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announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... woman: a successful business owner sells his company and restores his father's historic jazz club with his son. a raymond james financial advisor get to know you, your passions, and the way you bring people together. life well planned. announcer: 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" 'n washington and this is "bbc 'n world news america." the united nations accuses israel of violating international humanitarian after six of its staff are killed in an airstrike in gaza.

donald trump rules out holding another debate with kamala harris as the presidential candidates returned to the campaign trail. and russian president vladimir putin warns nato countries against allowing ukraine to use their weapons to strike inside russian territory. ♪ caitríona: hello and welcome to "bbc world news america." i'm caitríona perry. the israeli military released a list of nine alleged hamas members among the 18 killed in an israeli airstrike on the u.n. school on wednesday. the bbc has not been able to verify that list. it comes after the u.n. confirms six workers had been killed in the attack. the school which is located in a refugee camp is run by the u.n. agency for palestinian refugees.

it has displaced refugees seeking shelter. the u.n. secretary general did -- denounced this saying it amounted to dramatic violations of international humanitarian law. the agency added wednesday's strike is the fifth time the school has been hit since the start of the war. reporter:reporter: our correspondent now reporting. in clear daylight, death from the sky. united nations agency for palestinian refugees says the israeli airstrike on the school is the deadliest of this war for the staff, killing six, meaning at least 220 employees have died since the conflict began last october. this man says people distributing aid were killed and asks, what are we supposed to do? what is happening to us? >> suddenly, in the blink of an eye, it happened so quickly.

this is not the first time. it is the fifth time the school has been targeted. reporter: the you and said the school had around 12,000 displaced people, mainly women and children. the hamas run authorities in gaza say the attack killed at least 18 people. among over 41,000 killed in the territory during the war. the u.n. secretary general says what's happening in gaza is totally unacceptable. >> a series of military interventions by israel in gaza, with the level of death and destruction that has no parallel in my time as secretary-general. very dramatic violations of international law. reporter: the israeli military says it's an example of the systematic abuse of civilian infrastructure by hamas.

nearly a year into the war, the chasm between the two sides remains vast. daniel testimony, bbc news, jerusalem. caitríona: meanwhile, the commissioner general says he believes you and facilities and staff are being targeted by israel. >> there is a deliberate attempt to eliminate and dismantle the agency, and the real reason behind this has nothing to do with those issues. there are political considerations behind it. ultimately, there is a desire to strip palestinians from the refugee statute and beyond that to undermine the future aspiration of the palestinians for self-determination. >> you are saying that there is an intent, as far as you see it, on the part of israel to destroy unrwa. >> yes, and we heard it. from the beginning of the war that one of the objectives of

the war ultimately would also be to dismantle unrwa. we have seen politically and legislatively the effort taking place in israel about trying to level the agency as a terrorist organization and expel the agency from any territory under the control of israel. caitríona: joining us now from new york is israel's minister of economy and industry. think you for joining us on bbc news. -- thank you for joining us on bbc news. the you and secretary-general is accusing israel of dramatic violations of humanitarian law. we heard from the head of unrwa. he said people are seeking shelter in schools like those israel has repeatedly bombed because they believe the united nations flag can protect them but in this case it did not. how do you respond to those claims? does israel respect the norms of

international humanitarian law? >> october 7, hamas went on a deliberate attack, killed citizens, raped women, 1200 people deliberately, deliberately were attacked. hamas fighters indiscriminate rockets at israel to target civilians. israel is exactly the opposite. what we want to do is just go after the terrorists. the challenge we have is that the terrorists are hiding underneath civilians. they put all of their terror infrastructure as part of civilian infrastructure. in schools, mosques, houses, hospitals. they will not get away. we will do everything we can not to hurt innocent civilians. no other army in the world is doing everything we cannot hurt innocent -- caitríona: i'm sorry, just to interrupt, because i'm conscious we don't have a lot of time, how is it precision targeting and

how are you not trying to injured civilians when you are launching attacks on very densely populated areas, areas in safe zones where you have told people to go to? how is it precision targeting when so many people are killed and injured? >> rule number one is we ask innocent civilians to shy away and move away from terrorists. don't let them hide behind you or underneath you. we will do everything we cannot to have people hurt. it is our jewish and israeli dna, we don't want to hurt innocent people. however if the terrorists think hiding behind them will give them safety, it will not give them safety. unfortunately, sometimes people, innocent people get hurt. it is not our goal. it's the opposite of the terrorists. the terrorists want to kill innocent people that are hijacked and they took hostages from their beds with pajamas. caitríona: i want to talk about

the hostages in just a moment, but 41,000 people according to the hamas led health ministry and many ngos in the area, 41,000 people have been killed and even if israel's claims are true that there are command and control centers under these shelters, international humanitarian law says israel as the occupying power is obligated to provide basic humanitarian needs to the people including shelter. these people were in designated safe zones where the bombs were dropped. >> you know, there's nobody like israel that does everything we cannot to hurt innocent so the billions -- civilians. do you believe the numbers of hamas? do you believe a terrorism organization? we know 15,000 if not more of the people killed, and we believe the general number is much smaller, where terrorists with weapons and guns. the ones that committed the atrocities.

if the ratio of the terrorists that were killed to civilians is one-to-one, there's no precedence like this in any fight in the world. we are very sorry for any innocent person that is killed. but to come to israel -- caitríona: so just to clarify, sorry, it's important to clarify this point. are you saying you think 10 or 15,000 hamas fighters have been killed and if 10 or 15,000 -- if you are saying that's a ratio of one and even if you say 10 to 15,000 innocent civilians have been killed, you were saying that's an ok number, is that what you're saying? >> we are sorry for any number killed but look at the alternative. what happened in the second world war in berlin? what happened in iraq? look at what happens in other wars. caitríona:caitríona: but we are just talking specifically about this situation and i'm asking

you to account for the actions of the idf and you have answered that. i want to come back to the point of -- >> i'm proud of the idf and its role and what they are doing targeting terrorists and doing everything we can that other people will not get hurt. unfortunately sometimes it happens in all wars and we are very sorry for that. caitríona: you've made that point -- you've made that point a number of times. you represent israel and the idf, that's why i'm asking about israel. i'm not asking about hamas' actions. you are not talking about their actions, i'm here to talk about israel. you mentioned hostages earlier because that is extremely important. 100 of your citizens are still in captivity. it's estimated about 75 of them might still be alive at this point. there are protests on the streets of israel, people calling for the prime minister to accept the terms of the

cease-fire and hostage release deal, something he's not doing. do you think he's doing enough or is it time for the prime minister to step aside? >> you are focusing on the wrong stuff. the real issue is iran that created proxies around israel to eliminate us. they are seeking to create a bomb to wipe us out. they have funded hamas and they are funding many terror cells all over the world. the challenge we have his way over and beyond that and the world has to unite against iran. caitríona: but i do want to talk to you about the views of the israeli citizens because you are a member of the cabinet and there is a sentiment we are seeing from protests that people want change, they want to prime minister netanyahu to accept this deal. we've heard that from hostage families as well. are you happy with how he's handling this? >> with all due respect, the

focus must be on the bigger exterior and the fact that iran has created this war to derail the peace process not just with the emirates about the 70's. we want to expand the abraham accords. we want to bring peace to the region. we want to influence the palestinians to follow the footsteps of the emirates to seek peace and you are focusing on the wrong stuff. you are focusing on the specific challenges we have with terrorists holding innocent hostages -- caitríona: just to clarify, no, i'm asking you about a domestic israeli situation. you are the minister for economy and is industry in israel so that's why i'm asking. you are correct there's so much to discuss here but unfortunately we are out of time on this occasion. we would love to talk to you at a future point but for now, thank you for joining us here on bbc news.

with donald trump's legal team treating it as a victory, a judge in georgia dismissed two criminal charges against the former president for alleged attempt to interfere in the states 2020 election. the remaining eight charges in the case will still move forward. separately, republican nominee ruled out participating in another presidential debate with kamala harris. in a post to truth social, the former president wrote, kamala should focus on what she should have done during the last almost four year period. there will be no third debate. this comes as the republican nominee is due to speak in the swing state of arizona a little later. speaking at a rally in north carolina a little earlier, vice president harris said she welcomed the chance to debate the former president again. >> two nights ago, donald trump and i had our first debate. [cheers and applause] and i believe we owe it to the

voters to have another debate. [cheers and applause] caitríona: vice president harris has marginally extended her slim lead over donald trump nationally since the debate. she currently leads donald trump 47% to 42% among registered voters, and that's coming from the latest reuters-ipsos poll. however in swing states, these are the most crucial, polling shows the nominees to be in at and in each state. -- of those states. pennsylvania seems to be the most hotly contested. it was of course the site of this week's presidential debate. we go now to sumi somaskanda in the city of doylestown. reporter: that's right, we came to bucks county about an hours drive outside of philadelphia because it will be one of the most closely watched in this election.

it is considered a bellwether. pretty evenly split between democrats and republicans. we have talked to people all day long about the issues. a warning, it's a little loud because it's after work and people are getting drinks. we have gentlemen we want to talk to about this election because they are interested in policy and election. gentlemen, good to see you. we were talking earlier about how you feel about the election and is -- if you are looking forward to this election. how do you feel about it? >> about the election? number one, i just wanted to be over. i'm not a big trump fan, obviously. i'm a harris fan you might say but i want it to be over with. reporter: you want it to be over with. how about you? are you feeling confident? >> i'm positive that i think harris will emerge.

reporter: you think she can win pennsylvania? > i honestly do believe it. we see a late surge of younger voters coming in. my biggest concern is the question about mail-in ballots and how that affects things. i believe the legislature and everything, to erect this issue about the polls, i'm concerned it could give a false image that trump is leading and therefore people will not turn out. i really think the whole battle about going forward or going backwards is going to rule. reporter: what about you? >> i'm grateful that we have been given a choice. between biden and trump you really didn't have a choice. with harris, despite the fact that i disagree with her policy positions, i can vote for her because -- so i'm grateful that

we have a choice. reporter: we have about 30 seconds but sir, you want to comment on how you feel about the election. are you a harris supporter? >> i am independent, i'm not a democrat or republican. but i can't stand trump so i will vote for harris. reporter: the choice is clear for you. it's been great talking to you. thank you so much. as we said, thank you. it's a little loud in here but as you can hear, we hear some very clear harris supporters. we spoke to many trump supporters here as well today so it will be a very tight race in bucks county. caitríona: thank you. russian president vladimir putin issued a warning to the west following reports the u.s. and european countries may lift restrictions on ukraine using long-range missiles to strike russian territory. ukraine imprisonment -- president volodymyr zelenskyy

has long called on allies to loosen those restrictions. the u.s. and u.k. have not granted the risk over their fears of escalation. speaking to russian state television, president putin discussed consequences if the west does indeed lift those restrictions. >> if this decision is made, it will mean nothing other than direct participation of nato countries, the united states, european countries in the were in ukraine -- war in ukraine. it is their direct participation and this significantly changes the essence of the conflict. this will mean nato countries, the united states, european countries, are fighting with russia. caitríona: meanwhile russian troops have begun pushing back against ukrainian forces, weeks after the surprise incursion into russian territory began. moscow's defense ministry says its forces have recaptured 10 settlements in the last two days and ukrainian military has suffered heavy casualties as a

result. president volodymyr zelenskyy says key anticipated the counter and for -- offensive and is in line with ukraine's fans. in eastern ukraine, the international committee of the red cross says three were killed in an airstrike. two others were injured but has not identified who is behind the strike on the front line. president zelenskyy called the attack another russian war crime. the bbc's ukraine correspondent james waters has been following from key. -- kyiv. >> humanitarian vehicles being struck in this way is rare. we saw a vehicle belonging to the international food kitchen get hit. this certainly looks like a severe situation. two people have been injured, three killed as you say land a team from the international red cross were giving out coal and fire to a village close to the front line. when you are within 10 or 20

kilometers, there's always the looming threat of drone or missile attacks or artillery strikes as well. it's a reminder of the risks. we've spoken to -- we have a statement from its president. she says, i condemn attacks on the personnel in the strongest possible terms. . it's unconscionable schilling should hit and aid distribution site. our hearts are broken. this tragedy unleashes a wave of grief all too familiar to those who have lost loved ones in armed conflicts. the kremlin has yet to respond. it is not being reported inside pressure on state tv, but it is certainly a bleak day for the humanitarian teams that work in dangerous parts of the conflict zone. caitríona: to discuss all of this, i'm joined by the regional director for the middle east north africa and eastern europe area at the world food program. thank you for joining us on bbc

news. the world food program left ukraine six years ago and is back there now as a result of this conflict. you've just come back yourself. you were a few kilometers from the frontline. what is the situation like at the moment? >> the longer this war lasts, the more people get killed and the more people get displaced, and the bigger is the suffering of the people. i met with a few people who were from donetsk, i talked to one man who started crying on i asked about the story. he said, i came here just with what i have on and i carried my wife who cannot walk anymore, she is sick. . i carried the medicine. i need medicine. these people humana -- entirely depend on humanitarian decisions. our main focus is on the front kilometers of the frontline. caitríona: how are you managing

to get food and other aid to those areas? >> it is our intention to buy as much as possible of the food in ukraine because ukraine used to feed 400 million people in this world with the food they produced. we buy it locally and bring it to the front lands but also, as quickly as possible to use every dollar, every donated dollar we have for the longer term to see that we can help restore supply chains that are disrupted because of the war, so we revived markets, restored bakeries, and gave people cash as quickly as possible, and negotiate with retailers so they bring back and bring back stocked shelves. caitríona: in those areas where you are operating close to the front lines, is there any sense of a normal life for people there? how are they functioning? >> some are. those who don't have to leave.

but i soon as their homes get destroyed, they have to leave because they have nowhere else to live. they go to their families or they go into shelters that are provided by the government and rely on our resistance. caitríona: tell me about the security challenges. you are operating in gaza as well. a very very difficult situation getting food and aid. what is it like in ukraine? >> in ukraine we have a more established operation. it is impossible in gaza to have now an established operation with the security threats for our own workers and staff. but we also have the distribution sites at times hit. -- hit by missiles in ukraine, some of our partners get hit when they distribute food so then we have to close them. we use a lot of what we call mobile distribution points so they are not established places. but we move with a car from street to street and forming --

informing people to come to the street today and that one tomorrow so there's no patch on where we are. caitríona: you know children pay the biggest price in conflict, they are the most vulnerable. how our children faring in the regions where you are operating? is there serious risk of malnutrition for them? >> there is definitely in gaza, serious risk of malnutrition for children. there is some of it in ukraine. we are trying to support children as quickly as we can come also with school meals so it has a double effect so they can go back to schools when possible and also get a nutrition -- nutritious meal. in gaza, that is impossible there there's a whole generation that has not been to school for a year, they are in the streets. and in ukraine, we are providing school meals in places where children can go back physically to schools so they have a meal. caitríona: thank you so much for

coming in and talking to us about the world food program, the regional director. before we go, incredible pictures to show you of a historic spacewalk. the first private sector astronauts have walked in space more than half a century after neil armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon. the 41-year-old who plate -- paid millions of dollars for his ticket into space stepped out of the craft 435 miles above earth. there you go, quite the achievement. that's it for world announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james. announcer: 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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amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett. on the “news hour” tonight, a hurricane turned tropical depression lashes the gulf coast, leaving flooded neighborhoods and hundreds of