yolande knell injerusalem- — those hostages home. yolande knell in jerusalem.the _ those hostages home. yolande knell in jerusalem. around the world - those hostages home. yolande knell in jerusalem. around the world and i injerusalem. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. now let's look at some other stories making the news now. france's parliament has given the �*go—ahead' to a controversial immigration law — reflecting a shift to the right in french politics. the government says the law will make it easier for migrants working in sectors that lack labour to get a residency permit, but would also make it easier to expel illegal migrants. india's parliament has seen heated protests after 49 more opposition mps were suspended, taking the total number to 141. the mps were protesting against last week's security breach in parliament. most of them have been barred for the rest of the winter session, which ends on friday, but around two dozen could stay away for longer. chinese authorities say they are reaching the end of the search of survivors aft

live now to jerusalem and our correspondent yolande knell. nde, what can you tell us about the activities of the israeli forces in south gaza? 50 the activities of the israeli forces in south gaza?— the activities of the israeli forces in south gaza? so khan younis, the second biggest _ in south gaza? so khan younis, the second biggest city _ in south gaza? so khan younis, the second biggest city in _ in south gaza? so khan younis, the second biggest city in the _ in south gaza? so khan younis, the second biggest city in the gaza - second biggest city in the gaza strip, remains the focus of israel's southern offensive. we know they have said they have entered into the heart of the city, that they have their troops on the ground, a lot of fighting is still taking place on the outskirts of khan younis. tens of thousands of people have been fleeing from the east of the city trying to head down towards rough close to the egyptian border, closer to the mediterranean sea in the past few days particularly as fighting has intensified. —— rafah. there

yolande knell, thank _ relocate to the south. yolande knell, thank you _ relocate to the south.ll, thank you so _ relocate to the south. yolande knell, thank you so much. - live now to unicef spokesperson, james elder in cairo, who has recently returned from gaza. thank you so much to your time. with regards to your time in gaza, tell us more about what you saw. figs regards to your time in gaza, tell us more about what you saw. as bad a situation, us more about what you saw. as bad a situation. as — us more about what you saw. as bad a situation, as atrocious, _ us more about what you saw. as bad a situation, as atrocious, situation - situation, as atrocious, situation as i have seen almost in my two decades of doing this kind of work. hospitals are absolute war zones, blood streaming on the floor, children with multiple wounds, the burdens that you see on the little boy or girl that come with shrapnel —— the burns. and of course those people not in hospitals, three and, in panic. every time you turn a new corner there is a new suburb with 5000 people who have made a makeshift h

yolande knell in jerusalem. — younis area. yolande knell in jerusalem, thank _ younis area. thank you. - rescuers have found the bodies of 11 climbers after the marapi volcano erupted in west sumatra on sunday. three climbers were found alive. but 12 more are still missing. dozens of other climbers were evacuated from the area. the volcano threw ash nearly 10,000 or 3,000 metres into the air. mount marapi is one of the most active volcanos in the region and is one of 130 active volcanoes in indonesia, which sits on the pacific ring of fire. live now to our correspondent, shaimaa khalil, who's in bangkok. welcome, what are the authorities in indonesia saying about those killed and those injured in this volcanic eruption? we and those in'ured in this volcanic erution? ~ ~' ., and those in'ured in this volcanic erution? ~ ., , eruption? we know the three people who were rescued _ eruption? we know the three people who were rescued were _ eruption? we know the three people who were rescued were very - eruption? we know the three people who were rescued were very close i eruption

thank you very much, yolande knell in i you very much, yolande knell in jerusalem.d that the media can name the two i6—year—olds who killed the transgender teenager brianna ghey, when they are sentenced early next year. they were both found guilty yesterday of murdering brianna in a park in cheshire. let's get more from our north of england correspondentjudith moritz, who's at manchester crown court. judith, what did the judge say? well, we heard from thejudge well, we heard from the judge about the two defendants, you will remember they have been kept anonymous throughout this case because of their age, and i also have additional vulnerabilities, both of them are autistic, and the boy involved also has selective mutism, so there were special measures put into place for the trial. today, having heard the verdict yesterday, the court reconvened, because members of the media had applied for the restrictions, the anonymity in this case, to be lifted, and thejudge had to weigh up to things — the public interest in this case, which she accepted has been exceptional, but

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem.ts on israel to reduce civilian casualties and with growing calls for a ceasefire, the us secretary of defence has returned to israel. lloyd austin has met his israeli counterpart and is also due to talk to prime minister benjamin netanyahu — with a focus on how israel plans to move to the next phase of the war. the un security council is expected to vote in the coming hours on a resolution calling for an "urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities". the us blocked a previous resolution that called for a �*humanitarian ceasefire�*. over the weekend, the uk, france and germany stepped up calls for a pause in the fighting. conditions in gaza keep getting worse. supplies are arriving, but as you can see in these pictures, trucks crossing from egypt are quickly surrounded by desperate crowds. aid agencies are reporting widespread starvation and desperation, as the fighting continues. i spoke tojuliette touma, director of communications at the un relief and works agency, about the huma

yolande knell in jerusalem. home. yolande knell injerusalem.s look at some of the news. france is not parliament has given the go—ahead to a new immigration law. the government says will make it easier for migrants working in sectors that lack labour to get a residency permit but would also make it easier to expel illegal migrants. india's parliament has seen heated protests after 49 more opposition mps were suspended taking the total number to 141. most of them have been barred for the rest of the winter session which ends on friday, but around two dozen could stay away for longer. chinese authorities say they are reaching the end of the search of survivors after monday's earthquake, killing at least 131 people, and injuring over 1,000 others. the 6.2—magnitude earthquake was the deadliest in the country since 2014, and the search is limited due to the sub—zero temperatures. you're live with bbc news. here in the uk, inflation fell by more than expected in november to 3.9%, hitting its lowest rate in more than two years. that was down from 4.6

yolande knell in jerusalem yolande knell injerusalem there.nisations in the netherlands are bringing a court case today against the dutch state, alleging the export of f35 fighterjet parts to israel makes the netherlands complicit in alleged war crimes in gaza. the organisations, which include the dutch branches of amnesty international and oxfam, are demanding an immediate halt to the supply. live now to our correspondent anna holligan. welcome. just explain what this case is all about. it's about f 35 fighter jets it's about f 35 fighterjets bear parts which are held in a distribution centre in the european distribution centre in the european distribution centre in the european distribution centre here in the netherlands. this case has been brought by the human rights organisations. they want the judges here in the hague to say those exports can't continue. the hearing has been going on for about an hour now. we heard first of all from a lawyer representing those ngos. she began by repeating some of the lines by israeli officials saying ther

yolande knell, our middle east correspondent, - of hostilities. yolande knell, our.jerusalem. so two key themes, humanitarian aid we were talking about that is still not reaching gaza at the moment to the level which is needed, but also, if you see the live pictures, that skyline that we are so used to seeing, once again, those plumes of smoke rising into the sky. the comments from the us secretary of state antony blinken are important because this is a message that the us and others are repeating, that israel needs to do all it can to protect civilians. israel says it is doing that and that it has stepped up its efforts. but when you see key members of the international community questioning whether that is what happens, talking about the difference, as antony blinken was saying, between the intent and the results, there will be a continuing focus on this military operation as it continues in gaza, particularly in the south of the strip, where we are seeing that intensive firefighting. there is more to come from jerusalem through the day, but for now, let's head bac

yolande knell reporting there.cutors asked a us appeals court saturday to reject the former president's claims that he is immune from criminal charges related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election. mr trump faces four counts, including conspiring to defraud the us. he has pleaded not guilty. but mr trump's legal team is arguing the former president is immune from criminal liability and that the case against him should be dismissed. it comes as two us states — colorado and maine — have opted to remove the former president from the primary ballot over his actions they allege as insurrection on six january, 2021 — moves which could be taken up by the us supreme court. some prominent republicans, including former trump white house counsel ty cobb, are joining special counsel jack smith in arguing against immunity for the former president. i spoke with mr cobb earlier. ty cobb, thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. now, you are a lawyer for the trump white house. despite that, you have now decided to back special

i'v e i've been speaking to yolande knell in jerusalem i've been speaking to yolande knell injerusalemguage will work to get the us backing. there has been a lot of effort put into the negotiations, even the delay of this vote to the today to get the us on board because it has really been seen as a kind of failure of the un security council in these last few weeks to come up with some sort of unanimous position, even the un secretary—general has been critical, saying it is failing to address the global emergency marked by the humanitarian catastrophe that is unfolding in gaza at the moment. so we expect that language to be different from what was originally on the table, put there by the united arab emirates. probably a suspension of hostilities what's been talked about. that does tally more with what we are also hearing from the israelis about what could be possible because we know now as well that we have had the us intelligence chief, the israeli intelligence chief going off to poland to meet the qatari prime minister. qatar was the mediator with hamas that really was such a key pla

yolande knell, thank — worrying sign of the times.. _ vladimir putin has announced that he will stand for re—election as russian president when his term ends in the spring next year. he confirmed his intention following an awards ceremony in moscow. the kremlin�*s official spokesman, dmitry peskov, said that an "astonishing" number of people wanted mr putin to continue for what would be a fifth term in office. the court of session in scotland has ruled that the uk government acted lawfully when it blocked controversial changes to gender laws in scotland. legislation was passed by the scottish parliament last year which would have made it easier for people to change their legally recognised gender — but westminster vetoed the move, saying it would have an adverse impact on british equality laws. our scotland correspondent lorna gordon is at holyrood. explain what this means? yeah, it was passed _ explain what this means? yeah, it was passed by _ explain what this means? yeah, it was passed by a — explain what this means? yeah, it was p

yolande knell, thank you. yolande in _ maritime security. yolande knell, thank you. ritime security. yolande knell, - thank you. yolande in jerusalem. the thank you. yolande injerusalem. the rest of the news, it is over tojon. thank you. british lawyers could be stationed in rwandan courts as part of a treaty designed to get the policy of sending some asylum seekers to the african country off the ground. a deal is expected to be announced in the coming days. let's speak now to our chief political correspondent henry zeffman. it has chopped and changed and been checked, this rwandan plan. will this aspect of it be enough to satisfy the critics, do you think? well, that is a whole other question. the first thing the government needs to get is something that satisfies the rwandan government, and that is what it seems to be that they are making some progress on now. we are told that this treaty that the government has been discussing with their rwandan counterparts since the supreme court ruling a few weeks ago said that as it stands the rwanda policy is not legal. we are

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem. i spoke to gemma connell in rafah, in the southern gaza strip.eaderfor the un office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs. she told me about the latest situation there. the humanitarian situation in rafah is a human catastrophe. what we see right now is the continued arrivals of people who have already fled three, four or five times. we estimate nearly 10,000 people a day have been arriving just in these last days, just into united nations shelters, and many more are arriving into places outside of that, setting up makeshift shelters on the beach, any spot of land that is still vacant. even now, literally on the roads, they were previously on roundabouts and median strips and foot paths, but as those have been congested with all of the shelters and everyone who has sought refuge here, we know how people literally setting up shelters on the roads. so the situation in rafah is nothing other than catastrophic, with well overi million people here in desperate, desperate need and also, most critically, in fear for their lives. we know that the

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem.etwork of tunnels throughout gaza is proving a major problem for israel's ground operations. bbc correspondent kasra naji and cameraman soran qurbani were invited by the idf — along with other media outlets — to visit what it says is the biggest tunnel found so far. at the main crossing into northern gaza, for the israeli military, progress in the war has been a lot slower than anticipated. the reason — the vast network of tunnels that hamas is using for hit and run attacks on israeli soldiers and for hiding. there is crossing right behind us. you can see how the entrance was blasted open. the israeli army took us and a group of otherjournalists inside gaza on foot to show us the biggest tunnel that they have discovered so far. there were no restrictions on journalists other than not showing some positions of troop concentration. we are just north of gaza. this is what gaza looks like from here — a devastated shell of a ghost town. we can hear the sound of heavy machine gun fire and dr

yolande knell reports. a giant campsite for the displaced. ever shrinking area, tens of thousands of gazans who fled the fighting have set up makeshift tents and shacks by the egyptian border. israel says it's not restricting aid for gaza, but the un complains the amount getting in is woefully inadequate. it's a very long and convoluted process with numerous checks before the aid actually gets into gaza, and then once the aid you is in gaza it's very difficult to get aid to people. essentially we're delivering aid under fire. gaza streets have been turned into battlegrounds as hamas fighters try to block the advance of israeli soldiers. a main focus for israel's ground troops is now the southern city of khan younis and the central urban refugee camps. translation: we arrested dozens of terrorists in a school. _ they were hiding amongst civilians, hamas and the islamichhad. we took them to israel to continue their interrogation. large numbers of gazans have been detained by israel. the men here were picked up near their homes in the north. the

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem.struck hezbollah militants in southern lebanon in response to missiles fired over the border. these pictures released by the israeli defense forces show them striking what they describe as hezbollah infrastructure near wadi hamul in lebanon. israel says they hit a number of targets including launch sites and a military compound. large crowds have gathered in yemen's capital at a houthi rally to show support for palestinians. chanting. thousands of people packed into sanaa, chanting and waving placards. iranian—backed houthi militants in yemen have recently stepped up attacks on vessels in the red sea, to show their backing for hammers. to show their backing for hamas. the number of anti—semitic hate crimes recorded by some of the uk's largest police forces rose sharply in the weeks following the hammers attack on israel. data released by 31 forces show incidents peaked in larger urban areas, including in west yorkshire, the west midlands, greater manchester and merseyside. however hate

yolande knell injerusalem, thank you.rvices to and from london st pancras international have been cancelled due to flooding in a tunnel as festive disruption continues. at least 29 services have been cancelled so far. eurostar said it was "working hard" to ensure later trains could run, but warned of severe delays. other operators are also warning of problems due to staff sickness. aru na iyengar reports. st pancras international this morning. hundreds of passengers of all nationalities waiting to get trains to european destinations. well, at the moment, we're trying to be optimistic and hopeful that our train will still be one of the lucky ones that goes and that we still make it to paris for new year's eve. but obviously a little bit disappointed because i'm desperate but obviously a little bit disappointed. because i'm desperate to be to paris. i'm really, really desperate to be with my family on new year's. we are not going to going home today, butjust waiting. - so we're hoping it's going to be fixed. l and if we wan

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem.cene right now as we look from southern israel into gaza, this is the northern part of the gaza strip and we regularly see plumes of smoke rising from artillery shells. when it is clear you can see the devastation on the skyline in the northern part of the gaza strip and as our correspondent said, there is heavy fighting in the south a round younis. earlier, i spoke to mark regev, senior adviser to the israeli prime minister. i asked him to respond to accusations that israel is not doing enough to protect gazan civilians amid claims of war crimes in gaza. i think the body of evidence will support that israel has made a maximum effort to try to safeguard civilian life and as we pursue hamas, which as you said, is a brutal and horrific enemy capable of the most atrocious violence, as we pursue that enemy, we are making maximum effort to safeguard civilian life. and i am sure when this conflict is over, and the dust has settled and the numbers are actually known, you will see that the eff

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem.bollah militants in southern lebanon in response to missile fired over the border. these pictures released by the israeli defence forces show them striking what they describe as hezbollah infrastructure near wadi hamul in lebanon. israel says they hit a number of targets including launch sites and a military compound. here in the uk, tributes have been paid to a man who died after a car hit a group of people in sheffield. police say christian marriott had stopped to help an unconscious woman after a row between two groups. his family have paid tribute. saying: the "tragic and unfathomable" circumstances of his death "show the sort of man he was — going to help rather than to turn away." two men have been arrested on murder charges. 0ur correspondent 0livia richwald has the latest. this is college close, where chris marriott was hit and killed by a car as he went to the aid of an unconscious stranger he had come across on a family walk. and today people across sheffield have paid tribut

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem. yolande joins us from jerusalem.fference will growing calls for a ceasefire actually make? it is hard to say but really there is so much pressure right now, the us defence secretary in tel aviv for talks with israeli leaders. the us, israel's closest ally, is pressing for it to move from this high intensity operations in gaza to lower intensity fighting more targeted, going after hamas leaders. israel is present more time. the government spokesman said earlier to ask how mass is hiding behind civilian infrastructure —— to ask a mass —— said to us how mass is hiding behind civilian infrastructure. there is global pressure from other allies pushing for a ceasefire and we are seeing that in negotiations taking place at the un security council. add in israel pressure for a ceasefire deal linked to a new hostage release deal, particularly after we saw last week these three israeli hostages killed by israeli forces mistakenly in gaza even as they held up white flags. that is causing shock and consternation here. many thank

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem.rafah in recent days, hoping for safety, according to the un. but gaza's health ministry, which is run by hamas, have reported multiple air strikes in the area. the building 13—year—old nadeen abdulatif and her family were sheltering in was severely damaged by an israeli strike earlier today. the family had moved to rafah after their house in gaza city was destroyed, killing nadeen�*s older brother. where am i supposed to go? children were killed here. 26 people were killed here. i am terrified. iam scared. and the thought of me being killed or my other brother being killed is just crossing my mind repeatedly. i already lost my older brother. i can't lose my younger brother. israel has expressed regret for what it called the "harm caused to uninvolved individuals" who were caught in an israeli air strike on the maghazi refugee camp in gaza. the hamas—run health ministry says more than 70 people were killed in the attack on christmas eve. the israeli military says two fighterjets struck

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem.south africa has filed a case at the international court ofjustice alleging that israel is engaging in "genocidal acts" in gaza. the un court has confirmed the proceedings concerning alleged violations of israel's obligations under the genocide convention. the move has been welcomed by the leader of palestinian national initiative party mustafa barghouti. we appreciate and we support the decision of the south african government to take the case of genocide against palestinian people in gaza to the international court ofjustice. israel is committing three terrible war crimes against the people in gaza — the war crime of genocide, the war crime of collective punishment, and the war crime of ethnic cleansing. and it is high time to hold israel responsible and accountable in front of the international community. but israel has responded with fury. israeli foreign ministry spokesperson lior haiat says "israel "rejects with disgust the blood libel spread by south africa "in its application t

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem.'s go live tojerusalem and our correspondent, shaimaa khalil. what is the latest this morning? well, the israeli prime minister has reiterated a line we have heard him say many times over the past week or so, which is the war will last for months, it will not end any time soon. on the ground, what we are seeing is an advance of the israeli ground offensive into central gaza, affecting three main refugee camps. very congested refugee camps. people are displaced or doubly displaced. some have fled fighting from the north. as it also intensifies its bombardment of khan younis and of rafah, rafah is gaza's most densely populated city. hundreds of thousands of people have been fleeing the fighting in khan younis. that was initially the place people fled to from the fighting in the north. we have also heard from the israeli military spokesman, who tweeted in arabic, saying the artery of movement through the gaza strip from the north to the south, he described it as a battlefield. if you thin

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem.he current situation in gaza. the un has deplored what it said was a "rapid deterioration" of human rights in the israeli—occupied west bank. the un high commissioner for human rights said it had recorded mass arbitrary detentions, unlawful detentions, and cases of reported torture and other forms of ill—treatment of palestinian detainees. it said about 4,785 palestinians had been detained in the occupied west bank since 7th october. let's discuss this with leah tsemel. she's an israeli lawyer who has represented palestinian defendants in the israeli court system. very good to see you and thank you so much forjoining us to discuss this report from the un of israel's mistreatment of detainees in the occupied west bank. can you tell us what happens to someone when they are detained, and what they then go through when they are put in the prison? to through when they are put in the rison? ., , ., ., prison? to my great sorrow, i can tell ou, prison? to my great sorrow, i can tell you, beca

from one of the agencies which has been live now to jerusalem and our middle east correspondent yolande knell talk us through this tunnel network and how significant this find is. so, this was this footage that has been brought up by the israeli military. we can't independently verify yet, but they say it shows a very advanced tunnel network, which was under the heart of gaza city, and actually connected the homes of senior hamas officials in gaza, including the person thought to have masterminded the 7th of october attacks, and also came out with some shafts close to other key areas near the shifa hospital, for example. when you look at the footage here, you can see that the structures are well built, we are told it included blast doors, that they are connected to the electricity, that there was plumbing involved as well. and hamas has a directly commented on any of this, but it has in the past boasted about having a vast underground system across the gaza strip. we have heard so much about these underground tunnels over the last weeks. when it comes to the un security council as well, that

yolande knell, thank you. our middle east correspondent in jerusalem.who have hurt or threatened women or girls will not be held in female jails unless there are "exceptional" circumstances. it follows a public outcry after a rapist was sent to a women's prison. isla bryson raped two women while known as adam graham. our scotland correspondent, lorna gordon, is in glasgow. as you said, this follows the public out poor after a man called adam graham who decided to transition to become an islay pricing while awaiting trial for a double become an islay pricing while awaiting trialfor a double rape become an islay pricing while awaiting trial for a double rape was initially sent to a women's prison. this updated policy means a price prison. this updated policy means bryson will stay in the male prison, as will andrew miller, also known as amy george, who objected a schoolgirl while dressed as a woman. more broadly, the policy means transgender women in scotland convicted of all on remand for crimes of violence against women and girls will be held in prisons

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem.he bbc spoke to mark schwartz, the former us security coordinator for israel & the palestinian authority and senior fellow with the rand corporation. we asked him about egypt's three—phase proposal that they have put forward to try to end the israel—gaza war. well, i think it's admirable that they're still remaining very engaged, as is the kingdom ofjordan, i think. i think the king visited president al—sisi earlier in the week. the principal tenant to hamas and the palestinian islamichhad really fell dead on arrival. and that was that they would relinquish control both militarily and from an administrative standpoint of the gaza strip and hamas leadership and are not going to agree with that. so. but i think the fact that egypt is working very hard with obviously the government of israel to find some conditions to start another military pause to allow the exchange of hostages is is very positive. and that's part of the first stage of this three phase negotiation that are proposal that

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem.orea's leader, kimjong—un, says his country faces unprecedented pressure from the united states and has no option but to press on with its nuclear ambitions. mr kim was speaking at his country's year—end party meeting, which wrapped upjust hours ago. he also ruled out any possibility of reunification on the korean peninsula and said he plans to launch three more spy satellites next year as part of efforts to strengthen military capabilities according to state media. earlier, i spoke with professor robert kelly, an expert in inter—korean affairs. very good to have you with us this evening. what do you make of some of these comments from kim jong—un and do you think that regional leaders, western allies, will be taking them seriously? well, it's nothing really that we haven't heard from the north koreans before. i mean, it would be really remarkable if kimjong—un or anyone in the leadership came out and said that things were getting better and we can talk to the south koreans and maybe t

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem.to juliette touma, director of communications for the united nations relief and works agency, known as unrwa. fans for being with us. given the intensity that yolande was describing, how difficult is it for people to get hold of food and so on in gaza? , ., ., ., in gaza? yes, thanks for having me, and wishes — in gaza? yes, thanks for having me, and wishes for _ in gaza? yes, thanks for having me, and wishes for the _ in gaza? yes, thanks for having me, and wishes for the new _ in gaza? yes, thanks for having me, and wishes for the new year. - and wishes for the new year. extremely challenging to deliver assistance to people across the gaza strip right now, also because very little humanitarian supplies continue to come into gaza, and also the fighting itself, and the fact that there is a raging war in the gaza strip stands in the way. the level of desperation among people, you may have seen videos that we posted, the media posted, of people who are absolutely hungry, starving, coming

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem.sands of people have gathered at a rally demanding the immediate release of hostages still held captive in gaza. some also called for a ceasefire. former hostage — moran stela ya—nai — spoke at the demonstration. she was released 32 days ago. translation: i have no way to explain the intensity - of hope that arises from a few hours of silence and the abyss of disappointment when the bombings return and you realise there is no cease—fire and a plan for a release. in the closed room you realise you have a reservoir of hope and faith in your soul. but this reservoir is not infinite, and as the hours pass and the days pass, this reservoir is depleted. that's why there is no time. they have no time. here in the us — the 2024 presidential election is around the corner and women's reproductive rights will be of major importance to voters. but there is an under—reported crisis where black mothers are far times more likely to die in childbirth than any other race. according to the centers for d

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem.ith more, here's our correspondent, shaimaa khalil, injerusalem. the israeli prime minister has reiterated reiterated a line has reiterated a line that we've heard him say many times over the past week or so, which is that the war is going to last for months, it's not going to end any time soon. on the ground, what we're seeing is an advance of the israeli ground offensive into central gaza, affecting three main refugee camps — very congested refugee camps — which means that people are now displaced or doubly displaced, because some have actually fled the fighting from the north, as it also intensifies its bombardment of khan younis and of rafah. rafah is now gaza's most densely populated city, according to the un. it's a very small city that has now received hundreds of thousands of people fleeing — fleeing the fighting in khan younis. and again, for our viewers, remember, khan younis was initially the place people fled to from the fighting in the north. we've also heard from the isra

that was our middle east correspondent yolande knell.nnah bond from action aid uk. i think people have perhaps reached the point now where they hear repeatedly about how difficult the humanitarian situation in gaza is. just describe how things have deteriorated in the last few weeks? thanks for having me. as you said, the situation is catastrophic. people are lacking food, water and fuel to cook food. hospitals are lacking few to do operations and important surgeries —— they are lacking fuel. we are hearing from our partner in northern gaza that they are having to operate with shrapnel flying around, there is a complete lack of medical supplies. some of them are getting in, but given the scale of bombardment, it's also hard to get medicines from one place to another. so the situation is really difficult. i place to another. so the situation is really difficult.— is really difficult. i know a lot of our is really difficult. i know a lot of your work _ is really difficult. i know a lot of your work is _ is really difficult. i know a lot of

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem.has struck hezbollah militants in southern lebanon in response to missiles fired over the border. these pictures released by the israeli defense forces show them striking what they describe as hezbollah infrastructure near wadi hamul in lebanon. israel says they hit a number of targets including launch sites and a military compound. earlier, i spoke to gemma connell in rafah, in the southern gaza strip. she's the team leader for the un office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs. she told me about the latest situation there. the humanitarian situation in rafah is a human catastrophe. what we see right now is the continued arrivals of people who have already fled three, four or five times. we estimate nearly 10,000 people a day have been arriving just in these last days, just into united nations shelters, and many more are arriving into places outside of that, setting up makeshift shelters on the beach, any spot of land that is still vacant. even now, literally on the roads, the

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem.has collated research from scientists, geophysicists and other experts which documents the destruction of gaza since the outbreak of war in the region. just take a look at these pictures. these are satellite images of beit hanoun in northern gaza, first in may, and then in october, after the war broke out. we can speak now to jared malsin, middle east correspondent at the wall streetjournal, who wrote the article. thank you forjoining us. first of all, what did your article, your analysis showed?— all, what did your article, your analysis showed? all, what did your article, your anal sis showed? ~ . ., ., analysis showed? what we have done is ut a analysis showed? what we have done is put a spotlight _ analysis showed? what we have done is put a spotlight on _ analysis showed? what we have done is put a spotlight on research - analysis showed? what we have done is put a spotlight on research that - is put a spotlight on research that has been done by our researchers, scientists around

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem. to our correspondent anna fosterforfurther updates from jerusalem. well, i was speaking a little earlier, maryam, to mark regev, who is the spokesperson. he's a senior adviser actually to the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu. on some of those points that people have been raising about the humanitarian situation and particularly about this ongoing fighting, as well as the large numbers of civilians who are still being killed. now, he maintained the same point several times. he said that when the fighting is over, he said it would become apparent that israel had done everything possible to try and protect civilian lives. i mean, that is an interesting point, it's worth saying. and, you know, we've seen a lot, haven't we, the work that our courageous local colleagues have been doing in gaza. but internationaljournalists are unable to get in there at the moment to actually see for themselves what is happening and to support those local colleagues. so that is why so much of what

our first report this hour is from out middle east correspondent yolande knell. 0n the move again.nian families now desperately fleeing much of central gaza, as israel's ground offensive expands into a new part of the besieged territory. "me and my kids, everyone is evacuating," says this woman. "already my niece was killed." casualties fill even the floor of the nearby hospital. the world health organization describing the scenes here as a "bloodbath". and this as israel's army is warning that the war will continue for many more months, as it insists it will find hamas leaders who masterminded the deadly 7th of october attacks. a government spokesman says israel's aims are clear. we can't destroy hamas�*s ideology, unfortunately, that is not realistic. but we can remove them from power. we can prevent them from having control over this territorial enclave. and that will do a lot to save lives and prevent future conflict in the region. with the number of palestinians killed now in excess of 20,000, according to local health officials, this is one of the most devastating military ca

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem.ple have gathered at a rally demanding the immediate release of hostages still held captive in gaza. some also called for a ceasefire. former hostage — moran stela ya—nai — spoke at the demonstration. she was released 32 days ago. translation: i have no way to exlain translation: i have no way to explain the _ translation: i have no way to explain the intensity _ translation: i have no way to explain the intensity of- translation: i have no way to explain the intensity of hope . translation: i have no way to l explain the intensity of hope that arises from a few hours of silence and the abyss of disappointment when the bombings return and you realise there is no cease—fire and a plan for a release. in the closed room you realise you have her reservoir of hope and faith in your soul, but this reservoir is not infinite, and as the hours pass and the days pass, this reservoir is depleted. that's why there is no time. they have no time. former president donald trump's legal troubles are ba

yolande knell.ut fears of an excavation, reuters and the last few minutes have said according to the israeli military they have shot down an unmanned drone crossing into its territory from lebanon, air raid sirens sounding in northern israel, no reported casualties, we will bring you more if we get it. here in the uk, around 100 homes have been damaged by a small tornado in greater manchester as storm gerrit swept across the country. police declared a major incident in tameside after roofs were torn off houses, trees blew down and walls collapsed. elsewhere in the uk storm gerrit has brought flooding and disrupted travel, with scotland being the worst affected area. around 7,700 homes are still without power and two major roads are closed because of flood water and fallen trees. 0ur correspondent fiona trott is in stalybridge where the mini tornado struck. well, the residents here on granville street in millbrook were evacuated from their homes late last night. and they've come down here today in th

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem.ent from hamas a few hours ago and they said there won't be any talks about prisoner swaps at all until israel ends its offensive. is a security correspondent frank gardner what he made of the statement. —— i asked our security correspondent. it statement. -- i asked our security correspondent.— statement. -- i asked our security correspondent. it is very unusual 42 to travel to — correspondent. it is very unusual 42 to travel to doha _ correspondent. it is very unusual 42 to travel to doha in _ correspondent. it is very unusual 42 to travel to doha in qatar. - correspondent. it is very unusual 42 to travel to doha in qatar. that - correspondent. it is very unusual 42 to travel to doha in qatar. that was| to travel to doha in qatar. that was seen as a sign of hamas's unwillingness to co—operate, they made it clear they wouldn't do partial releases of hostages for a partial releases of hostages for a partial ceasefire. they want a total end to israel's military actions in gaza. and they

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem.er, i spoke with palestinian politician mustafa barghouti — the leader of the palestinian national initiative. he believes israel's actions in gaza have amounted to war crimes. what we face here is an act of war crimes, not only genocide but also collective punishment and an act of ethnic cleansing, where 90% of the palestinian people were forced to leave their homes and where 75% of their homes were destroyed. what we see is... inaudible. ..and i think the israeli cabinet of war criminals and what they are doing should not be allowed by the international community. they have been trying to dehumanise all palestinians and enforce ethnic cleansing of all palestinians from gaza to egypt. they failed in that. now they want to kill all palestinians. he says it's as bad if not worse than the mass displacement and dispossession of palestinians in the i948 arab—israeli war. that's quite a bar that he is talking about there. i mean, that's. .. the nakba is the great catastrophe for palestinian

yolande knell.re's disruption on the roads and rails today after storm gerrit battered many parts of the uk — with scotland badly affected, and dozens of houses in greater manchester damaged by what the police are calling a localised tornado. engineers in the north of scotland are working to reconnect up to i6—thousand properties which lost power but some residents in remote areas may be cut off for as—hours. aruna iyengar has the latest. storm gerrit swept across much of scotland, bringing heavy snow, flooding homes, causing power cuts and travel misery for many. the major a9 route has reopened after it closed in the highlands for several hours. meanwhile, thousands of homes across scotland have suffered power cuts. scottish and southern electricity networks said they'd restored power to more than 25,000 homes — but at least 16,000 are still cut off. for some customers — especially those in rural areas — it could be up until friday before power supplies are reconnected. but it is far too early for

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem.llah militants in southern lebanon in response to missiles fired over the border. these pictures released by the israeli defense forces show them striking what they describe as hezbollah infrastructure near wadi hamul in lebanon. israel says they hit a number of targets including launch sites and a military compound. let's get more on this with gemma connell in rafah, in the southern gaza strip. she is the team leaderfor the un office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs. thank you forjoining us. first of all, what is the situation in the humanitarian situation in rafah where you are now? the humanitarian situation in rafah _ where you are now? the humanitarian situation in rafah is _ where you are now? the humanitarian situation in rafah is a _ where you are now? the humanitarian situation in rafah is a human - situation in rafah is a human catastrophe. what we see right now is the continued arrival of people who have already fled three, four or five times. the estimate nearly