still some distance from what prime minister netanyahu has been willing to articulate although that is what the world wants to see and what the world wants to see and what the world wants to see and what the israelis want to see from their leaders.—

from their leaders. what you think it will— from their leaders. what you think it will take _ from their leaders. what you think it will take to _ from their leaders. what you think it will take to get - from their leaders. what you think it will take to get to - think it will take to get to that point when those discussions are happening. the us have been talking about restricting weapons in the hope of helping the relief effort in gaza but have not got to the point where they say to israel, you have to stop and think of a solution in the longer term. i'm not one that thinks threatening to hold back weaponry will change behaviour. what is required over all is a sense from israelis on where their pathway is for greater security and greater safety and when you consider the ultimate threat for israel comes from iran, let's be clear. hamas, hezbollah, all proxies of iran and you need to bring them all together in a strong regional alliance to counter the threat to lauren posts —— poses and that includes a pathway forward for palestinians in the west bank and gaza which will be the

best route for vanquishing hamas and that will not happen solely through force, even though it's a major step forward, for certain, to have removed ya hya forward, for certain, to have removed yahya sinwar from the world. ~ ., , , ., world. where does this leave iran given — world. where does this leave iran given that _ world. where does this leave iran given that the _ world. where does this leave iran given that the senior - iran given that the senior leadership in hezbollah and hamas have been killed by israel and the access of resistance seems to be faltering? iii resistance seems to be faltering?— resistance seems to be falterin: ? , ., ., ., faltering? if you are iran, the iranian regime, _ faltering? if you are iran, the iranian regime, you - faltering? if you are iran, the iranian regime, you need - faltering? if you are iran, the iranian regime, you need to i faltering? if you are iran, the i iranian regime, you need to be thinking carefully through your options. clearly israel has shown and i believe the us in ways has shown that there is a lot about the iranian network thatis lot about the iranian network that is infiltrated at this point and exposed as israel would not have been able to get into take out ismail haniyeh when he was in iran for the inauguration had they not had tremendous access and sources and information inside iran. so

if you are iran you need to think about what your options are and your ultimate goal which is to preserve the regime and your economy which is faltering and you might need to think about taking a different pathway, bad stepping back and that would be enhanced if there was a regional security alliance from saudi arabia, from the emirates and the countries that are very concerned about hamas and the iranian power in the region. we will leave _ iranian power in the region. we will leave it _ iranian power in the region. we will leave it there, but thank you for your perspective. there is much more analysis on their website including this piece from jeremy bowen. along with events in the middle east we're also watching china closely because in the last few minutes china has released its latest set of gdp figures. let's cross live to our business correspndent — katie silver — who is in our

singapore newsroom. how are the numbers looking? perhaps slightly better than expected. we saw in the three months the chinese economy grew 4.6% and economists polled by reuters estimated slightly less than that but it is still smaller than the previous quarter and what it suggests is that growth in the worlds second largest economy seems to be decelerating and we are talking in recent weeks about the raft of stimulus measures promised by beijing when it comes to fiscal spending, when it comes to lowering interest rates and as well as when it comes to issuing almost $1 trillion of bonds. all this is about trying to stimulate growth in the worlds second largest economy and get people to get out and spend because consumer sentiment has been a week after the pandemic with many expecting a post—pandemic boost. but with the ongoing real straight crisis and worries about debt and concerns about whether exports will be doing well in the face of

geopolitical tensions, it it all spells a dire picture for the worlds's second largest economy which has had such significant growth in the past few decades. 4.6% growth experienced from july to september, slightly better than expected butjust short of september, slightly better than expected but just short of the 5% growth target beijing pledged earlier this year, steve. ., ., ., and we'll have more analysis and reaction coming up shortly in business today. politicians in australia's northern territory have passed a law to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 12 to 10. the government ? which rushed through the policy after winning an election with a tough on crime campaign — says the move will ultimately protect children — despite doctors, human rights organisations and indigenous groups disputing that logic. the bbc�*s katy watson has been in darwin and sent this report. pushing this through so early on was always the plan by the

new government who argued that crime is on the rise and it needs to come down. and one of the ways to do that, they say, is lower the age of criminal responsibility, effectively locking more children. the un says 1a should be the absolute minimum age of criminal responsibility. doctors, lawyers here we have spoken to, human rights groups, indigenous organisations all worn this is a step back and will make the issue worse. children here are going into maximum security prisons are being held in isolation. many of those have mental health issues and disabilities. and add to that in this region about 30% of people are aboriginal but pretty much 100% of the children being locked up are indigenous. i've been speaking to the territories children's commissioner who has been pushing for the government to reconsider. pushing for the government to reconsider-— reconsider. having worked in the justice — reconsider. having worked in the justice system _ reconsider. having worked in the justice system for- reconsider. having worked in i the justice system for decades, i am the justice system for decades, iam aboriginal on the justice system for decades, i am aboriginal on my mothers side and i have seen structural

racism in the application of laws and policies and aboriginal children are less likely to be cautioned or diverted and are more likely to be charged and formally proceeded against through the courts and more likely to be remanded than bale. if rely on the evidence and is work to address the root causes of crime we will have less of the kids reoffending and less kids coming back. kids reoffending and less kids coming back-— kids reoffending and less kids coming back. then i have than territory has — coming back. then i have than territory has the _ coming back. then i have than territory has the highest - territory has the highest incarceration rate in australia, five times the national and fridge —— the northern territory. among most states the age of responsibility is also ten but there is growing responsibility about raising the age, but not here though. —— growing concern. a seven—year—old boy who died in a house explosion in newcastle — early on wednesday morning — has been named as archie york. the blast, which happened just before one a—m destroyed three houses in the area of benwell. police also confirmed a second person was found dead. an investigation into the cause of the explosion is under way. the wife of a conservative

councillor has been jailed for 31 months after pleading guilty to inciting racial hatred on the day three girls were murdered in the southport attacks in july. lucy connolly from northampton called for hotels housing asylum seekers to be set on fire in a post on the social media platform x. and the bbc has found that over 140 million litres of sewage has been illegally discharged into lake windemere in england's lake district, during the last three years by the water company united utilities. data obtained by the bbc shows the environment agency was unaware of the extent of the pollution in england's largest lake. you're live with bbc news. to the us presidential election, and both kamala harris and donald trump — along withtheir running mates — have been out on the campaign trail today. kamala harris has been holding a rally

in the battleground state of wisconsin — where she wasjoned by the billionaire businessman mark cuban — who warned against electing donald trump. meanwhile mr trump has been holding a fundraising dinner in new york — raising money for catholic charities. one of the key swing states where early voting is already under way is arizona — which could be key to november's election. here's how the latest polling across the battleground states is looking — arizona is one of three states currently leaning towards donald trump. my colleague caitriona perry has travelled to the state — and sent this report. yeah, you want to grab that one sign? for lucy and erin, this election is about life. ..ask me about an abortion pill reversal... three days a week they come to stand outside one of the southern arizona's only two abortion clinics, trying to persuade women not to terminate their pregnancy. hey, i'm lucy with pro life tucson. got a gift bag for you. this year, in addition to voting for president, arizonans will also vote on whether to extend the right

to an abortion from 15 weeks up to viability, around 2a weeks. donald trump was the most pro—life president we have ever had. we don't vote for personality. we vote for what that candidate is going to bring, and he going to protect us from evil. these are our last ultrasounds with her. for kristen and dave, it's a matter of health care. they got a tragic diagnosis when kristen was 18 weeks pregnant with their daughter. that was her heartbeat. the life expectancy and life quality the doctors described to us was really, really grim. the doctors told them there was an option to end the pregnancy, but that they would have to leave the state for that care, and organise it themselves. i would have appreciated having been able to just mourn our loss privately. you know, enjoy those last few moments of carrying our baby girl. and instead, we were... all the logistics of

travelling out of state... it was the most devastating thing i have ever been through. the choice is extremely simple for us. - yeah, harris and walz absolutely have our vote. there's just a clear winner. early in—person voting is already under way in this state. with polls showing a dead heat, it's all about turnout. outside the cities, 45% of arizona is made up of desert, and the border with mexico runs 370 miles, 600 kilometres. on the other side of this fence is mexico. arizona is the only battleground state on the border, so issues of immigration and border control are of massive importance to the voters here. the people, let's take you back here, will come down this canyon. more will come down from this canyon over here to the house. tom lives on a ranch of several thousand acres that run alongside the border. he regularly sees

migrants on his land. i'm 82 years old. about four years ago, it started going bad. i want to go back the way we were. i'm glad i'm really old is all i can say. if she becomes president, we are done, i think. the terrain is treacherous. in the migrant help centre in the nearest town, arivaca, residents have rescue packs ready. by far, kamala harris will be better. i will be voting for her because in many ways i think she is far superior to trump. but on immigration, both parties have nothing nelson's new to say about immigration. there are more registered republicans than democrats here, but three in ten people consider themselves independent, and those are the voters harris and trump are fighting for. catriona perry,

bbc news, arizona. king charles and queen camilla are on their way to australia for their biggest overseas trip since the king began cancer treatment in february. the visit has attracted some controversy though, re—opening questions about the future of the monarchy in australia and the debate about whether the country should become a republic. we'll have more on bbc news over the next few hours. tributes continue to pour in after the death of liam payne, the former member of the boy band one direction. payne fell from a hotel balcony late on wednesday. the singer rose to global stardom as part of one direction, selling 70 millions records worldwide. his former bandmates have paid tribute to him, �*saying the memories we shared will be treasured forever. our south america correspondent ione wells is following the story from buenos aires and sent this update. more details have emerged about what happened when liam payne

fell from a third—floor balcony at the hotel behind me. police say they arrived at the scene and he was rushed to hospitals and he was rushed to hospitals and his injuries were so severe he could not be resuscitated and an post—mortem found he died from multiple traumas, internal and external bleeding and an inspection that has been done of the hotel as well as found a whiskey bottle, a lighter and a mobile phone found a whiskey bottle,