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startups have this energy that energizes me. i'm thriving by helping others everyday. people who know, know bdo. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and byudy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news". >> hello. you are watching "the context" on bbc news. >> the largest city in the south of gaza and where the israeli defense forces believed some of the most senior hamas leaders are holed up in tunnels. >>'s will need security control over all territory west of the jordan river. president biden: i think it would be a mistake for israel to

occupy gaza again. >> israel cannot allow a former palestinian entity to sign treaty defense pacts with people like iran or have hezbollah fighters joined them for joint exercises and operations. welcome to the program. coming up, israeli forces step up their results on south gaza's main city khan yunis after x -- intense airstrikes and three-putting. it comes as differences emerge between the u.s. and israel over what happened once the war ends. israel's pm, benjamin netanyahu has dismissed the idea of a palestinian state. with 2008 under jobs to go at tata steel plants in the u.k., we ask where this leaves britain's steel industry, and we look at the environmental

arguments which the company says have driven those losses. and prince harry drops his libel claim against the publisher of the mail on sunday. good evening. we begin with the situation in gaza, growing concerns for the safety of hundreds of thousands of palestinians in the south of the territory as israeli forces stage a renewed offensive against hamas. tanks have been pushing deeper into the territory, second-largest largest territory, khan yunis. this is the eighth day of communications blackout and these images shared by the israeli defense forces show the battle on the ground there have also been intense airstrikes. united nations has warned the conflictisks creating a society where order has broken down and a generation of children could lose out completely. the war has already killed more than 24,000 palestinians, according to the hamas-run gaza heal ministry, and has laid waste too much of gaza's

infrastructure and civic society. 90% of educational buildings, universities, and schools have been damaged or destroyed according to the u.n. the world for thought -- health organization also says 13 of gaza's 36 hospitals are functional, many damaged and airstrikes. the you and says two mothers are killed every hour in gaza. our correspondent in jerusalem reports. >> the impact of israel's bombing campaign in gaza is astonishing. it's aimed to completely crush hamas has also destroyed or damaged more than half of gaza's buildings. more than 24,000 people have been killed, says the hamas-run health ministry. the war has also laid waste too much of gaza infrastructure and civic society. this u.n. school blown up by celebrating israeli troops --

100 schools have been damaged or destroyed. like any society, gaza future is its future, about here, they are victims of war, and says that you and says that u.n., may lose out completely on what should be rightfully theirs. >> you have today about half a million children in the primary and secondary school system, how will they go back if you cannot bring people back to their home which have been completely destroyed? i'm afraid that here we are taking the risk to lose a neration of children. >> gaza's health system, too, is broken. the world health organization says only 13 of gaza's hospitals are functioning. those who need treatment often go without. >> i was receiving medical treatment for my cancer at the hospital here in gaza but during

the israeli aggression, medical treatments have not been provided for the past four months. >> since this more began, israel's unprecedented bombing of gaza's main innovations have laid much of the territory to waste. very few areas from north to south ha escaped without damage. israel disputes the scale of gaza's humanitarian crisis and says it doesn't target civilians or public infrastructure unless it is suspected of being used by armed palestinian groups. israel also rejects accusations that it is deliberately turning gaza into aasteland so that people will have no option other than to leave. israel says it wants to allow in as much aid as the agencies can distribute and is not trying to just -- demolish gaza's civic structures. key institutions like law courts and the parliament also in ruins, there is not much of a society left. >> the assault on khan yunis

comes as the white house is criticizing the israeli prime minister's public opposition to the creation of a palestinian state. latest reports say that president biden has held talks with mr. netanyahu, while washingtonupport for israel's campaign against hamas in gaza despite otherwise close ties, the two allies have publicly aired differences again over the way forward for gaza. on thursday, benjamin netanyahu dismayed -- dismiss the possibility of palestinian sovereignty, saying israel needed control of the west bank and gaza for its security. >> in any arrangement in the foreseeable future with a settlement or without a settlement, israel needs security control over all territory west of the jordan river. this is a necessary condition and clashes with the idea of palestinian sovereignty. what can you do? i tell this truth to our american friends and also stop the attempts to impose a reality

on us that would harm israel's security. the prime minister needs to be capable of saying no to our friends, saying no when necessary, and saying yes when possible. >> responding to prime minister netanyahu's marks, the official spokesperson for palestinian president mahmoud abbas says that without an independent palestinian state they will be no security in the region. mr. abbas along with other countries and the u.s. have long been proponents of a two state solution, saying it's the best hope for peace in the israeli-palestinian conflict. this is how the territories look at the moment. a future solution would see an independent palestinian state established alongside the existing one of israel, giving the people their own territory. it is the official position of the u.k., the u.s., and united nations. so what next and how does this come to a resolution? to discuss this further, i am

joined by a former u.s. ambassador who served in a number of diplomatic roles in the middle east including monitoring elections in gaza. she has also worked with secretary of state antony blinken and joe biden when he was a senator. welcome to "the context." can i get your thoughts on the comments from prime minister netanyahu first? gina: he is being frank finally after years of going back and forth with u.s. officials, stating publicly that he was supportive of finding ace to take -- a two state solution. now the gloves are clearly off. part of this, many of us understand to be part of his calculation of remaining prime minister of israel as long as the war continues there will not be elections called. he has lost his mantle of mr. security. this may help in his mind, be a

way of getting it back. we have now a return to the original definition, from the river to the sea, because that is what he is talking about with regard to israel the control of territory. so he has put it out there. the united states has heard it. we know the president has spoken with the prime minister. i can imagine very well what at least a portion of the conversation it was like. it would have been direct and frank, reiterating the support that the united states has given israel but that there are limits, and the president has been clear over the last couple of months about those limits. >> where do you think this leaves the u.s.'s support for israel which so far has been pretty steadfast, although we have had concerns about humanitarian aid being raised in recent weeks, insuring that the number of civilian casualties in gaza are minimized. >> indeed.

as spokesperson john kirby mentioned, the changes that have happened over the last couple months have happened because of the pressure that the united states and international community, let's be clear, have put on israel to conducthis conflict in a different way. no one has been happy with the number of civilian casualties and we are all going to have to take a reckoning of that when this is over. we have been clear. certainly, the comments coming from the president, the white house, state department yesterday, very crisp, very clear that this is a nonstarter from the u.s. position. and you have heard that democratic members of the house have also let out a statement that makes clear this is acceptable. not just to the executive branch but also to important members of the legislative branch, and this very important. as the american people want to see a peaceful resolution to

this, and that means finding a way forward for both parties, there cannot be an end of the cycle of violence without both parties finding dignity, stability, and sovereignty in that land. that is what the united states supports. >> you have experience of monitoring elections in gaza. what does your insight tell you about how gazans could be given the right to self govern once the conflict ends? >> they have had it. they conducted successful elections very much so the first time i was there when yasser arafat was first elected president of the palestinian authory, and subsequent. it is a terrible thing that there have not been elections in the gaza strip for about 17 years. that has to be changed. the challenges with the palestinian authority are very real, and that is why there are

real discussions about who else has the credibility. but any decision about who leads the palestinians has to include the views of the palestinians themselves. they are adult, sentient, informed people like the rest of us, and self-determination requires their voice. >> very briefly, do you think president biden will be putting more pressure on prime minister netanyahu's position as prime minister of israel further down the line if these differences and gaps widen. >> i think we will see changes not only from the executive but the legislative branch. there are pieces of legislation working through, gathering cosponsors about taking additional looks at what we are giving the government, the israeli military, how it can be used. already this is building. >> thank you very much for sharing your first-hand insight of this important story.

tata steel has confirmed it is cutting up to 2800 jobs here in the u.k. most workers affected in the next 18 months. the majority of the job losses will be at the steelworks in port talbot south wales. indian-owned tata plant to close two blast furnaces, replacing them with more efficient electric production, involving fewer harmful emissions and fewer people to operate it. our correspondent has this report. >> the chancellor of the exchequer comes to open the largest steel plant in europe. >> heavy industry on a staggering scale. for decades, these works have dominated the local landscape, defined the local economy. it's a place where several generations of the same family have found work. but all that may now change. mark followed his uncles here 42 years ago. he is now one of five in his

family who work here. most around the blast furnaces, where the jobs will go. >> this town was built on the steelworks, built around it. it is the community. over the years from the heyday when there were 20,000, it is the heartbeat of the local community. >> nicole-fired furnaces have been in use when he four hours a day, 365 days a year. at the end of 2024, that will cease. tata hopes to have a new, greener electric furnace and place metime by 2027. >> that means for at least two years after these furnaces are shut down, the company will import steel here from abroad to finish. which raises the question whether this decision is really driven by environmental concerns or economic ones. >> steel made overseas still makes carbon emission, they just don't count toward the u.k. stance. tata admits it is several years

of financial pressure which has brought the change. >> we tried very hard over the years to preserve the site, keep it going despite all the challenges over the last 15 years, we have invested something like 5 billion pounds to keep the business going. it is not that we have given up in a hurry. >> the company secured half a billion pounds from the u.k. government to build the u.k. -- new furnace. trade unions feel like that should have gone to supporting much slower transition. >> they have the money to make 3000 people redundant. that is not a good way to spend taxpayer money. we have a plan which would have cost a few more hundred million but would have secure the majority of jobs here. >> it is not just at the works where the impact is being felt. for 13 years, this cafe has been feeding workers. tiffany fears they may be close within months. >> pretty bad to be honest.

the people worrying about losing their job, not being able to fend for their family, losing houses, everything really. >> a place reinforced by one industry now feels fragile. it's fate decided by forces far beyond its control. >> to discuss the impact of job losses from these closures within tata, i am joined by a business consultant and ceo of redcliff advisory. she looks at how technology has changed the way we work. welcome to "the context." when you look at what has happened in the last one he four hours, this announcement from tata, do you feel the job losses were inevitable? >> i fear they were inevitable. we keep on throwing good money after bad money, and in the end, we are not going to be able to save these jobs. the u.k. will not become a

manufacturing hub again. i think a lot more of that money should have gone to retrain workers. we are not very good at retraining. we have seen that from the closing of the coal mine onward, and that is something we have to do much more of. just this week in fact at the world economic forum, tre was a lot about ai. every single executive is looking how they can use it in their companies. that will lead to many, many more job losses. we don't have the money to keep on throwing more money at companies to try and convince them to keep workers on when it is actually going to be an unprofitable business. >> we will come to ai in a second, but let me talk about the point that you made about retraining and re-skilling people. you might need years to do that. does that mean -- in this case, we are talking about some of the job losses happening within the year.

do companies need to be much more mindful of a timescale when it comes to reskilling people? >> whatever anyone thinks about this government, it has put some emphasis on it. training should be an ongoing thing in every compa. the ai job losses will be white-collar ones as well. everybody needs to be retraining, reskilling all the time. in general, even if you keep your job of it is never wasted time. it will make you more efficient, better at your job. i just think they need to be much more emphasis on doing that right. these -- >> these 2800 workers were in port talbot. what are you saying to them and others to keep up with the changing economy in the u.k. and indeed the world, what slls should be all be getting to keep

up with an ai world? >> it really depends on where you are physically, where you want to stay, and also depends on how long it will take you. i am not saying they should become computer scientists from one day to the next. that would take fever. instead, where do we not have enough workers in the u.k.? there are so many areas great gaps. truck drivers, for instance, carers. it is virtually every sector has gaps in employment. it is about matching the gaps in employment with the workers and with what their skills are. >> ok. a business and tech consultant, thank you for joining us here on bbc news. the community union which represent workers at the tata steel works port talbot had

described the plan to cut the jobs as devastating for the industry here in the u.k.. around the world and across the u.k., this is bbc news. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news today. the bodies of four people, two have been found in a house near norwich. police said officers forced their way into an address this morning after a call from a member of the public. it's believed they were all from the same family. detectives leading the case believe it is an isolated incident. the met office has named the next on to hit the.k. which is going to bring gusts up to 18 miles per hour over the weekend. it will plaster the u.k. on sunday with amber weather warnings issued for wind and western england. northern ireland, and parts of scotland. british retailers suffered the biggest drop in sales in three years in december, running the risk of recession. officials reveal a sharp demand for goods but also food sales in

the run-up to christmas by 3.2%. data appeared to show the people did their shopping earlier, taking advantage of black friday sales. new criminal charges have been filed against the actor alec baldwin in the united states. he is being charged with involuntary manslaughter. it follows the fatal shooting on the set of the movie "rust " and the death of halyna hutchins. he had been charged with manslaughter but the charges were dropped two weeks before a criminal trial was due to begin. mr. baldwin was practicing firing a gun before building a scene when it wen off on location in new mexico. he maintains he did not pull the trigger and did not know the gun was loaded. japan successfully launched a spacecraft onto the moon.

the un-crewed device, moon sniper, touched down near the moon's's equator a few minutes ago. japan has become the fifth country to reach the lunar surface. our science correspondent reports. >> japan's lunar lander has touched down assad landing, but there has been a glitch. it's solar panels are not working. unless it is fixed, the spacecraft will run out of power. experts say the mission has achieved 99% of its aims. >> this was all about precision landing. they have not confirmed the exact precision of the landing but they are the fifth nation to land successfully on the moon. i think that is a hugeuccess. >> they're able to test out an advanced facial recognition system to hone in on its landing site with deadly precision, earning its nickname, the moon sniper. it also deployed one of its many lunar rovers, able to hop where

no rover has hopped before, but not another one, which can roll back the frontiers of knowledge. >> a new way of doing space exploration. a big part of it is to bring down the cost so that we can do you risk these missions, do more of them with faster turnaround, and hopefully get both more science and exploration out of each one. >> to discuss that further, we can go live to the university of central lancaster. thanks for joining us on the program. japan now joins the club of nations which has landed on the moon. how big is japan's space program, how much time has this been in the works? >> this particular mission has been in the works for a couple of decades, a long time coming. but that is not terribly unusual certainly in government-funded space programs.

it can take a long time to get something off the ground, from the nasa point of view, from the european space agency point of view as well. a lotf testing before they get to the stage of launching. there space program is significant. they have had some significant successes in the last few years, landing on more than one asteroid, bringing material back to the earth, which is really important for science and helping us understand the evolution of the solar system and how it came to be the way we see it today. this is definitely another big feather in the cap of the japanese space program. >> i was reading, one of the challenges with these unmanned aircrafts they rely on solar panels, solar energy to charge the batteries. we are hearing that the onboard batteries on this one only have a few hours left of power. >> again, that is fairly normal for a spacecraft, you have the solar arrays so you can recharge the battery.

during nighttime, when it is out of the view of the sun, it can use the battery backup to keep it through that colder, darker period when there is no energy coming from the sun. in this case, it seems for some reason the panels are not generating the power that was expected. that means the battery backup system is all they have for the moment. unless those solar panels can be brought back to life, the mission will not last much longer unfortunately. it was never designed to last long anyway. lunar daytime on the moon only lasts two weeks on the moon. the sun and the moon all go around the sun. the moon only has a short period of daylight. it is long compared to a day on earth but relatively short if you were to do a long-term mission on the moon, which is why that battery backup is fundamental. you need it to keep the spacecraft save through that long period of darkness where you don't see the sun.

the cold that you get on the lunar nighttime can get extremely cold. cold temperatures can really damage your electronics. those batteries are there to keep a little bit of heat in the spacecraft -- >> from the university of central lancaster, thank you very much for taking us through that story. you are watching "the context." 'll be ba 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 per blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ 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. brook: these are people who are trying to change the world.