in northern gaza, a day after storming it. the world health organisation warns of a "catastrophic" situation at gaza's medical facilities. in the uk, the chancellor is set to increase the national insurance rate for employers to boost funding for public services. partial results in georgia suggest the governing party has won a key parliamentary election. hello, i'm nicky schiller. we start this hour with reaction to israel's air strikes on iran.

iran has condemned them. president biden says he hopes they are the end, as the un and countries around the world urge both sides to avoid further escalation. israel says the strikes were on 20 military and missile manufacturing sites by three waves of fighter jets, with some reports of up to 100 israeli jets involved. israel says its strikes were in response to missiles fired by iran earlier this month. the specific locations of the attacks are yet to be confirmed, but reports say that military installations in the capital tehran and military bases in the provinces of ilam and khuzestan in the south west of the country were hit. iran's armed forces said four army officers were killed but the damage was limited. hezbollah condemned the attacks and warned of a dangerous escalation of the entire region. these pictures show iran's air defence system working to intercept israeli missiles as they head over the iranian capital. iran says it has to defend itself, but it recognises

its responsibilities towards "regional peace and security". saudi arabia, egypt and the uae all warned of the danger of further escalation, and called for restraint. the united states, the uk and the eu have urged iran to de—escalate, and russia blamed israel for exacerbating the conflict. our first report this hour is from our international editor jeremy bowen in jerusalem. israeli pilots set out for the long flight to strike iran. israel and the whole middle east has been waiting for this since iran attacked with around 180 ballistic missiles on the 1st of october. this was tehran in the early hours of the morning. israel said it hit military targets in the capital and the provinces. iran's leaders now face a hard choice. do nothing and risk looking weak, hit back and risk

a bigger israeli attack. if the regime in iran were to make the mistake of beginning a new round of escalation, we will be obligated to respond. 0ur message is clear. all those who threaten the state of israel and seek to drag the region into wider escalation will pay a heavy price. the israeli military released silent, blurred video from the war room. they agreed to president biden�*s request not to hit iran's nuclear, oil and gas facilities. if iran retaliates, they are likely to be the next targets. tel aviv this morning. most israelis believe war in gaza and lebanon as well as iran isjustified and unavoidable. so i think it was a good action. but we need to keep it calm. we don't need to get escalation going. the message is through, and i hope things will be calm right now.

we need to respond very hard, very quick and that they will understand that we are into it. iran has played down the damage done by the raids, releasing very little video. for the citizens of tehran, it is still the first direct attack on their capital since war with iraq in the 1980s. he says, "we heard cannon fire and an explosion, the sound "echoed across the sky, it was terrible and horrifying." "we are worried the war in the middle east is "going to affect us too. "why should we live without peace? "why can't we just be happy? it's really worrying me." "war," she says, "is frightening." "everyone is worried about what a war might do to us. but i don't believe a terrible war will happen in iran." israel has released video of another huge strike on hezbollah positions in lebanon. the israelis have set

the pace of escalation since early summer. it's hard to stop tit—for—tat strikes when both sides fear looking weak and deterred if they don't respond, and that is how wars spin out of control. jeremy bowen, bbc news, jerusalem. with me is parham ghobadi from bbc persian. what is the latest that tehran and iran are saying about the strikes? . . and iran are saying about the strikes? ., ., ~ strikes? the iranian armed forces has _ strikes? the iranian armed forces has issued - strikes? the iranian armed forces has issued a - strikes? the iranian armed i forces has issued a statement and the significance of it is that they say that the israeli air force used iraqi aircraft to launch missile attacks towards iran, and the distance was roughly about 100 kilometres from the iranian border, and that is why they managed to target the three provinces, they target the

processes in the southern oil—rich project prince of khuzestan. they used an american controlled area of iraq to attack iran, and they tied up iranian radar in those provinces but the damages were minimal and they managed to repair the radars. since the beginning of the attack the iranians were trying to downgrade the damage and said it was limited, we cannot confirm whether, how serious were the damage to the radars, but citing celsius, it is said that they managed to take out three russian—made iranian air defences, s300, and that is significant because it paves the way for possible future attacks. , , ., attacks. the big question everyone _ attacks. the big question everyone is _ attacks. the big question everyone is asking - attacks. the big question everyone is asking is, - attacks. the big question i everyone is asking is, what will iran do next? it

everyone is asking is, what will iran do next?— will iran do next? it is extremely _ will iran do next? it is extremely difficult - will iran do next? it is extremely difficult to | extremely difficult to speculate. iran has proven to be unpredictable. most of the analysts believe right now that, since the beginning, iran has claimed victory already, when you look at the iranian newspapers, they are saying that we have managed to win this war, we defeated their attacks with their projectiles and our defence system proved to be ready for the battle so, from the rhetoric, people assume that while they are already claiming victory it shows they do not want to retaliate because the iranian foreign ministry statement they issued, they said that it is a ron's right to retaliate, they did not mention directly that it will retaliate. —— that it is iran's right to the tally. so many believe that iran does

not want to further escalate. this is the first time for a long time that israeli strikes have hit in tehran. it long time that israeli strikes have hit in tehran.— have hit in tehran. it was surreal— have hit in tehran. it was surreal to _ have hit in tehran. it was surreal to see _ have hit in tehran. it was surreal to see the - have hit in tehran. it was - surreal to see the explosions taking place in tehran. the last time i heard that i was only six years old, in the 80s, during the iran iraq war, now over a0 years old, so it has not been like that, for 35 years, so as soon as this happened people were texting me at my colleagues at bbc persian, saying that some people woke up to the sound of explosions, but at the same time it is interesting that the iranians, for example, the currency value has increased because probably it did not lead to a full—blown war, and thatis lead to a full—blown war, and that is why the iranian currency instead of dropping this time, increased. interesting. in the past iran may have used its proxies,

hezbollah and hamas to launch missiles at israel, they cannot do that easily this time because of the wars that have been going on. because of the wars that have been going on-_ because of the wars that have been going on. israel mentioned two da s been going on. israel mentioned two days ago _ been going on. israel mentioned two days ago that _ been going on. israel mentioned two days ago that iran _ been going on. israel mentioned two days ago that iran spends i two days ago that iran spends —— since its revolutionary guards to beirut, to lebanon, because they have lost too many high—ranking commanders that the iranians needs to be able to command them to launch drones and missiles towards israel so, iran has been heavily mated in lebanon, but, —— has been humiliated. but it's attacks previously has been through its proxies with drones and missiles and it appears that deterrent is not working as well as it did in the past.

working as well as it did in the past-— working as well as it did in the ast. ., ~' ., the past. thank you for your insiaht. parham ghobadi from bbc persian, thank you. our correspondent yolande knell is injerusalem. it is not long since the end of the jewish sabbath, we have had fairly little in terms of official announcements. you would expect to hear something from the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, who came out after the 1st of october attacks, vowing that iran would pay a heavy price for what happened then. there was, on social media, comment by the national security minister, the far right itamar ben gvir, that this was an opening blow to damage iranian strategic assets. but people point out that israel is fighting on two

fronts — in gaza and against hezbollah, in lebanon as well, but there are others who place confidence in the military and its ability to respond, particularly when it comes to its air defence capabilities. meanwhile, the situation in gaza continues to get worse, with the un top humanitarian official saying that the entire population of northern gaza is "at risk of dying". we have had very strong condemnation of israel's ongoing military offensive in the far north of the gaza strip, particularly affected has been one of the few hospitals that are still functioning in gaza, the kamal adwan hospital, and what we have been hearing is that the israeli raid that began a

day ago is now over there, but that many of the male medics who worked at the hospital have remained in israeli detention, some patients detained, as well, and there is footage which we cannot verify, which does show a lot of damage to the buildings of that hospital. this is all against the backdrop of the new offensive that israel began in the north of the gaza strip some three weeks ago, saying that it was targeting hamas fighters who had been regrouping there. the gazan health ministry said that some 800 people have been killed during that time. in the refugee campjabalia, hundreds of people have been stuck there, besieged by israeli forces, and the iclc came out and said that there were extremely dire conditions there, and calling for people to be allowed to have safe passage to evacuate from those areas, which are at the centre of this offensive. yolande knell in jerusalem.

speaking as he boarded a plane to pittsburgh, president biden said he hoped this signalled the end of israeli strikes against iran. i have been talking to the intelligence community for the last half an hour. it looks like they did not do anything other than hit those targets, i hope that this is the end. 0ur north america correspondent rowan bridge has been giving the reacion to the strikes on iran in the us. i think there will be a sense of relief within the white house as to the nature of the attacks

that israel carried out, they were described by a senior official as precise and proportionate. i think there had been concerns, america had been pressuring the israelis publicly and privately not to go after iranian nuclear or oil facilities amid concerns that that could escalate the situation and they are clearly, from the language used, hoping to draw a line under this at this stage. they are warning, a senior american official said there would be consequences for iran, if they do decide to strike back. you mentioned president biden was off to an election rally. how big an issue is the middle east in the election? it could be crucial. arab americans are a significant proportion of the electorate, in michigan in particular, which is a key swing state in this election, and with the opinion polls as tight as they are, groups such as arab americans could be that section of the population which swings key states and ultimately decide the election results, so kamala harris has been trying to shore up support amongst arab americans, because of concerns about us strategy in the middle east and what that could mean to the outcome

of this election. rowan bridge in washington. to georgia now where the nation has been voting in a key election that could determine whether the country has closer ties with the european union or russia. meanwhile, election observers are reporting a number of violations, including ballot— stuffing, intimidation and violence used against opposition monitors and journalists. the vote in this particular polling station was discounted. and these are the scenes outside one of the polling stations in the capital. there is some conflict some people throwing punches. the election is considered one of the most important parliamentary elections since independence from the soviet union more than 30 years ago. let's speak to our south caucasus and central asia correspondent, rayhan demytrie. what is the latest in terms of the number of votes that have

been counted? the the number of votes that have been counted?— been counted? the latest, we 'ust been counted? the latest, we just heard _ been counted? the latest, we just heard a — been counted? the latest, we just heard a briefing _ been counted? the latest, we just heard a briefing from - been counted? the latest, we just heard a briefing from the| just heard a briefing from the central election commission, it published preliminary results of saturday's parliamentary election announcing that the governing georgian dream received 52% of the vote, preliminary results, and the combined vote for the opposition stands at less than a0%. there are still more vote counting to be done. it is being done manually as it was reported by the head of the central election commission but this is the picture, for now. earlier today when the polls closed, and exit polls were published by both the pro—government media and the opposition media, both sides were celebrating victory. however, now, we haven't yet heard any reaction from the opposition to this latest figures that came from the central election commission.

just explain how pivotal this election is when it comes to the country either to the european union, or to russia. incredibly important elections. highly anticipated. they have been described as the most important in georgia's modern history, because many believe that this country's future is at stake, and that future either with the european union or with russia. although the governing georgian dream is saying, they have been campaigning with a message that this election is a choice between war and peace, suggesting that the opposition will somehow lead this country, get it involved, drag it into ukraine's war, whilst the incumbents are the guarantors of peace and stability in georgia, and that message resonates with many people giving previous conflicts with russia, given that 20% of this country is occupied by russia.

however, the opposition believes that the current government has been acting in the kremlin's interest, by pushing certain narratives, pro—kremlin narratives and policies including laws adopted earlier this year, that caused big, mass protests in the country, and they are saying that the governing party serves the interest of russia while they, the opposition, a promise that, if they can form the coalition government, they can continue on georgia's european integration, but for now, we still have not had any reaction from the opposition to any of these latest figures published by the central election commission. rayhan demytrie in tbilisi, thank you. here in the uk, business leaders have voiced concern that the national insurance rate for employers will rise in wednesday's budget on wednesday. the chancellor rachel reeves is also expected to bring down the threshold at which businesses start having to pay it. marc ashdown reports.

hugo runs two restaurants in york. like many employers, he's weighing up the potential impact if national insurance contributions do go up. a bit worried. it is definitely a tax on employing people, and we employ 50 people, and it means that our costs will go up and our margins are absolutely minuscule at the moment. national insurance helps fund the state pension and some benefits. employers pay it at a rate of 13.8% on a worker's earnings above £175 a week. it's thought the rate could rise to over 15%. workers themselves add in 8%, but that rate is not expected to change. which labour believes keeps a manifesto promise not to raise taxes for working people. business leaders say it still amounts to a tax on jobs, which could affect decisions on hiring, pay rises, and expansion plans. in the united kingdom, we have 99% of our businesses are small and medium, and if we don't encourage

the environment for those businesses to grow, then the economy doesn't grow. the bbc understands the chancellor is now not likely to bring in a levy on employer pensions contributions as well. but these two changes to employer national insurance contributions could be the single largest revenue raiser at next week's budget. the conservatives have accused labour of reinventing what counts as a working person, but a government source said the money raised would help fund the nhs, and that asking businesses to help out was part of the tough choices the government would have to make. marc ashdown, bbc news. we are ten days away from the us presidential election. in michigan, donald trump is back out campaigning. at that rally he has called on americans to "dream big", after he took part

in thejoe rogan podcast when he said his biggest mistake as us president was appointing bad and disloyalfigures. former and disloyal figures. former first lady and disloyalfigures. former first lady michelle 0bama is expected to join kamala first lady michelle 0bama is expected tojoin kamala harris at a rally later. the opinion polls are extremely close but there are concerns that, if donald trump loses he will refuse to accept the result as he did in 2020. ros atkins looks at what might happen this time. the polls in this election remain incredibly tight. trump could win. harris could win. and what could happen if trump loses? we can expect legal challenges. there's concern about violence. and we know what happened last time. we were getting ready to win this election. frankly, we did win this election. we did win this election. trump would repeatedly and falsely claim the election had been stolen. his allies launched

multiple legal challenges. trump pressured his vice president not to certify the results. and onjanuary the 6th, some of his supporters stormed the capitol. none of this worked. the result was certified, but trump has never accepted his defeat. which brings us to this election. if for some reason i lose, and i think if i lose, this country will go into a tailspin the likes of which it's never seen before, the likes of 1929. but if i do, and it's free and fair, absolutely, i will accept the results. but the last election was free and fair, and we know what followed. to avoid a repeat, lawmakers passed a new law to make it harder for congress to challenge the results. that's here in washington. then there are the states themselves. as politico reports, since 2020, trump allies have won seats on county and state election boards across the swing states likely to decide the 202a contest. and critics of trump see disruption ahead. so you're seeing a growing movement of legal fights

about whether local boards of election can refuse to certify election results because of conspiracy theories about voter fraud or undocumented immigrants voting. senior republicans, though, deny that trump and his supporters want to undermine the electoral process. his great concern is election security, and it is mine as well. it is all of ours. we are really seriously concerned about this, and we've got to do everything that we can to ensure it. whatever the motives, legal clashes are already beginning in georgia, a crucial swing state. the election board, with a pro—trump majority ordered the hand counting of ballots, in theory to ensure accuracy, but a judge blocked this, saying it adds uncertainty and disorder to the electoral process. but legal challenges are now a feature of us politics. and in this battle for the white house, both republicans and democrats are ready for court battles if they feel there's wrongdoing. the washington post reports that the harris team

has more than a00 lawyers, including volunteers who are specifically focussed on post—election planning. if trump loses, it seems certain this will end up in court. but what about the possibility of political violence? to assess that, it's helpful to consider the circumstances in which it can happen. it's countries that have presidential systems with winner take all elections. they're countries where the political parties are deeply divided and distrustful of each other. america ticks those two boxes. division and distrust are woven into us politics. and there's more. it also happens in countries where the party that loses believes that the election was stolen. and it's particularly likely if the losing party has lost a second consecutive election. and if you think about those four factors, it perfectly describes the united states,

if trump loses. that doesn't mean violence is inevitable, but it's possible. 0ne survey found 68% of americans are concerned that extremists will commit acts of violence after the election if they're unhappy with the election outcome. and as election day approaches, trump continues to attack america's electoral system. we did great in 2016. a lot of people didn't know. we did much better in 2020. we won. we did win. it was a rigged election. the 2020 election wasn't rigged. he didn't win. but one poll found that over 60% of republicans think that the election was stolen. trump lost the presidency, but he succeeded in normalising the rejection of election results for some americans. if he loses again, we shouldn't be surprised if he rejects defeat again. with all the risks that that entails.

ros atkins, our analysis editor. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. skies will tend to clear overnight and that will allow temperatures to drop. so it's a chillier start for part two of the weekend. but we should see more sunshine around, certainly for england and wales. but even eastern scotland. however, western scotland, northern ireland will start to see more wind and rain pushing in. i think for all areas after the cool start, it's going to be a little bit chillier than we've had the last few days. so as we head into saturday evening, this weather front, which has brought wet and windy weather to scotland and northern ireland, will sink southwards across england and wales as we move through the course of the night, but you'll notice it fizzles out as it does so. there'll be barely anything on it by the time it reaches south wales and southern england. a few blustery showers for western scotland. otherwise it's dry with clear skies, lighterwinds. it'll turn quite chilly for all areas, but a touch of frost likely for parts of scotla nd and northern ireland. and don't forget tonight the clocks go back one hour, so sunday morning then, it's a chilly start for all areas, particularly in the north.

lots of sunshine. however, the winds pick up again across northern ireland and scotland, and cloud and rain starts to push in here. but parts of eastern scotland will see sunshine, england and wales doing pretty well with the sunshine into the afternoon, just tending to cloud up across northern and western areas. but a cooler day — ten to 13 or 1a degrees. as we move out of sunday into monday, with a couple of fairly weak weather fronts across the country, more isobars as well for all areas. so i think it's going to be a fairly breezy day across the board. a lot of cloud around with some spots of rain. thanks to those weather fronts. i think most of the rain will tend to be across more northern and western areas. there will be some glimmers of brightness further east, certainly east of high ground and temperatures mild again — the mid to high teens. into tuesday, this area of high pressure starts to build in, so we lose the weather fronts and the isobars open out. so the winds will be lighter on tuesday and it should be mostly dry. could see a few showers just clearing the far southeast through the day.

elsewhere, variable cloud, maybe a bit more sunshine around on tuesday afternoon. central, northern and eastern areas and again quite mild, mid to high teens. as we move through the week we hold on to high pressure, which brings fine and settled conditions. quite a bit of cloud around with some chilly nights and mist and fog, but we start to see low pressure digging into northern areas and that will bring a change by the end of the week and into next weekend. so it's mild for most of this week until we reach the weekend, where it turns colder with northerly winds.

this is bbc news, the headlines... iran plays down the impact of a series of israeli airstrikes overnight, saying the attacks caused only limited damage. us presidentjoe biden said it appears israel only struck military targets in iran. partial results from georgia's key parliamentary election have put the long—governing georgian dream party in the lead. the uk's chancellor is set to increase the national insurance rate for employers to boost funding for public services. rachel reeves is also expected to use wednesday's budget to lower the threshold for when employers start paying the tax. the race for the white house enters its final stages with only ten days to go until the election. donald trump tells americans to "dream big" at a rally in michigan. michelle 0bama is set to campaign with kamala harris. now on bbc news, it's sportsday.