sebastian usher, thank you very much l even more difficult. sebastian. it is very useful for our viewers to get that deeper context. we appreciate it. now to some other stories. children and young people in england with special educational needs will be offered nhs eyesight, dental and ear checks in their schools from next year. all residential special schools and colleges will be included, to reach 18,000 pupils. here's more from our health reporter, michelle roberts. hi, rashid. are you ready for the hearing screening today? going for a hearing test can be daunting. not least if you are a young person who is visually impaired and has learning difficulties. this special residential school in south london is part of a new nhs scheme getting trained teachers to do the checks themselves. problems can be spotted sooner and quickly referred to be treated. your ears are absolutely fine. i have been having hearing checks at school. lily, who is 15, is partially sighted and has been worried about her hearing as well because deafness runs in her family. i was a b

here are middle east course when it sebastian usher. n: the situation and the three hospitals that are still just about functioning is gettin worse. almost by the hour from what we are hearing. the head of the wto says the situation in this hospital is deeply disturbing. awa toting was able to get -- a who team got into the hospital and was able to get some of the patients and some caregivers out. an israeli humanitarian organization says it helped in the operation and says it brought medical supplies in. we have been hearing for days now supplies are running very, very short. dangerously short. the who team painted a desperate picture of what life is now like in the hospital, saying emergency wards are absolutely overflowing with more than 200 patients needing attention and every spare space in every corridor there are displays palestinians who are trying to find shelter. it is a situation that is reflected in two other hospitals in the area. this as israel is now in the third week of a major offensive it launched back in north gaza to

let's speak to our middle east regional editor, sebastian usher, who is injerusalem.ssessment of what both iran's supreme leader and president have said about the attacks? i think their message is essentially that iran will not be rushed into any immediate open to protect response to what israel did, it was not immediately raised the stakes in this cycle of escalation in direct attacks between the two countries that we have seen over the positive month, which has put a new dangerous element into their long—running confrontation. what iran is saying is that it has the right to respond, it will make some kind of response, but the extent to what that response might be is very much keeping under wraps, and probably has it come to any conclusion about that as yet. i think the decision will be based quite naturally on how big an impact the israeli strikes turn out to have had in iran's military capabilities. and also the casualties, as you are saying, that number has now risen to five with a civilian as well as for soldiers. presumably they will not be many more casualties

here's sebastian usher, from jerusalem, with the latest.anticipation ended as israel launched its retaliation on iran, lighting up the skies over tehran. waves of israeli strikes targeted military sites. the israeli army said it had aimed at facilities that produce the missiles that have been fired at israel. the idf said it had accomplished its mission after several hours and delivered another strong warning to iran. translation: if the regime in iran were to make - the mistake of beginning a new round of escalation, we would be obliged to respond. all those threatening israel will pay a heavy price. on the streets of the iranian capital, some expressed their growing nervousness over the situation. translation: i was working a night shift, and at work - we heard the sound of cannon fire and explosion. in fact, the sound echoed across the sky. it was a terrible and horrifying sound. translation: war is frightening. - everyone has concerns about what happens during a war. the harms of war worry everyone, but i don't believe a terrible war wi

let's speak to sebastian usher. sebastian, tell us more.refugee agency, unrwa. their other refugee camps, etc. israel regards sovereignty over eastjerusalem, which is very important in terms of being able to get aid in the help that unrwa provides to the occupied west bank. there have already been moves by israel to stop unrwa staff coming in to israel from receiving visas. that antagonism by israel has really intensified since october the 7th, the hamas led attacks. the israeli government have accused unrwa essentially of having staff members who took part in the october the 7th attacks, but also that unrwa is in a sense shielding hamas in gaza. time and time again, israel has said that hamas is operating command—and—control centres from inside unrwa buildings and that unrwa must know about it. so, therefore, must be in some way complicit. this anger has been intense and it's notjust about unrwa, but about the un in general, a sense amongst a number of israeli politicians — the prime minister in particular — that the un is biased against i

gaza each day within 30 days or risk losing military assistance. 0ur middle east regional editor sebastian usherved the answers at once over the strike that hit a five—storey building in northern gaza in beit lahia. hamas officials say at least 90 people are missing. the idf has spoken to the bbc to give some explanation of what happened saying the troops spotted a man with binoculars on the roof of the building — what they called a spotter — and they made a decision on the spur of the moment to take individual out. they say they did not intend for the building to collapse, but that it was not the target. in gaza and certainly something the us is expressing more and more concern about. this is the biden administration. the us state department spokesman described the incident as horrifying. the us has given israel a 30—day deadline to improve notjust the way its battle being fought in northern gaza and hamas, but also the dire humanitarian situation there within a 30—day deadline. and the us has said if things don't improve during that time, it may have an effect on the way the us supplies weapon

our middle east correspondent, sebastian usher, has more.n the three hospitals that are still just about functioning in gaza is getting worse almost by the hour, from what we are hearing. the head of the who has said the situation, particularly in the kamal adwan hospital, is deeply disturbing. a who team was able to get into the hospital and was able to get some of the patients, some of the caregivers out. now it is humanitarian organisation which operates in gaza said it's allowed some medical supplies in. we've been hearing for days now that supplies are running very, very short, dangerously short, and the who team painted a really desperate picture of what life is now like in the kamal adwan hospital, saying the emergency wards are absolutely overflowing with more than 200 patients needing attention, and within every spare space and corner, their displaced palestinians trying to find shelter. it's a situation they say that's also reflected into other hospitals in the area — all as israel is in the third week of a major offensive launched

beirut, so israel has probably restarted its strikes with me is our middle east regional editor, sebastian usher there a focus in northern gaza?- why is there a focus in northern gaza? , ., ~ , northern gaza? the israeli army has a mounting _ northern gaza? the israeli army has a mounting major _ northern gaza? the israeli army| has a mounting major operations in the north and there is the biggest refugee camp in the hall and clive and in the last two weeks... israel has been saying that hamas has been trying to regroup and there has been talk of a blockade, specifically on an area that israel believes that hamas is re—gathering its forces and allowing other people to escape, to free elsewhere. but as we said, so many times during this conflict, there are fewer and fewer places that people can go to in gaza and none of them can be considered safe. we heard day after day of the conditions in the refugee camp getting worse and worse here and supplies running out. the latest figure given by the hamas run health administration said around 400 people were killed in the camp. according to figures from

here's the latest from our middle east regional editor, sebastian usher.t mr netanyahu said and what were his first, his first public comments. — his office had made statements, but these are his first comments in public about the israeli attack on iran. i mean, nothing i think that you wouldn't expect, essentially echoing what the israeli military had said, that these were precise strikes, military targets were attacked and that it was highly successful and highly effective. he did also have a little a few words for the iranian people saying that israel's battle wasn't with them. i mean, there has been an effort by the israeli government to try to separate its actions against the leadership of iran and all that infrastructure. and the people, i think, the aim is to try to capitalise on the fact that within iran, amongst many people, the iranian authorities are not popular. we've seen mass protests over the past few years. so i think that's what what he was trying to do with that, just to say, at one of the events that he was speaking at, he was heckled qu

i talked to sebastian usher, the bbc�*s middle east regional editor. from a number of israeli senior officials that they want to use what's happened in the last few weeks, including, of course, the killing of the hamas leader, yahya sinwar, as a way to remodel the middle east. now, of course, we heard that many years ago with iraq, and we saw how that ended. so there will be other voices who are very much saying, you know, this is something which we really shouldn't be taking on, let's see how we continue with our offensive against hezbollah. and i think, also, feeling that there isn't an urgency about it, that iran is unlikely to do very much at the moment, that iran is on the back foot. its proxies in the region have had a very difficult few months. iran itself sort of has as well, so why not let that just fester for a while? we don't need to strike hard now. has israel defeated hamas and hezbollah permanently, or will they come back? obviously, some kind of survival of hamas and certainly of hezbollah will continue after all of this. hamas itself wi

let's speak to our middle east regional editor, sebastian usher. just expand on what each of them have been saying, sebastian, if you would, starting with benjamin netanyahu. starting with ben'amin netanyahu.fi starting with ben'amin netan ahu. , . �* ., netanyahu. yes, what ben'amin netanyahufi netanyahu. yes, what ben'amin netanyahu said i netanyahu. yes, what ben'amin netanyahu said and i netanyahu. yes, what ben'amin netanyahu said and his _ netanyahu. yes, what benjamin netanyahu said and his first - netanyahu said and his first public comment that is public office have made statements, but these are his first comments in public about the israeli attack on iran. nothing that you wouldn't expect, essentially echoing what the israeli military had said that these were precise strikes, military targets were attacked and it was highly successful and it was highly successful and highly effective. he did also have a few words for the iranian people saying israel's battle was not with them. there has been an effort by the israeli government to try to sep

gaza each day within a month or risk losing military assistance. 0ur middle east regional editor sebastian usherys that it has not received the answers it wants over the strike that hit a five—storey building in northern gaza, in beit lahia. hamas officials say at least 90 people are missing. the idf has spoken to the bbc to give some explanation of what happened, saying the troops spotted a man with binoculars on the roof of the building — what they called a spotter — and they made a decision on the spur of the moment to take that individual out. they say they did not intend for the building to collapse, but that it was not the target. this is perhaps a sign of how the israeli army operates in gaza and certainly something the us is expressing more and more concern about. this is the biden administration. the us state department spokesman described the incident as horrifying. the us has given israel a 30—day deadline to improve notjust the way its battle is being fought in northern gaza and hamas, but also the dire humanitarian situation there within a 30—day deadline. and the us has said if thi

our regional middle east editor, sebastian usher is injerusalem.was a scheduled meeting that we were expecting to happen. it is really since the killing by israel of the hamas leader. and they have been trying to restart the momentum towards a ceasefire and the release of the remaining hostages. that has essentially come to a standstill. there have been meetings a couple of days ago which took place in egypt. there have been positive comments from the us secretary of state, antony blinken. he met arab leaders as well in london on friday. these are the latest elements of those moves to try and give a sense that there is a possibility of arriving at some kind of deal. the us and other countries say that there is an opportunity that should be seized. the heads of the cia and mossad have been here a number of times before. there is a greater seriousness about what is happening. they will be discussing the possibilities of getting those negotiations underway. we don't have the details about what they might add that they haven't had before. the last deal

our correspondent sebastian usher is injerusalem where he says reaction so far is muted.ly very much reaction at the moment. it�*s shabbat. if you look down around me, the streets have been very quiet until now. there�*s some traffic appearing, but you�*re not going to hear anything very, very strong from the religious nationalists who make up a very, very important part of the prime minister benjamin netanyahu�*s cabinet and who, one would suspect, will be very outspoken in their criticism of this attack, not having gone far enough. i mean, they have called again and again, people like ben—gvir smotrich, for israel to go for the maximalist pressure on its enemies, whether it be hamas, hezbollah or iran. and i think they sensed that there might be an opportunity this time to really go after some of the targets that mr netanyahu himself has wanted to — the iranian nuclear programme, for example, and to really inflict the kind of damage on the iranian authorities, on the iranian leadership, that it would find hard to come back from. again, as lyse was saying, i mean, the on

let's speak to our middle east correspondent, sebastian usher. what about potential talks on ceasefirewill be a meeting in doha on sunday. what more do you know? this meeting in doha on sunday. what more do you know?— more do you know? this was a scheduled _ more do you know? this was a scheduled meeting _ more do you know? this was a scheduled meeting that - more do you know? this was a scheduled meeting that we - more do you know? this was a l scheduled meeting that we were expecting to happen. it is really since the killing by israel of hezbollah was market leader. and cattle have been trying to restart the momentum towards a ceasefire and the release of the remaining hostages. that has essentially come to a standstill. they have been meetings a couple of days ago which took place in egypt. they have been comments from the us secretary of state, antony blinken. he met arab leaders as well in london on friday. this is the latest elements of those moves to try and give a sense that there is and give a sense that there is a possibility of arriving at some kind of deal. the us and other

a role right now that at least today cannot be filled by anyone else. 0ur middle east editor, sebastian usherre have been many, many expressions of deep, deep concern from countries and from eight agencies about this man that has been passed by the israeli parliament on unrwa, which is the main service, it has been for decades that provides health, education, shelter and brings in food and medical supplies for the palestinian refugees. in the situation most importantly in gaza. the concern has been that the already incredibly difficult situation that palestinians are facing could there become that much worse if unrwa is no longer able to operate. there will be three months before this band comes into effect. but make it the opportunity for other eight agencies working in the area to step up their operations. but they said they don't believe that's really possible. at the best of times, this is really the worst. they have said that this ban, if it does come in, pressure that is being exerted on israel doesn't change anything about this. it will potentially have catastrophic consequences. ferga

sebastian usher in jelevided b. nounr:

sebastian usher. it is three minutes past six.e, let's turn the attention to the uk where of course the budget next week and lots of speculation about what will be unveiled? a lot of speculation and talk about what may change next week. the chancellor rachel reeves is set to increase the amount uk employers pay in national insurance when she announces the budget next week. the move is expected to be the single largest revenue raiser. our political correspondent ben wright has the latest. going into this budget, labour's first for 14 years, of course, chancellor rachel reeves had one big dilemma — how to find more money for public services which she and her party want to improve and promised voters they would, while sticking to labour's manifesto promises not to raise taxes on working people. labour was clear it would not raise vat, income tax or national insurance. there's been plenty of speculation, the chancellor would try to raise some smaller sources of revenue, smaller taxes like capital gains tax, inheritance tax, but could

joining me live is our correspondent in jerusalem sebastian usher several explosions in iran 7 what isyou can tell us? we are hearing from the israeli media saying a second wave of strikes is taking place and we are also hearing from reports on the ground there are trails in the sky above the centre of the iranian capital, this time, an hour or so the iranian capital, this time, an hour orso ago the iranian capital, this time, an hour or so ago we were hearing to the west and south—west of tehran was where the strikes were taking place and we haven't heard anything official from the israeli military about what the precise targets are but again israeli media suggesting that they could be missile sites and also air defence sites, so trying to hit at military areas and a that were responsible for the attack earlier this month on israel that tehran launched around 200 ballistic missiles. we don't know if this is it with this wave of attacks or we are going to see more of them through the coming hours and there are reports again, so many reports flying around but one report on the us tv sta

let's speak to our correspondent sebastian usher who's in jerusalem what we know at the moment aboutle of the attacks? we know there were several waves, the israeli media said there were three waves of attacks, mostly in and around the uranian capital to the west and south—west and even the centre at one point. we heard very early on from the israeli military spokesman that they were, what he called, precise strikes on military targets and that made the message very clear that israel wasn't going as far as anyone can tell, to go beyond attacks that were launched in the past against iran in response to the rocket summer missiles that it has fired at israel. the white house had been very keen and republic about essentially saying to israel but it went after more ambitious targets such as the oil fields or sites linked to iran's nuclear programme, that would be dangerous and there was very strong advice against that to try and prevent this ladder of escalation that israel and iran have been on for months now when their shallow conflict which has lasted for years and years came out into

let's speak to our middle east correspondent sebastian usher.his very busyjunction there was a bus, coach, that came to a stop at the bus stop and then a truck rammed into that coach then also hit people at the bus stop. as you are saying this was near the military base but we have also been hearing from israeli police and reports in the israeli media that a lot of those people who had been injured where retired people on a coach to travel to a nearby museum. there are different figures for the numbers of people who have been injured. 35, at least 35, is the figure generally the one given at the moment, of which six are said to be seriously injured, and one report says that a hospital treating those people says one of them has life—threatening injuries so the actual nature of the attack, it hasn't been 100% declared a terrorist attack, though that does seem to be the supposition being worked on. as you were saying, the driver of the truck appears to have been shot at the scene by civilians who had weapons on them, the usual term used by them, th

our correspondent sebastian usher has more from jerusalem.h of feeling amongst many israeli politicians, government against the un and against unrwa has really hardened since the october summit attacks on israel. with many expressing a feeling that essentially bigotry is complicit with hamas for the battery denies that entirely and stresses how it is a lifeline for palestinians in gaza in a desperate situation. but both bills against unrwa passed easily. they will have a strong effect on unrwa's ability to operate in gaza and in the occupied west bank. there is no doubt about that. this is a blow. other countries the us, the uk, australia, canada have all expressed their deep concern about this saying that the desperate humanitarian situation in gaza will only be made worse with these restrictions on unrwa. and the difficulties for palestinians have been facing and continue to face will only get worse. david mencer is a spokesman for the israeli government. he spoke earlier to my colleague, caitirona perry. just some news breaking this evenin

gaza each day within 30 days or risk losing military assistance. 0ur middle east regional editor sebastian usherthern gaza in beit lahia, hamas officials say at least 90 people are missing. some explanation that was asked saying the troops spotted a man with binoculars on the roof of the building and what they called a spotter and they made a decision on the spur of the moment to take individual out they said they did not intend for the building to collapse, but that it was not the target. this is perhaps a sign of how the israeli army operates in gaza and certainly something the us is expressing more and more concerned about. this is the biden administration, the us state department spokesman described the incident as horrifying. the us has given israel a 30 day deadline to improve notjust the way given israel a 30 day deadline to improve not just the way the battles being fought in northern gaza and hamas but also the dire documentation —— humanitarian situation there within a 30 day deadline and the us has said if things don't improve during that time, it may have an effect on the way the us