the world health organisation warns of a "catastrophic" situation at gaza's medical facilities. we cannotjust sit around and complain. no, we've got to do something! former first lady michelle obama attacks donald trump in a fiery pitch for kamala harris in michigan as trump hits the other battleground state of pennsylvania. and polls open in japan's snap general election, seen as a crucial test for the country's new prime minister, shigeru ishiba. hello, i'm azadeh moshiri. we begin with reaction to israel's air strikes on iran. it's an attack world leaders have been bracing themselves for. while iran is downplaying the scale of the strikes, saying they caused limited damage, its army said the raids killed four of its soldiers.

israel, on the other hand, says three waves of fighter jets targeted 20 military sites with some reports saying up to 100 aircraft were involved. israel says the attacks were in response to missiles that were fired by iran earlier this month. according to iranian officials, military sites in the capital tehran were hit, as well as bases in the provinces of ilam and khuzestan. iraq, qatar, and saudi arabia are among countries in the region that have condemned the israeli raids, while hezbollah — which is backed by iran and designated a terrorist organisation by the us and uk — has called this a dangerous escalation. but there's been a different message from here in the us. speaking in the last few hours as he boarded a plane, presidentjoe biden said he hoped this signalled an end to the direct attacks between the two countries. i was on with the intelligence community for the last half—hour.

it looks like they didn't hit anything other than military targets. my hope is this is the end. did you get a heads—up from israel on the iran strike? did you get any heads—up? yes. the office of israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu said israel chose its targets: "in accordance with its national interests, and not "according to american dictates". our north america correspondent rowan bridge has more on what us officials are saying on the strikes in iran. 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. echoing president biden, the uk, france and germany have called on all sides to show restraint. russia says it is concerned about the escalation in hostilities. the bbc�*sjeremy bowen has been getting reaction from jerusalem and sent us this report. 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 is justified and unavoidable. so i think it was a good action. but we need to keep it calm. we don't need to get an escalation going. the message is through and i hope things will become 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. live now to nader hashemi, director of georgetown university's center for muslim—christian understanding. he's also an associate professor of middle east and islamic politics. thank you for your time. do you believe iran will draw a line under this? what calculation will the supreme leader likely make when it comes to weighing up make when it comes to weighing up the risks of a response? given that reports coming out of iran, referring specifically to the report in the new york times which strikes me as accurate that israel did not hit any sensitive oil, gas or industrial sites did take out air defence systems around those sensitive sites, making

iran more vulnerable in future israeli attacks, i think the regime in iran will try and present this as a victory, as a limited strike, in the hope of deescalating the crisis with israel and the middle east. i think that is how i am reading this situation but, of course, we owe far from a resolution of these tensions because all of this comes back to gaza and our lebanon and those conflicts are still raging. lebanon and those conflicts are still raging-— still raging. when you look at iran still raging. when you look at iran now. _ still raging. when you look at iran now, how— still raging. when you look at iran now, how would - still raging. when you look at iran now, how would you - still raging. when you look at i iran now, how would you assess their military capabilities especially when we know their proxies have suffered a series of blows?— proxies have suffered a series of blows? . , ., , of blows? the last few months have been _ of blows? the last few months have been a — of blows? the last few months have been a major— of blows? the last few months have been a major setback - of blows? the last few months have been a major setback for| have been a major setback for iran particularly with assets in lebanon, the assassination of the senior leadership of hezbollah have taken a major hit, so this is a major setback for iran. i think iran realises

it cannot win a war with israel because that would most likely bring in the united states, and imported to point out that within iran the regime has a lot of problems, a lot of deep societal anger and discontent with the state of politics, the economy is bleeding and has been bleeding for a very long time. it is not in the freezing's interest to sort of engage in an escalatory attack with israel and, of course, iran will respond as we did see them respond both earlier this month and in april when it feels its core assets are being attacked, still reserves the right to do so i don't think it is the preference of the irani and regime to escalate this further. ., and regime to escalate this further. . ., ~ and regime to escalate this further. ., ., ~ , ~ and regime to escalate this further. ., .,~ , ~ ., further. can we take stock for a moment — further. can we take stock for a moment because _ further. can we take stock for a moment because it - further. can we take stock for a moment because it is - further. can we take stock for a moment because it is easy| further. can we take stock for. a moment because it is easy to get desensitised by a lot of the developments in the middle

east given the year that has happened. how grave is a situation that we are talking about direct attacks between israel and iran when you look at the historic context? i think it is very grave, even though there has been a seemingly deescalation in the last 2a hours given the targets that israel has targeted, within iran overall we are in a pattern of escalation. i think the election in the us will determine where this is headed, i think the conflict in lebanon will determine whether this is headed so overall the trajectory is towards escalation. it is a region on the brink of the potential of a major regional war and it doesn't look like are anywhere close to this conflict in the region ending any time soon, largely because it can be traced back to the situation in gaza which does not seem like it will end any time soon. this

is still a very dangerous moment for the region and i do not think there is any reason to celebrate just because the targets that israel hit are not the high level sensitive targets in iran related to nuclear facilities oil facilities, there is still potential and i think iran is more vulnerable now given most of his differences around those sensitive industrial sites and oil production sites have effectively been eliminated. i am concerned about where we're headed. ., , ,., ., ~ am concerned about where we're headed. ., , ., ~ i. headed. professor, thank you for our headed. professor, thank you for your time. _ well, meanwhile in gaza, the united nations says it's had reports that nearly all of the male staff at a hospital have been detained by israeli forces. israeli troops have now left the kamal adwan hospital in jabalia after a raid yesterday. hundreds of patients and displaced people were sheltering there at the time. the bbc and otherforeign media organisations are prevented by israel from entering gaza to report independently, but our special correspondent fergal keane sent this

report from jerusalem. you may find some scenes in it distressing. this is the story of a doctor... allahu akbar. ..who became a grieving father. hossam abu saifa worked to save the lives of others. allahu akbar. but today, mourned his son. ibraham was killed in the hospital grounds, shot by the israeli army, his father says. since the renewed offensive onjabalia, the doctor has made repeated appeals for help. translation: we are talking about collective punishment l for the health system in the gaza strip. consequently, we urge the world to intervene and impose their humanity over the israeli army.

the army raided yesterday. dr abu safiyyah, with his staff, waiting. then the people forced out. fear holds them. they are made to line up. men separated from the women. translation: we moved patients to the reception area. _ then they said to dr hussam, the director of the hospital, to evacuate patients who could walk. among those with catheters and those with central lines, some could not walk long distances because of internal injuries. however, they insisted on them exiting on foot. the damaged hospital compound this afternoon.

the israelis say they were seeking terrorists and their infrastructure. wrecked ambulances. three soldiers were killed in jabalia yesterday. hamas published these images of a stricken israeli tank. dr abu safiyyah mourned his son. he was comforted by the small group of men still left around the hospital. let's show you some images that have been coming through of blasts in lebanon's capital beirut. we know that earlier this evening, israeli military issued fresh evacuation orders. a spokesperson for the israel defense forces says all residents in burj al—barajneh — a southern suburb of beirut — should evacuate immediately for their own safety. the spokesperson said the israeli military would be

targeting specific buildings it says are hezbollah facilities. let's take a look at the situation live in beirut. we will continue to monitor. we will see how it develops. a few hours ago, an hour ago, we saw smoke on the skyline. as soon as we have more information for you, we will bring it to you on the bbc news channel. here in the us, it's only ten days to go until the presidential election and the campaigns are rolling on full force as millions of americans have already cast their ballots in the early voting process. donald trump has just finished his campaign event at a pennsylvania university, after campaigning in michigan earlier on saturday. at a rally near detroit, muslim leaders endorsed the former president onstage, saying they believe he can bring peace to the middle east.

the conflicts in gaza and lebanon are top issues there in michigan. but in pennsylvania, energy and manufacturing top the list. at his rally, trump promised to reduce energy prices for pennsylvanians. under kamala's high—cost energy policies, pennsylvania electricity prices are already up 50% and are projected to more than double in the years ahead, year and a half, they expect to be double. not only are they not going to be double, your energy prices — that's car, gasoline, because we're going to end the electric mandate immediately, ok? applause immediately. from january the 20th, which is when we would take over. meanwhile in the last hour, kamala harris finished rallying a crowd of supporters in kalamazoo, michigan.

former first lady michelle obama introduced the vice president to the crowd, in herfirst campaign appearance since the democratic national convention in august. in a fiery speech, the former first lady criticised donald trump repeatedly, and argued kamala harris is being held to a higher standard than her opponent. this was her message to voters in michigan. right now, as you know, this race is close. it's too close for my liking. and i came out here to michigan because i am someone who takes her own advice to heart. i know that if we want to help this country finally turn the page on the politics of hatred and division, we can'tjust sit around and complain. no, we've got to do something. if we want to usher in the next generation of american leadership, we have got to do something!

now all this follows other high—profile appearances on the campaign trail this week. beyonce and willie nelson came out in support of kamala harris in houston on friday. harris has already earned the endorsements of other famous artists, including taylor swift, bruce springsteen and eminem — to name a few. and former president donald trump taped a three—hour—long interview with america's number—one podcaster — joe rogan. the trump campaign hopes the interview will consolidate his influence with male voters, who make up the core audience of rogan's podcast. mark harvey is the author of celebrity influence: politics, persuasian and influence—based advocacy. i asked him how much power celebrities have in mobilizing theirfans to vote. quite honestly not that much that we can measure. what we do know about what causes voters to vote in a certain way, they are motivated by things like the economy, their party

identification, it is those things that usually motivate people, not necessarily what willie nelson things. it is very difficult. i will see there are is one case we know where a celebrity was influential, that was oprah winfrey in 2008, who helped barack obama get the democratic nomination. forthe barack obama get the democratic nomination. for the most part it is difficult in terms of those endorsements to prove that this, the small voices in a sea of variables, will make a huge difference.— huge difference. what do you make of people _ huge difference. what do you make of people like - huge difference. what do you make of people like taylor i make of people like taylor swift, beyonce who we associate to a lot of star power? do you say there endorsements would not have really move the dial or do you say we just not know? firstly i would say we do not absolutely know but there are some things we do know. i can point out a usa today survey they came out in may that suggested among the most influential people in the us are people like barack and michelle obama but taylor swift, oprah winfrey, beyonce are on that list and a high up.

the percentage of people they can actually move is very small however. unless we have that going for us. there is other things also that you can think about when you consider about the influence of celebrities, based on my research, anyway, we find celebrities can be persuasive but not on everything all the time. on issues that are more polemic they tend to be less influential, taylor swift will not convince anyone in the us to change their position on government policy. it is possible maybe to have some movement in the middle. i point you out to some of my research that was released in the hill last month where we did a study on how influential taylor swift was, and what we found is among the swift fans, among those who are not decided, she was actually causing them to be less likely to want to vote for democrats rather than more. that is something you also have to think about, whenever celebrities come in and express

themselves, they may inspire some but also repel others. that is fascinating. why is that? what turns some of their own fans of that way?- that? what turns some of their own fans of that way? there are all sorts of _ own fans of that way? there are all sorts of things _ own fans of that way? there are all sorts of things that _ own fans of that way? there are all sorts of things that may - own fans of that way? there are all sorts of things that may be l all sorts of things that may be appellee. one may be brand match, just because you are famous and can draw attention, does not desirably mean you are a great endorser. a study in the early 2000s of ourjessica simpson that proved she could sell perfume but not pocket knives. i do think that taylor swift is a credible human being, a great artist and so on but it could just be that some of these people feel like i do not want to mix my politics with my music or my entertainment. it is a common sentiment among a lot of people. sentiment among a lot of --eole. ~ ., , people. we have seen celebrities _ people. we have seen celebrities hesitate i people. we have seen celebrities hesitate to | people. we have seen - celebrities hesitate to comes to political endorsement, taylor swift was one of them. are you worried that endorsement could alienate some of theirfans. what endorsement could alienate some of their fans. what is the risk for celebrities and why were

they overcome that? what is in it for them?— it for them? the commercial risk is significant, _ it for them? the commercial risk is significant, for - risk is significant, for someone like taylor swift who is the biggest thing on the planet right now, maybe the calculation is that by driving a few people away it will be the end of the world and in her view she basically says she started getting involved in politics because she did not want to be on the wrong side of history, in her own words. if you are somebody up and coming like