♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: pediatric surgeon. volunteer. topiary artist.

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". sumi: i am sumi soman washington and this is "bbc world news america." the israel-hamas war takes centernations as the u.s. secref state says a humanitarian pause is needed to deliver aid to palestinian civilians. in gaza, u.n. agency say they will run out of fuel in the next 24 hours, putting their humanitarian efforts under threat. that comes as water and critical supplies are running dangerously low. we take a look at one ukrainian city on the front line that is

seeing almost its entire population forced out. ♪ welcome to "bbc world news america." i am sumi somaskanda. the united nations is warning without any fuel being allowed into the gaza strip, they will run out by tomorrow and have to stop the relief efforts. israel has relit -- has refused to let fuel in the since they started a blockade following attacks by hamas back on october 7. the red crescent reports eight more relief trucks were allowed into gaza, but no fuel. israel responded to the human's concerns with a post on x, showing a satellite photo, saying, to ask hamas for some fuel. it comes as the human chief warns he is concerned about " clear violations of international humanitarian law that we are witnessing in gaza."

and as u.s. president joe biden says, eight is not coming in fast enough. the hamas run ministry of health of gaza has put out a statement saying, hospitals in the gaza strip have completely collapsed. u.s. secretary of state antony blinken addressed the un security council and called for aid to be allowed into the strip. he warned that the member states against escalating the situation. >> no member of this council, no nation in this entire body, could or would tolerate the slaughter of its people. while israel has the right, indeed the obligation, to defend itself, the way it does so matters. we know hamas does not represent the palestinian people. palestinian civilians are not to blame for the carnage committed by hamas. palestinian civilians must be protected. that means hamas must cease using them as human fields. it is hard to think of an active greater cynicism.

it means israel must take all precautions to avoid harm to civilians. sumi: north america correspondent netta toll-free is covering the security council meeting in new york and she joins us. it is good to see you. tell us about what has been happening at the security council. reporter: it was a quite contentious debate in the secure to counsel. we had a briefing by numerous u.n. officials by the u.n. secretary general. while he is repeating calls for a cease-fire for the release of how -- of all htages and sounding the alarm about the humanitarian situation, and what he sees as clear violations of international law, it was really his comments about the context of this conflict that sparked outrage from the israeli delegation. we heard him say the attacks by hamas did not happen in a vacuum and the palestinian people had been under a suffocating occupation for 56 years. he went into everything they had

experienced during that. the israeli foreign minister asked us what world he had been living in. the israeli ambassador of the u.n. called him to resign. they cancel a planned meeting with the secretary-general. mr. harris met with hostage families. as the debate continued, we saw just how divided member states were. there have been numerous attempts to get a security council resolution out from the council. we know there are competing u.s. and russia drafts, but it is likely both of those states will block those efforts, and that the council will remain paralyzed. sumi: o correspondent reporting on the latest from the security council. thank you so much. israel is continuing its heavy bombing of gaza while hamas is holding more than 200 hostages in the strip. the war between israel and hamas is having repercussions on every corner of the region. as our international editor reports, some of the images in his report are distressing.

reporter: after the doctors have examined this person, she came out of the hospital in tel aviv saying, she went through hell in gaza. from the moment hamas took her as a hostage. >> i was laying on a motorcycle. my body on one side and my legs on the other. and the hamas men beat me on the way. they did not break my ribs but hurt me very much. reporter: like so many israelis, she is astounded by the failure of her country's army and intelligence to protect them. >> the army was not prepared. we were the government's scapegoats. hamas warned us three weeks ahead. they burned our fields. the army somehow did not take it seriously. reporter: how mass's detailed planning extended to hostage

taking too. >> they seemed ready for this. they had prepared for a long time, and had everything the hostages needed. even shampoo and conditioner. reporter: running this war is getting complicated for the israeli government. the northern border with lebanon is heating up. thousands of troops have been sent there and border towns evacuated, in case of war with iran's lebanese ally, has bella. -- has bella. prime minister netanyahu has visited the troops but has not ordered them to invade. >> without a ground war in gaza to define the state of this crisis, other things are. starting with the hostages. in tel aviv, a former prime minister and army commander, saw painful choices ahead. is impossible for israel to invade the gaza strip with

ground troops, if there are still hostages in the hands of hamas? >> if there is no other way, we have to do it. because until -- because tel aviv provides those barriers, and crimes against humanity. get impunity, due to the fact that they massacred, slaughtered, probably 1500 people. a very painful and tough decision might have to be made. reporter: on the west bank, the other side of the palestinian territories has settled hundreds of thousands of jews in defiance of international law. the hardest call of jewish settlers who have seized are seen by many israelis as isolated extremists. but now, they are effectively in the israeli cabinet. on the top, the settlers who believe they are hereby god's will, are armed and say the

hamas massacres mean more mainstream israelis will agree with them. th said the weapons were for self-defense, but that must change. >> in a war, you have a gun and a trigger. for those who don't understand it, we are at war. a war with the other side shows no mercy. and we need to be same. there is no choice. reporter: for palestinians on the west bank, these are violent days. this person was one of two young men killed in is -- in an israeli army arrest operation at a refugee camp. 95 west bank palestinians have been killed by israeli security forces since hamas broke out of gaza. as they waited for the funeral, it was quiet and tense.

people are talking about anger at what the israelis have done, and a sense of uncertainty and fear about what might be happening next. this is a long and intractable conflict. but it had some certainties. it has a certain shape, status quo. that has all changed. on the way to the cemetery, the flags were from the main palestinian faction. significantly, we could not see any armed palestinians at the funeral. perhaps because israel has tight control of the west bank for now. but the danger that the serious incident could ignite the west bank is real. dear mei bowen, bbc news, jerusalem. sumi: in gaza, the ministry of health says more than 5700 people have been killed,

including at least 700 and the last one for hours. it is becoming increasingly difficult to report from gaza due to safety concerns and a lack of communication. are special correspondent has been speaking to people there. some of the footage in his report is hard to watch. but those who are there want the world to see it. reporter: what war would take away they raced to save. the young life of this person. the adult hand on the child's heart. it could not save him. this boy did survive airstrikes, doctors say killed 166 people. the little boy asks if his family is ok. of the nearly 6000 sent by gaza health authorities to have been killed so far, around 40% are

reported to be children. sharif came with his wounded son. he asked if the children were the enemies. where they the ones who kidnapped, the ones who had killed? there are the other wounds, what war does. to the spirit of a child. salma is nine. israel says it is only targeting the men who brought terror to its people. over 400 airstrikes in the last day. unleashing the power of high explosive. by night and by day. this was the south of the gaza

strip at half past 12:00 today, filmed by a bbc journalist. the war has displaced 1.4 million people. in the tented camp, cleanliness is part of the struggle to preserve dignity. >> at night, it's cold. and there are not enough blankets. we are sleeping on dirt. the children are all sick. where are the rights of our children? where are our human rights? reporter: the fun and friendship of childhood, they grasp what they can. knowing how brutally it can be lost. sumi: we are joined in studio by the director of philanthropy at

the united nations relief and work agency for palestinian refugees. thank you for joining us. i should say first off that you have lost more than a dozen members of your extended family. our condolences to you for your last. you have your parents and your sisters in gaza at the moment. how are they? >> thank you for having me. i wish we were meeting under better circumstances. the family is not doing very well. they are physically -- i worry for their safety. i worry for the safety of my friends. i have a sister sheltering inside of a hospital. my other sister is inside a school, the only one who managed to get to the safe zone. quote unquote. my family remains in danger, and they worry for their safety, especially my mom who is 71 years old. staying in the dark, trying to stay alive and keep her grandkids safe. sumi: you mentioned your sister working in a hospital.

we have heard by gaza health ministry that the hospitals are essentially collapsing. what has she told you? >> what happened, the indonesian hospital yesterday went out of power. i was in gaza two months ago and i went to that hospital with a minor injury. i admired the staff. they don't have electricity, you can't expect much from them. without -- it does not matter how many food tricks go in, without fuel, bakeries, ambulances, how are you going to do anything without fuel? it is a rather chaotic scene. hospitals are sheltering up to 3000 people, just hanging out in the reception area or any open space. sumi: amid this situation, your agency is saying if they don't get more fuel in, they have to seize operations by tomorrow. given the situation, is there any prospect, any possible fuel deliveries? >> the agency announced they would need about 160,000 liters

of fuel a day to run hospitals under operations for the food distributions. i don't think we are getting any promises. there might be private conversations that have not been made public. but we know that the israeli side announced there is no fuel that will be going in gaza. that is unfortunate. ihink of my uncle who is going through dialysis. what is he going to do? that is a death sentence for this person. it is a tragy. obviously, my family is surviving on pasture right now. because they are north, they do not get enough north. i work for the largest humanitarian actor, i support them in gaza. we are doing good work, sheltering up to 600,000 people, providing services as much awe can. you have heard our staff got killed as they were doing that. it is not an ideal situation. sumi: can i ask you about what israel has said? it says it does not want fuel to

be part of the supplies because hamas will use it to continue attacking israel. what is your response to that? >> also air. hamas also breeds. if we can't stop the air, then they will brief that is nn answ. i want to remind everybody with a conscience that you and agencies in gaza are credible and trusted partners. if they supervise this, they would be taken care of the hospitals. nobody wants dead children -- wants their children in incubators. the n. system can't do that and deliver for the world health organization. there are ways to ensure it. we know what they need. it is not infinite. we know how much fuel they can have. the hospitals require about 100,000 liters of fuel. there is a measurement for everything. sadly every day, there are fewer hospitals in gaza than the day before. luckily, we are getting medical

supplies. not a lot. a drop in the ocean. but we have to show gratitude we are receiving something. ideally covered people should stop dying and stop airstrikes. sumi: they tore tricks have arrived, but it is only read -- it has only reached a certain amount of the population. if you listen from the u.s. secretary of state, he joined european allies for a humanitarian pause, to make sure supplies can get in. are you confident or optimistic that that will be possible to achieve? >> i hope so. i met the secretary yesterday, we had a small briefing. there is stuff in public and private discourse. it is not enough. israel has commitment to the international community to protect civilians. we see that is a problem. they have not honored that, as my opinion as a palestinian with family in gaza. i have hope that things will get better. what we are hearing is nothing good. i worry that between the even --

the evacuations, and since this killing. -- and senseless killing. what is the end game here? what is the end game, are you going to take hospitals out of commission, bakeries, then what? sumi: want to ask you about the comments you had on the secretary of state. you said that there was a mismatch between the positive words and support for palestinian civilians, and what you have seen in terms of action. can you tell us what you mean? >> does not seem that our lives have been humanized. the first week of this war it became horrible. i lot of palestinians here on the homefront felt threatened and intimidated. in college cases -- college classes and people around the country. i have family members who got blown to pieces, the explosion was so big, that the body of the dad was never found. now he is dead. there are a lot of challenges like that.

there is a call that says the u.s. does the right thing. i hope that they will come to their senses and support things like we condemn russia for the things they do for ukraine. it should not be any different. a civilian is a civilian. there is no civilian and civilian life. 50% of the people in gaza are under the age of 19. they did nothing. they did not have a choice. they did not make any bad decision in their life to warrant those airstrikes. sumi: thank you for sharing those thoughts. director of philanthropy. good to speak with you today. >> thank you for having me. sumi: we are going to move on to other news now. the war in ukraine continues to rage on. residents are living under constant russian bombardment. the street -- the strategically important town lies on the front line in eastern ukraine. russia launched a major offensive on the town earlier this month.

fighting has intensified in recent days. for russia, taking control of the town would allow them to push ukraine's front line back and make it harder for ukraine to retake the territory. our correspondent spoke to residents there. reporter: moscow wants the town badly, and the people of the town are paying a terrible price. from russia's perspective, this is a significant place. both in terms of strategy, but also symbolism. strategically, while exits close to the city of donetsk, occupied by russia since 2014, but simply, if russia can seize the town, it will make it harder for ukraine to retake that territory. it also sits quite high geographically. the thinking goes that whoever controls that town has the advantage of height over the surrounding area. symbolically, vladimir putin has not had many victories to go to the russian people with in recent months. if you can take this, he may be

able to wrap that up and presented as a success. russia launched a major offensive on the town some weeks ago. there has always been fighting in that area, but they have a tent -- they have intensified their campaign. people living in the town have told us they are living under constant airstrikes and constant bombardment. it is extremely dangerous. we have spoken to a couple residents by phone, and their population of this town before the full-scale invasion of ukraine was more than 30,000. it is not just around 1500 people. life for them is already extremely difficult. and it is getting harder. we have been told most of the people who are left are elderly. some of them are in -- are in firm. there are no shops the last shop was destroyed in a strike in the last few days. people are aligned on a local shelter and aid packages for food. people have been getting out. we heard from a local police unit, known as the white angels,

they carry out the extremely dangerous job of evacuating people. they have told us in the last one of four hours they have taken more people out. there is more demand for their services. what is difficult is that the russians have been targeting one of the main roads in and out of the town, very difficult to go about that kind of work. one woman we spoke to who is volunteering at the shelter, handing out hot food and drinks to the people of the town, when they can venture out of their houses to get to the shelter, told us she was living in the basement of the shelter. many people's houses have been destroyed. we heard a lot about windows and doors having been blown off in strikes. one woman said there is no point in fixing those windows and doors, because the next day, another strike comes and they are broken again. winter is coming. the temperature is starting to drop here that makes conditions appalling. very dangero. with that, russian bombardment ongoing.

the people of the town face very difficult months, weeks, even days ahead. sumi: we want to go back to our top story. the israel-hamas war. we can speak to our international editor, jeremy bowen, who is in southern israel with the latest on the story. it is good to see you. tell us what you have heard on the ground? jeremy: well, i am actually in jerusalem, and i have been in the west bank, israeli occupied today. and i have -- my impression, because people there, israelis and palestinians, are very different and very many respects. i have seen hard-line jewish settlers and palestinians at a funeral. what they share is a real feeling that the old status quo has gone, they don't know what

is coming next, but they are very worried about it. sumi: we have heard there is pressure growing on israel to have more aid allowed into gaza. one of the responses in jerusalem to that? jeremy: israel has been resisting pressure to bring the amount of aid that the human want in. what has happened is essentially president joe biden and israel's prime minister netanyahu, together agreed that there would be a flow of aid in. but right now, up to now, i think you can only describe it as a token flow. it is not enough to make a difference. it is not enough to shift the dial. the u.n. estimates the bare minimum they would need, if fuel was included on the trucks, to pump water, is 100 trucks a day. they have been getting a fraction of that.

and they have not been able to bring in fuel. they are not at all happy with that, which is a strong reason why mr. gutierrez, the secretary-general, has been voicing his concern. sumi: our international editor jeremy bowen in jerusalem. thank you so much. that is our show. thank you for watching "world news america." stay with us. narrator: funding for this presentation of thisrogram 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. ♪ ♪

wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. it's to die for. now you won't miss a thing. this is the way. the xfinity 10g network. made for streaming. amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett. on the "newshour" tonight, israel ramps up its aerial assault in gaza, where civilians continue to be caught in the crossfire and little aid is making it to those desperately -- making it to those who desperately need it. amna: in a whirlwind day on capitol hill, republican lawmakers consider numerous candidates for speaker of the house but once again fail