♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... woman: architect. bee keeper. mentor. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life well pland. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news".

>> hello are watchine context on bbc news. >> and watching to see what happens, listening as we are to the sounds of fighting not very far away. >> we have experienced a wave of terrorism it all came from the area. we traced it back to janine. >> the issue is very dear to all of us. it's the lack of accountability. you go to a refugee camp using drones and thousands of soldiers. ♪

>> welcome to the program. gunfights have been taking place on the streets of the janine refugee camp in the west bank is israel launches a military operation. palestinian officials say it's an invasion. at least eight people have died. we will have the latest. in france, people are gathering outside town halls after five days of riots. police are bracing for more clashes. we will speak to our correspondent live from paris. efforts to hold russia legally accountable for the war in ukraine have taken a step forward with the opening of a special center to deal with the crime of aggression. it comes as president zelenskyy says the counteroffensive by ukrainian forces has been slower than desired. in the u.k., it was the hottest june on record. experts warned the heat this because the death of an unprecedented mber of fish.

first, hundreds of israeli soldiers backed by drones and armored bulldozers are assaulting palestinian militants. the palestinian health ministry said eight have been killed, 50 others wounded. it is one of the biggest raids in 20 years. the operation started with multiple drone strikes on the refugee camp. the israeli army vehicles were seen moving in. they say it contains a command center. leaders say it is an attempt to destroy a refugee camp and innocent people have been harmed. palestinians have been throwing stones at israeli troops from behind burning street barricades. fighting has been a continuing

and the gun battles on the streets with militants seen firing at the israeli army. vehicles have been seen firing tear gas. the state department said it was vital to take precautions to prevent the killing o civilians. let's go live to our middle east correspondent who is in jerusalem. what is the latest tonight? >> it appears the operation is continuing into the night. it was launched in the early hours of the morning. the stop -- son picked up a plume of white smoke above the camp. the idea is this would be an operation they said would be limited in scale and duration. they said they were not planning to stay for the long term. they wanted to dismantle the brigade. they wanted to send a strong message that attacks launched on

israelis from groups of the camp would not be tolerated. there was a suggestion that 48 hours would be the duration of the operation. it is hard to tell. it is hard to tell with the civilian impact could be. water and electricity have been cut off. the u.n. agency that looks over refugee say they are concerned about the situation and the conditions inside the camp. it will be hard to know what the civilian told may be. >> what is it like inside the camp? what are conditions like? >> it is a refugee camp. for all of those camps you may have seen on tv or heard about, very cramped conditions, very narrow streets with lots of people living in one room, generations of the same family. that has drawn it concern.

and operation of this size in an area like that, a very densely populated area, could cause civilian casualties. it's been interesting the israeli ravings, they have talked about the way they've been carrying out this operation. they been using intelligence, using pinpoint weaponry to minize the civilian casualties. it will be difficult given the environment they are working in. >> the palestinian authority is calling it an invasion. they are accusing the israeli military of war crimes. how much evidence is there to support their accusations? >> at this stage, it is incredibly difficu to tell. when an operation like this is launched, communications can be cut.

it can bhard to get into the phone contacts. it is enormously difficult -- it is in norman occult it is in norma's difficult. -- it is enormously difficult. i think the next few hours and days will be crucial for two reasons. one will be to see what has gone in within the camp. the other will be to see the further response. you have heard of the words from the palestinian authority.

a lot of people will be looking over the next couple of days at gaza and ham and see what their response to this might be. will it be words of condemnation now's we've seen from some of the other factions? will it be a physical response? that would further inflame tensions. >> thank you very much is our middle east correspondent. we will speak to a spokesperson from the idf. let's hear from a palestinian voice. this is the head of the palestinian mission to the united kingdom. he responded to comments by the israeli prime minister that it was a hub for terrorism. >> we must crush the soul of the

palestinian people. this is the heart of it. this is what they are intending. they keep committing these crimes every week. the issue is very dear to all of us. it's the lack of accountability. go to a refugee camp with airplanes and drones and thousands of soldiers. not only targeting human beings, the infrastructure, the medical teams. these are crimes against humanity. how can we stop the 75 years? all of these areas are under full military occupation. that me say this. israel is not protecting itself.

they are protecting its colonialism. the people are just defending themselves. >> he was speaking to my colleague. this and into that, the international spokesperson for the israeli defense force. thank you very much for joining us. he is accusing the military of war crimes. what is your response to that? >> i heard the comments. we are not fighting the palestinian people. if you look at times like other places, it's a disputed area. i will not go into the politics. life is good. we're not fighting the palestinian people.

we are doing this the last year and a half. >> do you think drones and armored vehicles, how can you be sure you are reaching the people you say you want to reach within those camps? >> we are focusing on -- this is a very cynical enemy. they are in the civilian population. there are guns. there are ied's. this is not just a national uprising. this is a hornets nest of terrorism. it's not that we are defending ourselves. these are people that are leaving israel, coming to attack

us and our home front. we have had 25 shooting incidents in the last year. they've been coming into tel aviv. we have to go handle it. >> a deadly attack, one of the deadliest in two decades, more people were killed in the west bank than in two decades. shirley and escalation of this violence is not going to find peace anytime soon. >> our priority is to defend our people. it's a very simple equation. if the guns go down, we will be quiet. as we speak, the crossings are open. the oslo accords are working the majority of the time.

people are coming in and out of israel. it is a no man's land. >> are you looking to defend your people? are you looking to expand territory? >> we are not looking to expand the territory. we are focused on dismantling terror infrastructure. when we are finished, we will be out of there. >> how long will it take for you to be out of there? comedy more lives will be lost? >> we are doing everything we can to minimize the loss of life. the numbers are about eight people that died. we do everything we can it to minimize collateral damage. we've been using very small munitions.

we are looking at the situation on the ground. we are advancing slowly. we are focusing on that infrastructure which we've been distributing all day, all the visuals. there e claims that there is no medical treatment. the ambulances are coming in and out. they are taking care of the injured. these are volatile times. >> we've heard 24 hours for this to continue. how long will it go on? >> it could be hours, maybe another day or two. we are focused on our mission to dismantle that activity and break the mindset of this being a safe avon of terrorists.

we see this as a safe haven. we want to break that mindset. we will be out of there as soon as possible. it's a very complex situation. >> thank you. we are having a little bit of breakup at the en we got the gist of what you are saying. that is the spokesperson for the iseli defense force. joining me now is a professor of international relations. thank you for joining us. the israeli military are calling it a military operation. palestinians are calling it an invasion. >> this is another operation in

palestinian territory. what we just heard no one is searching for a political solution. it will be plenty. it is all going to be bloody. palestinians will lose their lives. the failure is a failure of leadership of occupation for 56 years now. you can't have military occupation. every country has the right to

protect itself. at the same time, it's also about expansion. only last week, they announced another 5000 housing units that sends the signal they are there for the long term. >> we heard that they believe the refugee campus a hotbed for insurgency and militants. is that your understanding? >> the question is why is it? they are very young. if you look at the age, those who were killed today, they are really young. qu is why are they turned into militants? why do they resist? there is a widespread despair.

they don't see any political horizon. they despise their own leadership. settlement expansion, settlement violence. i am not here to justify violence. anything about the occupations will see that it doesn't come to a political end. it ends in violence. >> with that in mind, if there are so many militants, what choice do the idf and the israeli government have but to act in this way? there is a lot of pressure on israel to take military action. that's what they are doing.

>> among those who accept the settlers themselves, they are in charge of national security. one of them is a minister. it is hijacked by the corruption. let's assume this was a success. what is the long-term plan? this is an annexation of the west bank. to look for a political associate -- solution that will respect self-determination and respect human rights.

if they manage to defeat one, another will emerge. >> thank you very much for your time. he is a professor of international relations. we will have more on the situation later on in the program. we will be speaking to the former advisor of the palestinian leadership. around the world and across the u.k., this is bbc news. let's have a look at some of these stories in the u.k.. rail passengers are warned of destruction until saturday due to an overtime banned by drivers. 15 companies are being affected from today. many are reducing services. it's the long-running pay dispute. the former senior servant investigated at downing street broke the civil service code due

to undeclared contact with the labour party before she left. last week, she was cleared to start work as chief of staff for the labor leader. they launched an investigation into a recent episode of the news show. it aired on the ninth of may, featuring the mp covering a breaking news story about a civil trial verdict involving donald trump. you are live with bbc news. to paris, police are bracing with more clashes. there were calls for calm after a week of writing. our correspondent is in paris. are there any signs of protest taking place this evening?

>> this evening, it is quiet. this is the district where the trouble really started last week. these towers are well known. this is something of an architectural innovation of their time. at the bottom of the tower is a neighborhood with burned-out cars. there are patches where they been removed. every plateglass window has been broken. i have to say we've been told to leave. when not going any further this. the hope is the violence we have seen does not recur. a lot of police have been promised by the government to be on duty tonight. 45,000 officers, we've been through the area. we have not seen many police who are on duty on the streets

tonight. we hope there will not be a repeat. it's possible there has been a turning point in the trouble we've seen in many towns and cities in france. that came from the south east of the center. the mayor took a lot of people from this area and held a protest to say he did not want to see anymore trouble. we did need to get order to be restored. a lot of people whoere with him were agreeing with that. he was attacked two days ago. he was in the mayoral town hall. his wife and children were at home when somebody drove a car at their house and his wife was injured. he has become somebody these counter protesters are saying,

there needs to be an end to this. >> thank you very much. a watchdog has found drivers paid more for fuel at supermarkets because of a lack of competition between retailers. drivers paid an average of six pence per liter for fuel with diesel 13 pence more expensive. the government is promising more competition. let's go live to the founder of the campaign group fair fuel u.k.. he is running for may of london. thank you for joining us. this is something you welcome? >> i am delighted that after campaigning, the idea of having a pump watch scheme, he was very excited about it.

here we are five years later. they have found evidence there has been profiteering in the fuel supply chain. >> one of these higher prices meant for drivers? >> huge suffering it, especially low income families. it really does hurt them. when you are talking about an extra 13 pence per liter regarding diesel, multiply that by the average family car. you were looking at eight pounds extra they have to find to do that. they have to earn more with taxation. it really does hurt, especially in a cost-of-living crisis. the government has allowed this to happen unchecked. everyone knows there has been opportunistic profiteering. the government has allowed it to happen.

>> briefly, how will this help drivers? we will get information to show how the prices at the pump arrive in a transparent fashion. we might be seeing some honest pricing of the pump. petrol is about eight pence to height. you can see it affects every part of the economy. >> howard, i'm sure it will be welcomed by many people who use their cars on regular basis. that was the founder of fair fuel u.k. you are watching the context on bbc news. narrator: funding for this presentation of this program

is provided by... narrator: financial services firm, raymond james. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... woman: architect. bee keeper. mentor. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life well planned. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news".