few would dare to guess. 0rla guerin, bbc news, southern lebanon. iran's supreme leader ayatollah khamenei led friday prayers in tehran this morning, delivering a defiant address and saying his country will not back down in its confrontation with israel. caroline hawley looks at the significance of his speech. this is the man who, as his title suggests, has ultimate power in iran. he very rarely leads friday prayers, so the world was watching what he had to say today. the crowds were huge, their regime trying to project an image of strength after a series of humiliating blows to its allies. supporters gathered first to commemorate the hezbollah leader hassan nasrallah, killed in an israeli air strike a week ago today. and then out came the supreme leader, who last friday was reported to have gone into hiding amid fears for his safety. he tried to rally muslims across the middle east against israel. he defended the hamas attack 0ctober against israel. he defended the hamas attack october the 7th and insisted iran's missile attack earlier this week wa

today showing its bombardment of southern lebanon, in what israel calls a war of self—defence. 0rla guerin now is david satterfield, former us special envoy for middle east humanitarian issues and former us ambassador to lebanon. ambassador, good to see you again. thanks forjoining us. i want to start with the situation in lebanon. as we were just hearing, four aid workers have been killed, according to the un coordinator. he told us people are across the country are in danger. we're hearing about these strikes and counter strikes between hezbollah and israel. where is this escalation heading?— escalation heading? that's exactly the question- _ escalation heading? that's exactly the question. look, _ escalation heading? that's exactly the question. look, whether - escalation heading? that's exactlyj the question. look, whether we're speaking about the situation in lebanon or on another scale entirely, the question here is what's the endgame? what's the strategic plan beyond simply continuing kinetic action! we've been very clear, the united states, particularly since sunday, that the conce

doctors here insist there is nothing to find. 0rla guerin, bbc news, beirut.opment lives by the former ambassadorjames jeffrey, former ambassador to iraq and turkiye. and now chair of a programme at the wilson centre. thank you forjoining us. we heard secretary blink and talk about what he's called and talk about what he's called an important opportunity at this moment for hostage release the ceasefire deal. is it an important opportunity as you see it that can be done now? yes, it is. it is not important because only blink and senso. almost the first thing he did after october seven was sent out a tweet that spoke about working on a ceasefire. this is notjust working on a ceasefire. this is not just tony blink and's gameplan, it has been out gameplan, it has been out gameplan with iran surrogates for the past 20 years and it has led to october seven and this horror show we're at in the middle east because that is the middle east because that is the usual position of the americans. the israeli position since october seven is they went along with us most of the

then he helps to lay her to rest — his last act for his mother. 0rla guerin, bbc news, tyre.bollah killed two people in the northern israeli town of kiryat shmona on wednesday. the mayor said a man and woman in their 40s were walking their dogs when the rocket fell near them. hezbollah also fired a barrage of rockets near the israeli port—city of haifa. some were intercepted while others fell in the area, causing injuries. there was a mass stabbing attack in the central israeli city of hadera. at least six people were stabbed, in four different locations, by a man riding a motorcycle. local police took the suspect into custody. as israel expands operations against hezbollah in lebanon, there are growing questions over how it will respond, to iran's multiple missile attack a week ago. the israeli defence minister, yoav gallant, says any response will be "deadly, precise and surprising" and he called iran's missile attack "aggressive but imprecise". however as america calls for restraint, influential voices in israel want a powerful message sent to iran. indeed, former israeli

then he helps to lay her to rest and is left to shoulder his grief. 0rla guerin, bbc news, tyre.ut the situation on the other side of the front line in northern israel? lucy williamson has travelled along the border from east to west on a day when heavy rocket barrages were coming in. all along israel's northern border today, the sounds and the skies were the same. israel's air defences meeting hezbollah missiles. sometimes they missed. in kiryat shmona, long a target for hezbollah rockets, more than a dozen landed. 0ne killing a couple out walking their dogs. when we arrived, firefighters were still battling the blaze at this house. watching from the pavement was katie, whose father lives next door. i see red. "i see red," she said. "it's not fear, it's this, just anger." israel says it's launched its ground invasion, partly to stop attacks like this. rockets and shrapnel have been landing in israeli towns along this borderfor a year now, and residents tell us they want their army to do whatever it takes to make this stop. israel has expanded its ground invasion to the western e

doctors here insist there is nothing to find. 0rla guerin, bbc news, beirut.israeli military is intensifying its offensive in northern gaza, where it claims hamas has regrouped. residents injabalia told the bbc the idf besieged hospitals and shelters for displaced people there, preventing critical aid from reaching civilians. the head of the un's agency for palestinian refugees has issued an urgent plea forfighting to stop, to enable humanitarian aid to reach trapped people. for more on all this, i'm joined now by firas maksad, senior fellow at the middle east institute. let's start with what we've just seen in lebanon. israel claiming hospitals are being used as cover for hezbollah, something they accused hamas of in gaza? yes, what is unfolding in lebanon is a war of narratives and both sides like credibility in the stories they are putting forward. since the beginning of the conflict, three weeks ago, hezbollah has time and again claimed it does not store weapons and missiles in civilian areas, only four israel to strike these areas and for everyone to witn

the bbc�*5 5enior international corre5pondent 0rla guerin 5ent this report from tyre.ebanon being pounded like gaza before it. israel says it's targeting hezbollah, as we watch the strikes get close, then clo5er 5till. well, this 5trike has just come in right behind our hotel — incredibly loud, incredibly clo5e. we can hear 5iren5 now, first aid rushing to the scene. and there are some civilian5 i can see very close to the area of the blast. emerging from the smoke, a mother and child who had tried to escape the war with a trip to the beach. israel hit this building just off the strand, which houses a pro—iranian tv channel. there was one dead in the strike. hezbollah, too, keep5 5triking, firing rocket5 across the border, killing a man and a woman in israel today. all the air strikes have not put paid to this. neither has the ground inva5ion. this is the latest footage released by israel, said to show its troops on lebane5e soil in the south. here in tyre, a crisis unit is trying to keep the city alive, getting food and blankets to 5helter5 and fuel to hospitals. thi5

today showing its bombardment of southern lebanon, in what israel calls a war of self—defence. 0rla guerinnnounced a new $425 million military aid package for ukraine tonight. the white house says it includes defense capability, air—to—ground munitions and armoured vehicles. it comes after ukraine's president presented a so—called victory plan to his parliament that he said would be enough to end the war with russia. the two sides have been at war for more than two and a half years now, and fierce fighting continues in the east of ukraine. president zelensky told his parliament the way to end the war was for nato to invite ukraine to become a member, and he said ukraine's allies must end restrictions on long—range strikes on russia. translation: for decades, - russia was using the geopolitical uncertainty in europe and the fact that ukraine is not a nato member as a factor to challenge our safety. a ukraine invitation to nato is fundamental to peace. 0ur correspondent james waterhouse joins us now from kyiv. let's talk about that military aid package. how much difference could that make? i

doctors here insist there is nothing to find. 0rla guerin, bbc news, beirut.nsive in northern gaza where it claims hamas has regrouped. residents injabalia told the bbc israeli military forces besieged hospitals and shelters for displaced people there — preventing critical aid from reaching civilians. the head of the un's agency for palestinian refugees issued an urgent plea for fighting to stop to enable humanitarian aid to reach trapped people. i spoke to dr naina bhalla, a california—based doctor who recently returned to the us after a couple months in gaza as medical team leader with m decins sans fronti res, also known as doctors without borders. she told me more about her experiences there. i would characterise what i saw there as a level of devastation and suffering that i have never seen before. and that is inconceivable and difficult to wrap your head around. you have spent a lot of time working in war zones and refugee camps before gaza. i have been with msf, doctors without borders, since 2008 and have done multiple missions in conflict zones and wa

here�*s 0rla guerin. death tolls don�*t tell life stories. this is shana qasim, a young mother.led with her baby in an airstrike in the north. they died with relatives and neighbours from a shia border village. all had sought refuge in a christian district. typically, these areas are not targeted. "0h, mother mary," says this man, seeing the destruction that came without warning. israel says it struck a hezbollah target and is investigating the claim that civilians were killed. it�*s more than a claim, here and elsewhere. in recent weeks, we have travelled around lebanon, reporting on half a dozen airstrikes that killed only civilians — 53 in total. that�*s according to relatives, rescue workers and neighbours, and in some cases, officials. this was september 27th in the sunni border village of shaba. an israeli airstrike killed nine civilians, including four children, all members of an extended family. nasri hamdan can now kiss his son yusuf only on the screen. the 15—year—old was here at his grandparents�* house helping with livestock. "it�*s a massacre," he says. "if it�*s a

few would dare to guess. 0rla guerin, bbc news, southern lebanon. of international programs at the international rescue committee. how are the aid efforts there coping, especially when we're also hearing that you've got shelters at full capacity? that's right. the international rescue committee has almost 400 staff working across lebanon and, of course, lebanon has struggled over the last number of years with the after effects of years with the after effects of the covid crisis, the beirut blast. it's suffering from an economic and a social service crisis. so this escalation and the humanitarian crisis that it has brought about comes on top of an already struggling economy and already struggling population, and it really is having a devastating effect. there's about a quarter of the population, overa there's about a quarter of the population, over a million people, have been displaced, fleeing to beirut and further north. we're hearing that the 900 shelters that the government has established are already at capacity. many people are not able to find

few would dare to guess. 0rla guerin, bbc news, southern lebanon. 0ur correspondent lucy williamson has been filming on the israeli side of the border with lebanon, where there've been clashes between hezbollah fighters and israeli troops. hezbollah rockets are no longer a response to israeli troops in gaza, but to israeli troops at home, mapping their path through lebanon's border villages. we're starting to see more signs of resistance to israeli forces on the other side of the border. even a year of air strikes, intelligence operations, raids by special forces, have not destroyed hezbollah�*s ability to fight back just a few miles in. we just heard some bursts of small arms fire and what sounded like some grenades from the israeli army, and now you can hear the sirens going off, telling us to get out of the area. explosions. we've just heard a series of very loud explosions, what seems to be rockets landing nearby, some small arms fire across the border. it seems the israeli army is pushing in to a location, and this was the response. go. most of the residents along this border have

few would dare to guess. 0rla guerin, bbc news, southern lebanon.enior us diplomat who now serves as senior nonresident fellow at the atlantic council here in washington. welcome to you. i think it is fair in saying tonight that this feels like a very precarious moment in the middle east. ., ., precarious moment in the middle east. ., ,, east. how do you assess it? well, ithink— east. how do you assess it? well, | think the _ east. how do you assess it? well, i think the word - well, i think the word precarious is exactly right. we have had a year of war with israel and the palestinians and with the us lead efforts to prevent exactly what is happening now from happening. and anytime you this conflict, this war, then we have a failure of diplomacy and i know everyone that has spoken on the bbc, us leaders, leaders from the region, have all spoken about the importance of a day after, a pathway through diplomacy to get there. but we have seen decisions made by both sides, particularly with regard to hamas and, of course, the israeli prime minister, avo

hospital where israel claims millions of dollars in cash and gold have been cut by hezbollah. —— 0rla guerine hospital. as concern about the humanitarian crisis in northern gaza grows, the us secretary of state antony blinken has arrived in israel, where he's due to meeting prime minister netanyahu. mr blinken has released five priorities to try to end the conflict. firstly, to talk to israel and others about how to end the war in gaza — which includes bringing home all the israeli hostages. he will also discuss with israel a post—conflict "day after" plan. he wants to review humanitarian asissstance to gaza — this after the us gave israel 30 days to take steps or risk some military assistance being cut off. mr blinken wants to try to discuss ways to get a resolution to the war with hezbollah. and he'll also discuss israel's expected retaliation against iran. bbc news correspondent jonah fisher has the latest from jerusalem. this is the 11th time antony blinken has come to the middle east since this war started just over one year ago, and to be quite frank expectation is pretty low about wha

the bbc�*s senior international correspondent 0rla guerin sent this report from tyre.efence. lebanon being pounded, like gaza before it. israel says it's targeting hezbollah. as we watch the strikes get close, then closer still. well, this strike has just come in right behind our hotel — incredibly loud, incredibly close. we can hear sirens now, first aid rushing to the scene. and there are some civilians i can see very close to the area of the blast. emerging from the smoke, a mother and child who had tried to escape the war with a trip to the beach. israel hit this building just off the strand, which houses a pro—iranian tv channel. there was one dead in the strike. hezbollah, too, keeps striking, firing rockets across the border, killing a man and a woman in israel today. all the air strikes have not put paid to this. neither has the ground invasion. this is the latest footage released by israel, said to show its troops on lebanese soil in the south. here in tyre, a crisis unit is trying to keep the city alive, getting food and blankets to shelters and fuel to hospi

few would dare to guess. 0rla guerin, bbc news, southern lebanon.r vice—president of international programs at the international rescue committee. good evening to you. thank you for being with us. we were just seeing there in that report the situation in lebanon clearly from a humanitarian perspective, the situation is getting worse and worse. hospitals out of action, of course, people fleeing on foot often due to bombed crossings. how are the aid efforts there coping? especially when we're also hearing that you've got shelters at full capacity? that's right. the international rescue committee has almost 400 staff working across lebanon and, of course, lebanon has struggled over the last number of years with the after effects of years with the after effects of the covid crisis, the beirut blast, it's suffering from an economic and a social service crisis. so this escalation and the humanitarian crisis that it has brought about comes on top of an already struggling economy and already struggling population and it really is having a devastating effect

said that "civilian casualties have been far too high". 0ur senior international correspondent 0rla guerinut about one civilian victim — a two—year old girl called ivana — who was badly wounded in the south. you may find 0rla's report distressing to watch cries. too small for the bed. too young for such pain. this is iva na. cries. she has third degree burns on almost half her body. her father mohammad tries to comfort her. cries. bravo! this was ivana before the israeli airstrike, playing happily in a home video. her father says she looked like this, a normal baby. then the attack came on september 23rd without warning. all of her was black, he says. black. because of the missile dust. i carried her. something in the house was exploding. the ceiling was falling. i didn't know what was happening. this is their village in southern lebanon, and on the right the family home. they had packed the car to flee, but israel hit first. ivana was playing on the balcony when a missile landed. israel says it's targeting hezbollah, not the lebanese people. her seven—year—old sister, rahaf, also injured.

the bbc�*s senior international correspondent 0rla guerin sent us this report from tyre.nded like gaza before it. israel says it's targeting hezbollah, as we watch the strikes get close, then closer still. well, this strike has just come in right behind our hotel — incredibly loud, incredibly close. we can hear sirens now, first aid rushing to the scene. and there are some civilians i can see very close to the area of the blast. emerging from the smoke, a mother and child who had tried to escape the war with a trip to the beach. israel hit this building just off the strand, which houses a pro—iranian tv channel. there was one dead in the strike. hezbollah, too, keeps striking, firing rockets across the border, killing a man and a woman in israel today. all the air strikes have not put paid to this. neither has the ground invasion. this is the latest footage released by israel, said to show its troops on lebanese soil in the south. here in tyre, a crisis unit is trying to keep the city alive, getting food and blankets to shelters and fuel to hospitals. this father appears

few would dare to guess. 0rla guerin, bbc news, southern lebanon. suggested that israel shouldn't hit iran's oil facilities in retaliation for tuesday's missile strikes. on thursday, oil prices surged by over 5% after mr biden said israel and the united states were discussing possible strikes on iran's oil fields. he was speaking to reporters in his first ever appearance at the white house press briefing. well, look. the israelis have not concluded what they're going to do in terms of a strike. that's under discussion. i think, if i were in their shoes, i'd be thinking about other alternatives than striking oil fields. meanwhile, a "situation report" by the un's agency in gaza has revealed a worsening crisis as israeli forces continue operations there. the un relief and works agency said 1.4 million gazans did not get food rations in september. that number is up from one million in august, a 40% increase. the report says nearly 70% of crops have been destroyed. and when it comes to schools, unrwa says 86% of its schools have been damaged or destroye

his unborn child was found in the rubble, ripped from his wife's womb. 0rla guerin, bbc news, beirut.day's news. more than 200 doctors and specialists are calling for an urgent review to ensure people in england can get weight loss injections on the nhs. it comes a day after the prime minister said they could boost britain's economy by getting unemployed people back into work. 0ur health reporter michelle roberts has more. the nhs can prescribe weight loss injections, but access is limited. there have been reports of global stock shortages and, currently in the uk, the treatment can only be offered by specialist weight management services. some patients go private, but many others miss out. top experts are warning the health secretary. they say government must fix the fundamentals — chronic underfunding, workforce challenges and unequal access to nhs obesity services. their letter comes as a new report by the obesity health alliance, which represents health charities and medical royal colleges, says some patients can wait up to five years for specialist support. according to the 0ha,

across the region now, fires burning everywhere. 0rla guerin, bbc news, southern lebanon.announced it is expanding its evacuation call in southern lebanon. so presumably that would mean that more strikes in southern lebanon are on their way. that's the evacuation call now expanded by israel's military. let's speak to our security correspondent frank gardner. so much to discuss. i wonder, looking at the events of yesterday evening, those 180 iranian missiles that went towards israel, how do you interpret the scale of the attack, clearly intended to cause a lot of damage? clearly intended to cause a lot of damaue? . ~ , , clearly intended to cause a lot of damae? ., ~' , , ., clearly intended to cause a lot of damaue? ., ~ , , ., ., damage? yeah, i think this is a more serious attack _ damage? yeah, i think this is a more serious attack than _ damage? yeah, i think this is a more serious attack than the _ damage? yeah, i think this is a more serious attack than the one _ damage? yeah, i think this is a more serious attack than the one in - serious attack than the one in apri

few would dare to guess. 0rla guerin, bbc news, southern lebanon.ome are this year, the lebanese country director at a near east refugee aid charity. thank you for joining us here on bbc news. and let me ask you first of all to give an indication of how difficult it is to this right now to get the aid needed into areas in lebanon given the situation. areas in lebanon given the situation-— areas in lebanon given the situation. ., ~ , ., ., , situation. thank you for this question- — situation. thank you for this question. what _ situation. thank you for this question. what i _ situation. thank you for this question. what i can - situation. thank you for this question. what i can tell - situation. thank you for this | question. what i can tell you we are in a bad humanitarian crisis. 30% of lebanon to publish in his nondisplaced they had to flee there homes with nowhere to go. this big influx of people need everything, and at the time around the country is unprepared because we are in an economic crisis. and because of the situation, yes, we are findi

and i think it does bring people together because, quite frankly, i heard 0rla guerin's piece — our excellentc saying exactly the same but completely different. "hezbollah has taken us here. "this is what hezbollah wants to see. "this is the human cost of this war." in some ways, there is no exclusives in this — you just want to tell the story as it is, bring your listeners, readers, viewers into where you are. what are your constraints around the dangers, both editorial as well as real dangers. and get out alive. get out alive. before we let you go, it is obviously about to be a year since october 7, and i wonder in terms of your reflections about what we have learned in that year, particularly about how the media covers this region? it has become — the media has become the story, and not just a story but very, very very emotional story, a story fired up with anger. i think it is a defining moment for notjust the media — and the media is seen as a reflection of the wider world — with many now discussing, criticising so—called double standards and it's very difficult for us at the bbc because

then he helps to lay her to rest — his last act for his mother. 0rla guerin, bbc news, tyre.t is a limited operation, it gives evacuation orders, but as you have deceived it is very difficult for them to leave any where to find somewhere safe. today in washington this state department spokesman was asked about prime minister netanyahuwarning that if the lebanese not move against hezbollah they could be facing a situation like gaza. the spokesperson said we cannot and must not let the situation in lebanon become like gaza. it would, he said, be unacceptable. also he expressed concern about the deteriorating, humanitarian situation in the gaza strip. we will continue to bring you all the latest developments here. from across northern israel and all the other side of the border in lebanon as we wait for more news on what is planned for israel's strike on lebanon. the keep watching. thank you very much indeed for that. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. there's been a lot of cloud and some rain around again today, but over the next couple of days, things are going to loo