the three main parties. and these are live pictures from tbilisi. further protest planned tonight across georgia, after the government suspended eu membership talks. hello, welcome to bbc news. in syria, islamist rebels are reported to be in control of much of the city of aleppo for the first time since being forced out by government troops in 2016. rebel soldiers are patrolling the streets and there are reports of queues of cars clogging the roads out of aleppo as civilians flee. they're also said to have seized control of aleppo airport. this video apparently filmed from a vehicle and posted on social media, shows armed men at the airport, but it has not been independently verified

by the bbc. the rebels have also been celebrating outside the city's ancient citadel. they're said to have met little resistance, though the army says dozens of its soldiers have been killed or injured. warplanes belonging to russia — an ally of syria's president bashar al—assad — bombed rebel positions in the city centre in the early hours. a monitor of the conflict — the syrian observatory for human rights — says 16 civilians were killed in a strike which hit a roundabout. the rebels�* offensive has made rapid progress since it began on wednesday, capturing numerous towns and villages in hama and idlib provinces. the syrian military says troops have been temporarily withdrawn from aleppo to prepare a counteroffensive. a reminder of the recent history of aleppo — the city was the scene of one of the bloodiest sieges of syria's civil war — which first broke out in 2011. this week's offensive is the largest against the syrian

government in years. our correspondent, barbara plett usher, is monitoring developments from neighbouring lebanon. a stunning victory for the rebels — even they overcome with its swiftness and success. just three days after launching a surprise offensive from their stronghold in north—west syria. this is the most serious challenge to president assad in years. they stormed back into the city after assad's army forced them out at the height of the war. translation: after hard worki and patience from the fighters, the city of aleppo has been completely liberated. thank god. and by god's will, we will reach horns and damascus too. the rebels are led by the islamist group hayat tahrir al—sham, or hts. it used to be linked to al-qaeda, but cut ties from the group years ago. hts is listed as a terrorist organisation by the us and others.

it controls most of the north—western province of idlib, the last remaining opposition stronghold after more than a decade of civil war. that war began in 2011, triggered by popular protests against assad's rule. russia intervened in 2015, turning the tide against the advancing rebels. the battle for aleppo in 2016 was a crucial point. syrian and russian forces gained control after a gruelling siege. the war has mostly gone quiet since, with occasional eruptions, the last major one in 2020 when syria and its russian allies attacked idlib. now again russian warplanes are bombing aleppo, backing government forces trying to drive the rebels out. the kremlin is assad's most important ally, but it's now also fighting a war in ukraine. iran and the lebanese hezbollah are also sending fighters to syria, but they have been weakened by israeli attacks in the region.

that is one reason the rebels were able to advance quickly. there are fears now they may be reigniting the embers of the long—running civil war. barbara plett usher, bbc news, beirut. let's speak to dianna darke, who is a middle east author and researcher. welcome. tell us little bit more. what do we know about this group. we are talking about rebels, what do we need to know about the group? the? to know about the group? they are a grow) _ to know about the group? they are a group that _ to know about the group? they are a group that have _ to know about the group? tie: are a group that have been through various rebranding is in 2016 when they distance themselves from al-qaeda, and themselves from al-qaeda, and the leader is abu mohammed al giuliani and his name means his family is from the golan

heights. —— one. his credentials as a rebel opposition leader are second to none, if you like. he is only 42, and the group has been trying very hard to present a new image of itself, it runs emergency response committees so it was the most efficient health service, it was on the ground, hts affiliated companies were helping to rebuild, so it has done a lot on the ground to make itself popular and rebrand itself as a more moderate opposition, hoping obviously that hayat tahrir al—sham is able to present itself as a credible

opponent to the assad regime. given its affiliation with al-qaeda and islamic state, our people concerned about it now controlling aleppo? we also know there are many people who have been displaced from aleppo, they can now potentially return, how do you weigh that up given the affiliation that this particular group have previously had? particular group have reviousl had? , previously had? well, exactly. you are right _ previously had? well, exactly. you are right to _ previously had? well, exactly. you are right to point - previously had? well, exactly. you are right to point out - previously had? well, exactly. you are right to point out that| you are right to point out that many, many people have been displaced. all the people sitting in idlib. and remember 50% of the syrian population is not under assad control so 4 million people are in idlib who have been displaced from their homes, many of them from aleppo, so of course they will be coming to reoccupy their homes. the same goes for many syrian refugees in turkey who obviously must have green—lighted this operation because turkey is always funded —— has always funded hts.

again, the president of turkey will have an interest in this because he won the return of his own refugees, most of them who fled syria to escape —— escape conscription to asset's army. the timing is also feeding into, you know, that incoming trump administration, the dynamics of what is happening in the kurdish areas, fears that the american troops will get withdrawn, leaving the kurds exposed again. so, you know, there is an awful lot going on in a very short space of time, and the dynamics are just extraordinary, but i think the whole thing has taken the assad regime completely by surprise and yet, you see people have imagined the war is over but it is not. assad and russia have been bombing the idlib area repeatedly every week. 100 people die routinely

every week but we just don't hear about it because syria has been out of the news. these rebels under hts have a massive motivation to put an end to all of that and they have had eight years to regroup, and my goodness, in the space of this very short space of time, they seem to have achieved a great deal, even going as far south 80 kilometres south of aleppo, thatis 80 kilometres south of aleppo, that is phenomenal. they have obviously taken the main road down to damascus as well so goodness knows where this is going to lead to and what it is going to lead to and what it is going to lead to and what it is going to ignite in the rest of the country, write down the south, a place which has always been simmering away and it may reignite some opposition again there. , . ., ~ reignite some opposition again there. . ~ ., , there. dianna darke, really appreciate _ there. dianna darke, really appreciate your _ there. dianna darke, really appreciate your expertise l appreciate your expertise there, middle east author and researcher, thank you so much. we are going to stay in the middle east now. reports from gaza say

three staff members of the american—based food charity, world central kitchen, have been killed in a drone strike on the territory. images from the southern city of khan younis show the wreckage of a vehicle with its roof blown open. the israeli army has confirmed targeting a car, saying it was carrying a person involved in the october 7th attacks. world central kitchen has not yet commented on the attack. seven members of its staff were killed in idf strikes on their convoy in gaza in april, in what the israeli military described as a grave mistake. ican i can tell you that while central kitchen have actually just released a statement on the last few seconds. —— world central kitchen. it reads, we are devastated to hear this. we are devastated to hear this. we are working with incomplete information and are urgently seeking more details. well central kitchen have no knowledge that any individual in the vehicle had alleged ties

to the 7th of october hamas attack. well central kitchen is pausing operations in gaza at this time, our hearts are with our colleagues and their families in this unimaginable moment, that statement coming to usjust now. 0ur correspondent nick beake is injerusalem and gave us more details about the attack. there is this video and various photographs that emerged of the aftermath of this drone strike. it was in the city of khan younis, in the south of the gaza strip, and we see quite clearly a white car that's been very badly damaged. and there is a very distinctive hole in the roof. that is where the missile came through. now, eyewitnesses have been telling the reuters news agency that this happened while a big crowd of people were getting ready to receive flour. and the reports in the palestinian media are that at least, well, that three employees of this charity, world central kitchen, were among those who were killed. there's also a video that shows three bodies in white bags, and next to them there are various possessions

which are burnt and damaged, and they show an id card, also a laptop and some clothing, all of which bear the name of the charity. now the israeli military is saying that yes, it did strike this particular vehicle. the reason for that is that they say they'd been tracking it, they'd been watching it and then decided to launch this drone attack on it because they say inside was someone who was involved in the october the 7th hamas attacks last year. now, we don't know what alleged role they were supposed to have played, but certainly the israelis say, yes, they carried this out and this is the justification they're putting forward. and, nick, we're yet to hear from world central kitchen. but this isn't the first time that this kind of strike has happened on their charity workers. you're right. it was back in april when there was a convoy of three cars that was targeted. seven people were killed in that particular drone strike. three of them were british security staff, former

military, who were helping to look after other members of the charity as they distributed food around the gaza strip. after that, the israeli defense forces said that what had happened really was in breach of what they would expect. they say there were grave errors and subsequently two pretty senior commanders were fired as a result of that. but certainly i think people will be looking again, exactly what has happened this morning in gaza. nick beake nick bea ke reporting nick beake reporting from jerusalem. some mps who backed the bill on assisted dying say they would want to see changes before they could guarantee to give it final approval. yesterday, the house of commons voted in favour of a proposed law that would allow terminally ill adults in england and wales to take their lives with the help of a doctor. but the bill has many parliamentary hurdles to overcome before it could become law. earlier, i caught up with our political correspondent, harry farley, to found out what he'd been hearing from mps.

0ne one area of concern that several mps have highlighted to me is the bill's provisions to allows doctors to raise assisted dying bill as an option without a terminally ill patient having asked for it first, so they are worried this could be seen as suggesting to patients that assisted dying might be an option to them. i have spoken to several mps who backed the bill at that initial stage yesterday but want to see that change before they agree to supporting it at the final stage. the mp for dover and deal told me that assisted dying should only be discussed if it is raised by the patient, and that would help mitigate the risk or accident of coercion or the perception of a hint. those behind the bill say it should be up to doctor's professionaljudgment, and professional judgment, and medics should professionaljudgment, and medics should not be glad as to what they can discuss with patients, and a source close to kim leadbetter who is the mp

bringing forth the bill, said she is open to discussing it at future stages. it is a reminder that there are many more parliamentary hurdle is that this bill needs to cross before it could possibly become law. talk us through, because this isn't guaranteed to become law, it possibly won't become law, where are we with the process? next, the committee of mps will be formed and they will meet for the first time in january. they will go through the bill, line by line, to scrutinise it, to suggest changes, and then those amendments, as well as the bill as a whole, must be then debated on and voted on again before it goes off to the house of lords who then get to have their chance to suggest any amendments. so there are many more stages to go. if it doesn't become law, it is likely to be at least two years before assisted dying would actually be an option for the terminally ill in england and wales. more protests are talking place in georgia.

these are the live pictures coming out of tbilisi. last night, georgian police used water cannon and tear gas against demonstrators who turned out in their thousands near the parliament building in tbilisi for a second night running. what we are looking at now is the national broadcaster, where protesters have accessed the building, so we are just monitoring that life shut as well, as protesters entering the national tv building, we arejust keeping an the national tv building, we are just keeping an eye the national tv building, we arejust keeping an eye on the national tv building, we are just keeping an eye on the latest because we don't quite believe they have taken over the national tv station, but we are just keeping the national tv station, but we arejust keeping an the national tv station, but we are just keeping an eye the national tv station, but we arejust keeping an eye on the national tv station, but we are just keeping an eye on that as well. the protests were sparked by the georgian dream party's decision to put off accession talks with the european union until 2028.

let's speak to our correspondent reyhan demytrie in georgia. bring that up to date where we are, because once again we are seeing protests and this latest development, when it comes to the national broadcaster as well. ~ , ., well. well, things are moving at uuite well. well, things are moving at quite a _ well. well, things are moving at quite a rapid _ well. well, things are moving at quite a rapid pace - well. well, things are moving at quite a rapid pace here - well. well, things are moving at quite a rapid pace here in l at quite a rapid pace here in georgia. so, a group of public figures and journalists earlier, they were protesting outside public broadcasters building here in tbilisi, demanding airtime. and as we understand, that has been granted to them. they are supposed to appear on air, but the latest information that i got before coming on air here was that they were debating with the leadership of the public broadcaster how many people can be allowed to go on air. and just before entering the building, some of the

public figures, they stated the reason why they are doing so, they said that the public broadcaster became, it is the mouth piece of peace, the ruling party georgian dream, and it is spreading russian propaganda, and it should return to its mission which is serving the interests of georgian people. we have seen a similar situation happening in georgia's second largest city. protesters there also demanded airtime from the public broadcaster in that part of georgia. there are rallies across the country in smaller regions, which is quite significant, because in the regions, people don't tend to protest. and of course we have seen people back on the streets here in tbilisi at the focal point of this ongoing crisis, which is outside the parliament.- which is outside the parliament. ., . parliament. you and i were speaking — parliament. you and i were speaking last _ parliament. you and i were speaking last night - parliament. you and i were speaking last night and - parliament. you and i were speaking last night and we| parliament. you and i were - speaking last night and we were witnessing water cannon, tear

gas, just to let you know, 1532 00:18:02,48