midnight mass has been held at the church of the nativity in bethlehem, amid muted celebrations marking a sombre christmas. gunmen in haiti have killed at least two journalists and a police officer at the country's biggest public hospital in port—au—prince. the king is expected to draw on his cancer treatment in his christmas message as the royal family prepare to attend church at sandringham without prince andrew. and in otherfestive news: surf's up for santa — why father christmas took in some big waves before heading off on his sleigh. and we'll be tracking his progress as he moves around the world — find out his precise location later in the programme. hello and welcome — i'm martine croxall. and a merry christmas to you if you're celebrating today.

an israeli negotiation team returned to israel on tuesday night for internal consultations after a significant week of negotiations in qatar. that's according to prime minister benjamin netanyahu's office. officials say that both sides have shown a greater willingness to reach a deal but that key details must still be worked out. well, the war in gaza led to heavily muted christmas celebrations in bethlehem for a second consecutive year. festivities in the historic square of the church of the nativity were reduced to a prayer service, with no christmas lights or the famous christmas tree, in the place of jesus christ's birth. it comes as israel intensifies its attacks in gaza. the territory's health ministry reports three hospitals in the north were targeted earlier on tuesday — forcing patients to evaucate. and sirens could be heard overnight in tel aviv as the israeli military reports intercepting a missile

fired from yemen. there are no reports that anyone was injured. the bbc�*s shaimaa khalil is in bethlehem. midnight mass at the nativity church ushers in another sombre christmas in bethlehem. the ceremonies have been sombre and muted. the huge christmas tree is nowhere to be seen. instead, earlier, children in the procession were calling banners calling procession were calling banners callin- for procession were calling banners calling procession were calling banners callin- for the procession were calling banners calling procession were calling banners callin- for the end procession were calling banners calling procession were calling banners callin- for the end of procession were calling banners calling for the end of the procession were calling banners calling for the end of the war in gaza. in the strip itself, the fighting continues. details are still emerging as we heard from health officials in the health ministry in gaza about three hospitals being bombed overnight. the kamal adwan hospital, the indonesian hospital and the al ada hospital. we heard from the israeli forces who said they were targeting hamas fighters in the indonesian hospital, that's why they ordered an evacuation and they were aware there were strikes near the other two hospitals. can this

is a christians _ other two hospitals. can this is a christians in _ other two hospitals. can this is a christians in gaza - other two hospitals. can this is a christians in gaza markl is a christians in gaza mark another christmas in the midst of devastation. with me is mohamed taha from bbc arabic. a very quiet time of year, unusually, for bethlehem. {iii unusually, for bethlehem. of course, first, thank you for coming to work on christmas and happy christmas to you and him as well. , , ., , as well. troy is the brains behind the _ as well. troy is the brains behind the operation - as well. troy is the brains - behind the operation tonight. this morning. whatever time of day it is! this morning. whatever time of da itis! , ., day it is! happy christmas to everyone- — day it is! happy christmas to everyone. thank _ day it is! happy christmas to everyone. thank you. - day it is! happy christmas to everyone. thank you. yes, l everyone. thank you. yes, bethlehem _ everyone. thank you. yes, bethlehem is _ everyone. thank you. yes, bethlehem is not - everyone. thank you. yes, bethlehem is not as - everyone. thank you. yes, bethlehem is not as you i everyone. thank you. yes, - bethlehem is not as you visited a few years ago, when there was a few years ago, when there was a big tree, lights, and celebrations. lots of pilgrimages in the square of bethlehem, it's a sombre mood in bethlehem this year. the mayor of bethlehem, which — his name is mohammad taha as well — he said he couldn't put the

tree because he had to reflect the mood in the palestinian territory. the patriarch of jess who came ——ofjerusalem, who came from jerusalem to bethlehem to lead the prayer, said he visited gaza on monday and he saw how much destruction is in gaza, but at the same time he saw the will of the palestinian people and he said the palestinians are made of light, and not made of darkness. and we hope this is the last christmas that bethlehem would not witness a tree and lights as everyone wish, and at the same time, the west bank, as i told you, is really seeing massive israeli operation today. especially in the north. nine palestinians well. and israel used an f—i6 tot north. vacuate the injured well. and israel used an f—i6 tot north. nine :e the injured well. and israel used an f—i6 tot north. nine palestiniansi the north. nine palestinians died and one — sorry, nine died and one — sorry, nine palestinians injured, and one palestinians injured, and one israeli officer injured as israeli officer injured as well. and israel used an f—i6 well. and israel used an f—i6

to try to evacuate the injured to try to evacuate the injured officer. to try to evacuate the in'ured officer. �* , ., ., officer. and israel also saying they have _ officer. and israel also saying they have interpreted - officer. and israel also saying they have interpreted a - officer. and israel also saying l they have interpreted a missile from yemen?— they have interpreted a missile from yemen? this is big news as well. from yemen? this is big news as well- now _ from yemen? this is big news as well- now we _ from yemen? this is big news as well. now we can _ from yemen? this is big news as well. now we can see _ from yemen? this is big news as well. now we can see the - well. now we can see the houthis in the region are playing as the main enemy of israel at the moment. after the israel at the moment. after the israel managed to eliminate to a big extent hezbollah and hamas. they managed to eliminate their power a lot, but the houthis are really far — they're more than 2,000km away from israel and they managed to hit israel with their missiles. and with their drones. and many times israel couldn't intercept these missiles and drones in this occasion, this morning, israel managed to intercept this

occasion, this morning, israel managed to houthis:this occasion, this morning, israel managed to houthis are 5 occasion, this morning, israel managed to houthis are making missile. the houthis are making sure that the war in the middle east still going on as the war also in gaza and the operation injabalia in particular in gazais injabalia in particular in gaza is still going on. speaking very briefly, what's the latest from the ceasefire talks? ., the latest from the ceasefire talks? . ., , the latest from the ceasefire talks? . .,, i. the latest from the ceasefire talks? . talks? yeah, as you said in our talks? yeah, as you said in your intro. _ talks? yeah, as you said in your intro, now— talks? yeah, as you said in your intro, now the - talks? yeah, as you said in your intro, now the israeli | your intro, now the israeli delegation came back to have some consultations in israel. the main points they're negotiating at the moment, to what extent the israeli forces will withdraw from gaza, from philadelphi corridor, the border between gaza and egypt, the corridor that would allow people in gaza to move from the south to the north, and the other point is who will be released from the hostages, and from the prisoners side from the palestinians.— from the prisoners side from the palestinians. lots to cause u . the palestinians. lots to cause u- on. the palestinians. lots to cause up on- thank— the palestinians. lots to cause up on. thank you. _ up on. thank you.

thank you very much. pope francis has presided over a special christmas eve ceremony at the vatican to mark the start of a jubilee year. the event saw him opening the normally locked holy door of st peter's basilica. the theme for thejubilee — which happens once every 25 years — is pilgrims of hope. more than 30 million people are expected to make a pilgrimage to rome in the next 12 months, to pass though the door and seek forgiveness for their sins. let's get some of the day's other news now. a russian missile has struck the ukrainian city of krivyi rih, killing one person and injuring others. the strike on president zelenskky�*s hometown came as his christmas message was being broadcast. local authorities say the ballistic missile hit a four—storey residential building. dozens of protesters have rallied outside the us embassy in panama, angered by donald trump's threat to reassert us control over the panama canal. panama's president says control

of the canal is non—negotiable. the un—backed agency, the ipc, has warned that famine has spread across sudan because of the continuing civil war and a lack of humanitarian access. the agency's report estimates that 24.6 million people urgently need food aid and more than 600,000 people are starving. bill clinton has left hospital in washington after he was admitted with a fever on monday — he was treated for flu. the former us president was last in hospital three years ago for a blood infection. at least two journalists and a police officer have been killed in haiti as gang members opened fire at the country's biggest public hospital. the journalists were waiting for the arrival of the health minister for the reopening of the general hospital when the shooting began. several people were injured. with me is our reporter, mimi swaby, from bbc world service. tell us more about what we

know. ., ., , , ., know. the “ournalists are waitinu know. the 'ournalists are waiting for— know. the journalists are waiting for the _ know. the journalists are waiting for the general. waiting for the general hospital's opening again, after it's been closed since march. this was when gangs united in the area and launched a co—ordinated attack. it was occupied and then destroyed, but it was recaptured by the government, regained control, and they were hoping that from july it had been working towards the reopening. it had a lot of pressure on tuesday, but this was not the case. journalists were waiting for the health minister to arrive to do this grand opening. we know at least three individuals, twojournalists, one police officer, were shot by a gang. one police officer, were shot by a gang-— one police officer, were shot bauuan. , ., , by a gang. why? why would they attack that hospital _ by a gang. why? why would they attack that hospital reopening? l attack that hospital reopening? the gang said they did it because they didn't authorise the reopening of this hospital. this hospital is a public hospital. the largest public hospital. the largest public hospital in haiti. and a lifeline for many people who are going through a humanitarian crisis in the country. the infrastructure,

the public service infrastructure has completely collapsed in the country. but they're using it as a way to threaten the government, saying "we control 85% of port—au—prince, the capital, but your transitional government, alongside the deployment of a multinational security force led by haiti isn't going to decrease the territory control. we won't give over port—au—prince back to authorities." so it is a warning to the government and the haitian, the kenyan security forces deployed to help the government control this raging gang violence. what this raging gang violence. what can be done — this raging gang violence. what can be done by _ this raging gang violence. what can be done by the _ this raging gang violence. what can be done by the government? how powerless are they to act against gangs like this? they're incredibly powerless at the moment. it is thought that 5,000 people have been killed due to gang violence in 2024 alone. a huge number. and their territory, the gang territory, is increasing. in the last few weeks, we've seen several mass killings in port—au—prince and

the rural area surrounding the capital city. it's thought that due to the public health services being absolutely in disarray, that around 760,000 children are on the brink of famine. there's multiple crises happening at the same time. we've got a political vacuum as a transition government is not having any power to addressing this gang violence, security issue out of control, and a humanitarian crisis that's been compounded by this increasing level of gang violence.- level of gang violence. thank ou ve level of gang violence. thank you very much- _ king charles is expected to refer to this own cancer treatment during his traditional christmas message later today. the royal family will go to church at sandringham this morning, but prince andrew will not be joining them. 0ur senior royal correspondent daniela relph reports. so much has changed since the royal family gathered at sandringham a year royalfamily gathered at sandringham a yearago, royal family gathered at sandringham a year ago, both the king and the princess of wales had to cope with a cancer

diagnosis. and prince andrew with his ex—wife, sarah, duchess of york, won'tjoin the family this year to avoid being an distraction after his links to an alleged chinese spy were made public. the king has unusually chosen to deliver his christmas message today from a former hospital chapel in central london, rather than a royal residence. it's a sign his own health problems will form part of the broadcast. fitzrovia chapel is a community space. the themes of community has run through much of the king's work. his final engagement of the year celebrated community diversity and cohesion. but there was also a passing reference to his health challenges.— health challenges. good morning. _ health challenges. good morning, how _ health challenges. good morning, how are - health challenges. good morning, how are you? | health challenges. good - morning, how are you? still alive! after— morning, how are you? still alive! after the _ morning, how are you? still alive! after the royal- morning, how are you? still alive! after the royal visit i morning, how are you? stillj alive! after the royal visit to australia — alive! after the royal visit to australia and _ alive! after the royal visit to australia and samoa - alive! after the royal visit to australia and samoa in - alive! after the royal visit to - australia and samoa in october, more international travel is planned for the king in the coming months. his cancer

treatment is ongoing, but palace sources say he ends 2024 feeling optimistic and positive about the year ahead. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

scientists are waiting to find out if a nasa spacecraft has succeeded in passing through the sun's outer atmosphere. the parker solar probe, which was launched in 2018, is travelling closer than any man—made object has before, and will be enduring extreme temperatures and radiation to collect important scientific information. the spacecraft is now out of communication for several days and nasa won't know if it's survived till saturday morning. 0ur science editor rebecca morelle has the story. 0ur 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. nasa's parker solar probe

blasted off in 2018. 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 only way to be able to understand those processes is to fly through them, 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, its 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

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, but 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 probes even recorded the sounds of the sun — dispersive chirping waves, langmuir waves, and doctor who—like whistler mode waves. 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. gchq - part of the uk's intelligence agencies — is one of the most secretive institutions in the world. now a very special part of its history is being uncovered for the very first time. a photo album documenting the social lives of the hidden bletchley spies has gone on display, showcasing some of the only photographs of the codebreakers in existance. 0ur reporter graham satchell has been to have a look. we've got dances, amateur dramatics. you've got marriages, weddings. it'sjust a really unique collection that's almost irreplaceable. deepin that's almost irreplaceable. deep in the archives of gchq, a remarkable piece of wartime history. the photo album full

of hundreds and hundreds of pictures of the code breakers, who worked at bletchley park. what is fascinating about it, the intimate of some of these pictures. you see group photographs. it's almost like a team photo. photographs. it's almost like a team photo-— team photo. that's right. the work was _ team photo. that's right. the work was hard, _ team photo. that's right. the work was hard, monotonous, j work was hard, monotonous, tedious _ work was hard, monotonous, tedious. but they had fun as welt — tedious. but they had fun as well. they were human beings, they— well. they were human beings, they socialised. they went to dances — they socialised. they went to dances. and played sports. so it really— dances. and played sports. so it really gives you that exposure of what life was like. bletchley park was the secret fore running to gchq. working in separate huts, code breakers intercepted, decrypted and analysed messages from germany. most famously, they broke the enigma machine, that many historians believe shortened the war by at least two years.

the photo album contains some remarkable characters. this cha - remarkable characters. this cha- on remarkable characters. this chap on the _ remarkable characters. this chap on the left _ remarkable characters. this chap on the left of - remarkable characters. this chap on the left of this - remarkable characters. try 3 chap on the left of this photo is 0livia newton—john's father. he worked at bletchley between 42 and 45. he was part of the air section monitoring the luftwaffe. he went off to melbourne after the war. here we have a photograph of the hockey team. the lady at the backis hockey team. the lady at the back is joan hockey team. the lady at the back isjoan clark. a prominent female code breaker. joan back is joan clark. a prominent female code breaker. joan clark was played _ female code breaker. joan clark was played by — female code breaker. joan clark was played by keira _ female code breaker. joan clark

was played by keira knightly - female code breaker. joan clark was played by keira knightly inl was played by keira knightly in the film the imitation game. there's people in here i have never seen photographs of before. it's a really unique window in time of our history. the album is full of beautiful portraits, stunning stood shots mainly of the women who worked at the government code and cypher school. at the government code and cypherschool. but at the government code and cypher school. but because bletchley was kept secret for decades, most of these have never been seen before. the album was compiled by erik, a sergeant in the intelligence corps. he was a jersey man, and this photo shows the mail boat arriving for the first time after the aisle was liberated from nazi occupation. he was very passionate _ from nazi occupation. he was very passionate about - from nazi occupation. he was very passionate about jerseyl very passionate about jersey and very passionate aboutjersey and the channel islands. it's nice to see a photograph reflecting that. it sort of

stands out because it's different to all the others. # my mother always said # my mother always said # before a girl can wed # before a girl can wed # you must be sure that he's the man for you # there are countless wedding photographs in here, aren't there? and a lot of people who ended up working at bletchley ended up working at bletchley ended up working at bletchley ended up getting married to each other. it’s ended up getting married to each other.— each other. it's still true toda . each other. it's still true today- you _ each other. it's still true today. you work - each other. it's still true today. you work with - each other. it's still true - today. you work with people and you know, you build up relationships and many of those turn into marriages. so relationships and many of those turn into marriages.— turn into marriages. so there's a lot of acne — turn into marriages. so there's a lot of gchq marriages. - a lot of gchq marriages. there's a lot of couples around the organisation. and it was as true in the 19405 as it is today. so, if you were to try and sum up so, if you were to try and sum up the importance of this photograph album, what would you say? photograph album, what would ou sa ? , , ., ., you say? this is one of the most iconic _ you say? this is one of the most iconic items - you say? this is one of the most iconic items in - you say? this is one of the most iconic items in our. you say? this is one of the - most iconic items in our museum collection. it's really portraying a window in time during that critical bletchley park period. i love it. i think

it's a real 5napshot park period. i love it. i think it's a real snapshot of social history of an organisation at war. this is the first time we've ever 5hown war. this is the first time we've ever shown this in the public. we've ever shown this in the ublic. , , . , public. yep. it is incredible. thank you _ public. yep. it is incredible. thank you very _ public. yep. it is incredible. thank you very much - public. yep. it is incredible. thank you very much for - public. yep. it is incredible. - thank you very much for showing us. let's ta ke let's take you to hay —— hawaii and look at these incredible picture5 and look at these incredible pictures of one of the most active volcanoes on the big island. this is kiluaea, spilling kilometres of lava above hawaii. this molten material is being ejected from the vents. it's sending matter much higher in the atmosphere. very dramatic pictures. millions of people around the world are — or very soon will be —

celebrating christmas. plenty of presents will be given, a lot of food will be eaten, and there will be tidings ofjoy for many. for one man in particular — it's the busiest time of the year — as the bbc�*s tim allman explains. in so many ways, this has become a big a festive tradition as turkey, christmas crackers and chocolate selection boxes. each year, real act american and canadian taxpayers' dollars are spent monitoring the progress of a roly poly gentleman called saint nick. the norad has been doing this for 5enty year5. saint nick. the norad has been doing this for 5enty years. how doing this for 5enty years. how do you keep track of a 5leigh some estimate may be travelling at four million miles per hour? a combination of satellites, radar and fighter aircraft. we

use our satellites in the geosynchronous orbit. rudolph's nose geosynchronous orbit. rudolph's no5e gives off the same signature. in nose gives off the same signature-— nose gives off the same signature. nose gives off the same sirnature. ,, , ., ., signature. in the us state of florida, presumably - signature. in the us state of florida, presumably before l signature. in the us state of. florida, presumably before he set off, father christmas decided to catch a few waves. this surfing santas' event takes place every year. a good way to build up some energy before taking a long trip. it’s before taking a long trip. it's awesome. — before taking a long trip. it�*s awesome, everybody is sharing waves. it's so fun. it's a way to kick it off. i got to make my rounds tonight.- to kick it off. i got to make my rounds tonight. here in to 0, my rounds tonight. here in tokyo. santa _ my rounds tonight. here in tokyo, santa decided - my rounds tonight. here in tokyo, santa decided to i my rounds tonight. here in l tokyo, santa decided to take my rounds tonight. here in - tokyo, santa decided to take a dip with some of the local wildlife, at the city's 5un5hine aquarium. and since he was in the area, he organised a quiz, trying to raise awareness about penguin5, like you do. but no sign of the big man in

this part of mexico, at least not yet. what else say5 christmas other than some exotically decorated route vegetables? the night of the radi5h i5 vegetables? the night of the radi5h is a festival that dates back more than a century, it attracts thousand5 back more than a century, it attracts thousands of tourists and local residents. christmas really does come in all shapes and sizes. tim 5tarted tim started that report talking about the santa tracker, which is provided by norad. father christmas is currently over iowa. he is already halfway acro55 iowa. he is already halfway across america, of course. his starting point was at the north pole, a5 starting point was at the north pole, as you would expect. just to let you know, the map cannot predict exactly when he'll arrive at your house. so be

good. hello. well, it's so mild, i don't think we're going to even see a flake of snow falling on the highest peak5 of the highlands. it's just such a warm atmosphere over us right now, streaming in from the southern climes. christmas day will be rather cloudy for most of us. a few glimmers of sunshine here and there, and it looks as though it's going to stay mild for the remainder of the year. now, on the satellite picture, you can see this conveyor belt of cloud streaming in from the central north atlantic. ahead of it, a push of mild air coming all the way from the azores. and it's spreading notjust over the uk and many parts of western europe, but also well into scandinavia, where temperatures are above freezing. so it's a very mild end to what will be a record—breaking year globally as far as the temperature goes. now, let's have a look at the forecast for the morning then. so we start off very mild. breezy conditions in scotland, if not very windy

around some coastal areas. a little bit of rain there flirting with northwestern scotland. elsewhere, some sunny spell5 developing, for example, eastern scotland to the east of the pennines to the lee of any high ground with this southwesterly breeze. and double figures right across the board. 12, 13 celsius is certainly on the cards, for example, in northern ireland. so a very mild christmas day and a mild boxing day on the way. the winds are going to ease, though, across scotland. you can see the pressure lines there, the isobars to the north. here, it's going to be a little bit lighter, that wind. but the weather front will make some progress and will bring some dribs and drabs of rain to scotland and perhaps northern ireland. again, sunny spells are possible to the lee of high ground. double figures mostly across the board, but northern scotland finds itself just the other side of that weather front in this slightly colder air. when i say "colder",

it's actually closer to what we'd expect, at least on average, across this part of the world. so friday, once again, mild air spread across the uk and, indeed, many other parts of europe. so anotherfairly cloudy and mild picture. those temperatures perhaps not quite so high, but still on the mild side. a reminder — the average for this time of the year is typically between around 6—8 celsius. and as we head towards the new year, it's going to stay mild,

now on bbc news, secrets of antarctica's giants. delving into the lives of antarctica's giants. there's two animals. whale blows yep. that is pretty amazing to be able to see them under the water. hello, beautiful!

humpback whales come 8,500km here to feed. the antarctic peninsula — a brutal and fragile place — is a hot spot for marine wildlife... perfect fluke! it kind of looks like play. like, just wild. ..but this place is changing. the climate is shifting in the antarctic peninsula faster than anywhere else in antarctica. we're with a team of wildlife scientists who are trying to find out how some of the biggest animals in these waters are responding. some populations around the world are getting skinny because they're not getting enough to eat because of climate change impacts. baby's coming up on the left. mum's poopin'! we'll discover secrets that are hidden in the bodies of these huge marine mammals... liquid gold! laughter

..and why scientists need to be here