this is bbc news. as ukraine prepares to mark the third christmas since russia's invasion, we bring you a special report from the city of pokrovsk, the birthplace of a well—known carol. and it is notjust the physical destruction of the city that you can see all around me, ukraine also accuses russia of trying to erase its cultural identity. new information on israel's exploding pagers and walkie talkie attacks on hezbollah. the lid is lifted on an operation that was ten years in the making. i'm emir nader live in bethlehem, where muted christmas celebrations are taking place this year, as the war in the region rages on. a nasa spacecraft is attempting to make history,

with the closest—ever approach to the sun. these are the pictures live over hawaii's big island, as kilauea volcano erupts. but there are no immediate threats to infrastructure. ukrainians are marking their third christmas since the russian invasion, with putin's forces pushing deeper into the east of the country. the city of pokrovsk is russia's next target. its troops are now less than three kilometres from the city centre. it's a key military hub. but it's also part of ukraine's cultural identity too. it's the birthplace of a well—known christmas carol. our defence correspondent jonathan beale has this report. music: shchedryk. the discord of christmas

in a shattered city. but this is where the composer of this well—known carol once lived. pokrovsk — the next russian target. most of its population's already fled. explosion no sound or sign of christmas here. just shelling. those left behind only break cover to find essentials. many are cut off from gas, water and electricity. ihor says you never know where or when the next hit will be. he likens it to living on a powder keg. oksana hopes ukraine can hold on, but she thinks it's unlikely. pokrovsk, she says, will probably fall. russian forces are still advancing towards the city of pokrovsk. they are nowjust a few miles from where i'm standing.

and it's notjust the physical destruction of the city that you can see all around me. ukraine also accuses russia of trying to erase its cultural identity, too. music: carol of the bells. this familiar tune, known as the carol of the bells — or shchedryk in ukraine — was composed by mykola leontovych. this is where he worked as a music teacher in pokrovsk — a plaque now the only reminder. the hasych family fled pokrovsk this summer. they're now shocked at the scale of devastation. mum yulia says it makes her want to cry. but she isn't letting her daughters forget home or the signature song of their city. translation: when i played it at home, it seemed happy. -

it reminded me of winter and christmas. now it's more of a sad song to me, because it reminds me of home, and i really want to go back. but for one ukrainian military band, it's also become a song to inspire resistance. they're even taking it to the trenches — with weapons as improvised instruments. translation: we'll visit any brigade on the front line - and perform ukrainian songs on any weapon. it lifts the spirits, those beats and rhythms cheer up the guys and inspire them to fight. shchedryk shows that ukraine is a civilised nation now at war, fighting for its identity. for ukraine, there is a special significance to this tune this christmas.

russia may be able to destroy its towns and cities, but it can't erase ukraine's separate identity or its past. jonathan beale, bbc news, pokrovsk. our correspondent in ukraine will vernon has the latest on the conflict. things aren't going very well at all for ukraine. russia is advancing in the east of the country. in the last few days, they've seized a number of villages. they're getting closer to that strategic city of pokrovsk, as you heard in jonathan's report there. and russia is advancing pretty fast. last month, they seized an area roughly the size of london. at a huge cost, it must be said, but nonetheless, they are advancing. as well as that, night after night, ukrainian cities are being barraged by missiles, drones, guided bombs. russia has been targeting ukraine's energy infrastructure.

it is bitterly cold here, and most of the power grid is damaged or destroyed. yesterday, there were emergency blackouts in kyiv, in dnipro, other ukrainian regions too, so that the ukrainians could try and repair some of that damaged infrastructure. look, the mood here is gloomy, right? ukrainians feel abandoned by the west, frankly. a few days ago, we were in this event in kyiv, a special christmas demonstration where people gathered to commemorate the plight of ukrainians who are held in captivity in russia. there are thousands still held there. 8,000, perhaps even more than that. and people were saying, "look, at this time of year when people are sitting down to their christmas dinner or gathering with their loved ones at new year, spare a thought for ukraine and for those thousands of ukrainians who are being kept, many in very brutal conditions." a lot of what happens to this country in 2025 depends on donald trump.

you know, it's interesting speaking to ukrainians, there's actually a kind of note of very cautious optimism about the new president. many ukrainians are pretty disappointed byjoe biden. they feel that he hasn't given enough support to ukraine. they think that he gave only enough weapons and money, really, to keep ukrainians fighting and dying and not enough for victory. but many of them see donald trump as someone who likes to win, someone who likes to do a deal. and the hope here in ukraine is that, as soon as donald trump realises that vladimir putin is in no mood whatsoever to compromise or negotiate in any meaningful way, that perhaps mr trump will swing his support behind kyiv. will vernon in ukraine. let's turn to the middle east now. it was an extraordinary story of a sophisiticated attack. back in september, thousands of pagers and walkie—talkies belonging to the iranian—backed lebanese armed group hezbollah exploded simultaneously,

killing dozens and maiming thousands. now, in an interview with our us broadcast partner cbs, two former israeli intelligence agents, who worked for mossad, have explained how it happened, revealing the operation was ten years in the making. jon donnison reports. it was one of the most audacious... explosion ..and deadly spy operations ever undertaken. thousands of pagers and walkie—talkies owned by hezbollah operatives exploding across lebanon, causing panic, killing dozens and injuring thousands. a walkie—talkie was a weapon, just like a bullet or a missile or a mortar. now, former agents from israel's mossad intelligence agency, speaking anonymously, have told the bbc�*s american partner cbs how it was done. we have an incredible array of possibilities of creating

foreign companies that have no way of being traced back to israel. shell companies over shell companies who affect the supply chain to our favour. we create a pretend world. we are a global production company. we write the screenplay, we're the directors, we're the producers, we're the main actors, and the world is our stage. the agents explained how, over the past decade, mossad had sold hezbollah thousands of pagers and walkie—talkies booby trapped with tiny amounts of explosives. they were only detonated years later — last september. if we push the button, the only one that will get injured is the terrorist himself. even if his wife or his daughter will be just next to him, he's the only one that's going to be harmed. the agent said they tested the devices on dummies to measure the force of the blasts. but, in fact, dozens of people

were killed in the attack — including civilians and children. thousands more were maimed and injured. the united nations�* human rights chief called it a war crime. what's certain is such an attack is unlikely to happen again. the agent said mossad was now working on the next thing — and hezbollah would have to guess what that might be. jon donnison, bbc news. an extraordinary story. much more, as always, on our website. it's christmas eve, a time that's often been a happy day for christians the world over. for one community though, christmas is once again chiming a a solemn note. chiming a solemn note. this is the scene live in bethlehem, the biblical birthplace ofjesus, where the traditional festivities have been scaled back, leaving church leaders to focus on providing spiritual guidance and solidarity during a time of profound grief. we go live now to bethlehem and our correspondent emir nader.

nativity celebrations scaled back for the second year in a row, what's it like in bethlehem? it is quite incredible to be here as the world begins to celebrate christmas on and to see bethlehem looking so quiet for the second year in a row. usually by this time, the main square here, dangerous square, would be full of marching bands, processions. we can see the i700 bands, processions. we can see the 1700 year old church of the nativity where jesus is believed to have been born. usually we would see pilgrims from around the world that would have travelled to manger square to take part, tourists from around the world, but the hotels are empty and many of the shops are shut. that is because many of the people have the war on their mind which is going on in the palestinian territory of gaza not so far away. the cardinal leading the mass tonight, the head of the catholic church here has just returned from gaza where he addressed a massive palestinian

christian group there, and he told the congregation that the world is with you, the war will end and we will rebuild. he has said that everything is destroyed in gaza, but the people are not. it is a very solemn mood here obviously, as of today, over 115,000 palestinians have been killed in the war and people are really hoping for a ceasefire deal to be reached.- dealto be reached. when it comes to — dealto be reached. when it comes to that _ dealto be reached. when it comes to that ongoing - dealto be reached. when it comes to that ongoing warl deal to be reached. when it. comes to that ongoing war in gaza, for the first time, israel has publicly acknowledged killing the hamas leader ismail haniyeh in iran. what has to defend —— what is the defence minister yoav gallant been saying? he the defence minister yoav gallant been saying? he made a seech gallant been saying? he made a speech yesterday _ gallant been saying? he made a speech yesterday saying - gallant been saying? he made a speech yesterday saying that. speech yesterday saying that israel took responsibility for the assassination of the political leader of hamas in the iranian capital tehran in july. they hadn't previously acknowledged that. it came as part of quite of a belligerent

speech by the minister of defence after days of exchanges of missile fire with who the rebels in yemen, they have been sending missiles out of solidarity, they say, with the palestinians in gaza. the minister of defence israel katz directed a speech towards the houthi rebels saying, "we will decapitate you and your leaders in the way we have done with hamas and hezbollah as well." thank you very much. joining us live from bethlehem. we are just keeping our eye on some live pictures from moldova watching in the swearing in of moldova's pro—european union president. she claimed a second term in office after what was described as a tense election run—off earlier in november. just in the autumn. that was between moldova having a choice between moldova having a choice between europe and russia, what

this election was described as. maia sandu won about 55% of the vote. we are just keeping an eye on that swearing in of maia sandu as the president of moldova, incumbent president, pro—west — leaning. so, images from moldova. we willjust take a short break now.

a nasa spacecraft is set to make history today. it will get closer to the sun than any other human—made object. the parker solar probe must survive the radiation and extreme temperatures it will encounter, to solve some of the mysteries about our nearest star. our science editor, rebecca morelle, has the story. our sun in all its fiery splendour. we've been studying it

for centuries, but there's still so much we don't know about it. now the closest—ever encounter is set to finally shed light on our star. three, two, one, zero. nasa's parker solar probe blasted off in 2018, heading to the centre of our solar system. it's been orbiting our star, getting ever nearer, but this latest flyby is taking us to a new frontier — to touch the sun. even though we've had missions that have gone very close to the sun, that wasn't close enough to get into this sort of magic region where all of this physics and all of this — all of these processes are happening, and the the only way to be able to understand those processes is to fly through them and take the data right where all the action is happening. this mission is breaking records. parker solar probe hurtles past the sun at 430,000 miles an hour.

no human—made object has ever gone so fast. it's the equivalent of flying from london to new york in less than 30 seconds. at its closest, it's 3.8 million miles — 6.2 million kilometres — from our star's surface. that's closer than any other spacecraft. it will have to endure scorching temperatures of 1,400 degrees celsius as it passes through the sun's outer atmosphere — known as its corona — and this could solve a long—standing mystery. the corona is really, really hot, and we have no idea why. so, the surface of the sun is about 6,000 degrees or so. for the corona — this tenuous outer atmosphere that you can see during solar eclipses — that reaches millions of degrees, and that is further away from the sun. so, how is that atmosphere getting hotter? the mission is also studying the solar wind — the constant stream of charged particles bursting out from the sun's corona. the probe's even recorded the sounds of the sun. three different

types of solar wind. various tones dispersive chirping waves. langmuir waves. and doctor who—like whistler mode waves. when these particles interact with the earth's magnetic field, the sky lights up with dazzling auroras. but this space weather can cause problems, too, knocking out power grids, electronics and communication systems. the hope is the mission can help us to better understand this. but first, the spacecraft has to survive its burning—hot flyby. i will worry, but we really have designed that spacecraft to withstand all of these brutal, brutal conditions. it's a tough...tough little spacecraft. during this close approach, the spacecraft is out of communication for several days, so the nasa team face a nervous wait over christmas before they can finally discover the secrets of our star. rebecca morelle, bbc news.

absolutely extraordinary. let's speak to dr maggie lieu, an astrophysicist at nottingham university. we finally know where a doctor who got those sounds from. the corona itself, what is your understanding as to why it is just so incredibly hot, and as we heard there in rebecca's report, there will be an agonising few days for the nasa scientists? will this little probe make it?— scientists? will this little robe make it? ., probe make it? good morning. yes, i think— probe make it? good morning. yes, | think it _ probe make it? good morning. yes, i think it is _ probe make it? good morning. yes, i think it is really - yes, i think it is really impressive that they are sending this thing towards the sun with, like, this measly little heat shield which is built to withstand just 1300 celsius temperatures. like we heard in the speech previously, the corona reaches temperatures of millions of degrees celsius, so, so much hotter than what you would expect the heat

shield to be able to withstand. but there are not many particles there are, it is very thin, so it is kind of like you know you can put your hand in an oven and pull it straight out, and not be burned by the 100 degrees or 200 degrees temperature in your oven, because there are not many particles actually hitting your hand,it particles actually hitting your hand, it is not until you touch a hot pan that it actually hurts because that is something solid. i think in particular, it is even more impressive, because we are right now at the end of an 11— year solar cycle, so the sun goes through 11— year cycles of activity. every 11 years, it gets really, really active, and right now, it is in its most active period, and that is why we are seeing so many auroras this year. that means there are so many solar flares so the parker solar probe will have to dodge

them. the communication to that probe is about eight minutes for it to send a signal back to earth, so you can't really control it from earth, you have to make it autonomous. so it will be out there protecting itself, you have senses on board which will sense if there is a lot of heat coming on or a lot of light passing through, it will be able to dodge all of that. �* . . . . ., , that. and a great analogy when it comes to _ that. and a great analogy when it comes to the _ that. and a great analogy when it comes to the idea _ that. and a great analogy when it comes to the idea of - that. and a great analogy when it comes to the idea of this - it comes to the idea of this often, with so many people sticking their hands in ovens to pull up turkeys, christmas dinners, don't do it if you don't have to be careful obviously! but in terms of solar flares and the solar winds, it is important to find out about them because? briefly, if you will. it out about them because? briefly, if you will.- out about them because? briefly, if you will. it has a hue briefly, if you will. it has a huge impact _ briefly, if you will. it has a huge impact on _ briefly, if you will. it has a huge impact on us, - briefly, if you will. it has a huge impact on us, it - briefly, if you will. it has a i huge impact on us, it impacts the space weather, and when large solar storms come, they can wipe out our satellite communications, our phone lines, are internet, it can create radio blackouts, it has

created power blackouts before because of the surging energy that we get. so although it creates these beautiful aurora for us to see, there are huge implications as well.- implications as well. thank ou, implications as well. thank you, fantastic _ implications as well. thank you, fantastic to _ implications as well. thank you, fantastic to speak - implications as well. thank you, fantastic to speak to i implications as well. thank - you, fantastic to speak to you. thank you. the princess of wales has urged people to slow down and reflect on issues which connect each other at christmas. in a highly personal message, recorded for her carol service at westminster abbey, which airs tonight, the princess also encouraged the world to turn to love, not fear. our senior royal correspondent, daniela relph, has the latest. the princess of wales came to this year's carol service after a challenging year — like so many others whojoined her here. with her children and husband at her side, she described christmas as a moment to slow down and reflect on the deeper things that connect us all. she's recorded some of the voiceover being used in tonight's broadcast. join me this christmas eve for a special carol service

to celebrate all those who've shown love, empathy, and kindness in their communities this year. this is a very personal project for the princess of wales, and supporting her — particularly with the music — has been lady gabriella windsor. earlier this year, lady gabriella's husband thomas kingston took his own life. the princess said she was incredibly grateful for lady gabriella's contribution. # this christmas # fireside is blazing by.# for paloma faith, singing in westminster abbey for the first time has been something special. it's something, first of all, that when i was born i never thought i'd be doing. i've spent my whole life watching this place on television in various situations, and now we're here and no—one can — that i know — can believe it. people are just like, "what?! can't believe you're here!" and, actually, what's really striking about walking in isjust how much more magnificent it is in person.

# do you know what i know? along with carols from the abbey choir, gregory porter will also perform — an experience he says was deeply meaningful. # do you know what i know? it was really wonderful to sing in the abbey, l because the acoustics are perfect, the - visuals are perfect. the construction was meant to be awe—inspiring, - and to feel- the presence of god. and you feel that in this...in this extraordinary space. - and so, yeah, - i was very excited. you know, i love to be taken back to my childhood - around this time of year, without question. - but, you know, it's. awe—inspiring, i love to feel like a childl in a place like this. the tree roared in the wind. the theme of taking care of each other runs throughout the whole service.

here, the actress sophie okonedo reads a poem, the kindness of trees. when every child was asleep in bed, the tree sung a lullaby. the princess of wales will make another public appearance tomorrow, when she joins the rest of the royal family for the christmas day celebrations at sandringham. daniela relph, bbc news, westminster abbey. for viewers here in the uk, the princess's concert will be shown tonight. just take a new to hawaii. we'll leave you now with some live pictures of kilauea volcano erupting on hawaii's big island. it is the world's most active volcano and does routinely erupt. this has been confined to the top of the volcano's caldera, no threat to

infrastructure. hello again. last night, temperatures actually rose rather than fell. it's been an exceptionally mild start to the day today, and it's going to continue that way. as you can see from the yellows and ambers on this chart. the wind direction coming from the south—west, so it's dragging in a lot of cloud from the atlantic. and there's some drizzly bits and pieces, some murky conditions with that, particularly so in western areas, some hill fog. we've also got some showery conditions across western parts of scotland, the north—west seeing windy conditions. but it should brighten up across north—east scotland, north—east england, parts of north—east wales and the west midlands, with temperatures widely 11 to 1a degrees, possibly 15 somewhere in north—east scotland or north—east england. now, through this evening and overnight, we hang on to a lot of cloud. there will be some clear skies. drizzle in the west,

again a lot of murk, especially in the coastal hills, and a weather front will start to bring in some rain across the north and west, but it will still be windy. and it's going to be another mild night. that leads us in through the rest of christmas day. still pulling in this south—westerly, we still have the yellows and ambers across the chart, and a weather front bringing in that rain across the northern and western isles and north—west scotland, where it will still be windy. for the rest of us, though, a largely dry day will see breaks in the cloud, and there will be a lot of cloud. but the breaks will be across northeast scotland, in through north—east england, parts of wales and southern england. and although temperatures won't be quite as high as on christmas eve, christmas day will still feel pleasant for the time of year, with temperatures above average. now, heading on from thursday, boxing day in towards the end of the week, we've got a weather front sinking south, and then it pushes northwards once again. there'll be still a lot of cloud around on boxing day itself. this is our weather front, bringing some rain across parts of scotland and northern ireland.

through the day, it will slowly start to retreat northwards and these are our temperatures — 10 to about 13 degrees — so still mild for the time of year. roughly speaking, the average temperatures at this time of year are between about seven and nine degrees. and even as we head into the weekend, things by the end of the weekend start to turn a bit more unsettled and, for the new year, cooler.

i will be back at 10am. and the golden globe goes to... and the actor goes to... everybody's talking about her. ..lily gladstone! ..lily gladstone. you're so good! first native american woman to be nominated for an oscar in a lead role. is there a part of you that's screaming on the inside, like, "i can't believe this is happening to me"... 0h, sure. cos you're winning everything so far. thank you all so much. applause. it's really great to see hollywood embrace a new actor and that's most definitely been the case with lily gladstone, a star in the making. her on—screen presence

in the martin scorsese epic,