had "got control" of the mayor of london. the deputy prime minister refused to say whether the comments were islamophobic. donald trump is one step closer to the republican presidential nomination, easily beating rival nikki haley in the south carolina primary. the former president won his opponent's home state with a 20—point margin — making it his fourth consecutive victory. israel's main opposition leader criticises police for suppressing anti—government protests. demonstrators had been demanding the release of hostages held by hamas, the resignation of prime minister benjamin netanyahu, and early elections. oppenheimer is the big winner at the screen actors guild awards. it takes the top prize of best cast, as well as best actor for cillian murphy. after the october 7th attacks, israel pledged to "eliminate" hamas,

which the uk and us consider a terror organisation. but more than four months later, and despite israel's overwhelming advantage in technology and firepower, fighting is still taking place across the strip. that includes sporadically in the north, where israel says it has dismantled hamas�*s command structure. so how feasible is israel's mission and how far has it got? and could the war, which has claimed so many civilian lives, end up mobilising a new wave of fighters? bbc news arabic�*s dalia haidar reports. the israeli military assault on gaza in response to the october seven in response to the october 7th attacks by hamas has the highest rate of death of any conflict of the 21st century. most of the deaths from both events have been civilians, but israel remains steadfast in its mission.

but can hamas really be eliminated, and with worldwide calls for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, what are israel's chances of victory? tensions have grown over the scope of israel's military campaign and the need for a lasting solution. this can only come through a regional approach that includes a pathway to a palestinian state. yet prime minister netanyahu has openly defied the us. with no road map to peace, the conflict has already escalated, with fears of a wider middle east war. despite accusations of breaking international law and committing genocide, which israel says are profoundly distorted, mr netanyahu refuses to back down. in its mission to eliminate hamas, has israel set itself an unobtainable goal?

months since the conflict erupted, israel, whose army far outstrips hamas�* military capabilities, is still facing resistance in gaza. before the 7th of october, hamas�* armed wing was thought to have up to 30,000 fighters. the israel defence forces claim they have killed almost a third of them. it estimates 16,000 hamas fighters are wounded. us agencies think the figure is lower, up to 11,700, and many could return to battle. if those figures are accurate, it would amount to a significant reduction in capabilities. we put them to hamas, which rejects the figures.

a former israeli colonel who once worked as a media adviser for the pm's likud party gives her assessment of israel's military campaign. their commanders have been killed. the caches of weapons have been found. that does not mean we have killed every single terrorist. we are systematically blowing up the underground, subterranean terrorist system. but some military analysts are more sceptical about the level of damage to hamas. they could fairly easily recruit new fighters. that is probably not the most important metrics that we are looking at in this. the tunnel network is a lot larger than previously estimated, so destroying or neutralising the tunnels is where you might describe it as... there is still a long way to go for the israelis. initially, they started off and they were blowing up the shaft of the tunnel to try to stop people popping out of them. but because there are so many shafts

linking to the network, that is relatively futile. so do you go down and blow up the whole tunnel? but then there could be hostages down there. so it is a really difficultjob. either way, it is a critical question for israel. hamas is one of two dominant political groups. the other is the more secular fatah which dominates the palestinian authority governing in the west bank. hamas won the elections in 2006, rejecting the pa from gaza by force the following year, and they have governed there ever since. the pa are seen by many as corrupt and collaborators in israeli occupation. under their governance, jewish settlements in the west bank,

deemed illegal under international law, have drastically increased in numbers. although the pa has publicly condemned this, it has still fuelled anger amongst palestinians. backing for hamas seems to be growing, according to a poll of palestinians in the west bank and gaza from late 2023. it suggests support for hamas doubled during the fourth quarter of 2023, from 22% to 43%. still less than half of palestinians but outstripping their long—time rivals, fatah. the rise in support for hamas comes almost entirely from participants in the west bank. 72% of respondents overall agree with the hamas decision to launch an offensive on the 7th of october. and the poll suggests 63% support armed struggle as the best means of ending israeli occupation. again, the majority of the support comes from participants in the west bank. the polling organisation say that

support for hamas usually arises temporarily during or immediately after a war. an academic and critic of israel gives his view of palestinian support for hamas. they are living with no hope, with no future, and hamas gives them the alternative which is through confrontation and through revolution that would bring to them a different approach on that level. so hamas enjoys the largest support, not only in palestine but in the entire arab and muslim world. we don't have data to verify support for hamas regionally but there are also many arabs who oppose them. hundreds of palestinian activists took part in a online event at the start of 2022, criticising hamas governance of the gaza strip, where under israeli blockade, people were

already living under dire conditions and there was high unemployment. hamas says it has engaged in armed struggle against israel to end occupation and create a palestinian state. they are considered a terrorist group by much of the west, with many pointing out its leaders still call for israel's destruction. but a resistance movement in parts of the arab world. the but a resistance movement in parts of the arab world.— but a resistance movement in parts of the arab world. the hamas agenda is limited with _ of the arab world. the hamas agenda is limited with the _ of the arab world. the hamas agenda is limited with the palestinian - is limited with the palestinian agenda. it does not have a global message that advocates religion and islam for the world or for other countries. it is a national liberation movement that limits its objectives, its agenda, to the end of occupation and establishment of a palestinian state. the? of occupation and establishment of a palestinian state.— palestinian state. they started car in palestinian state. they started carrying out — palestinian state. they started carrying out attacks _ palestinian state. they started carrying out attacks mostly - carrying out attacks mostly targeting israeli soldiers in 1989.

but after 29 palestinian worshippers were killed by an israeli settler in 1994 at ebrahim amos, also known as the cave of patriarchs, hamas upped the cave of patriarchs, hamas upped the violence, starting a campaign of suicide attacks targeting civilians. over the following three decades, the levels of violence from both sides got progressively worse. and the failure of peace talks, which had once looked promising, continue to have a defining impact. there had once looked promising, continue to have a defining impact.— to have a defining impact. there is another contact _ to have a defining impact. there is another contact to _ to have a defining impact. there is another contact to the _ to have a defining impact. there is another contact to the 7th - to have a defining impact. there is another contact to the 7th of - another contact to the 7th of october, and none of this is to justify the atrocities. that is the context in which gaza has been under israeli blockade since hamas took over the strip in 2007. it is a context in which israel's occupation remains entrenched, where israel has been consolidating what the european union has called a one state reality of inequality and potential conflict

which many human rights organisations refer to as apartheid. israel says the blockade is necessary because of the threat from hamas. however, to many palestinians, the occupation renews their grievances and observers argue it could reenergise resistance, a concern expressed by a palestinian psychologist who grew up in gaza. i am a psychologist and i would say i am a psychologist and i would say i am sure _ am a psychologist and i would say i am sure that there are a lot of kids who want_ am sure that there are a lot of kids who want revenge for the death of their parents. i am sure, you know, they— their parents. i am sure, you know, they want_ their parents. i am sure, you know, they want revenge for their siblings who have _ they want revenge for their siblings who have been killed. and with what has been _ who have been killed. and with what has been happening in gaza nowadays, i don't _ has been happening in gaza nowadays, i don't know_ has been happening in gaza nowadays, i don't know how many, you know, fighters _ i don't know how many, you know, fighters israel made that support hamas— fighters israel made that support hamas now. a fighters israel made that support hamas "ow-— fighters israel made that support hamasnow. �* ., _ hamas now. a worry also voiced by the irish foreign _ hamas now. a worry also voiced by the irish foreign minister, - hamas now. a worry also voiced by the irish foreign minister, who - the irish foreign minister, who reportedly told the israeli president on a recent trip to israel...

how worried are israelis about the war influencing radicalisation? thea:r war influencing radicalisation? they are already so _ war influencing radicalisation? tue: are already so radicalised, war influencing radicalisation? tte: are already so radicalised, our response in that sense is first and foremost to try to eliminate the capabilities. the ideology is already there. it won't make the ideology worse than it already is. they did that on the 7th of october and they have said they want to do it again. israel have never been as explicit as they are now about their intention to eliminate hamas. yet earlier experiences highlight how challenging this is.— challenging this is. hamas is not 'ust a challenging this is. hamas is not just a military — challenging this is. hamas is not just a military group _ challenging this is. hamas is not just a military group and - challenging this is. hamas is not just a military group and nor - challenging this is. hamas is not just a military group and nor is l challenging this is. hamas is not just a military group and nor is it just a military group and nor is it just a military group and nor is it just a political group. it is an ideology and that ideology will not be eradicated, certainly not through israeli force of arms.— israeli force of arms. during the second intifada _ israeli force of arms. during the second intifada from _ israeli force of arms. during the l second intifada from 2000-2005, israeli force of arms. during the - second intifada from 2000-2005, an second intifada from 2000—2005, an uprising following the failure to establish a palestinian state,

israel killed some of the leaders and the founder of hamas and his replacement. but hamas continued to gain support from many palestinians. in 2014, a war erupted in the gaza strip. israel claims to have dealt a significant blow to hamas. however, a former israeli soldier who fought in the war claims it ended up strengthening hamas. t who fought in the war claims it ended up strengthening hamas. i know for a fact that — ended up strengthening hamas. i know for a fact that many _ ended up strengthening hamas. i know for a fact that many civilians _ ended up strengthening hamas. i know for a fact that many civilians were - for a fact that many civilians were killed _ fora fact that many civilians were killed in_ for a fact that many civilians were killed in the area that i was in. and _ killed in the area that i was in. and i_ killed in the area that i was in. and i was_ killed in the area that i was in. and i was left after that experience kind of— and i was left after that experience kind of questioning what it all accomplished. did it actually strike hamas. _ accomplished. did it actually strike hamas, did it we condemn, did it actually— hamas, did it we condemn, did it actually prevent the risk of that happening again? —— did it weaken them _ happening again? —— did it weaken them what— happening again? —— did it weaken them. whati happening again? —— did it weaken them. what i realised in the years afterwards— them. what i realised in the years afterwards was no, it didn't. not only that, — afterwards was no, it didn't. not only that, hamas got stronger.

we don't know if israel will succeed in its mission but even its allies argue that a lasting settlement between israelis and palestinians is the only way to guarantee peace in the only way to guarantee peace in the future. some suggest it could be the future. some suggest it could be the best way to weaken hamas. tt one the best way to weaken hamas. if one trul wants the best way to weaken hamas. if one truly wants to — the best way to weaken hamas. if one truly wants to marginalise _ the best way to weaken hamas. if one truly wants to marginalise and - truly wants to marginalise and weaken hamas, then the only way that can happen is through the creation of a viable political tract. but israel, shocked _ of a viable political tract. but israel, shocked by the brutality of the 7th of october attacks, remain firm in continuing to prevent a palestinian state, and are defiant on eliminating hamas. t palestinian state, and are defiant on eliminating hamas.— palestinian state, and are defiant on eliminating hamas. i 'ust can't see a on eliminating hamas. i 'ust can't a victory * on eliminating hamas. i 'ust can't a victory nay h on eliminating hamas. i 'ust can't see a victory day for_ on eliminating hamas. i 'ust can't see a victory day for the- on eliminating hamas. ijust can't see a victory day for the israelis. | see a victory day for the israelis. so they— see a victory day for the israelis. so they can — see a victory day for the israelis. so they can massively degrade hamas but the _ so they can massively degrade hamas but the key— so they can massively degrade hamas but the key thing is how do you prevent— but the key thing is how do you prevent hamas re—emerging in the sort of— prevent hamas re—emerging in the sort of aftermath of the major military— sort of aftermath of the major

military operation? 30 sort of aftermath of the ma'or military operation?i sort of aftermath of the ma'or military operation? so when i look at the day after, _ military operation? so when i look at the day after, i _ military operation? so when i look at the day after, i think— military operation? so when i look at the day after, i think that - at the day after, i think that israel will very much control the continuation of the campaign to eliminate hamas capabilities. they are always going to show something but the bulk of them, the threat of them, that will be gone.— them, that will be gone. under mr netanyahu. _ them, that will be gone. under mr netanyahu, who _ them, that will be gone. under mr netanyahu, who leads _ them, that will be gone. under mr netanyahu, who leads the - them, that will be gone. under mr netanyahu, who leads the most i netanyahu, who leads the most right—wing government in israeli history, israel plans to retain security control for the foreseeable future. a stance amounting to long—term occupation, supported by ministers and parliamentarians in benjamin netanyahu's coalition government. neta nyahu's coalition government. some netanyahu's coalition government. some of them openly say they want to see jewish settlements some of them openly say they want to seejewish settlements in gaza but this postwar vision is not one endorsed by the us. following pressure from the biden administration for a day after scenario, the defence minister outlined a plan. critically, it

satisfied you are spiralling out of and in settlements in gaza. prime minister netanyahu has since confirmed local officials would run gaza's civil affairs but has not said he would allow the palestinian authority to return. israel would retain complete freedom to conduct military operations there. how post—war gaza is governed remains an open question. as does the prospect of a lasting peace deal, but without an alternative to the status quo, there is a real risk of more extreme violence in the future. the prime minister is expected to announce on monday how funding from the abandoned hs2 plans — worth billions of pounds — will be shared across regional councils. our business correspondent marc ashdown has been looking at the figures. whether it's repairing roads or refurbishing bus and train stations, the prime minister says he wants residents to have the biggest say

over how their area is improved. four months after rishi sunak announced the scrapping of the controversial hs2 plan, he'll set out how billions of pounds of money earmarked for that project will be allocated in the midlands and the north to improve transport links. there's nearly £20 billion—worth of funding from the cancelled northern leg of hs2 to share around in what's being billed as network north. meanwhile, £9.6 billion in savings from the midlands leg will help boost transport in that region. £6.5 billion, which would have been spent on the new approach into london euston, will be spread across every other region in england. £1 billion has already been allocated to upgrade parts of the rail network in north wales, but campaigners are sceptical and say they want to see more detail. what we need is clarity about how much money there's actually going to be and how quickly it can be spent, because the money that's being cancelled from hs2 was largely going to be spent in ten, 15 years' time, not next

year or the year after. and so, as the chancellor has, in his last autumn statement, cut the capital project budget for the whole of government, how on earth can we be spending more on transport when there's going be less money to spend overall? labour said communities are sick and tired of empty conservative promises, and pledged to work with local leaders, mayors and businesses to deliver what it called a "credible and transformative programme of transport investment". ministers will also get an update from the transport secretary, mark harper, on how a new local transport fund will be allocated. as the bruising fallout from hs2 rumbles on, the prime minister is hailing this as an historic moment, a first step, he says, in reinvesting all £36 billion marc ashdown, bbc news. about one and a half million women in the uk are affected by the agonising condition endometriosis.

but specialist surgery is offering hope. our health correspondent matthew hill has the details. antonia has lost count of the number of operations she's had for a condition she suffered from for 30 years. i was on 180 milligrams of morphine a day. i was housebound. bedbound. no social life. um, no... my life just was miserable. endometriosis affects one in ten women and involves tissue becoming inflamed. it can develop anywhere in the body, but most commonly occurs in the lining of the womb. antonia ended up going private eight years ago in london, where her endometriosis was surgically removed using a robot. i came off the morphine, came off the antidepressants, no painkillers, and i got my life back. according to consultants i've spoken to, up until now getting the surgery which transformed antonia's life has been a bit of a postcode lottery, but now southmead hospital has set

up this centre specialising in endometriosis, offering women across the south west treatment. using a robot, the surgeon is able to penetrate inaccessible areas more precisely. it can give you like greater articulation, makes you access certain areas of the pelvis that you can't access easily with laparoscopic surgery. it gives you better identification of the disease and more precise excision. the new centre is also home to a team of dedicated radiologists, specialist nurses, colorectal and cardiothoracic surgeons and pain specialists. we also are quite unique in that we really good connections with our team, so it means that we can offer a lot and offer a broader range of treatments. since the robotic surgery started here 14 months ago, around 200 patients have been treated. lengths of stay have halved to around one day, waiting times have also reduced from two years to one year and complication rates have

reduced significantly. i have friends. i have a social life. we go out. i go out with my husband. we go away for weekends. i can go for long walks with people, with friends and family. i'm standing tall, rather than crouched down all the time and it's just amazing. absolutely amazing. matthew hill, bbc news. with its tense and sometimes brutal depiction of police rookies in belfast, blue lights was one of the most popular new tv dramas last year. it's returning to our screens for a second season — and there are two more in the pipeline. our reporter ita dungan has the details. do you want to know how i think it's going for the three of you? not very well, to put it mildly. in season one, we met the three rookie officers. set in belfast, blue lights was a police drama for a new generation, one where the troubles were not front and centre, and it went

down very well indeed. so well, that season two is nearly ready for our screens. still in belfast, but a different location. so season two is in this part of the city? yeah, we've come east. we filmed over here for most of season two. a bit in the city centre, as well. season one was set in the west. yeah, we thought we wanted to see a different side of belfast, you know, equal opportunities! but making something that appeals to people here is one thing. bringing along audiences from elsewhere is something different. for writer declan lawn, it's all about the people. for us, the key to it is, if you have good characters in a situation that's kind of universal, like, everyone's started a newjob, everybody has felt out of their depth, and if you concentrate on them, then people will put up with a lot, even if they don't understand the context. it's all about the characters. not limited to season two, the bbc has just commissioned seasons three and four — all very good news. we know now that we're going to be working on this

for three, maybe four years. like, we know what we're doing and that's really rare in television drama. you almost never know what you're doing next year. so, yeah, to have that certainty helps us creatively, but it also helps the industry, it helps a lot of individuals. it's just a really positive thing. so prepare for more filming on the streets of belfast as the rookies continue to learn their trade. that report from ita dungan. and you can watch series one of blue lights now on bbc iplayer before the new series this spring. muncaster castle in cumbria is known for its treasury of art and antiques, but its role in storing the works of turner, constable and van gogh has onlyjust come to light. at the outbreak of world war ii, the tate gallery in london used the castle as a storeroom for more than 700 of its greatest pictures. ian haslam visited the castle. muncaster castle has survived in its tranquil setting for centuries.

and because of muncaster castle, many priceless works of art might have survived this. newsreel: german bombers rain fire and high explosive bombs _ in their most savage attack on london. the blitz of 1940—41 caused devastation across the capital, including to the tate gallery. so it's a good job many of its valuable contents had been moved to cumbria. it was a big—scale thing. if you think that 700—800 of the nation's greatest pictures were stored here, in addition to the castle itself, it kind of does add a very big amount to what must have been a high insurance bill from the point of view of guarding it and looking after it. it was kept secret and no one, not even people in this part of the world... maybe a few local people cottoned on to what was happening. this week, the story of that was retold in one of the rooms in which the paintings were stored. well, the most famous painting, i'm pretty certain, looking at the list now, would be van gogh's sunflowers. but there were other van goghs here, as well. there were an enormous

number of turners. the tate collection has an enormous number of turners. and there were constables and there were the great works by the pre—raphaelites like rossetti and millais and so on. and they survived the war because they were brought here. you're walking through the three rooms now that housed the collection of 600—800 pictures from the tate elsewhere that were here in the war. peter frost—pennington's wife's family have lived at the castle for more than 800 years. at the start of the war, sirjohn ramsden was the man in charge and happy to take art over evacuees. he was overjoyed because it would protect us from the threatened hordes of small children. fascinating that now we love having small children here and enjoying this place. but sirjohn obviously didn't want loads of kids running around the place. many places like muncaster were requisitioned for war effort, and to get the tate gallery here, he must have been cock—a—hoop. but concern of coming under attack grew when barrow was bombed in 1941. the barrow blitz is probably

the most sort of frightening moment that the tate men had in relation to the possibility that if barrow was being bombed, then this area was not quite as safe as they had perhaps hoped. when the war ended, all was finally able to be revealed. newspapers picked up on it very quickly, particularly because muncaster was the sort of furthest place from london where anything was stored. they interviewed some of the people that had been here for five or six years — londoners who suddenly found themselves in the middle of the countryside. was it all worth it, do you think? it has to be worth it. had any of the pictures remained in london, you know, the chances are they would have been very badly damaged. muncaster castle played a very significant part in the second world war in a way that we all enjoy now, because we can go to the tate collection and then see the paintings, which were, for six years, sitting in the crates in this very room. ian haslam, bbc news. now it's time for a look

at the weather with louise lear. hello there. it was a cold and locally foggy start for many this morning. temperatures fell in parts of aberdeenshire as low as minus eight degrees, but there was a widespread frost for many, the exception down towards the south—west. i'll come on to that injust a moment. but we had some glorious sunshine. despite that chilly start, a lovely morning across frinton—on—sea in essex. by contrast, into the south—west, more cloud, stronger winds and some rain arriving with this area of low pressure. just fringing with parts of south wales, as well. as we go through the morning and into the afternoon, that rain is going to continue to slowly drift its way eastwards, maybe bringing more cloud into the london area during the afternoon, but it should stay dry. further north of that, sunny spells will continue and any showers will be very isolated indeed, perhaps most frequent to the far north—west of scotland, with highs of six to ten degrees. that rain will continue to move its way across channel coasts overnight. the heaviest of the rain

south of the m4 corridor. it will take its time to ease away from the kent coast by dawn on monday morning. that cloud and rain will prevent temperatures from falling too far, so a frost—free start for much of england and wales. we'll have clearer skies further north and west, so here a light frost is likely. but the difference with monday, once that rain has cleared away from the extreme south—east, is the wind direction — a brisk north—easterly, particularly across central and southern england. we could see gusts of winds up to 30mph to 40mph in places and that will make it feel noticeably fresher. a lot of dry weather and, again, some sunshine coming through, with highs of seven to ten degrees. as we move out of monday into tuesday we're going to see some wet and windy weather pushing in to scotland. that will drift its way across scotland, northern ireland into northern england and wales by the end of the afternoon. ahead of it we are likely to see quite a lot of cloud developing, as well. by tuesday, brighter with a few scattered showers out to the far north—west.

that front will clear slowly but surely as we move out of tuesday. it will not bring that much in the way of rain to the south—east and this brief ridge of high pressure will build before more fronts wait in the wings. it is going to be a changeable week ahead, really. at times we will have some brighter weather, followed by rain and then the brighter weather returns.

live from london. this is bbc news senior conservatives are drawn into an argument over islamophobia — after a tory party mp is suspended for comments about london's mayor.

i don't believe that lee anderson said those remarks intending to be islamophobic. donald trump moves closer to the republican presidential nomination with a big primary win in south carolina. it's his fourth consecutive victory. and oppenheimer is the big winner at the screen actors guild awards— it nets the top prize of best cast, as well as best actor for cillian murphy. hello, i'm lauren taylor. rishi sunak has warned that the uk must not fall into "polarised camps", after the suspension of the former conservative deputy chairman, lee anderson. mr anderson was suspended from the party on saturday because he refused to apologise for saying "islamists" had "got control" of mayor of london sadiq khan. on sunday morning, deputy prime minister oliver dowden refused to be drawn on whether mr anderson's comments were islamophobic.