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life well planned. nicole: at bdo i feel like a true individual, people value me for me, they care about what i want, my needs, my career path, i matter here. 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" ♪ sumi: ounces more than 130 ♪ airstrikes hit across the country in the last 24 hours as israel steps up its campaign against hezbollah. as the u.s. announces more aid for ukraine, president zelenskyy says nato membership is key to winning the war against russia.

an former president trump and vice president harris are on a media blitz as the u.s. election campaign enters its final few week ♪ welcome to world news america. we begin with the escalating conflict in the middle east as israel's campaign against hezbollah in lebanon expands. this was the scene just hours ago. local media footage showed buildings in the village being destroyed in an explosion. this morning israel launched airstrikes in beirut for the first time in five days. it's forces cityarget was an underground hezbollah weapons facility south of the lebanese capital. the u.s. is continuing to press for a cease-fire in lebanon, a position the state department reiterated. >> we are opposed to the bombing campaign. we are opposed to the near daily

strikes and sometimes daily strikes and sometimes multiple strikes a day in densely populated areas in beiru that is what weeks off from 10 days to two weeks and we made clear to the government of israel we were opposed to that intense daily bombardment. sumi: further israeli strikes were also reported in another town. the lebanese prime minister's office accused israel of intentionally attacking the city council building during a scheduled isis meeting. israel claims it was targeting hezbollah targets. hezbollah says it's soldiers clashed with israeli troops near their shared border as israel's prime minister vows to press on. the u.n.'s special coordinator for lebanon told me more about the situation on the ground. >> we have seen reports of israeli strikes killing people in council buildings wednesday. we have also seen hezbollah say they are engaged in close contact -- combat with the idf. can you give us a sense of what

has been happening? >> over the last 24 hours certainly there have been a number of different strikes. some have been in the southern suburbs of beirut. there have been a number of strikes in the south with a great deal of casualties. i think the one you are referring to was at the municipality in the south around 11:00 this morning. the irony of it, in a sense, is that the meeting that was taking place was between the mayor and a number of the disaster response workers, the young men that work with us in terms of responding to the current needs. sumi: if you listen to what we have seen from israel, they have said it is hezbollah using civilians as shields.

we have heard from the israeli ambassador to the u.n. that they are striking hezbollah targets. what is your response to that? imran: my response is more or less talking about what we know. in terms of this municipality, we had a convoy that was going to go there tomorrow. what they were assessing was a distribution plan. we don't have the total number of casualties yet but at least four people we know their names and they are people we have known for a year that we have been working with since all of this started in terms of trying to reach people in the south with humanitarian assistance. sumi: for those who are fleeing the fighting right now in lebanon, where can they had to, and what resources do they have at the disposal? imran: harm's way right now is in every direction. people don't know where to go. many people have been displaced multiple times. people have moved to areas quite

far from the south where they thought they were safe. as we have seen over this last while be strikes that have been happening, the airstrikes are basically throughout the country. so there is nothing very predictable. there are these evacuation orders and it seems that almost a quarter of the country is under evacuation orders. there are also strikes happening in places where there is no warning. so i think there is a great deal of fear of trauma among those displaced. we are talking about 1.2 million people that are severely affected by this. internally displaced we think it is around 800,000 at this time. over 300,000 have fled across the border to syria. most of them are syrian refugees but also quite a few lebanese. so people are really seeking safety but they are not sure where to go for their safety at this time.

sumi: it is such a volatile situation. i want to ask you about the u.n. peacekeepers. they have said that they will remain. israel wants those u.n. peacekeepers to move and they want to continue their military operation. they have even warned that those you and peacekeepers could become shields for hezbollah. are you worried about their safety? imran: i think we are worried about the safety of all our personnel here. of course we call on all parties to respect the safety of our personnel, of our property. i am not going to say too much about it because it is very much for you to fill -- for unifil to speak about it. you have seen the statements made. unit fill -- uifil is --

sumi: the u.s. ambassador to the u.n. reiterated calls to avoid civilian casualties. they said the u.s. will be watching to make sure israel es not cut off essential humanitarian supplies. has hunger in northern gaza grows and the u.n.'s polio vaccination continues, the head of the agency says gaza is now a kind of quote, unlivable wasteland. israel's military says it allowed more aid trucks into gaza today, the third day in a row after aid distribution had been paused for two weeks. on sunday a u.s. letter to israel was leaked where they demand israel boost the amount of aid getting in within the next month. before the war, the u.n. accounted for about 500 trucks entering gaza each day. now an average of just 30 per day were arriving as of early october. until this week gaza saw the lowest amount of aid coming in

since the first month of the war although israel disputes those figures. our special correspondent reports on the intensifying attacks in northern gaza. israel is not aowing international journalists including the bbc independent access to gaza. he sent this report from jerusalem. a warning, it contains distressing scenes from the very start. reporter: the men on the ground has lost most of his family. his son grieves a dead sister. it's a horrible crime here, says the civil defense officer. many dead are being pulled out of homes and the streets. it is cut off by the israeli army fighting hamas. but the horrors being endured here are emerging. they run to save life and because they fear being bound. -- being bombed. bodies being piled into ambulances. all ages.

the hospital here is facing a constant stream of casualties. there is a dire humanitarian crisis. israel is accused of refusing or impeding up to 90% of aid to northern gaza in the last month. from jerusalem, i spoke by phone with the hospital director. what is a situation now for you in the hospital? >> we are talking about collective punishment for the health system in the gaza strip. consequently we urge the world to intervene and impose their humanity over the israeli army, to open humanitarian corridors that allow the entrance of medical tools, food, and fuel, so we can provide humanitarian services for the children, newborn babies, and patients who are in need. reporter: america has warned israel it may cut arms if it

doesn't boost the aid allowed into northern gaza. israel says it is addressing u.s. concerns and it soldiers blame hamas for the crisis facing civilians, saying medical facilities are used the launch attacks. >>[speaking another language] reporter: this is gaza city where some fled. only to find themselves hit by an israeli strike. they are digging for the dead. what a child must witness. they desperately want us to stop, but no, they cannot make it happen. sumi: israel's permanent representative to the united nations told me more about how israel is handling aid distribution to gaza. you said today israel is committed to working with its

international partners to make sure enough aid is reaching gaza for civilians to address the humanitarian situation. we know the u.s. is calling according to the letter we saw leaked from the defense secretary, for concrete measures within 30 days to change the situation on the ground in gaza. is israel going to meet those demands that we saw on that letter >> the problem is not with the aid. there is enough aid coming into gaza. the problem is the chaos inside gaza. the problem is hamas is taking advantage of the aid. they steal it, they hijacked the trucks. as we speak there are hundreds of trucks that already passed the checkpoints into gaza but cannot go to their destinations because of hamas. we are cooperating about finding solutions for those problems. sumi: what you just described is not at all what we are hearing

from aid organizations on the ground if you look at the letter leaked yesterday from the secretary of state and defense secretary, they say israel has halted commercial imports, denied or impeded nearly 90% of humanitarian movements, continued excessive dual use restrictions, among other things. this is something we have heard reflected from aid organizations. are you saying that the u.s. in that characteristic is wrong? danny: but i am saying is very clear. the problem is hamas, not israel. sumi: so israel is not continuing dual use restrictions and impeding? danny: as long as hamas is still active in south of gaza, you cannot speak about prosperity or for the people of gaza. they will take advantage of that. we are dng our best to secure the aid go to the right people and not to the pockets of the terrorists. they want to stay in power.

they want to continue to troll -- to control aid into their pockets. we are doing exactly the opposite. the people on the ground to work with us, we have 24/7 coordination, they realize we have the same goal. to support the people of gaza but do not support hamas. sumi: i hear your point and it is certainly something we have heard in the past that hamas has commandeered some aid. but i want to measure become back to this point. are you saying israel is not impeding any aid, as was written in that letter? danny: i say very clearly, we continue to collaborate. when you look at the amount of aid coming into gaza it is more than enough. we collaborate with the w.h.o., with unicef on many initiatives concerning problems in gaza. the challenge is how we make sure we are not helping hamas. sumi: you say more than enough. according to israel's own data,

just 39 trucks of food entered into gaza in the first 12 days of october. in october you had -- in april you had 226 trucks entering. how can people in northern gaza survive under these conditions as the fighting continues? danny: so, i think we need support of the international community to hamas eliminate hamas. the sooner the better. you have trucks waiting today inside gaza because they don't feel safe in the drivers don't want to move into the southern location. it shows the complexity of the issue. i think we should move. faster and finish the job. finish with. hamas. --finish hamas. it will be an opening for a better future for the people of gaza. sumi: you are saying finish the job in an area where we have talked about the civilians many times in the past. there are hundreds of thousands of

civilians while reaching the aims you have said? danny: the fact we are still talking about hamas -- we are trying to minimize civilian casualties. otherwise after what we suffered a year ago, any other nation i am sure you would have seen the war ending in a few weeks. that is not the case with israel. that is why it takes us so long. sumi: moving hunters on mother news, u.s. president joe biden announced a $425 million security aid package for ukraine including additional air defense capabilities and other weapons the white house says are critical for ukraine. the rollout of this package will happen in the coming months.

in a call with his ukrainian counterpart volodymyr zelenskyy, president biden reiterated the u.s.'s support of ukraine. earlier president zelenskyy presented his long-awaited victory plan to ukraine's parliament. he said the war against russia can be one within a year but urged ukraine's allies to end restrictions on missiles to be used in russia. his plan includes strengthening ukraine's defense against russian forces, joint protection of ukraine's resources, and inviting ukraine to join the nato military alliance. president zelenskyy has called ukraine's nato membership one of the most important steps. >> we are democratic nation that has proven it is capable of protecting euro atlantic relations in the way of life we share with other democratic nations. for decades russia was using geopolitical uncertainty in

europe and theact ukraine is not a nato member as a factor to challenge our safety. the ukraine invitation to nato is fundamental to peace. sumi: our correspondent sent us the latest. reporter: president zelenskyy in front of ukrainian mp's essentially doubled down on his desire for water to be forced to completely withdraw from his territory with the help of western allies. some of his officials say he wants the biden administration to start the process of inviting ukraine into the nato military alliance, which has been a long-held dream of the country. but the question for kyiv is what happens after the u.s. presidential election next month. this so-called victory plan is only as good as the willingness of the next president in america to accept it and work with it. you also saw president zelenskyy

with tiredness on his face, he referenced a fatigue his country as its parenting. people in the city are less afraid to talk about their desire for the war to end. they admit they are exhausted and ultimately because of the sheer number of lives being lost over a war over territory, many people are wondering what is next. that is not to say they are not fearful of their future. sumi: for some analysis i spoke to melinda, senior advisor at the atlantic council eurasia center. i want to ask you about two points in the victory plan president zelenskyy has presented. inviting ukraine to join nato. we know that that is very unlikely to happen in the short or medium term. also allowing ukraine to use long-range missiles into ukrainian -- russian territory. where are some of these points going to go? melinda: i am not sure i agree with you actually. there is an opportunity for president biden to change his

mind on nato membership and i think we would see this after the elecon. he is reconsidering his legacy and he knows that if ukraine doesn't have real security guarantees, then ukraine will never be at peace. i would not say it is a 0% play. it is a low probability play, but it is definitely not zero because of where we are. on the second question on long-range strikes, we haven't seen the administration move, but i think there is the possibility they will move after the election as well, but they won't announce it. they know that it doesn't benefit ukraine to announce it. we just sort of have to wait and see on that one. sumi: there were u.s. officials who were quoted in the wall street journal after president zelenskyy was here in the u.s. they were quoted as saying the biden administration is concerned that this plan is a repackage request for more weapons, than of course the lifting of those restrictions you mentioned. why do you think we haven't seen

this from the biden administration just yet? you said it doesn't serve ukraine in this moment? melinda: there is a big argument right now about long-range strikes. e intelligence community opposes it, the defense department opposes it, and some voices in the white house oppose at. we are seeing that play out. and we are not sure which side will win. the intelligence community has said there is no point in giving ukraine the ability to do these deep strikes because russia has moved its targets back. that is not necessarily true. if ukraine could have this ability to do deep strikes, it would force russia to defend its rear and make it more difficult for russia to continue its supply lines, and it would open up a range of targets. it is an ongoing argument the intelligence community and different parts of the u.s. government are having. sumi: and president biden has certainly said that both teams will continue to discuss it, to your point.

our correspondent in ukraine said it is increasingly thought that any peace deal at this point would have to involve ukraine conceding territory in exchange for security guarantees. is that something that ukraine would be willing to discuss? melinda: president zelenskyy said today before his parliament, no way. we are not going to give away any of our territory. we are going to have to wait and see on this one. but the overall mood is that you are right, the peace plan zelenskyy presented sounds like old wine in new bottles. the last two points are little bit new thouy -- though. he suggested ukraine's partners might be able to enter into an economic deal after the war is over. the fifth point is after the war is over, ukrainian troops might be able to serve in europe and ensure european security. those two last points sound like

they were written for a republican presidential administration. they are points that would -- those were interesting to me. sumi: here in the u.s., kamala harris and donald trump are campaigning heavily in the home stretch of a very tight residential race. earlier today trump spoke at a prerecorded all-female town hall in georgia that aired on fox news. when speaking about women's reproductive rights, he called himself the father of ivf. the former president has pledged to make the fertility treatment free, without explaining how. >> we are totally in favor of ivf. i came out with a statement, a really powerful statement with some experts, really powerful. and we went totally in favor. the republican party, the whole party. we really are the party for ivf. we want fertilization all the way. the democrats tried to attack us on it, and we are out there on ivf even more than them. sumi: vice president and

democratic nominee kamala harris described those remarks as bizarre, returning -- the vice president posted quote, what is he talking about? his abortion bans have already jeopardized access to it across the country and his own platform could end ivf altogether. harris is in pennsylvania for an interview that will air on fox news. it will be her first ever formal interview with the conservative network. for more updates, you can follow us on our website, bbc.com, for the most up-to-date information and analysis. let's take a look now at some other headlines. in nigeria, 140 people were killed in a fuel tanker explosion after people rushed to try to collect leaking petrol. police cordoned off the area and told people not to approach, but they were unable to contain the crowd. the crash happened in a northern state. the driver was not injured.

a trial has started in spain for five people accused of killing a young gay man in a brutal attack three years ago. he was beaten to death in july of 2021. two minors who admitted their involvement have already been given sentences. the attack prompted demonstrations against homophobia in cities across spain. at least 12 indian flights received bomb threats in 72 hours, causing delays and divergence. the pictures on your screen show an air india flight from delhi to chicago that was forced to land in canada. indigo, spiced jet, and another also received threats. civil aviation officials in india are meeting to discuss the threats and in one case, police detained a teenager for a post on twitter. hong kong's leader rolled out plans to ban apartments under eight square meters in order to stop landlords from cashing in by subdividing properties. in his annual address, he said

future apartments would neither own windows or toilets to improve ventilation and safe. there are more than 100,000 tiny homes where the city's poorest residents live. the w minimum is still the size of only two double beds. hundreds of material -- authorities re not sure what they were, but preliminary tests say they are tarballs. thank you for watching 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 d peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪

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wow, you get to watch all. it's to die for. now you won't miss a thing. this is the way. xfinity internet. made for streaming. ♪ >> good evening. i am geoff bennett. >> on the news hour tonight, with election day fast approaching donald trump tries to appeal to women voters while kamala harris courts disenchanted republicans. >> a former justice department official raises questions over whether developments in the election interference case could improperly influence the presidential race. >> and judy woodruff physicist nevada where voters