tom bateman, bbc news, southern israel.what we've been seeing over the past few days is the worst violence in the region and at least seven years. tensions have been mounting in jerusalem throughout the holy month of ramadan. our correspondent caroline hawley looks at what sparked this deadly confrontation. reporter: a city of ancient sacred sites, a flashpoints. jerusalem is the center of the israeli-palestinian conflict and has always had the capacity to spark violence. with depressing familiarity, it has yet again. what's behind this latest escalation? pension has been mounting for weeks -- tension has been mounting for weeks. there was a threat dozens of families would be evicted from their homes just out side the old city in favor of jewish settlers. there have also been clashes between israeli police and palestinians, angry about restrictions gathering at the entrance to the old city at sunset. then on the last weekend of ramadan came clashes at a mosque, where is larry lee security forces said palestinians were throw

tom bateman, re ortin . volatile situation. tom bateman, reporting from — volatile situation.om jerusalem, thank | volatile situation. tom bateman, - reporting from jerusalem, thank you. the time is 19 minutes past one. our top story this lunchtime... the uk lowers its covid alert level as the prime minister prepares to announce a major easing of lockdown restrictions in england allowing a return to indoor hospitality and household mixing. and still to come, the people's advocate. naturalist and broadcaster sir david attenborough is appointed to special role ahead of november's global climate summit in glasgow. coming up in sport on the bbc news channel, frustration for the british number one dan evans, who is out of the rome masters, after being beaten in the opening round by america's taylor fritz in straight sets. there's a new warning that violent drugs gangs are causing misery across the country, expanding their operations from cities into smaller towns and cities. —— villages. the bbc�*s panorama programme has been filming with kent police for the last year, with so call

tom bateman there. and two adults have been killed in a shooting at a school in russia. more than twenty others were injured, many seriously. some children jumped out of third floor windows to try to escape. police have arrested the suspected attacker — a 19—year—old former pupil. he'd been carrying an automatic weapon, and was wearing an explosives vest. moscow correspondent steve rosenberg reports. a day of learning turned into a day of bloodshed. school 175 had come under attack. this cctv footage shows the gunman on his way there, looking completely calm, weapon at the ready. when the shooting began, there was panic. some children barricaded themselves in classrooms, and then escaped this way — down a ladder. there were screaming children running under your apartment. the children were running on the sports grounds and they were running to the fence and getting over the fence, screaming, "oh my god, they're killing us." the little girls screamed. that was the moment i realised that it was not some s

tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem. >> let's go live now to jerusalem. he is really government is sounding very tough tonight, saying this is just the beginning. buildings will continue to crumble in gaza. what will it take for this to de-escalate? reporter: that's not going to happen anytime soon. the reason for that is over the last couple of hours, a really unprecedented volley of rockets, in terms of firepower, from the brazos tape -- from the gaza strip, reached israel. to the mediterranean coast around tel aviv. at least one woman killed and abstract this evening. -- in that strike this evening. creating scenes of panic. streets are blazed. there was a direct hit on a bus, which was empty at the time. that has added to this sense of fierce escalation. benjamin netanyahu, saying bloods will be on the heads of hamas for such tricks. his defense minister has said israel has further targets in the pipeline that it will strike under the same time. ismael hania has vowed that they will continue fighting. i think this feels like an ealation that will for t

the bbc's tom bateman in jerusalem has more. point abouthese confrontations taking place at the temple mount, as it is known to jews, is that there's quite a lot of stuff flying around in the air, not the least stun grenades used by the israelis. firecrackers can be thrown by palestinians. you don't -- we saw earlier in the day pictures emerging from inside the mosque itself of confrontations appearing to have entered the building. and those images are part of the issue here. for palestinians and for muslims, it is the third holiest shrine in islam, something that is shocking for them to see. that's why there havbeen international calls for calm ahead what was always going to be attends, difficult day -- be a tense, difficult day. ros: tensions as they marked the annexation of jerusalem, considered illegal under international law. the rally was due to take place at 4:00 p.m. local time. organizers canceled it, though some people gathered anyway. >> there's a party atmosphere as israelis gather from all across the country, about

tom bateman, again. tom, there's a lot of concern being expressed.ything to de-escalate the situation?— anything to de-escalate the situation? ., ., ., situation? not at the moment. i think we are _ situation? not at the moment. i think we are very _ situation? not at the moment. i think we are very much - situation? not at the moment. i think we are very much into - situation? not at the moment. i think we are very much into an l think we are very much into an escalatory phase of what is happening. what you've just set out there is extremely comprehensive, and i think it helps people to understand to some extent that there is notjust one single cause here, there have been multiple issues that have been playing and are converging together, to really one day today. there was always going to be this big question about the degree to which tensions would escalate. and they have done. in terms of looking ahead and the potential for things to be calm, first of all, what is at the very core of the conflict, so often particularly now, is that incredibly holy

tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem.tan sachs — director of the center for middle east policy at brookings. it comes at a terrible timing. today, of course, is the last friday of ramadan and then monday will be another very volatile day, it happens to be both laylat al-qadr, a holy day in ramadan for muslims, and also jerusalem unification day for israelijews. and that is usually accompanied by parades around the old city by usually far—right israelis. we have really the makings of a powder keg and the optics but also the substance are very bad at the moment. and when you look at some of the police raids when they came in and they are using skunk water, behaving in a pretty heavy—handed way. for the united states to get involved at this particular juncture, how important is that, a call for de—escalation? there has been a call for de—escalation by the united states. the united states has limited levers on this, of course, it's mostly in the hands of palestinians and, to a certain degree, jordanians. police are acting as

tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem.inister boris johnson's conservative party is celebrating resounding local election victories in england. mrjohnson said this was down to focusing on what people want, including brexit. the governing conservatives also won a parliamentary seat long held by labour. results are still coming in from the devolved governments in wales and in scotland, where the scottish national party hopes to get a mandate for an independence referendum. our political editor laura kuenssberg has more. who does he look like? who else? the tory prime minister pumped up and inflated to 100 foot high. with his party taking big strides, tramping over territory labour used to take at its own. par for an overnight shock but another step in a journey that started long ago. it's a mandate we were asked to deliver, notjust for the people of hartlepool of the north east, but across the air has gone out of his opponents. one labour veteran said holding hartlepool was a test of whether party could hold its own. it did

tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem. earlier i spoke about this with khaled elgindy.the program on israeli—palestinian affairs at the middle east institute, and former adviser to the palestinian leadership. he said he expects more violence in the coming days. i think the situation is very worrying. we've had several weeks of tension, as you pointed out in your report, and these evictions are clearly making things more tense. and then we have, as you mentioned, the holy days coming up — actually the holiest night of the year in the last few days of ramadan coming up — at the same time that right—wing jewish activists, in some cases extremists, are planning to have this very provocative mass march through the old city in sort of an annual provocation but it's especially, i think, incendiary in this environment so things could very easily spiral out of control. there are also, though, militant islamic groups who will capitalise on this as well? yeah, and what we're seeing on the palestinian side is a vacuum. the palestinian leadership in ramallah is not allowed to operat

tom bateman, bbc news. toha — a writer and poet from beit lah—hia in the north of gaza. thank you forjoining us. let me ask you firstly, what has your experience been over the past couple of days? the firing ofthe past couple of days? the firing of the rockets _ past couple of days? the firing of the rockets continues - past couple of days? the firing of the rockets continues to - of the rockets continues to this moment. i can hear it in the background. the bombing in the background. the bombing in the rockets, just in the few, in the last minute, a residential building near my town has been bombarded. a few minutes ago a couple of people were killed while other people from their families, were killed while other people from theirfamilies, sorry, from their families, sorry, were from theirfamilies, sorry, were rescued and taken to hospital. so it is still growing more and more tense here. and what are the perceptions of gazans of the conflict? do they still support hummus? most people believe that this star

tom bateman, bbc news, lod in central israel.horn is a professor in israel studies at northwestern university — she says that the biden administration's expectation and hope that the violence would end soon, is overly optimistic. i am not sure that the act of his of the us administration will be helpful in this regard. the united states is no longer seen as an honest broker in the conflict and it may be perceived by the palestinians as interference in this latest spate of violence. it may actually escalate the situation. but as we saw today, in the reporting just heard from the correspondent, the violence has spread from the occupied territories into territorial israel and it is essentially mob violence betweenjews and arabs in major cities. so it seems that violence is continuing, ratherthan continuing, rather than abating. how worrying is the escalation within those towns where arab—israelis are? i think this is a very worrying trend. we have seen in several clashes over the last few years, rocket fire and retaliation by the is

our middle east correspondent, tom bateman, reports. a car burns....and an israeli settler fires his revolver. the air feels flammable in occupied eastjerusalem. been growing for weeks. several palestinian families face eviction from their homes. across the street, israelis watch from a home whose palestinian residents were evicted a decade ago. nabil and muna, father and daughter. here for decades, they could be evicted in days. muna vows to stay. she says she'll chain herself here if she has to. i feel not safe. ifeel — ifeel weak, although i'm strong. but i feel weak because i'm facing a whole government that's supported from america and other... ..countries in the world. we won't leave, we won't leave. the settler group claims rights to land here, saying it was bought byjews in the 19th century, close to a religious shrine. israel sees it as a matter for the court, arguing the families have been offered a deal to remain for now. their legal appeal is being considered. outside nabil�*s home, an iftar meal for the families and supporters to break th

our middle east correspondent tom bateman sent this report from the scene., it contains distressing images. they came to celebrate and to be blessed. tens of thousands ofjewish pilgrims at the mountain tomb of an ancient rabbi. but instead they were met with panic and a deadly crush. men and boys left the shrine, descending a narrow walkway which was badly overcrowded. those at the front became trapped. people tried tearing away metal barricades to free them. all of a sudden we saw paramedics from mada and whatever, running by, like mid—cpr on kids and then one after the other started coming, ambulances, then we understood, something is going on here. pilgrimsjoined paramedics in a desperate search. dozens had been suffocated or trampled on. children became separated from parents and army helicopters evacuated the wounded. in the hospitals, there has been anguish as relatives wait for news. many of the dead still have not been formally identified. this man took his two young sons to the festival. when it got crowded, he says they tried to get out. "we reache

tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem.. one way or another, they're likely to have a huge impact on the future of the planet. the talks will bring together leaders from all around the world. their aim, to agree on coordinated measures to tackle climate change. but the challenges are huge, as our science editor david shukman explains. it all begins with this stuff, coal, which is basically ancient plants squeezed together over millions of years. when you burn it, you get a useful source of heat which, in fact, powered industrial revolution. but you also get carbon dioxide, a gas that acts as a kind of blanket in the atmosphere. at this power station, west burton a in nottinghamshire, they've been burning coal since the �*60s. there are thousands like it around the world, generating electricity, but also changing the climate. over the last two centuries, a growing volume of carbon dioxide has been released, from power stations and factories, vehicles and homes. so, emissions keep rising. the result of all this is that the pl

tom bateman, bbc news, gaza.royal navy's new flagship — hms queen elizabeth — as the carrier prepares for its first major deployment. the £3 billion warship — carrying eight new stealth fighter jets and other aircraft — has tonight left portsmouth for asia. from portsmouth, our defence correspondent jonathan beale reports. britain's longest—serving monarch arrived on britain's largest warship. two queen elizabeths, her majesty bidding farewell to the crew of the aircraft carrier she named and commissioned, about to sail east halfway around the world. moored alongside, an american destroyer, one of six warships that will accompany her to the pacific. the navy says it's the most powerful uk maritime deployment in a generation, and the embodiment of global britain. so this is a tangible expression of how the country can go out into the world, and so we have a fantastic new capability, and when we deploy, it speaks to our values, our interests, what we stand for. the carrier's already been training with the latest f3

evict dozens of palestinians from an east jerusalem neighbourhood. 0ur middle east correspondent tom batemanrusalem, which contains scenes that some may find disturbing. a street ablaze on israel's normally bustling coastline. people run for shelter. others have a lucky escape. in a nearby suburb, a woman was killed as a building took a direct hit. in a single barrage, militants fired i30 rockets from gaza, deep into israel. a clear sign both sides are into a round of steep escalation. translation: hamas and islamichhad have paid, i and i tell you here, will pay a heavy price for their aggression. i say here tonight, their blood will be on their heads. earlier, israel struck a gaza tower block that had been evacuated. it was home to members of the palestinian militant group hamas, that warned it would target tel aviv if the building was hit. israeli air strikes have pounded gaza. panic arrives here just after the war planes. inside this block, says israel, three militant leaders were killed. some of the worst fighting in years is leaving live scattered. among gaza's victims, ii—year—old huss

tom bateman, bbc news, gaza. the headlines on bbc news...would be the first proof since february that princess latifa of dubai is alive. a large volcano in the democratic republic of congo has erupted. latest reports from goma says it has reached the city's airport. let's turn now to lebanon — and how the country's economic problems have reduced access to even the most basic of amenities clean, fresh water. lebanon s geography means there should be no shortage but infrastructure failures have left more than a million and a half people lacking supplies. as our correspondent martin patience now reports its a story of chronic mismanagement. little nemo was named after the film about a fish. but water could kill him. because nemo suffers from a rare skin disease. it could hurt him and he'll die, if he gets bacteria the infection will go in his blood. so, no, i can't put my son in risk. the tap water here is so toxic... ..that his parents are forced to use bottled water to give him a bath. so, how much money do you think you are spending on just

tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem.sals and unions had complained that the bill would have a disproportionate impact on the very poorest people. thousands of people have taken part in renewed protests in myanmar, against the military coup. the generals seized power three months ago. small, short—lasting events like this, in yangon, were held across the country — there are reports of several people being shot dead by the security forces. the national union has called for all opponents of what it calls the dictatorship to unite against this. in six months' time, scotland's second city glasgow is due to host the cop26 climate talks. one way or another, they're likely to have a huge impact on the future of the planet. the aim is to bring together global leaders so they can renew coordination on tackling climate change. but the challenges are huge. as our science editor david shukman explains. it all begins with this stuff, coal, which is basically ancient plants squeezed together over millions of years. when you burn it, yo

tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem.rrived in london for the g7 foreign ministers�* meeting. earlier in an interview with cbs news he accused china of acting more aggressively abroad and more repressively at home, but stressed that a military confrontation was profoundly against the interests of both countries. mr blinken said president biden and the chinese leader, xijinping, talked about a wide range of topics in their first call that lasted two hours. our purpose is not to contain china, to hold back to bring it down. it is to uphold these rules based order that china is posing a challenge to. anyone that poses a challenge we will stand up and defend it. us and british officials have denied reports from iranian state tv that they've struck deals to free prisoners in iran, including the british—iranian dual national nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe. state media also reported a supposed prisoner exchange, swapping four americans jailed in iran, forfour iranian prisoners in the united states. here's white house chief of staff r

tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem.he united states will get hurt if it provokes pyongyang. the north was giving its first response to the biden administration's policies on the country, which it has set out this week. mark lobel reports. north korea has issued a sharp response to these recent comments from president biden. 0n iran and north korea, nuclear programmes that present serious threats to american security and the security of the world, we will be working closely with our allies to address the threats posed by both these countries, through the diplomacy as well as stern deterrence. in turn, north korea also cracked the whip, with its foreign ministry saying... north koreans are again returning to their acerbic and belligerent rhetoric to try and get the sanction relief and try to reset the negotiations. it's a far cry from president biden�*s predecessor's hopeful, but ultimately unsuccessful attempts, to try to strike a deal with kim jong—un. the white house insists its goal is the complete denuclearisation of

tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem.ied reports from iranian state—tv that they've struck deals to free prisoners in iran, including the british—iranian dual national nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe. state media also reported a supposed prisoner exchange, swapping four americans jailed in iran, forfour iranian prisoners in the united states. here's white house chief of staff ron klain. unfortunately, that report is untrue. there is no agreement to release these four americans. we're working very hard to get them released. we raised this with iran all the time but so far there's no agreement to bring these four americans home. earlier i spoke to iran expert karim sadjadpour, who's a senior fellow at the carnegie endowment for international peace. he explained the strategy behind iran's detention of dual—nationals. i think at this point, there is diminishing returns for iran to continue to hold onto these dual nationals. the challenge for the united states and britain is how do you get your citizens released without appearing to

that is tom bateman.st few hours, prime minister benjamin netanyahu has declared a state of emergency in the central city of lod, as police accused arab residents of waging "wide—scale riots". lod is an ethnically mixed israeli town, less than 30 minutes south of tel aviv. these pictures show some of the damage from clashes on monday night. the city's mayor told local media, "we have lost control of the city and the streets." and in a few minutes we'll be speaking to a palestinian human rights lawyer, zaha hassan. to state with us for that. ——do stay with us. at least seven children and two adults have been killed in a shooting at a school in russia. more than 20 others were injured, many seriously. some childrenjumped out of third floor windows to try to escape. police have arrested the suspected attacker — a 19 year—old former pupil. he'd been carrying an automatic weapon, and was wearing an explosives vest. moscow correspondent steve rosenberg reports. a day of learning turned into a day of bloodshed.

tom bateman, bbc news, lod in central israel.et from beit lahia in the north of gaza. he told me what the situation on the ground has been like in the last few hours. the firing of the rockets continues to this moment. i can hear it in the background. the bombing by the israelis and some rockets into israel, i mean, just in the few last minutes, the israelis have bombarded a residential building near my town. a few minutes ago a couple of people were pulled out from under the rubble, killed, while other people from theirfamilies, sorry, were rescued and taken to hospital. so it is still growing more and more tense here. and what are the perceptions of gazans of the conflict? do they still support the action by hamas? most people believe that the reason this started because the hamas military wing spokesperson told the israelis that if they do not stop their attacks, and their expulsion of people in sheikh jarrah in east jerusalem and they gave them a deadline at 6pm last monday, and it seems like israel did not heed that threat t

here's our middle east correspondent tom bateman.n is on the brink of war. people who woke to this feel it's already here. palestinians in gaza faced the fiercest israeli bombardment since the last all—out conflict. israel says it's going after militant leaders. some were killed in their homes. but civilians died in this strike, say palestinian health officials. in gaza, a territory under blockade, grief quickly turns to anger. dozens have now died since the violence erupted on monday. and they are still counting the bird said. —— and they are still counting their dead. rocket fire from gaza has continued deep into israel, and the sirens are near nonstop in towns close by. sirens wail. ok, that's an interception — let's get in. we've heard air strikes pound the gaza strip just a couple of miles away throughout the course of this morning and into the afternoon, more retaliation, more fire, from gaza. underfire, asha and his son ran for the safe room. but their neighbour, an 89—year—old woman, didn't make it. she is seriously injured.

tom bateman, bbc news, gaza., for diplomats now, for the international communities, such a challenge to secure the ceasefire and think longer term? that's right, fell apart. i was in the gaza strip in 2009 after the first of the now four israeli, hamas conflicts since hamas came to power in the gaza strip. and back then everybody said it was probably the beginning of a new cycle of violence with hamas firing rockets, israel conducting air strikes in the gaza strip, and so it has proved. and so the question now is, can diplomacy find a way out of this vicious cycle into which everybody seems to be trapped? and the israeli defence minister, benny gantz, said today that without a real lasting diplomatic solution this is just the end of one conflict before the start of the next. everyone has seen this movie before so the egyptian mediators who brokered the ceasefire. remember egypt is the only country that talks to both israel and hamas and is involved in the diplomacy. they were in the gaza strip yesterday, today th

tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem. let's talk more about this. natan sachs, the director of the center for middle east policy at brookings. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. i'd like to come to the legality of this in a minute which is an extraordinarily complicated thing, as we know, but in terms of the policing and the number of arrests and injured, the optics of this, it is not good, is it, in terms of the volatility of the region at the volatility of the region at the moment? it’s the volatility of the region at the moment?— the volatility of the region at the moment? it's not good at all and it _ the moment? it's not good at all and it comes _ the moment? it's not good at all and it comes at _ the moment? it's not good at all and it comes at a - the moment? it's not good at all and it comes at a terrible l all and it comes at a terrible timing. today of course is the last friday of robert dunn and monday will be another very volatile day, it happens to be both a holy day in robert dunn for muslims and alsojerusalem for muslims and also je

tom bateman, bbc news, gaza.tifa — the daughter of the ruler of dubai — who's not been seen or heard from for months. the unverified image shows her sitting between two women at a shopping mall, in the united arab emirates. in february, the bbc�*s panorama programme, broadcast a secret video from the princess, in which she said she was being held hostage, and feared for her life. speaking earlier to my colleague martine croxall, our special correspondent, nawal al—maghafi, gave us more details. all we know is what we can see in the photo, so she is sitting with two of her friends in the mall of the arab emirates. because the photo was posted on instagram, that means it has been stripped of all the meta data that was taken with it so you can tell the exact location the photo was taken, we can't tell the exact date and time and we can't tell if it has been opened. but we can tell from the photo is that they are sitting in the mole of the united arab emirates and behind them as if billboard advertising a film called

tom bateman, bbc news, gaza.on for a rally in solidarity with the people of palestine. protesters held banners, let off flares and chanted, despite the heavy rain. the former labour leader, jeremy corbyn, was among the speakers as protesters demanded "freedom" for palestinians. the headlines on bbc news... fomer bbc director general, lord hall, resigns as chairman of the national gallery — saying continuing in the role would be a "distraction" — following the inquiry into panorama's interview with princess diana. wider surge testing has been rolled out in parts of london and the north east, due to a rise in coronavirus cases linked to the indian variant. the first convoys of humanitarian aid have arrived in gaza, hours after a ceasefire between israel and palestinian militants came into effect. commemorations have been taking place today — to mark the fourth anniversary of the manchester arena attack. 22 people were killed in a suicide bombing in 2017. two choirs gathered earlier this afternoon, in a ceremony to

that is tom bateman and the indications are that is precisely what is happening.e pictures of gaza. reports coming into us of the sounds of explosions the area. it is a fairly picture as to what we are getting at the moment but we wanted to bring that to you and also the news from the bbc producer in gaza who is quoting hamas militants who is quoting hamas militants who say they have fight a hundred rockets into beersheba in the course of the last 20 minutes. the armed wing of hamas say we direct a large missile strikes with a hundred rockets to occupy beersheba in response to the enemy's presumptions of bombing of civilian towers and the next is greater. that is what the statement says. also in the last few hours, prime minister benjamin netanyahu has declared a state of emergency in the central city of lod — as police accused arab residents of waging "wide—scale riots". lod is an ethnically mixed israeli town, less than 30 minutes south of tel aviv. these pictures show some of the damage from clashes on monday night. the city's mayor told local media "we have lo

from jerusalem, here's our middle east correspondent, tom bateman.king if the region is on the brink of war. people who went through this feel it is already here. palestinians in gazza faced the fiercest israeli bombardment since the last all—out conflict. israel says it is going after militant leaders. some were killed in their homes. but civilians died in their homes. but civilians died in this strike, say palestinian health officials. in gazza, territory under blockade, grief quickly turns to anger. —— gaza. translation: dozens have now died since the violence erupted on monday. rocket fire from gaza has continued deep into israel and the sirens are near nonstop in towns close by. gk, nonstop in towns close by. ok, that's an interception. we have had air strikes pound the gaza strip just a couple of miles away throughout the course of this morning and into the afternoon, more retaliation, more fire, from gaza. underfire, this man and his son ran for safety. underfire, this man and his son ran forsafety. but underfire, this man and his son ran for

tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem.gear, with england's largest mass vaccination centre opening with the potential to give 15,000 doses in one day. it comes amid warnings from some scientists that the final stage of unlocking in england, due onjune 21st, should be delayed by a few weeks. the government says its taking things "one step at a time". a temporary ban on bailiff—enforced evictions, introduced in england at the start of the pandemic, comes to an end. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's katie sha na han. good afternoon. it's been confirmed that manchester city striker sergio aguero is to leave for barcelona when his contract expires at the end of next month. the argentine joined city 10 years ago from atletico madrid and what a 10 years he had in the premier league. during that time, he scored 260 goals in 390 games, becoming manchester city's all—time leading goalscorer as well as winning 15 major trophies, including the league cup and premier league title this season. his last app

tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem.ern france has been captured after a 24—hour manhunt. the man, named by police as 29—year—old terry dupin, had fled to a forest after shooting at police on saturday. dubin was injured in a shoot—out as police closed in. the manhunt began after police were called to the home of his former partner where he had been acting violently towards her new boyfriend. when police came he fired on their vehicles, then fled. a man is in a critical condition and two other people have been seriously injured after a stabbing on a beach in merseyside. police said two men aged 20 and a 16—year—old boy were taken to hospital by air ambulance after what they call an �*unprovoked attack�* on formby beach yesterday evening. detectives have appealed for anyone on the beach who witnessed the attack to come forward. the headlines on bbc news: the fight against coronavirus steps up a gear, with england's largest mass vaccination centre opening with the potential to give 15,000 doses in one day. it comes amid war

tom bateman has the story — there's some flash photography in his report.inner. its politics is gripped by dysfunction. all the time benjamin netanyahu has clung on as prime minister. but now in the fight to form a new coalition, a once—loyal right—wing ally has broken ranks. last night, naftali bennett said he would join a unity government, without mr netanyahu, as he put the knife into his old boss. translation: instead of managing, dealing with problems, leading, - the standard operation is to direct the fire outwards, encourage hatred and polarisation among the people, to cover up forfailure. two thousand years ago, there was a jewish state which fell here, because of internal quarrels. this will not happen again, not on my watch. naftali bennett is an ultra nationalist who favours more jewish settlements in the occupied west bank and opposes a palestinian state. he's set to join forces with a centre ground politician yair lapid. they are currently in talks and would take it in turns as prime minister. but mr netanyahu is hitting back. translation: i he

thank you, tom bateman. let's speak to our correspondent rushdi abu alouf who is in gaza. gaza. what is the situation there? yes, as we speak, israeli incoming _ situation there? yes, as we speak, israeli incoming fire _ situation there? yes, as we speak, israeli incoming fire following - situation there? yes, as we speak, israeli incoming fire following a - israeli incoming fire following a barrage of rockets from gaza, as the militant group hamas says they have fired 50 rockets towards the city —— a city in southern israel. this is the second barrage of rockets. today. the first was about 200 rockets this morning, followed by a very heavy israeli air strike, maybe this is the heaviest air strike against gaza since 2014, the 2014 war, very shocking. angry mood in gazais war, very shocking. angry mood in gaza is the people started to see the scale of destruction, from buildings and security compounds belonging to the hamas group in gaza is being destroyed. many shocking scenes on the streets. and the exchange of fire is continuing between hamas and israel. thank you, rushd

tom bateman, bbc news, gaza.tional i'm joined now from tel aviv by micky aharonson, a fellow at the jerusalem institute for strategy and security studies and a former advisor to prime minister netanyahu. thank you forjoining us. do you think israel is more secure than two weeks ago? i think israel is more secure than two weeks ago?— weeks ago? i don't know if we can talk about secure _ weeks ago? i don't know if we can talk about secure in _ weeks ago? i don't know if we can talk about secure in the _ weeks ago? i don't know if we can talk about secure in the long - weeks ago? i don't know if we can talk about secure in the long run. | talk about secure in the long run. this will be a long war of attrition and we hope to break the equation that says that whenever hamas needs more money to come into gaza, it will start shooting rockets into the state of israel. and we hope this time hamas will reconsider before it does it again. time hamas will reconsider before it does it again-— does it again. hamas would point

tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem. while still in its mother's womb was made available for the first time on the nhs lastjanuary. since then, the surgery — which reduces the complications caused by spina bifida — has been carried out on 32 women, despite the major disruption caused by the pandemic. 0ur health correspondent, katharine da costa, reports. it comes with risks, but then, this operation will mean that i've done the best for her. in my mind, there was no choice. ijust had to do it. hello! 0h, someone's tired, aren't they? this is mila, short for milagro — or miracle, in spanish. after six failed rounds of ivf, helena had almost given up hope of having a second baby, but on her seventh attempt, she fell pregnant and things seemed to progress well — until her 20—week scan. i was told the news that she definitely has got spina bifida. she's got a very big lesion on her back. so, basically, half of her spine was exposed. and they... they said that it's likely that she will be paralysed, likely she'll be incontine

tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem., with england's largest mass vaccination centre opening with the potential to give 15,000 doses in one day. it comes amid warnings from some scientists that the final stage of unlocking in england, due onjune 21st, should be delayed by a few weeks. the government says its taking things "one step at a time". a temporary ban on bailiff—enforced evictions, introduced in england at the start of the pandemic, comes to an end. an armed ex—soldier on the run in south—western france has been captured after a 24—hour manhunt. the man, named by police as 29—year—old terry dupin, had fled to a forest after shooting at police on saturday. dubin was injured in a shoot—out as police closed in. the manhunt began after police were called to the home of his former partner where he had been acting violently towards her new boyfriend. when police came he fired on their vehicles, then fled. police have been speaking today. so following on from the work we had been doing, we located him on the edge of the

tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem. the headlines on bbc news...act with someone with covid. daily rapid tests will be offered as an alternative to ten days quarantine. india has recorded its highest number of coronavirus deaths in a single day since the start of the pandemic. a national day of mourning in israel, after 45 people were killed by a crush at a jewish festival early on friday. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's chetan. good afternoon. we're going to start at old trafford where around 200 manchester united fans made their way through the barriers and onto the pitch before this afternoon's premier league game againt liverpool in protest against the owners of the club the glazers. kick off, which was scheduled for 430, has been delayed with no revised time yet. the fans wanted to make their feelings clear, following the formation and collapse of the controversial european super league, of which manchester united were one of the clubs involved. as were liverpool. the protest started outside but these supporter

tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem.anian aid worker — nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe — is being held hostage by iran and suffering treatment that amounts to torture. nazanin has been detained in iran for five years on spying charges. she was recently convicted for a second time and banned from leaving tehran. north korea has accused president biden of pursuing a hostile policy towards the country, and has warned that the united states will get hurt if it provokes pyongyang. the north was giving its first response to the biden administration's policies on the country, which it has set out this week. kathryn armstrong has this report. north korea has issued a sharp response to these recent comments from president biden. 0n iran and north korea, nuclear programmes that present serious threats to america and the world, we will be working closely with our allies to address the threats posed by both these countries. through the diplomacy as well as deterrents. in turn, north korea also cracked the whip, with its ministry saying...

tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem.ment of covid regulations — but did not show any bias. her majesty's inspectorate of constabulary said it understood why the police took their approach, given the possibility of tensions. the funeral saw about 2,000 mourners line the streets in west belfast lastjune for the funeral of bobby storey, at a time when strict covid regulations were in place. when someone mentions a royaljubilee, you might think of street parties and bunting. but, next year, celebrations could involve a humble spade and sapling. the queen's green canopy project is encouraging us all to plant a tree to mark the queen's 70 years on the throne. here's our royal correspondent, daniela relph. there is planning to do 70... 70 clumps of trees. she left the spade work to her son. the queen, wrapped up in her headscarf, a prolific tree—planter during her reign, kept a watchful eye. this is one of thousands we will see planted to mark the platinum jubilee next year. planting a tree is a statement of hope and faith in t

tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem.held hostage by iran and suffering treatment that amounts to torture. nazanin has been detained in iran for five years on spying charges. she was recently convicted for a second time and banned from leaving tehran. a pioneering operation to repair a baby's spine while still in its mother's womb was made available for the first time on the nhs lastjanuary. since then the surgery, which reduces the complications caused by spina bifida, has been carried out on 32 women, despite the major disruption caused by the pandemic. let's get more on this from our health correspondent katharine da costa. it comes with risks but, then, this operation will mean that i've done the best for her. in my mind, there was no choice. ijust had to do it. hello! 0h, someone's tired, aren't they? this is mila, short for milagro — or miracle, in spanish. after six failed rounds of ivf, helena had almost given up hope of having a second baby, but on her seventh attempt, she fell pregnant and things seemed to progr