>> france 24. every art form. >> liberte, egalite, actualite. >> it is 9:00 p.m. in paris. i warm welcome to this edition of france 24. gaza officials say at least 50 people have been killed in a refugee camp following an israeli missile strike. israel's military says it was targeting a hamas leader when it conducted the assault. the united states senate is at loggerheads over setting aside a huge financial package to aid international war efforts. we go to washington to find out the latest. and ukrainian forces make small

advances in several key cities, but russia presses its forces in the besieged town of bakhmut as doctors without borders evacuate patients from kherson. thanks for joining us "live from paris." gaza's hamas-led health ministry says 50 palestinians have been killed in an israeli airstrike at a refugee camp. over 150 more are reportedly wounded with dozens caught in the rubble after the strike, which hit several apartment blocks in a densely crowded area. local officials now say over 8000 500 people have been killed in the gaza strip since israel started its bombing campaign on october 7. before we had to jerusalem with

-- for more, we had to jerusalem. what do we know about these latest strikes? >> i can only tell you what i have been able to piece together. these two conflicting accounts in that in the late afternoon, there was a missile strike, and you can see from the damage, it is not like the hospital earlier in this conflict. this is definitely missile strike damage, and israel has conceded it carried out the missile strikes hamas says the 50 people who died were civilians. we have heard a different version from israel's defense force spokesperson who said yes, it was apparently a residential building, but it was not only big residential building. it was a hamas command and control center.

he says that today, israel killed some 50 hamas fighters, so i guess is it's a question of are they talking about the same incident, were there two incidents, or is this a case of some fighters. there really is a fog of war because both sides are imposing a kind of embargo on news. israel does not want to telegraph its military plans, nor does hamas. they put out an order today telling gazans not to put any fighting scenes on social media, so i guess everybody wants to control the narrative, and his it's hard for us to know other than both sides seem to say 50 people died in the camp today. >> while this fog of war exists, it is civilians caught in the crossfire. obviously, there is much-needed

aid which is supposed to come into gaza. we have heard reports of 66 trucks, but what are you hearing from the israeli side in terms of aid into gaza? >> there will definitely be more aid, regular aid trucks. what we have heard from israeli officials is that there will be something like 100 trucks a day. at the moment it will continue to be water, food, medicine, if not fuel, and part of this i think is a tactical decision by israel that if they want to keep fighting a war in the north, they have to keep persuading civilians to go south. they have been calling on them to do so. as we have seen, not everyone has gone south, so they want to set up something that is viable for civilians who have gone

there and as well, we have heard from egypt today that they have agreed to open the border crossing to take wounded from gaza. they are going to set up a field hospital and then decide who actually needs treatment in other hospitals in egypt, so that is a big event, and it does change things slightly within the gaza strip because it puts huge pressure on hospitals with something like 1/3 of them not functioning. i think that is a tactical decision made by israel because there was an idea they would not do something until they heard something about their own hostages, either a visit by the red cross or some kind of hostage release, but in the end, i think they have agreed for tactical reasons. >> let's talk about those hostages very shortly. we have had about five released in the past day or so. another israeli female officer yesterday as well. what do we know about the latest

count, possible revisions? >> we know from the israeli military is because today there are 240 hostages, not including those that were released, so the number keeps being revised upwards. we also heard from a hamas military spokesperson who today said hamas would be prepared to release hostages who are foreign nationals -- or dual nationals, i think that is what he was implying. but he makes a statement about hostages every two or three days, and i think it is difficult to rely on anything he says until we see it actually come to fruition. there was a warning given by the israeli defense force spokesperson i think to the families of the hostages. he said don't rely on rumors. wait until you hear from official sources because you will just go mad with worry. i think they are going mad with worry anyhow, but the message is hamas mentions this every two or

three days, but nothing much moves on the ground. >> a really harrowing situation, i am sure, for those families. thank you for bringing us up to speed. let's now head to a more global perspective on things. i'm joined by a lecturer at the school of government and international affairs at durham university. we look at what happened at the refugee camp today. at what point does the war turn against the israeli forces in terms of branding campaign given these kind of strikes, despite what is being reported by the hamas health ministry? >> this is something israel has always struggled with in its campaigns in the north against hezbollah, for example, or in the gaza strip against hamas.

israel starts conflicts with declarations of support from the international community, that it has the right to defend itself, for example, but as those pictures come out, as civilian casualties start to mount up, israel finds itself under more tangible pressure. you mentioned just now the decision to allow more aid into the gaza strip. part of that is a tactical decision by israel but also the result of tangible political pressure from the biden administration who have been leaning on israel constantly throughout this crisis to limit the size of the ground invasion and provide humanitarian aid for civilians and make sure that civilians are not targeted directly by israeli strikes and the most is done as possible to avoid harming civilians, so israel finds itself under increased political pressure. as a result, i think that's one

of the key reasons why the ground invasion was more limited thus far and many observers initially predicted. >> of course now this all turns on its head if you are targeting apartment buildings, at least what is being alleged, which contain a lot of civilians. why would they have gone almost for a scorched earth policy in such a densely crowded area like this? >> part of the issue is that once troops enter a territory, obviously israel has a duty of care to protect his troops as much as possible. if previously prioritized, for example, protecting civilians and making sure civilian casualties are as minimal as possible, once your forces are there, things start to get a lot messier. in this case, it seems israel thought they had a tangible lead on a target, a high-value, high-ranking hamas commander and

launched a strike as a result. isn't important you mentioned apartment buildings because these are described as refugee camps, but these are actually built up urban areas. instead of what you normally have in refugee camps like tents , for example, these are large buildings, and it's difficult for the army to enter these areas without exposing yourself to suffering significant casualties and being involved in a prolonged, very messy urban campaign. >> now it is not just limited to gaza itself. there is the ramifications on a regional level. we have seen jordan severely worried about spillover from this conflict, requesting patriot antimissile systems from the united states. we have also seen rebels from yemen allegedly fire rockets at israel. what is facing the israeli government and military now in terms of that regional aspect?

>> this conflict is looking less and less like a local conflict as each day goes on. israel's main aim is to keep this conflict as local as possible, to keep it restricted to the gaza strip, which is why, for example, when hezbollah have been attacking israel from the north, israel has responded in a similar manner rather than escalating extensively. the declaration by the who these -- the declaration by the hout his that they have officially joined the conflict is a game changer. one reason why there are already two u.s. aircraft in the region is because the u.s. is trying to give israel support, but the price for the support is that israel does not escalate things beyond the gaza region, so there is coordination and communication to try to keep things as local as possible and

to avoid escalation on other fronts, which would be a tactical problem for the israeli defense forces and political problem for the united states as this threatens to become a regional conflict. >> if you put yourself in israel's shoes, how will they manage to save face going forward in keeping this campaign going? >> i think israel is less interested in saving face and more in fulfilling its political objectives. obviously israel does not want to turn itself into a pariah state, but netanyahu in particular is walking a tight balancing act. on the one hand, he does not want to invite excessive international criticism that might end up curtailing freedom or harming relations with the united states. on the other hand, he is under significant political pressure at home to carry out his stated aim of destroying hamas or at least ending its rule in the

gaza strip which necessitates that operation. those attacks of israel were over three weeks ago and a lot of attention is now focused on what's happening in gaza. if you look at israeli media, that is not the case. it is still awash with people recalling horror stories of what happened on october 7. there is still a salient desire to do something to make sure this never happens again and to remove hamas and that is the pressure netanyahu feels on a daily basis. >> thank you so much for joining us for that really thorough explanation of those events. as israel expands its military operations in the strip, fears are growing this could turn into that wider regional conflict we mentioned. israel has exchanged rocket fire with hezbollah along its border. now houthi rebels have confirmed they have launched drones.

>> air raid sirens ring out in tel aviv as a residence shelter in place. it is becoming an all-too-familiar sound in the aftermath of hamas' deadly raid on october 7. earlier on tuesday, the resort town on the red sea was targeted by a drone. the idf confirmed they shot it down. >> this morning in the southern sector, idf forces identified an aerial target that was approaching israeli territory. alert was sounded. there is no threat and there is no danger. >> yemen's houthi rebels confirm they were behind the drone attack. >> our armed forces have launched a large barrage of ballistic and guided missiles as well as a significant number of drones. various targets of the israeli enemy within the occupied

territories. >> the houthi houthi rebels have vowed to continue to carry out special operations until israeli aggression ends. >> we are part of the axis of resistance. there is coordination, and common operations room, and a common direction in all these operations. >> this axis of resistance includes several other groups operating in syria, iraq, and has in lebanon, all supported by iran. their actions raise fears this could spiral into a broader regional conflict. last week, israel accused houthi rebels of sending the drones that crashed in egypt near its border along the red sea. >> all the while, the mudslinging continues between the west and russia in front of a divided congress on tuesday, united states secretary of state

antony blinken as well as defense secretary lloyd austin accused russian president vladimir putin of using the israel-hamas war to reduce western support for ukraine. >> putin is very much trying to take advantage of the hamas attack on israel in the hopes that it will distract us, that it will divert our focus away from ukraine and away from his aggression in ukraine and that it will result in the united states pulling back its resources, pulling back its support, and at the same time, he is allied with the exact elements that are trying to wreak havoc in israel. >> this as the biden administration aims to secure a $105 billion aid package for that war involvement in both ukraine and israel. meanwhile, ukrainian troops have confirmed advances near bakhmut, donetsk, and zaporizhzhia according to the institute of

study of war, and this is as russia places its own forces around the city of bakhmut. heavy shelling of the kherson region has seen doctors without borders evacuate some 150 hospital patients. >> progress made by ukrainian troops, northeast of baytown 10 km southwest of bakhmut. the small wind has been hard-fought. ukrainian military footage reports to show ukrainian soldiers coming under artillery and drone fire near bakhmut. in recent days, russia has significantly bulked up forces around the city which it captured in may. as ukraine continues its counteroffensive, territories captured are much more modest than originally panel -- planned.

though small, the winds are significant. winter will soon prevent any major advances there. meanwhile in the kherson region in southern ukraine, russian shelling has intensified. this multi story residential building was hit early on monday. >> i don't know how i got out. it is a good thing that the front door flew out. otherwise i would have been left there with my mother. >> doctors without borders says it has evacuated some 150 patients in the region to safer areas using the national railway. >> last week, the hospital area was shelled several times, and it was actually dangerous to keep the patients in the area. >> ukrainian authorities now fear a decrease in foreign aid, from the u.s. in particular, as

a result of the conflicts in the middle east. >> let's finish off with some feel good news. from johannesburg, south africa, where the rugby world cup winning team touched down, trophy in hand. they were met with elation and euphoria as thousands of fans came to celebrate their triumph and return home. they beat new zealand 12-11 in a pulsating final to win their second world cup in a row. for the legendary captain, stronger together was more than just a slogan. >> we already won the world cup in 2019. it is not about us as players anymore. we wanted to make sure that this one is for the people of south africa. this one is for every single person of south africa, rich, poor, it does not matter where you come from because of the team we have, which is very diverse, very beautiful as well. we all come from different walks

of life, different races. >> a lovely symbol there. it is time now for business. of course, the war in israel and hamas threatens to spill over into a wider regional conflict. we have already seen that possibly in lebanon, one of the countries around the israeli border. it is it's already suffering with many economic woes, though, lebanon. it is in basically freefall. >> as we have seen regular clashes between hezbollah militants and israeli forces for weeks now, we have seen families on both sides of the border displaced, and the clashes have also hit lebanon's hospitality and tourism sectors as foreign nationals are advised against traveling there. the lebanese government has announced visits developing an emergency plan in case the war doesn't spill over to its territory. that includes securing key

infrastructure to ensure the continued arrivals of imports. all this as the country battles one of the worst financial crises of modern times. >> this hotel under construction in southern lebanon was set to be a summer holiday destination. today it has been transformed into a shelter to accommodate families displaced from villages bordering israel, but the country's already precarious situation means volunteers and ngo's have to make do with limited resources. >> given the economic deficit and the talking paralysis of the lebanese government, we are entirely dependent on donations from civil society organizations, immigrants, and charitable donors. >> since the recent flareup of the war, lebanon's hezbollah group has traded fire at the frontier almost daily with israel. residents in border towns are holding their breath amid the

escalation, but many are sounding the alarm saying they are ill prepared for a spillover of the war. >> our equipment is very basic. we lack a lot of it. we don't even have helmet or vote -- bullet-proof vest's to protect our team so that they can put out fires during bombing. >> since the devastating explosion at play port four years ago, the country's economy has taken a freefall. some 80% of the population live in poverty with bankrupt state only providing electricity for a few hours a day. since the volatile's estimation with its neighbor, some sectors have seen a drop of 80% in business. the lebanese government says it is developing an emergency plan to prepare for the war breaching the border. >> eurozone inflation fell more than expected in october and to its lowest level in more than two years. consumer prices rose 2.9% this month compared to 4.3% in september.

that's getting closer to the european central bank's target of 2% after a series of interest rate hikes. this drop is mainly due to falling energy and food prices. if we look at core inflation, which disregards these variables, the figure rose 4.2% in october. there is some bad news, though. this slowdown and higher borrowing costs reflect weaker economic activity. gdp in the euro zone contracted by 0.1% over the july to september period. let's check in on the day's trading action. on wall street, stocks close higher, taking the edge slightly off from this third straight losing month. the dow jones up .4%. the s&p 500 gaining .6%. it comes ahead of winston's federal reserve meeting in which policymakers are widely expected to keep interest rates in their current range.

pfizer has reported its first quarterly loss since the pandemic of more than $2 billion. the american drugmaker has seen significant sales decline for covid-19 products, leading pfizer to record a $5.6 billion charge for inventory write-offs during the quarter due to lower-than-expected use. the company has urged investors to look beyond its anticorporate offering. as the united kingdom gears up to host the first global artificial intelligence safety summit this week, world leaders are attempting to respond to the technology's exponential rise. the eu is preparing to unveil tight restrictions on ai while u.s. president joe biden has signed an executive order on the issue. >> it is the first attempt at a regulation in the u.s., an executive order and of

protecting people. >> we are going to see more technological change the next 10, maybe the next five years that we have seen in the last 50 years, and that's a fact. the most consequential technology of our time is accelerating that change. it's going to accelerated -- accelerate at warp speed. >> president biden says companies will have to prove their independent testing that their offerings are safe. governments are scrambling to respond to the exponential development of ai. china put into force some of the first ai regulations this year. last week, the british government announced it is creating the world's first artificial intelligence safety group. now it is convening a summit on ai safety. >> ai doesn't respect borders, so we cannot do this alone. there can be no serious strategy

for ai without at least trying to engage all the world's leading powers. >> the united nations wants to put a are at the center of human rights, but one of its potential issues is its effect on jobs. president biden said advances happening at warp speed, one major question is if regulators can keep up. >> finally, danish beer company carlsberg says russia stole its subsidiary in the country. the group had attempted to sell the brewery following moscow's invasion of ukraine and after announcing it had found a buyer in june, the russian state took over operations. on tuesday, carlsberg said it had cut all ties with the subsidiary, saying it would not enter a deal to make the seizure of assets look legitimate.

always the beer companies standing up for what is right. >> carlsberg especially, standing up for itself. thanks so much. that is all the news we have for now on france 24. we will see you in just a minute. ♪ >> i'm france 24's in beijing correspondent covering china and north korea. catch me on tv, on our website and all our social media platforms. >> [speaking another language]

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