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misplaced. >> the army has started new methods for those inside the tunnels and to destroy the tunnels. all of our forces are working to find unique solutions. >> military control of the territory is the first step, and the closer that israel gets to its duel goals, the more delicate this operation becomes. ♪ >> hello and welcome. on "the context," hospitals in gaza crossfire -- in the crossfire. we get the latest on the ground and assess how israel's military objectives as it tries to wipe out hamas can be achieved within international humanitarian law. the un security council meets again to discuss the israel-hamas war.

we are live in new york to assess the prospect of a breakthrough. among israel's top targets is a hamas individual. we will find that his significance within hamas. and as london gear up for a major pro-palesnian protest in the capital, we explore the clash between u.k. politics and its policing. international committee of the red cross has warned hospitals in gaza have reached a point of no return, risking the lives of thousands of people. the director of the hospital in gaza has accused israel of launching a war on medical facilities with reports of fierce fighting around sever hospitals. israel has denied firing on medical targets. israel says these are places where hamas is hiding. purple areas show where the idf troops are. they have encircled gaza city.

this is footage from inside a children's hospital in gaza city. people have been told that if they are not medical staff or patients, they must leave. israel says hamas are in the tunnels underneath, which hamas denies. israeli tanks are reported to be surrounding a hospital while the palestinian red crescent said is really snipers opened fire at another hospital, killing one person. and another hospital has also suffered damage. in the past hour, this guy has lit up with explosions as israel continues its retaliation for the brutal october 7 attacks on southern israel. the israeli goverent has revised down the number of people killed in those attacks down to 1200. with the latest, here is lucy. >> gaza hospitals are seen as locals as a place for shelter.

at this hospital, the displaced live side-by-side with the wounded. the line between them sometimes very thin. why, she is screaming. israel says this is where hamas has its underground headquarters. it is now surrounded by israeli troops. >> we were staying on the fifth floor, and then we found bombs falling on us. my niece was killed. she was already wounded from before but now she is dead. >> tanks failed inside this children's hospital, a sign that the battle between israel and hamas is closing in. the streets around these places of refuge are now so dangerous. but even those who want to leave sometimes can't. tonight, the director of this hospital said shooting had started again there. >> we have over 60 patients in intensive care, 50 babies and

integrators, 500 patients on dialysis. they cannot be treated anywhere else in gaza. we are staying here with the injured and displaced. >> israeli forces are now deep inside gaza. the bombed out buildings say as much about the difficulty of reaching their enemy as about israel's military might. >> the army has started deploying new methods agast those inside the tunnels and to destroy the tunnels. all of our forces are working to find unique solutions and succeeding. >> israel's overwhelming military force has put tanks in the heart of gaza city, but military control of the territory is just the first step. and the closer israel gets to its duel goals of hamas and its hostages, the more delicate this operation becomes. negotiations over how to get more than 200 hostages out of

gaza have faltered before. today, and bid new hopes of a deal, talks between qatar and egypt. >> i hear all the news, i hear thnews about qatar, the egyptians. better to not have any opinion on it. it is very difficult, because for us, every small news is a light. >> israel has promised to protect its citizens, those in gaza and those at home. gazans are for stoop rely -- forced to ry on the promises of hamas and international law. >> un security council is holding another meeting in new york on the conflict between israel and hamas. it has failed so far to agree on a resolution on the month-long war. let's bring in our north american correspondent who was with us in new york for us. is there any chance of consensus

this time around? >> security council members have been trying to reach consensus for weeks now, and that just doesn't seem like they are making any ground. in particular, the united states, there is some frustration that the united states has not been engaging more with councilmembers. they of course are israel's strongest partner on the council, and they vetoed a resolution supported by 12 other members that called for humanitarian causes, that condemned hamas, called for the release of hostages, protection of international law. while that seems like the key point the counselor could agree on, the united states said it didn't have enough strong language on israel's right to self-defense. after that, russia and china vetoed a u.s. resolution, saying it did not call for strong enough protections. we have a very divided counsel. i should just note, today's

meeting is really about getting a briefing. the united arab emirates becaush crisis and ongoing strikes on hospitals. they have called for the world health organization to give a briefing, just to give a detailed description of what we have been hearing there. the dramatic deterioration of the health system, which we have heard the irc say has reached a point of no return. >> one of the key sticking points is the differentiation between a humanitarian pause and humanitarian cease-fire. different states pushing for different directions in that regard. are we expecting that to be a key sticking point again? >> absolutely. we have even seen france, for example, who was originally calling for humanitarian causes, to agree with others in the counsel for a cease-fire. it is something that the arab

group, through the uae, has been calling for consistently since the start of this. something we have heard from several councilmembers. the general assembly, 121 nations in the u.n., calling for a humanitarian truce that would eventually lead to a cease-fire. but the united states, as we heard, is sticking more to the language of humanitarian pauses. a problem with that, the you and says, is that these are unilateral measures. they want the united nations to be involved because civilians cannot rely on the safety of corridors or positives established unilaterally by israel. that does not give them confidence. we heard that from the human rights commissioner, saying that so-called safe zones, when established unilaterally and heighten risk to civilians, raise questions whether security can be guaranteed in practice. again, that you and pushing for

themselves or have a real role here. >> thank you so very much. joining me to discuss the state of the near five-week israel-gaza war, a writer for the new yorker, and retired brigadier general. thank you both so much for your time. robin, i'm interested to start with you first, pickg up on the, that were just made. how is the u.n. regarding this? >> the united nations has had trouble mobilizing on any issue including ukraine. one of the challenges coming out of both of the wars in the ukraine and middle east is that many of the institutions, ideas, principles established in the aftermath of world war ii are being challenged. when you have major powers that are so divided on fundamental issues, to get countries

together, will be increasingly difficult. it doesn't look like that you and is any avenue to resolve this crisis. >> mark, from your military experience, how do you assess what is going on on the ground with regard to israel's operation? >> they have done quite well. the speed of the offensive was much quicker than people thought given the nature of urban conflict, urban warfare. i would note, however, that they have not hit the toughest part of this. they are trying to encircle and squeeze. hamas is falling back on their own positions, strengthening their capabilities. candidly, if allowed to regroup with humanitarian pauses, i think that will cause a lot of soldier's lives in the idf. we referenced -- >> we referenced the other

conflicts. what are the challenges facing the israelis? mark. >> one of the most significant challenges is the fact that hamas is holding 200 plus hostages. it is normally the case that in this region, hostages are held for negotiations, not for executions. the intensity of this type of warfare puts them at risk for not only hamas but also the bombing campaign and close contact that is being conducted by the idf. >> rabin, from a hamas perspective, when they look at israeli troops operating within the gaza strip, what would they be thinking in response to that activity? >> hamas has one goal, and that is to survive, just as heollah did when they fought the israelis in the 1980's after the israeli invasion, or in 2006.

hamas is playing the long game. it knows there will be horrific losses and terrible destruction, they are still trying to come out as an idea that may have mobilized more palestinians to its side if not total support, because it is seen as the one force resisting israeli invasion. the political outcome of this war is just as important as the military. >> talking about politics, for the moment, israel has the support of the united states. we are also seeing comments and pictures of tanks and troops operating within the vicinity of hospitals in the gaza strip. to what degree do you think israel can continue to count on international support from people like the united states? at what point do you think they will start putting pressure for them to change their modus operandi? >> israel will count on the united states, and the u.s. will continue to count on israel. the question is what happens in these middle eastern countries,

government pressure, demanding a cease-fire, or to say to israel this need to stop as soon as possible. the political tensions playing out in the war ripples well beyond a country the size of new jersey, fighting an area the size of philadelphia. >> operating on the ground as a soldier, to what degree does politics enter those moments of engagement? >> in two ways. as i said earlier, if you have these types of political interruptions on the military campaign, you are going to pay in terms of lies and time. the second issue is, militaries operate with the lifeblood of public support. if they start seeing public support wavering or getting wobbly, as candidly, we are sorry to see in america right now, robin understands it

affects their morale, willingness to fight. soldiers have to believe what they are fighting for. if the public doesn't believe in it, it makes it hard for a soldier to believe in it. >> a question to you both. rabin, with regards to this conflict, israel is also looking to its northern border. hezbollah is in southern lebanon , said to have around 150,000 rockets that are more deadly and accurate that hamas is in charge of. with israel's waterborne ability, what situation doesn't find itself in, and where is the trend going? >> no question in other nations in the region mostly backed by iran. i have covered the war between hezbollah and israel, and it is striking that hezbollah has so far engaged in a limited area, with a limited number

comparatively of rockets and missiles along the northern border. it has not gone deeper. if this war was launched simultaneously by hezbollah and hamas, it would have been catastrophic for israel. we have seen both hezbollah d iran pull back, even though iranian backed militias are attacking u.s. forces in iraq and syria, putting pressure on them to leave the middle east altogether. a lot of different dynamics playing out on the sidelines of this conflict. >> another dynamic is that houth i rebels are also targeting sites. is has the potential to really affect a much wider region. >> i think that is right. i certainly hope that hassan thus rama --srallah and others took note of president biden speech on october 10 morning any outside nation, if they wanted to get involved in

this fight, don't. i certainly hope that red line is more effective and more sturdy than the red line president obama gave in 2015. so far, that deterrence message and the presence of aircraft carriers, additional aircraft, additional other assets coming into the region, i hope that message of deterrence is not only seen as capable but also credible. >> a former retired brigadier general, robin wright, thank you so much. around the world and across the u.k., this is bbc news. let's take a look at some of the other stories making headlines today. latest official figures show no economic growth in the u.k. between july and september, after a succeion of interest rate rises. the performance was slightly better than expected. many analysts would have believed it would have shrunk. the bank of england said the u.k. economy was likely to see

zero growth until 2025, although it's expected to avoid recession. scotland's health secretary says he will pull back the full cost of an 11,000 pound data roaming bill he incurred while using a parliamentary ipad on holiday. he ran up the charges while in morocco due to an outdated sim card. england's chief medical officer has more the u.k. faces a health crisis because of a rapidly aging population. in his report, he says that while people are living longer, many of their later years are being spent in increasingly bad health. you are watching bbc news. i am garrett barlow. you are like with bbc news. the metropolitan police is imposing an exclusion zone between the senator and whitehall in central london ahead of the pro-palestinian march and remembrance events this weekend.

almost 2000 police officers will be on duty. the home secretary discussed the policing of the event. it comes at downing street says the prime minister rishi sunak has full confidence in suella braverman amid calls to sackur over an article accusing the police of bias. let's hear what the chancellor jeremy hunt had to say about her remarks. >> the words that she use are not words that i myself would have used, but i have a productive relationship with her as a colleague. garrett: the former head u.k. counterterrorism says braverman's actions risk turning the police into an arm of the state directed by politicians. >> although she may note ordering it, if a home secretary, and not just a home secretary, deputy prime minister, many other front bench people, come out and make comments about what should or should not be done before an operational decision is made, i'm afraid that is tantamount to effectively trying to direct the

police. there are reasons why that should never happen. garrett: let's talk to our political correspondent. helen, take us inside the conversation within westminster. what are people saying in response to the last few hours? >> we have heard a bit more, not from the home secretary herself, but a source close to the home secretary. and there is a mark to of tone this evening. a source has said that she met the metropolitan police commissioner earlier, and he outlined plans to continue working to maintain public order during the protests tomorrow. but they said the home secretary emphasized her full backing for the police and what will be a complex and challenging situation, and that she had expressed confidence that any criminality would be dealt with robustly. that is a real change of tone from the article that was published yesterday in the times that you were talking about.

i think this does try to deal a little bit head-on with some of the criticisms you just outlined. on the one hand, criticism of her choice of words, language. you heard jeremy hunt instancing himself there. but the more serious charge leveled at her in the last 24 hours is what you heard, this idea that her article was interfering, undermining the operational independence of the police. the words we are getting this evening is an attempt to roll back a bit, calm the situation ahead of the weekend. as for what is being sent around westminster, there is a bit of a split opinion among conservative mps. the opposition have been equivocal -- pretty critical of her, undermining the independence of the police. among conservative mps, she has some supporters, that she is saying whamany people think. but there are also some conservative mps who are angry

about this, not impressed with the language, stance that she has been taking. garrett: thank you so much. let's speak to a former detective superintendent with the metropolitan police, who joins us now from jordan. thank you for your time here on bbc news. you spent 30 years in the police force. with that in mind, what do you make of these comments from the home secretary? >> they were inflammatory, divisive. the language she used is totally on acceptable. i think she has used her own political platform. the fact is, the metropolitan police have maintained their operational independence. i think it's about time that she had that meeting with the commissioner because she has had to eat some humble pie and except that they had a robust policing plan in place. last week, they have 30,000 people go to trafalgar square,

where they maintained their own independence, made 29 arrests, six charges. this week, they will do the same. they have section 60, stop and search, removal of masks. they have already deployed a range of tactics in advance. if she would have spoken to the commissioner in the first place, she would have known already from the outset that there was absolutely no chance of the organizers going to this, because they had already made it clear from the outset. she would have been breached on that. it begs the question why she thought it was so necessary to ta her platform, to behave in that way. garrett: with regard to the operational independence of the police, i'm taking about those 2000 officers you mentioned will be deployed across london

tomorrow. how well the comments of the home secretary be resonating in the minds of the rank-and-file officers? how will that impact them tomorrow as they try to police ch a huge event? >> i have spoken to many officers in the last week, and they are actually disappointed and disgusted with the comments made by suella braverman. they have complete and utter focus, to maintain law and order, protect the public, protect the vulnerable, and do the job they are there to do. that is to ensure there is not disorder, splinter groups do not break off. if they do, they have robust plans in place. that includes those going. garrett: with regard to the process of policing an event like this. while you are talking, we are showing the viewers some of the barriers going up. you mentioned the section 60,

stop and search orders. how hard is it to logistically manage potentially up to a million people? >> people will expect that the police will go in and arrest anybody involved in some form of criminality. but it cannot work like that. they have to make dynamic risk assessments. it doesn't necessarily mean that they want to go in and arrt. they will have officers in the special operations rooms with cctv, out there in the crowds. what they may do is use some opportunity, not to effectively arrest them there, because that could escalate the situation. there will be those that they may need to arrest immediately, particularly those splinter groups that try to break off.

far-right groups who want to break off and go to the march to cause trouble. they have a lot of thinking to do, a lot of work to do. they have to maintain that public law and order at the same time. garrett: sorry to interrupt you, we are running short on time. thank you so much for your thoughts. still to come, we are looking at the significance of a hamas leader described narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: financial services firm, raymond james. man: bdo. accountants and advisors. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪

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♪ ♪ 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.