a deal on the hostages. a conservative mp defects to labour. dan poulter says his former party is no longer focused on public services. as a russian missile narrowly misses a kharkiv hospital, president zelensky again calls on ukraine's allies to provide more air defences. and police have moved in to break up a pro—palestinian protest at northeastern university in boston. officials say 100 people were detained. we'll have the latest. hello, i'm samantha simmonds. we start in the middle east, where israel's foreign minister has said that his country's planned military incursion into rafah in gaza could be suspended if there is a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages held by hamas. this comes after egyptian mediators arrived in israel with local media reporting there's been notable

progress in finding common ground. in the last few hours, it's also been announced that america's top diplomat antony blinken will visit saudi arabia this week. meanwhile, hamas has posted a new video, which shows two of the hostages captured during its october attack. keith siegel, and omri miran, both identify themselves. while the video is not dated, there is a reference to the recent passover holiday. it's the second such video that hamas — considered a terror group by the uk and us governments — has published in the past few days. our correspondent anna foster is in tel aviv where families have been gathering to call again for all the hostages in gaza to be released. omri miran�*s father was actually already on the list of confirmed speakers for this event tonight. when he got up on the stage, he talked about the moment, he said he was sitting having coffee with someone and talking about his grandchildren when the man he was talking to held his phone

and said, "look, they have released a video of omri." what was also interesting was as the crowd were gathered here tonight, is they showed that video in full, it is not something that normally happens because of course when you see the people in it, the two men in this case looking very malnourished, obviously speaking under duress, sending messages to their families and urging the israeli government to come to some sort of arrangement, some sort of deal to try and achieve their release. now, of course that deal and those talks have been going on for weeks and weeks. the last time we saw a significant hostage release was at the end of last year. at one point, we were told the talks had very much broken down, the two sides weren't really in communication at all but the egyptian delegation�*s visit this week and the further efforts of the us and us secretary of state antony blinken, we are led to believe that perhaps they are moving slightly closer in terms of trying to achieve a deal, but certainly those powerful messages we heard tonight

on the stage from the hostage families, they were talking directly to israel's leaders, directly to the politicians and were saying, you need you to do a deal. while we know they are alive, you need to do what they can to ensure their release now. meanwhile the bbc has learned that british troops could be deployed to gaza to help deliver humanitarian aid. soldiers may be used to drive lorries across floating causeways on a new sea route, dropping supplies onto beaches. the us army has already begun building floating platforms like this off the coast of gaza where aid will be taken off ships, and be put onto trucks. the us has said there will be no american troops on the ground. now let's cross to rafah to speak to olga cherevko, a spokesperson for the united nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs, or ocha. welcome to you, thank you for being with us. describe to us what the aid

situation is like across the gaza strip, how much is getting in? thank ou for strip, how much is getting in? thank you for having _ strip, how much is getting in? thank you for having me — strip, how much is getting in? thank you for having me tonight. _ strip, how much is getting in? thank you for having me tonight. the - you for having me tonight. the situation here remains really dire and catastrophic and we are having massive challenges with access, with getting aid in and getting access points open and just moving around gaza as safely and freely as possible. gaza as safely and freely as possible-— gaza as safely and freely as ossible. ., ., . ., ., possible. ruc more aid coming in and the difficulty — possible. ruc more aid coming in and the difficulty is _ possible. ruc more aid coming in and the difficulty is logistically _ the difficulty is logistically moving it around? it the difficulty is logistically moving it around?- the difficulty is logistically moving it around? it is a lot of thins. moving it around? it is a lot of things. there _ moving it around? it is a lot of things. there are _ moving it around? it is a lot of things. there are a _ moving it around? it is a lot of things. there are a lot - moving it around? it is a lot of things. there are a lot of- moving it around? it is a lot of- things. there are a lot of elements involved. and we have seen a bit more aid coming in lately, but to say that it has made a tangible difference, we cannot say that because we have not seen that yet make a difference on the ground.

describe to us the conditions that people are living in right now in the tented camps that have sprung up. the tented camps that have sprung u -. the tented camps that have sprung u . _ . ., ., , the tented camps that have sprung u -. . ., ., , ., the tented camps that have sprung up. the conditions are absolutely dire. i up. the conditions are absolutely dire- i mean. _ up. the conditions are absolutely dire. i mean, there _ up. the conditions are absolutely dire. i mean, there is— up. the conditions are absolutely dire. i mean, there is no - dire. i mean, there is no sanitation, people need food, there is no water, no electricity, fuel, all of the basics of life are missing in gaza. and, of course, overi million people are on the brink of famine, 70% of this number, 70% of the population in the north is facing imminent famine and just overall the situation is becoming more and more desperate by the day. as i mentioned, the us army has began building us —— floating platforms off the coast of gaza with a view of delay —— eight being delivered from ships, have you been given a timeframe for this? there

are technical— given a timeframe for this? there are technical discussions - given a timeframe for this? there are technical discussions about i given a timeframe for this? ti” are technical discussions about the peer that is being built. we welcome initiatives of aid flowing into gaza, but it mostly remains being by land. while these technical discussions are happening, we, as the un, are seeking reassurances of neutrality and of security in this additional relief route into gaza. and just to say that while we can supplement the land routes, land access remains a priority for us because only truck convoys can guarantee the volumes of food and supplies that can be delivered to the people in need. filgd supplies that can be delivered to the people in need. olga cherevko, thank ou the people in need. olga cherevko, thank you for— the people in need. olga cherevko, thank you for giving _ the people in need. olga cherevko, thank you for giving us _ the people in need. olga cherevko, thank you for giving us that - the people in need. olga cherevko, thank you for giving us that view i thank you for giving us that view from inside rafah, thank you. thanks very much- —

here in the uk, a conservative mp has defected to the opposition labour party. dan poulter has been the mp for central suffolk and north ipswich since the 2010 election. he combines his political career with practising medicine as an nhs hospital doctor on a part—time basis. he confirmed he was defecting to labour in an interview with laura kuenssberg — take a listen. i found it increasingly difficult to look my nhs colleagues in the eye, my patients in the eye, and my constituents in the eye with good conscience. and ifeel that the nhs deserves better than it has at the moment in terms of how it is run and governed. the party i was elected into valued public services. it valued...it had a compassionate view about supporting the more disadvantaged in society. i think the conservative party today is in very different place. its focus is not on delivering or supporting high quality public services. our political correspondent ben wright told me more about dr poulter. he has been an mp since 2010. he represents central suffolk and north ipswich.

hejoined the party under david cameron. he is very much a cameroonian conservative. he is in the centre of the party,a one—nation tory. he is a working doctor in the nhs, working in mental health, and he has continued to do that alongside his time in parliament. he was briefly a minister but has been a backbencher for the last few years. this has come out of the blue. there has been speculation for a long time that the despondency and anger simmering on the tory backbenches could burst into a defection at some point. today we have it. i think it is a big blow for rishi sunak. we are going to have big local elections in a few days which the tory party is braced for being bad. the clock is ticking down quite fast to a general election. the prime minister doesn't have long to try to gee up his troops and prove he has a plan for pulling this back. here you have a stinging intervention, actually. what he says about public services, where he thought the tory party used to be compassionate — in his view they no longer are.

he feels that the conservativism he joined the party to represent has been abandoned by the current prime minister and his team, and i think this is quite wounding. it is intended to be. defections don't come out of the blue. i am sure this will have been orchestrated to an extent. there will have been talks going on for a while, perhaps, between dan poulter and keir starmer. it is certainly a coup for the labour party. it is a big blow for rishi sunak. yes, tell us about... i don't think we've had reaction from the conservatives but what about the labour party? keir starmer on social media said it was fantastic to welcome dr poulter to the changed labour party. it is time to end conservative chaos, turn the page and get britain's future back. pleased that dan poulter has decided to join us on this journey and dan poulter says he would like to see an election happen now. it is not about to, i don't think. the expectation still is that the general election will probably be towards the autumn. he intends to stay in parliament.

there is no requirement to have a by—election if there is a defection like this but he will now be sitting in labour's ranks. and already the conservatives are facing mass numbers of their mps since we spoke to ben, the conservatives have issued a statement about mr poulter�*s defection. it says... let's get more from john rentoul, chief political commentator at the independent. good to see you, john. how big a blow is this for the tories? defections of the hard currency of politics and they don't happen very often and when they do, they are, as you were saying there with ben, they

are designed to wound. so, yes, it is damaging. personally, i am surprised it has taken so long. there has only been one conservative to labour defection in this parliament so far and that is christian wakefield who defected some time ago, 2022, i think it was. and i was expecting more to follow that path, but i wasn't expecting dan poulter. i don't know why not because he has always been very much on the centrist wing of the tory party and a likely candidate. what party and a likely candidate. what about the labour _ party and a likely candidate. what about the labour party? - party and a likely candidate. what about the labour party? keir starmer said it was fantastic to welcome dan poulter to the party, how big is this a coup for labour? this poulter to the party, how big is this a coup for labour?- poulter to the party, how big is this a coup for labour? this is the sort of thing _ this a coup for labour? this is the sort of thing that _ this a coup for labour? this is the sort of thing that was _ this a coup for labour? this is the sort of thing that was happening l this a coup for labour? this is the | sort of thing that was happening in the 1990s, sort of thing that was happening in the 19905, i sort of thing that was happening in the 1990s, i mean, people may not remember but there was a former tory minister called alan howarth who

defected to tony blair's labour party in 1995, shaun woodward, the better—known defection, that was actually after labour got into government. but all the traffic was in that direction at that time and the same thing seems to be happening again, and that will add to labour's confidence about coming —— the coming election. find confidence about coming -- the coming election.— confidence about coming -- the coming election. and we've got big local elections _ coming election. and we've got big local elections coming _ coming election. and we've got big local elections coming up - coming election. and we've got big local elections coming up in - coming election. and we've got big local elections coming up in just i coming election. and we've got big local elections coming up in just a l local elections coming up injust a few days' time. obviously, we don't know what is going to happen there but if they are as bad for the tories as some are anticipating, does that again, combined with this, call rishi sunak�*s leadership into question in the coming weeks? i don't think so because i think the general election is not far away, whatever happens, i mean, it is going to be by the end of this year. conservative mps are divided into two groups. one group who recognise that it would just make the party

even more unpopular to try to change leader again, and another group who havejust given up leader again, and another group who have just given up anyway. and they regard the election as a hopeless cause. and what i am surprised about is that more of that group haven't done what dan poulter did and defected to labour. i mean, it is not to say his career, because he is standing down from parliament anyway, but i would have thought that other mps might want to save their careers or look for a position under a labour government. but there are hue under a labour government. but there are huge numbers _ under a labour government. but there are huge numbers of _ under a labour government. but there are huge numbers of tories _ under a labour government. but there are huge numbers of tories who i under a labour government. but there are huge numbers of tories who have | are huge numbers of tories who have chosen not to stand in the next general election, whenever that may be, certainly by the end of the year, we expect.— be, certainly by the end of the ear, we exect. . ., ., year, we expect. there are, although actuall it year, we expect. there are, although actually it is — year, we expect. there are, although actually it is roughly _ year, we expect. there are, although actually it is roughly the _ year, we expect. there are, although actually it is roughly the same - actually it is roughly the same number standing down before the 2010 election and the 1997 election. i mean, this sort of turn ever happens. what is significant about

defections is, you know, there are some mps who defect to the winning party in the hope of getting the job in the change government. and it is interesting that dan porter is not hanging around to do that, but maybe there will be other defections to come. . ., there will be other defections to come. i ., ., come. 0k, john, we will leave it there, come. 0k, john, we will leave it there. thank— come. 0k, john, we will leave it there, thank you. _ and viewers in the uk can see the full interview with dan poulter on sunday with laura kuenssberg at nine o'clock on sunday morning on bbc one. now it's time for a look at today's sport. we start with the premier league where liverpool's hopes of staying in the race for the title have suffered another blow after they were held to a 2—2 draw with west ham united. jared bowen put the london side ahead just before half time. liverpool came back in the second half — leftback andy robertson equalising soon after the interval. an own goal from the west ham keeper alphonse areola gave the visitors the lead again. but they couldn't hold on to it with bowen, who was later given the player of the match award, picked out michail antonio to earn a point for west ham — a result that isn't much

help to either team's ambitions. it's not a great day for liverpool fc. we were unlucky a couple of times and unlucky too often is most of the time your own fault and we know that it is not anything else, so now again, let's recover and go again. let's have a look at the other results from saturday. sheffield united's relegation from the premier league has been confirmed by their 5—1 defeat to newcastle united. fulham and in—form crystal palace drew 1—1. a late penalty from zeki amdouni gave burnley a point after a 1—1 draw with manchester united. luton could have moved out of the bottom three but they lost 2—1 to wolves. everton guaranteed their premier league survival with a 1—0 win over brentford. marc cucurella saw villa take the lead

holders barcelona are through to the final of the women's champions league after beating chslsea 2—0 at stamford bridge. the spanish side had to overturn a first—leg 1—0 deficit to go through to the final. it's the second season in a row that chelsea have been knocked out of the competiion by barcelona but their manager emma hayes was furious at a refereeing decision that led to her side finishing the game with ten players. england ran in six tries to beat france 112—21 in their six nations championship decider in bordeaux and claim the grand slam for the third year in a row. centre meganjones scored two tries in the victory as the red roses led 35—14 at half—time. france remained in the contest with two tries of their own, despite a second—half red card for prop assia khalfaoui. england top the six nations table with 28 points followed by france on 19. ireland finished third in the championship and qualify for the world cup following their 15—12 win over fourth—placed scotland, while wales collected the wooden spoon despite a 22—20

victory over italy. the five—time madrid mastesr champion rafael nadal is into the third round at the tournament after an impressive straight sets win over the 10th seed alex de minaur. the 22—time grand slam champion, who is now 37 years old, is playing in spain for what is expected to be the last time but after winning a 77—minute opening set on a tie break, he went on to take the second set 6—3 to extend his time in madrid and will face pedro cachin in the third round. former world championjudd trump says he has rejected an approach to join a potential breakaway snooker tour. there's been speculation the sport's biggest names could be tempted to leave the existing world snooker tour and play in lucrative events elsewhere. well, trump, who was the 2019 world champion, has progressed into the quarterfinals at the crucible by beating fellow englishman tom ford 13 frames to 7. after the match, trump distanced himself from suggestions that he may join a break away tour.

and that's all the sport for now. thanks, karthi. ukraine says its energy infrastructure has been hit again in another night of russian air attacks. officials in kharkiv said one missile had hit the grounds of a psychiatric hospital, damaging buildings and injuring a woman. there were also attacks in the dnipro region in central ukraine and in the western areas of lviv and ivano—frankivsk. officials say equipment was damaged and at least one energy worker injured. russia has repeatedly targeted ukrainian energy infrastructure over recent months. it's attacks such as these that have led to the us providing more aid for ukraine. the united states outlined what will be included in a $6 billion package of military assistance. it's part of a larger $60 billion commitment approved by congress a week ago following 6 months of delays. the package will focus on air defence and includes interceptor missiles, anti—drone systems and

artillery ammunition. what's not included are the new patriot air defence batteries, which ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky says are critical. let's speak to tinatin japaridze, who is a political risk analyst at eurasia group. welcome to you, thank you for being with us. now we have more detail about what is actually going to be delivered to ukraine, what kind of a difference is it expected this will make? ., ., difference is it expected this will make? ., ~' ,, difference is it expected this will make? ., ~ ., ., , make? thank you for having me. first of all, it make? thank you for having me. first of all. it should _ make? thank you for having me. first of all, it should be _ make? thank you for having me. first of all, it should be noted _ make? thank you for having me. first of all, it should be noted this - make? thank you for having me. first of all, it should be noted this is i make? thank you for having me. first of all, it should be noted this is a i of all, it should be noted this is a significant political breakthrough, long overdue, especially leading up to the us presidential elections. and it is likely to be the last aid package at this size and significance that the us approved in 2024 but it will be something that ukrainians can stretch into 2025. this has boosted ukrainian morale considerably and has sparked some

hopein considerably and has sparked some hope in ukrainian cities, especially after months of increasingly gloomy coverage but we need to maintain an objective on what this package can achieve. it will do a lot for ukraine but it will not be a magic wand, it is certainly not a silver bullet. , ., wand, it is certainly not a silver bullet. , . , . , ., bullet. yes, and the difficulty for the ukrainians _ bullet. yes, and the difficulty for the ukrainians is _ bullet. yes, and the difficulty for the ukrainians is that _ bullet. yes, and the difficulty for the ukrainians is that while i bullet. yes, and the difficulty for the ukrainians is that while this. the ukrainians is that while this aid will help them in their defences, they will have to choose whether or not they protect the front lines, the troops on the front lines of the infrastructure which is being targeted by russia, but they? absolutely. we need to understand the aid package will be substantial in improving ukrainian military prospects for stabilising the situation in the eastern region of donetsk, that is very important. and it will broadly speaking be crucial in helping the country defend itself against russian attacks on a broader scale, in terms of any possible counteroffensive this year, we cannot really expect realistically to see ukraine launch one this year.

in terms of trying to choose between the front lines fortification of the front lines, versus critical infrastructure, it will be a tough one, there is only so much the country can do, and they really have to be smart and creative in how they prioritise what they use that aid package for. prioritise what they use that aid package for-— prioritise what they use that aid ackaue for. . ., ., ., ~ ., package for. what would it take for a counteroffensive _ package for. what would it take for a counteroffensive for _ package for. what would it take for a counteroffensive for ukraine i package for. what would it take for a counteroffensive for ukraine to i package for. what would it take for| a counteroffensive for ukraine to be able to turn the tide against russia? ., , i , russia? probably it will depend in man wa s russia? probably it will depend in many ways not — russia? probably it will depend in many ways not just _ russia? probably it will depend in many ways notjust on _ russia? probably it will depend in many ways not just on what i russia? probably it will depend in l many ways notjust on what ukraine is capable of but also what russia can do. russia certainly hold a key advantage with constant manpower supplies, as well as a rather robust ammunition. but it is facing challenges in replenishing their substantial losses of equipment, which is what we have been hearing for military analysts and this factor could in fact limit the effectiveness and scope of any offensive capabilities that russia could have in the coming months, going into sort of the later part of the spring and into the summer. so

that will dictate to a degree what ukraine can do, did not so much that ukraine can do, did not so much that ukraine can do, did not so much that ukraine can turn the tide on its own but rather where the russians shortages are and whether ukraine is able to try to make the most of those gaps. hopefully, it will be in a better position to do that with this new aid package approved in washington. but in terms of the command and equipment issues of its own, russian forces are still likely to achieve more territorial gains this year. to achieve more territorial gains this ear. ., to achieve more territorial gains this ear. . i ., to achieve more territorial gains this ear. . ., ~ this year. tinatin japaridze, thank ou for this year. tinatin japaridze, thank you forjoining — this year. tinatin japaridze, thank you forjoining us. _ police in the united states have moved in on a pro—palestinian protest at northeastern university in boston. officials said about 100 people were detained as they were moved from the site, but those with student id would not face any legal action. it's the latest standoff in a wave of pro—palestinian sit—ins at campuses around the united states — including this demonstration, which has been ongoing at columbia university in new york. for more on the protests, let's go live to washington where we can

speak to will vernon. bring us up—to—date on what has been happening in these protests across the country today.— the country today. samantha, they have also been _ the country today. samantha, they have also been arrested _ the country today. samantha, they have also been arrested today i the country today. samantha, they have also been arrested today at i have also been arrested today at indiana state university, 69 people we understand detained there. negotiations are ongoing at columbia university in new york over the protest camp there, and that is what really sparked this latest escalation in the protests, really. pro—palestinian demonstrations have been going on for several months now at a number of universities but then it has really changed in the last week or so, and that was because of an incident at columbia on the 18th of april, the nypd were called onto the campus to take down a protest camp there, dozens of people were arrested, and that really ignited tensions, and a number of other protest camps were then pitched at

various universities across the country. now, the protesters say that they are unhappy with the us government support for the israeli military campaign, they want a ceasefire in gaza, but also they are demanding that their universities to divest, so cut ties with companies with links to israel. but many jewish students say they feel intimidated by these demos, there have been a number of reports of verbal assaults, have been a number of reports of verbalassaults, or even have been a number of reports of verbal assaults, or even physical attacks onjewish people by the pro—palestinian demonstrators. the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu as well as many people in conquest here say these protests are anti—semitic. of course, the protesters denied that. the university administrators say a lot of the trouble is being caused by radical outside elements that have infiltrated the ranks of the students. north—eastern told us today that whilst 100 were detained only 12 or maybe a bit more than that of them actually had student

ids are so many of them were not from the university at all.- from the university at all. there has been at _ from the university at all. there has been at least _ from the university at all. there has been at least one _ from the university at all. there has been at least one leader i from the university at all. there | has been at least one leader who from the university at all. there i has been at least one leader who has been banned from the columbia university site for a video that was released of him which many recording anti—semitic? that released of him which many recording anti-semitic?— anti-semitic? that is right, the - resident anti-semitic? that is right, the president of — anti-semitic? that is right, the president of columbia - anti-semitic? that is right, the| president of columbia university anti-semitic? that is right, the i president of columbia university is under huge pressure, not only due to instances of hate speech on campus like the one you just mentioned, but also over her decision to call in the police to clear the protest camp. yesterday, the columbia university senate passed a resolution condemning the administration, saying that they were undermining academic freedom and disregarding the privacy and due process rights of students and faculty members. so, university administrative under huge pressure here, and it is not really clear what the solution is to this very tricky problem.

hello there. it certainly has been a saturday of contrasts across the country. we started off grey and wet across southern england. the rain petered out to a blanket of cloud and drizzle. a lot of cloud across wales, the midlands, for much of the day. further north it was a different story. sunny spells and scattered showers but escape those showers, a beautiful afternoon in fife, as you can see. we have more heavy rain though arriving through the night tonight. it is across the south. that rain — some of it really quite intense — will gradually drift its way steadily north and east as we go through sunday. once again a day of contrasts because the rain will continue to move its way out of the midlands, up into the north—east of england and eastern scotland. west will certainly stay drier and brightest for longest. into the afternoon we should see an improving picture across much of england and wales. sunny spells, a few scattered showers, and temperatures peaking at around 13 degrees. it will be windy on those exposed east coasts. sheltered western areas clinging onto some glimpses of sunshine. a little more cloud generally

and the rain still quite heavy and persistent, with gusts of wind across the east coast of 40—50 miles an hour. that makes the eight degrees in aberdeen feel pretty disappointing. that low eases away. the isobars squeeze together. it stays blustery into monday. on the whole a relatively quiet start to the working week. temperatures to greet us first thing — we are looking at around 2—6. it will be dry, there will be some sunshine coming through early on. breezy but a southerly wind will make it start to feel just that little bit milder, particular in the sunnier moments. here is the low moving into northern ireland and perhaps clouding over across western coastal fringes as we go through the day. temperatures in the sunshine should peak at 16 degrees. starting to feel a little better. tuesday, final day of april, could actually see a little more warmth. we have still got this low pressure out to the south—west. because the winds are circulating around that low we are tapping in to a milder south—easterly. that is driving in some warmth from the near continent and you really will start

to notice the difference. for our final day of april, yes, it is likely that we could see temperatures peaking in one or two spots into the high teens. there will be some showers around but a little bit quieter and a little bit warmer than of late.

this is bbc news, the headlines... israel's foreign minister says it will defer a planned military operation in rafah if a deal is reached over the hostages still held by hamas. the us secretary of state antony blinken is flying to the region to discuss the situation. the tragedy on the channel — we speak to a man who was due to board a dinghy to the uk — but changed his mind because it was overcrowded. british conservative mp dr dan poulter quits the party to join the opposition labour party. speaking to the bbc, he said the conservatives were no longerfocused on public services, and a general election was needed as soon as possible. ukraine says russia has carried out another air attack — narrowly missing a hospital. the us says it will "rush" patriot air defence missiles and ammunition to ukraine. president zelensky says they are "urgently" needed. hamas has insisted that it won't release any more israeli hostages without an end to the war in gaza after the group

released a video of one israeli—american captive, hersh goldberg—polin. his parents have urged both sides to "seize the moment and get a deal done." protests by relatives of the hostages are continuing — these pictures were filmed a few hours ago in tel aviv. our middle east correspondent lucy williamson has been speaking to one former hostage, moran stella yanai about the conditions she was held in and fears for those who remain. through the night, we had hunches and we felt something is going on. just after dawn on the 7th of october, moran stella yanai heard the first sounds of hamas gunmen approaching the nova festival site. half of the people of 232 road was already murdered and people in the tent area was already murdering and we didn't know. as the gunmen stormed the site, she ran into nearby fields. twice she says she was caught

by groups of hamas followers and talked her way out by pretending to be arab. the third time, she wasn't so lucky. i heard "cuckoo" and we raised our head up and the terrorists were standing on top of the mountain, smiling, happy. "we found them." she was put in a car with nine gunmen and driven into gaza. it's like a bull being entered to an arena. everybody�*s happy. the civilians, the children, the women, the men. and then the car door opened. and then i felt somebody trying to pull my leg. and then i felt a pipe in my knee. all we can think of at that point is please let it end fast, like one hit to the head and i will not feel anything. moran was held captive for 54 days, moved between seven different locations, quickly learning strategies to survive.

what happened in the first house. . .stay there. doesn't come with you to the second house. it will not come with you to the third house. you need really to protect your story and come to the new house. my friends, "what are you talking about?" "i'm fine, the terrorists, the hamas, everybody." why? because... ..if something will happen to a girl, in the arab culture, they will probably kill the terrorist and the girl, too. you mean something sexual? yeah. what happened in this house left in this house. so it's not only sexual, it's also violent. what did happen? for me, it was more violence. it's like when you move from house to house, you need to be examined to see

if you're not hiding something on you. it's a really necessary test, as they explained it to you. i always try to explain to people that "rape" is a really big word. it's not only the act. even when a guy stands in the front of your door, and you sit down and he's staring at you for ten minutes straight. it's power. five, six times a day, every day for 54 days. trust me. that's rape. moran was released in a ceasefire deal last november in exchange for palestinian prisoners held in israeli jails. her hamas captors

filming the handover. i heard that people were saying, "but they were happy, looking happy when they came out," you know. nobody heard the whisper under the nose that i'm saying to the boy next to me, it's like, "hold on five more minutes. do not start to cry now. stay smiling. 0k? do not cry now." like, the minute we cross the border to egypt, we waited for that minute that we can scream and cry, because we couldn't do it. we couldn't do it. we were hiding on the first day. we couldn't do it when they were dragging us into gaza. and we couldn't do it when we sat down in the houses. obviously, that's the first thing i promise to myself,

that the minute that we will step in my country, i will scream the loudest i can. because nobody will take my voice any more. lucy williamson with that report there. as we heard a little earlier the bbc has learned that british troops could be deployed to gaza to help deliver humanitarian aid. soldiers may be used to drive lorries across floating causeways on a new sea route, dropping supplies onto beaches. our diplomatic correspondent james landale reports from jerusalem. some aid is getting into gaza by land. trucks carrying food, water and medical supplies. some aid is being dropped by air, but the united nations says it is nowhere near enough to help the people of gaza who, it says, are facing famine. so there are plans for aid to come by sea. the us army is building floating platforms like this off the coast, where aid will be taken off ships and put into trucks. that floating causeway is expected to be anchored on the beach somewhere near here, where israeli forces will secure a distribution area.

the us says there will be no american boots on the ground. so the uk is considering whether british forces should drive the trucks along the causeway that may look something like this. but that would mean british forces being put in harm's way on the beaches of gaza, so—called wet boots on the ground, potentially at risk from hamas fighters. hamas at the end of the day could try and interrupt this. i would like to think they won't but i think probably they won't. but it's possible that they could. unfortunately in these sorts of operations, you end up in places you wouldn't want to have gone to. british forces could be deployed from this uk air base in cyprus, but, as of now, it is just an option. there has been no decision and it is yet to pass the prime minister's desk. the mod refused to comment. sending british troops to the beaches of gaza would be a big decision. they would be at risk in a war zone, they would be operating in the holy land for the first

time since the 1940s. but someone has to drive these trucks and they've got to make a decision soon, the us says this new aid corridor is going to be up and running by early next month. james landale, bbc news, injerusalem. well, earlier i spoke to brigadierjohn deverell — former senior british officer in the occupied palestinian territories, and former director of defence diplomacy at the ministry of defence. he told me more about the idea of sending british troops to help deliver aid. the significance, i would argue, is really political and presentational because let's face it, contractors could quite easily do this job in terms of driving trucks with humanitarian aid off the of the floating dock. but let's assume that it is being seriously considered and it might well happen. and then i think it's all about risk mitigation. and then the question in the minds of the british planners will be how far they put british, british servicemen and servicewomen into gaza, how far they penetrate.

do theyjust simply drive the trucks with the stores onto dry land and then somebody else takes the trucks forward? or do they actually go to the distribution points? and obviously, the furtherforward they go, the more risk. and two or three suggestions, very clear suggestions, i would have in terms of mitigating that risk — the first is they need very clear rules of engagement. one benefit of servicemen and servicewomen doing this is they themselves can be armed, which i would recommend. from my experience working for two years in the palestinian territories, the greater risk typically, as we've seen with the very tragic deaths of the british aid workers a few weeks ago, in fact, is from relatively trigger happy, relatively uncontrolled junior israeli servicemen and servicewomen. but there is, of course, also a risk from hamas, possible abductions and things like that. and so therefore, firstly, very clear rules of engagement. the second point i would make is that there should be a no strike list, which the israelis should have — something that we, the british government

should have assured ourselves that they were having do have because we're supplying weapons to them. and those the no strike list should include not only obvious and the no strike list should include not only obvious things like hospitals, but also humanitarian distribution points and very importantly, where they're getting the stores off the ships. and the third point i would make is that extremely important indeed to have liaison officers, i'd suggest right at the heart of the operational control headquarters, liaison officers from the people actually taking the trucks off from those organisations, in this case from the british military. those three things would certainly mitigate the risk. brigadierjohn deverell speaking to me earlier. police in london say they arrested two people at a pro—palestinian march on suspicion of holding an offensive placard, and for making a racist remark. several thousand people took part in the march, which was organised by the palestine solidarity campaign calling for an immediate ceasefire in gaza. another demonstration,

organised by the pro—israeli group enough is enough also took place — that was a static gathering, along the route of the pro—palestinian march. a man who'd paid to join the small boat crossing from france to the uk this week has told the bbc he decided against making the journey because he was worried the dinghy was overcrowded. five people, including a young girl, died. an investigation is continuing into exactly what happened. jon donnison reports from calais. chaos, desperation and violence as more than 100 people tried to cram onto a small boat in the early hours of tuesday morning. among them was 16—year—old marcus, not his real name, from south sudan. where are you here? i'll be on this side. on that side? yeah, this side. five people were killed, including a seven—year—old girl. and how do people die? there were too many people. they were crushed maybe. i didn't see them die. ijust wanted to save myself. 30 or 40 guys were trying to force

themselves on the boat because they did not pay the money. marcus, who is fleeing life as a child soldier in south sudan, says he paid people smugglers $1,000 to make the crossing and even though he was injured in the last attempt, he,s willing to pay more to try again. you can see today that the sea is calm and the wind has dropped, and that means more attempted crossings. here you've got a boat that's been abandoned, it looks like police have slashed it open. you've also got a tear gas canister, which police have been using, and some abandoned children's clothing. despite the dangers, people like marcus are not going to give up. and what of the government's rwanda policy? the government is saying they will deport people who cross to rwanda. does that worry you? that will not stop me, i will never give up. i will try my best to cross the english channel. and the chance came sooner than we expected. after we left marcus this morning,

we heard that he'd headed to the beaches once more for another attempt to reach the uk. jon donnison, bbc news, in calais. donald trump says he's ready to debatejoe biden anytime, anywhere, any place after mr biden gave his clearest committment yet to take on the former president in a televised debate. joe biden had previously said it would depend on donald trump's behaviour. courtney bembridge has more from the newsroom. well, he's been asked many times, but president biden has been tight lipped about a presidential debate until now. i don't know if you're going to debate your opponent. i am somewhere. i don't know when, i'm happy to debate him. donald trump was quick to respond, taking to his social media platform. truth social, writing... and outside the courtroom in new york, where he's been appearing at his hush money trial, he also spoke about it. take a listen.

we're willing to do it monday night, tuesday night, wednesday night, i thursday night or friday night on national television. - we're ready. just tell me where. the last time the two men went head to head in a presidential debate was in 2020. there were two debates. let's remind ourselves of how that went. the question... will you shut up, man? give me a break. because you know what? there's nothing smart about you. well, it's hard to get any word in with this clown. excuse me. despite donald trump's enthusiasm, we may have to wait a while for the rematch. the official date for the first presidential debate is not until september. courtney bembridge there. a british man has been seriously injured when he was attacked by a shark in the caribbean. peter smith from hertfordshire was attacked off the north coast of tobago. officials on the island say the 64—year—old is stable and will stay on the island while he recovers. louise pilbeam reports.

peter smith was on the beach in front of the starfish hotel in tobago. officials say he was on holiday with his wife and friends and had been due to fly back today before going for a last swim in the sea. witnesses say the man suffered severe injuries to his leg, stomach and arm. i don't think they saw anything — they were casually... they were in about waist—deep to shoulder high water, so they weren't out of their depth. and i think their backs were turned and they were just kind of lounging around and nobody saw the shark coming. and even while the shark was around and doing the attack, the other people in the water were physically trying to fight off the shark. the islands authorities said sharks play a vital role in protecting coral reefs. we will see sharks pop up from time to time. it is part of theirjob, but it is ourjob to ensure we can keep you safe, while at the same time we keep our environment safe. mr smith was taken to

hospital and officials from the island have told the bbc that he is recovering well. louisa pilbeam, bbc news. the uk government's being urged to take action to stop unpaid carers unwittingly racking up thousands of pounds of debt. carers can receive nearly £82 a week in benefits — but only if they earn less than £151 in net—pay from other work. as a result, many end up owing thousands of pounds if they go above that threshold. dan whitworth reports. good girl, thank you. unpaid carers who look after a loved one do an incrediblejob. often 24 hours a day, seven days a week with very few breaks — their lives dedicated to caring for someone else. of the nearly six million carers across the uk, just under a million receive carer�*s allowance. that's worth around £80 per week. 175,000 of them also have a job. but there's an earnings limit of £151 take—home pay a week.

go above that limit even byjust a few pence, and you lose the entire allowance. that's what happened to karina, who cares for her daughter, amber, who has complex needs and requires round—the—clock care. karina unknowingly earned slightly above the limit at her part—time supermarketjob because of the occasional hour or two of overtime, but wasn't told by the department for work and pensions for three and a half years, so is now in the middle of slowly paying back £11,000. they need to stop the cliff edge so that if you earn over 50p too much, that maybe they take that away, not take all of it, because they're pushing people into poverty. labour mp stephen timms, who chairs parliament's work and pensions committee, is urging the government to act quicker to warn carers who have exceeded the earnings limit. most of those notifications seem to be completely ignored, so people carry on receiving

the benefit, even though they're not entitled to it. and even though the department has been notified about that, we end up with these enormous accidental overpayments, which should never have been allowed. the dwp says overpayments account for 2.1% of its £3.3 billion annual spend on carer�*s allowance. that works out at just over £2,000 worth of debt for each of the 34,000 carers with overpayments in the past year. it needs a fundamental review and that will take time. in the short—term, what we need are for those overpayments to just be written off by this government in order to stop penalising the very lowest—paid unpaid carers who are looking after our most vulnerable in society. in a statement, the dwp said carers across the uk are unsung heroes who make a huge difference, but have a responsibility to inform them of any changes

in their circumstances that could impact their award to ensure fairness in the welfare system. with growing political and public pressure on this issue, campaigners will be hoping it stays that way in the weeks and months to come. dan whitworth, bbc news. a hole in the ozone layer over antarctica — fuelled by smoke from bushfires in australia — is exposing wildlife to protentially damaging levels of uv light. scientists from the university of wollongong say animals and plants are having to put more energy into avoiding the rays. here's our science correspondent, victoria gill. the ozone layer that protects us from the sun's most harmful rays is healing, gradually, but in antarctica, in cold, high—atmospheric clouds, a hole in that layer still appears every year. that ozone thinning, or loss, used to peak in september or october, when animals and plants are tucked under winter snow and marine animals are protected by sea ice.

but it's now lingering until december, well into the antarctic summer, when wildlife is much more vulnerable. researchers say that has been driven in part by smoke from the australian wildfires in 2019 and 2020, which were fuelled by climate change. the researchers found evidence that antarctic plants might have to put more energy into producing their own protective sunscreen compounds, and krill, the marine crustaceans that are the foundation of the food chain in antarctica, move deeper into the ocean to avoid ultraviolet rays, while penguins and seals are protected by protective feathers and fur, scientists say exposure to damaging rays could harm their eyesight. the researchers say we can no longer take the recovery of the ozone layer for granted. it is more evidence, they point out, that carbon emissions have to be reduced quickly so that more bushfires don't put extra pressure on a vital shield in our atmosphere. victoria gill, bbc news.

broadcaster itv says that its news presenter rageh omar has received medical treatment and is recovering at home with his family. he was taken ill during his broadcast last night. in a statement, he has thanked people for their good wishes, especially the medical staff who helped him, his work colleagues, and the viewers who expressed concern. a gold pocket watch worn by the wealthiest passenger on the titanic has sold for £900,000 at auction. when taxes and other fees are taken into account, the anonymous buyer will have to pay nearly £1.2 million. that's more than seven times its estimated pre—auction price and a world record for a single item from the titanic sold at auction. it belonged tojothacob astor, who died when the titanic sank in april 1912. a brown leather violin bag owned by wallace hartley, the leader of the orchestra who, with his colleagues, famously played on as the ship sank, fetched £366,000, including taxes and fees.

one of london's most famous landmarks, tower bridge. a team of specialist window cleaners with a good head for heights has been abseiling from the tower�*s high—level walkways. our reporter vince rogers has more. dangling from ropes off the famous london landmark are a team of abseilers reaching the parts that others can't reach. what i'm doing now is i'm protecting the ropes as we go underneath, as humans don't do too well when they fall from heights. so what we've done is we've put platforms underneath. what the team will do is they will abseil over the platform as works positioning, clip into the steel beams underneath, and that way they can safely traverse and carry out the cleaning of the glazing. it's all right, that. the walkways have glass floors for spectacular views of the bridge below, but now they've become a bit grimy and they've been

clean for the first time. years of grime coming out of there, vince. look at that! beautiful. look at that. what we're doing is we're cleaning with a nylon brush. we're using purified water, which doesn't leave any imperfections. so when you use it on the glass it's like this, it dries spot free, which means we haven't got to squeegee it off and get rid of any excess water, just a good rinse like that does thejob. the bridge had to be closed through the night for the work to take place was but, of course, river traffic was flowing as normal. have you ever done anything like this before? we have done it on smaller bridges, but nothing quite of this stature nor of this prestige as well. so it's a huge honour, a huge privilege as well. the cost of this extreme window cleaning won't be picked by the taxpayer,

it will be picked up by an ancient charity called the city bridge foundation. is there a lot of grime up there? there's not a lot, because it's on the underside the bridge, the dirt doesn't get there, the rain doesn't get there particularly much, but it is now needed, particularly as you can see on the shelves and the steel work you can see the dirt on the tracks accumulating there. yeah, you can see years ofjust coming out there, it rinses off. yeah, you can see years of dirt coming out there, it rinses off. lovely as well. though it's essentially only a matter of cleaning windows, this is a job that luke and his team will rememberfor a long time to come. definitely got to have a head for heights! that was vince rogers reporting. the olympic flame for this year's games has begun itsjourney to france. the torch set sail from the port of piraeus in greece on board the historic french ship, the belem. its arrival in marseille next month will signal the start of a torch

relay across france, and french territories, which will end at the opening ceremony on the 26th ofjuly. a photo hot spot injapan is going to be blocked by authorities annoyed by badly behaved tourists. a big black barrier is to be erected to obscure views of mount fuji behind this convenience store in fujikawaguchiko. locals accuse mainly foreign tourists of dropping rubbish and parking illegally as they stop for a snap. it'll now be blocked by a 20—metre—long mesh net, after warning signs and security guards were repeatedly ignored. you have been told! that's it from me for the moment, do stay with us here on bbc news. i'm samantha simmonds, thank you for watching. hello there. it certainly has been a saturday

of contrasts across the country. we started off grey and wet across southern england. the rain petered out to a blanket of cloud and drizzle. a lot of cloud across wales, the midlands, for much of the day. further north it was a different story. sunny spells and scattered showers but escape those showers, a beautiful afternoon in fife, as you can see. we have more heavy rain though arriving through the night tonight. it is across the south. that rain — some of it really quite intense — will gradually drift its way steadily north and east as we go through sunday. once again a day of contrasts because the rain will continue to move its way out of the midlands, up into the north—east of england and eastern scotland. west will certainly stay drier and brightest for longest. into the afternoon we should see an improving picture across much of england and wales. sunny spells, a few scattered showers, and temperatures peaking at around 13 degrees. it will be windy on those exposed east coasts. sheltered western areas clinging onto some glimpses of sunshine. a little more cloud generally and the rain still quite heavy and persistent,

with gusts of wind across the east coast of 40—50 miles an hour. that makes the eight degrees in aberdeen feel pretty disappointing. that low eases away. the isobars squeeze together. it stays blustery into monday. on the whole a relatively quiet start to the working week. temperatures to greet us first thing — we are looking at around two to six degrees. it will be dry, there will be some sunshine coming through early on. breezy but a southerly wind will make it start to feel just that little bit milder, particular in the sunnier moments. here is the low moving into northern ireland and perhaps clouding over across western coastal fringes as we go through the day. temperatures in the sunshine should peak at 16 degrees. starting to feel a little better. tuesday, final day of april, could actually see a little more warmth. we have still got this low pressure out to the south—west. because the winds are circulating around that low we are tapping in to a milder south—easterly. that is driving in some warmth from the near continent and you really will start

to notice the difference. for our final day of april, yes, it is likely that we could see temperatures peaking in one or two spots into the high teens. there will be some showers around but a little bit quieter and a little bit warmer than of late.

live from london. this is bbc news

israel's foreign minister says his country's military could defer its planned incursion into rafah — if there is a deal on the hostages. a conservative mp defects to labour — dan poulter says his former party is no longer focused on public services. as a russian missile narrowly misses a kharkiv hospital... president zelensky again calls on ukraine's allies to provide more air defences. and — police have moved in to break up a pro—palestinian protest at northeastern university in boston. officials say a—hundred people were detained. we'll have the latest. hello, i'm samantha simmonds. we start in the middle east — where israel's foreign minister has said that his country's planned military incursion into rafah in gaza could be suspended — if there is a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages held by hamas.

this comes after egyptian mediators arrived in israel —