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i love seeing them come back and join the engagement teams and seeing where they go from there, i get to watch their personal growth, it makes my heart happy. (laughs) 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" ♪ caitriona: i'm caitríona perry in washington and this is bbc world news america. at least 11 people are dead and millions are without power in the aftermath of hurricane milton. our reporters are on the ground in the state of florida for a firsthand look at the devastation. lebanon says 22 have been killed and 117 wounded in israel he

strikes on central beirut. ♪ caitriona: hello, welcome to "world news america." i'm caitríona perry. in florida at least 11 are dead after hurricane milton swept through the state bringing major flooding and causing massive damage. more than 4 million homes and businesses are without power and more flooding is expected in the coming days. milton has now weakened to a category one hurricane moving east away from florida. there are still strong winds and heavy rains in eastern parts of the state. tornadoes's pond by milton killed at least four people in st. lucie county on the east coast. 12 high-strength tornadoes tore through the area in just about 20 minutes.

it blew a crane into a newspaper building. tampa bay authorities say boats and amphibious vehicles were used to recognize 135 elderly residents at an assisted living facility in tampa. officials are encouraging residents to stay off the roads and not to visit the affected areas, is that could hinder first responders. to you first, gordon. the area where you are and just around there where the brunt of the hurricane, what is it like today? gordon: well, it was pretty intense last night with severe wind and rain. you can see around me some of the after effects of milton. there are trees down, power is down and many places. there is also relief in this city that it didn't face the

storm surge that people were worried about that could been devastating here in the tampa bay area. i did travel down to closer where milton made landfall. i was in one retirement community. they were doing their best to clean up after what was a terrible night. caitriona: our people beginning to go back to their homes to see what was left of them? gordon: about half the city had left. there were mandatory evacuation orders for about half of them. we have certainly seen come people -- some people come back into the city. it is certainly not back to normal. a lot of the advice is to stay away and let the rescue and recovery teams go about their

work unimpeded. it is certainly the case that tampa is still very quiet today. caitriona: and how are the authorities managing that cleanup and any rescuing that might be needed at this point? gordon: well, we have seen a lot of rescue workers out. there is still a lot of activity going on. they will focus on things like getting the power back on. they had put people in place to work on some of these things. it is noticeable that one of the places they are planning to house 1000 emergency workers was in the tropicana stadium which had its roo ripped off. you see the challenges they have, but they have been working hard to get things back to normal as soon as they can, but it will still say --take some time i think. caitriona: sumi, you are further south. authorities telling us at least 11 lives have been lost, four at

least as the result of a tornado hitting a retirement community. what can you tell us? sumi: yes, here on the east coast of florida and further south certainly the tornadoes have been the most damaging part of hurricane milton. the hurricane spawning several tornadoes. there were more than 100 tornado some of the tornadoes came through fast and furious. this is an area where the tornado ripped through in fort pierce. you can see that business behind us. this area has been here for decades. the roof has been completely destroyed. the power lines around us are completely down. what you just mentioned as well, the fatalities because of the tornado. if you go further down the road, it is impassable. then you reach the spanish lakes community where four people did

lose their lives because of the tornado. we were in wellington and people there told us that they had just a few minutes warning. the damage was really astonishing to see. to be -- debris everywhere. the fact that these tornadoes caused a serious amount of damage. people were not expecting them. they got tornado alerts when they came through. caitriona: and where it is safe to do so have people started to come back and see what is left of their homes and communities? sumi: they have. we have to say, these tornadoes move very quickly, so the damage was done within one or two minutes, then we have seen people today looking and assessing the damage. we saw an appraiser at some of the houses we were at earlier in the day walking through the houses with people to see what

damage was done. what i found especially interesting, a bright spot as well as the fact that you saw communities really coming together to help people out with that damage. you saw people carrying debris, helping each other out. it is certainly going to take a long time as people come back, assess the damage, and start the cleanup. caitriona: we saw authorities yesterday getting everything organized and put in place for the recovery and the rescue effort. how is that effort going today? are the resource in place? sumi: we have certainly heard that from the florida governor. earlier this morning, we were in miami watching relief and recovery efforts take place in real time. 1500 linemen dealing with downed power lines, with the debris on the roads. we saw them heading out of the staging ground for the highway where they were being escorted toward the west coast, where

most of those power lines have been downed. earlier today, 3 million people without power. they were there to not only assess the damage, but to try to restore power as quickly as possible. we are seeing some of the resources in action. it will take quite a long time. caitriona: thank you both. fresh israeli airstrikes in the capital of lebanon have killed 22 people. this time, it was in beirut's central area. lebanon's health ministry said 117 were injured in addition to 22 killed. the united nations and leaders of several countries have reacted with outrage after the israel defense forces attacked un peacekeeping troops in southern lebanon. two indonesian peacekeepers were injured. it has been described as a deliberate attack. let's go to the latest from beirut to speak to our correspondent anna foster.

there is quite the diplomatic row breaking out over this attack on the troops on the blue, one on the border. anna: that's right. i was speaking to them a few hours ago and the point they made very strongly is that these are long-established bases, israel knows where they are, the lebanese army knows where they are. all parties are well aware what is happening. this is not fighting going on between the lebanese state and israel. this is going on between hezbollah and israel. the peacekeepers should be kept entirely out of this, as should the lebanese army. unifil were telling me that they have serious concerns because over the course of two days, they say is really forces deliberately fired at un points and that is why we have seen this diplomatic weighing in from various countries calling on israel to respect international law and making the point very

clearly that whatever is happening between israel and hezbollah in the south of lebanon, that u.n. peacekeepers should be kept well out of it. caitriona: israel had asked for those peacekeepers to be withdrawn a few days ago. is there any suggestion that might happen? anna: well, they said again today, israel's abbasid or to the u.n., that they wanted them to me back. they were talking about a distance of five kilometers or so to move back from the fighting. we have certainly seen from some of the irish peacekeeping forces who were there that they are very keen to maintain their position. there has been a lot of talk about that in the irish media that they want to stay where they are and continue to hold their positions and look after those areas. i don't think unifil are particularly keen to pull away in any place to be honest. they are there, they were put there after the war in 2006. the role is to support the lebanese armed forces to try to

stop hezbollah a being in the area of southern lebanon. the fact on the ground is that hezbollah was, their fighters were and their weapons were and that is why we are seeing this level of fighting. but don't forget when israel launched that a ground invasion a little over a week ago here, they said it was going to be targeted and localized and limited. i think with the geographical spread of the evacuation orders that are in place and things like u.n. peacekeepers bein fired at, that raises real concerns about an escalation in what israel is planning to do in southern lebanon. caitriona: the attacks have continued in beirut today. what is the latest? anna: yes, very close to where i am tonight, it is the third time central beirut has been hit in israeli airstrikes. the southern suburbs that we have seen hit numerous times over the last two weeks are nearly empty now, but the area close to me isn't. 22 killed in that strike, which came without a warning from the

israeli let terry. more than 100 military -- more than 100 injured and people are still digging through the rubble for survivors tonight. caitriona: thank you for that. as anna mentioned, ireland is one of the countries that contributes troops to the multinational u.n. peacekeeping force in southern lebanon. the prime minister simon harris is in washington dc to meet president joe biden. i sat down with him earlier and begin by asking to his response the attacks on the u.n. peacekeeping force. >> what we have seen from israel is the breach of international law. peacekeepers are protected. when you have the united nations , it is a next ordinarily concerning development. it does sadly seem that on a daily basis, a is being crossed in terms of moving away from international

law and international norms when it comes to conflict, in relation to children and civilians in a way that adequately protects them. and now we see it with dangerous and despicable attacks where there were no irish troops got up in this incident, and very concerned about a country that has 379 peacekeepers in lebanon and we are monitoring this closely and protesting at the highest levels in relation to the actions. caitriona: if you are calling it a clear breach of international law, what should happen next? >> what should happen next is the united nations needs to speak with the united voice in relation to this and all the countries that make up this mission, a mission that has served for decades to preserve peace and civilians in the region. but i'm concerned quite frankly that israel doesn't listen at the moment. i'm genuinely concerned about that. of course israel has a right to defend itself and live in peace

and security, no one disputes that at all. but in any conflict, international law has to be followed and proportionality has to be taken into account. caitriona: given that there are irish troops in unifil, have you spoken to prime minister netanyahu about this? >> i have not spoken with him directly, but i have spoken to the president of the united states of america twice. once monday and once yesterday. i have spoken to the u.n. secretary general monday as well. we have seen the israeli defense forces incurred upon a post which was being manned by irish peacekeepers. that has ceased and i welcome and thank the u.n. and the united states for their help on that. caitriona: israel has asked for unifil to remove itself from that area. should it? >> no. the safety of our peacekeeping

troops is paramount and the advice from generals on the ground, the advice from our chief of staff, and the advice from the u.n. secretary general is that it is appropriate for the mission to continue. we need to be honest. this is happening in a very dangerous environment in a very dangerous part of the world and there is no getting away from that. we cannot have a situation where aggression can force a peacekeeping mission to leave. this is a mission that has survived many decades and served an important function in both sides of the conflict. idf and hezbollah need to respect the role of her peacekeepers and we need to see an urgent de-escalation. caitriona: israel says that unifil is partly to blame for the situation in lebanon, that it hasn't upheld resolution 1701, part of that was charged with d militarizing the region and the militarizing hezbollah as well and it hasn't done that. what do you say to israel? >> i would say it is very hard to take a lecture from israel in

terms of upholding you and resolutions right now or international law when we have seen the completely disproportionate war and the impact that hahad from the humanitarian crisis point of view on civilians, including children. secondly, we have to acknowledge the role of unifil in terms of peacekeeping. thirdly, i would say i fully understand and respect the right of israel to live in safety and security and absolutely the right of them to protect themselves and their people from terrorism. the question is it has to be done within international law and in a proportional manner. caitriona: you are here on this trip to washington, d.c. to mark 100 years of diplomatic relations between ireland and the u.s. you met president joe biden yesterday on that point. what did you say to him about the u.s. role in the conflict in the middle east? obviously very close allies, the u.s. and israel. >> i made the point and it won't come as any surprise because i

have consistently said it in public and private and on the phone before that i do feel that israel has not listened or responded even to close allies and friends so far like the united states. therefore there is a need for us to dig deeper in terms of what levers are at our disposal. that will mean different things for different countries. it can mean humanitarian aid, diplomatic and political influence, the supply weapons. i do think when people look back on this time, there would be a sense of collective shame that the world did not do enough and i would urge all countries including the united states to see what more they could do in a practical way. i'm conscious that no country can be entirely defined by its head of government. netanyahu is not israel. i'm sure so many in israel wants their children and grandchildren to live in peace and security, just like the people in palestine and lebanon. caitriona: there are calls in this country for the biden

administration to look at the assistance it is providing for israel. some people want to see limits or restrictions put on the military aid that is provided to israel. did you press him on that issue? >> when i speak of all the levers at disposal and i specifically list the various things that our neighbors supply to other countries, of course it is the issue of a supply of weapons as well. it is a matter of every country to decide what more they can do. of course, the supply of weapons is a serious issue in response to this conflict. caitriona: are there lessons that can be learned from the peace process in ireland and northern ireland? >> there are significant lessons and the first lesson is to never allow the world to believe that a terrorist organization is the same as a country. ireland took the -- ireland took the measure to recognize

palestine. hamas is not palestine, they are a despicable terrorist organization. we know what it is like to have a terrorist organization to hijack your flag. we know painfully on our island that until the bombing stops and people get in a room and engage about a shared future, there is no stability and security for stop and that has been on the irish experience. i think ireland is in a position to extend the learnings from our own p sauce that has been one of the most enduring and successful in the world. and all of that can happen, but it cannot happen until the sensation of environment --the cessation of violence. caitriona: an israeli airstrike on a school in central gaza has killed 29 people. the school was serving as a shelter for displaced people. survivors said they found bodies without heads, dogs eating flesh, and rescuers backing up body parts by the kilo.

israel has on several other occasions struck buildings in gaza where civilians are sheltering. israel accuses hamas of running command and control operations within the buildings. israel also bombed a health care clinic in gaza city where displaced people had gathered. multiple injuries were reported. a new report from the united nations independent commission has found israel's destruction of gaza's health care system has been a deliberate policy amounting to war crimes and exterminatn, which is a crime against humanity. the report accuses hamas of war crimes as well. i spoke to an american doctor who has volunteered in gaza and he is one of 99 american doctors who have written to joe biden calling for a change in u.s.-israel policy. >> i was that european hospital in the southeastern edge. khan yunis had not been destroyed at that point.

european hospital was probably the best resource and it was still an utter and total disaster. there were 10,000, 15,000 people sheltering on the grounds of the hospital. the hospital was starved as supplies and barely had water supplies. there were many times we did not have running water because the water had to be taken to the icu and operating rooms. because it was a 220 bed hospital with almost 1500 people admitted, it was impossible to keep anything clean or sterile. the entire population is displaced, of course. even the health-care workers themselves are living at the hospital for the most part. the or and icu staff. you can imagine that cleanliness was basically impossible as well as sterility. operating conditions were impossible. infections from interventions, either surgical or medical, was

skyrocketing, close to 100% from what i could tell and others have said the same. the conditions in the hospital worker renders. one of the things we did mention in the letter to the biden administration that me and 90 and other health care professionals signed on october 2 is that not a single one of us ever once saw anything that could be remotely considered militarization othe hospital not once. caitriona: the prime minister thursday plan to the uk's continued commitment to the ukraine during talks with president zelenskyy at downing street. president zelenskyy is believed to have outlined what has been described as ukraine's victory plan during that meeting. much of the strategy relies on the increased support of western allies. the new head of the nato military alliance was also part of the discussions. ukraine has sought approval to use long-range missiles provided by its allies to strike targets deep within russia, but the u.s.

has not yet lifted restrictions on the use of those weapons. london was the first stop of president zelenskyy's latest diplomatic tour as he tries to gather more military support for ukraine. he later traveled to paris for similar talks with the french president. a short while ago, president zelenskyy was greeted by the italian prime minister upon his arrival in italy. after that will be a meeting with pope francis at the vatican friday before a trip to germany to attend a security summit that was delayed after u.s. president biden said he was unable to attend due to hurricane milton. our defense correspondent jonathan beale has this update. >> this visit was part of a whistle stop tour of european capitals by president zelenskyy to try to rally support for what he calls his victory plan for ukraine. something he has already presented to president biden in the u.s.. details have not been revealed,

but we know what some of it contains and it includes for example some clear steps for ukraine's membership of the nato alliance, more security guarantees, and also ukraine being allowed to use western supply long-range weapons to hit targets inside russia, something the u.s. has so far not agreed can happen. britain, there is support for ukraine to use long-range missiles, specifically u.k. made storm shadow missiles to hit targets inside russia. that said, the u.k. government does not seem willing to go on its own and it is waiting for the u.s. to give that green light, something that is not there at the moment. caitriona: this comes as officials in southern odessa say at least eight were killed when a russian ballistic missile hit a container ship. it is the third attack in the past four days on a civilian vessel. in the south of ukraine, 29 homes were destroyed in a

russian controlled town where nuclear power station is based. residents were woken up by sirens warming of alide bombing attack early thursday morning. you can keep up-to-date on the situation in ukraine, in the middle east. 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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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. xfinity internet. made for streaming. amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett. on the "news hour" tonight, hurricane milton leaves a path of destruction across florida and millions without power as officials assess the damage. >> most of the weather has cleared but there are still a range of hazards that are out there. we've got down power lines, flood waters that are still rising in some of the rivers. amna: the political battle for control of the u.s. senate. we look at the races that could determine if the chamber flips hands. geoff: and cross-border attacks escalate between israel and hezbollah in southern lebanon, with the uniteon