israel carries out fresh strikes on gaza, as it tells tens of thousands more palestinians to leave rafah, where military operations are intensifying. meanwhile, britain's foreign secretary says restricting arms supplies to israel would not be a wise move and would only play into hamas�*s hand. and the best television programmes of 2023 will be honoured at tonight's bafta tv awards in london. the bbc�*s police drama happy valley has five nominations. israel has told tens of thousands more palestinians to leave rafah and go to al—mawasi, a narrow coastal area which israel calls an "expanded humanitarian zone". it comes as the palestinian health ministry says that eight people have

been killed after houses in the central area of the gaza strip were hit. israel has also sent tanks north of there after a night of heavy aerial and ground bombardments. from jerusalem, paul adams reports. one by one, the people of rafah are leaving. outlying parts of the city now all but deserted. "i wasn't planning on going," hassan says, "but since no—one is left here, i decided to leave. i have to find out where my wife and daughter are." the un says 300,000 people have left already. that's almost a quarter of those sheltering in rafah. most are heading for the coast, to places barely able to sustain

the un says 300,000 people have left already. that's almost a quarter of those sheltering in rafah. most are heading for the coast, to places barely able to sustain life, where exhausted, hungry people fend for themselves. zainab and her children have brought their makeshift tent to the beach. translation: they dropped leaflets on us four times. - after the fourth time, we came here. when i arrived, ifound my tent was worn out. we stayed in it for five months in rafah. i want to try and stitch it, but it's no good. back in rafah, israel's ground operation is almost a week old. the military says it's destroying tunnels, killing hamas fighters, but acting cautiously. our operations against hamas in rafah remains limited in scope and focused on tactical advances, tactical adjustments and key military advantages and have avoided densely populated areas. but some israelis are not reassured. angry protests again last night. these people want the war to stop, and the government to go, and for much more to be done to bring hostages home. yesterday, hamas said a british israeli hostage, nadav popplewell, had been killed in an air strike — claims it's impossible to verify.

in the southern city of ashkelon, evidence that palestinian groups can still launch rockets — three israelis lightly injured in this direct hit overnight — and no sign of any fresh negotiations to bring the war to an end. paul adams, bbc news, jerusalem. dr yassar qureshi, a british surgeon who's just returned from working at the al aqsa matyr hospital gave us his analysis of the humanitarian situation on the ground in gaza. i was stationed at al—aqsa hospital, which is in the centre of gaza, and that place was already way beyond its capacity. so, just to give you an idea, this hospital, which was one of the few remaining partially functioning hospitals left in gaza, the capacity in normal times should be 150 patients. but at this stage, there were well

over 1,000 patients, and each patient with several family members staying with them because they had no other place to go. so it's completely chaotic. it really is quite a catastrophe. there's two or three maybe partially functioning hospitals in rafah. i believe some of them have already been given the evacuation orders. so the knock—on effect on the few remaining hospitals it's unimaginable, the number. yes, as you mentioned there, the al—aqsa martyrs the al—aqsa hospital of the few functioning hospitals in gaza. just tell us about some of the patients that you had to treat and some of the ailments they came in with. yeah, so the team and i noticed certainly three types of patterns of patients which were presenting to the hospital. the first were directly related to bombardment by the israeli forces. so, these were shrapnel injuries, injuries related to explosions,

and these patients came in with life—threatening injuries, which we needed to address pretty quickly, usually with surgery. but there's two other groups of patients which have been sort of underreported. the first is the patients with severe malnutrition. so, these are patients who've had very big operations in the past few weeks, but because of a lack of nutrition, no appropriate medication to treat their infections. these patients are now requiring further operations, but they in a worse and worse position. so, their physiology is such that they're just not healing, and that's having a massive knock—on effect on the mortality rate. and then final group of patients that we've noticed are patients with chronic conditions such as cancers, cardiac disease, renalfailure, who've been completely neglected because the health care system's been overrun. so, these patients who've had no treatment for the last six, seven months and now attending hospital with very end—stage diseases, and sadly, in most of these cases, there's very little that we can offer them — not even medications to help palliate their symptoms. here in the uk, the foreign secretary lord cameron, has defended the government's decision not to withdraw arms export licences to israel.

he said any decision by the uk to suspend weapons sales to israel would strengthen hamas and reduce the chances of a deal to free hostages being held in gaza. but he added that the uk would not support an israeli offensive in the city of rafah without a plan to protect civilians. israel has not had a clean bill of health. on humanitarian aid, there have been real failings and they need to do better. but on the crucial question we have to answer which is, is there a serious risk of exports being used for a serious breach in international law? up to now, in the assessments we've done, we've continued with the export licensing, but it's a rolling process and it looks at what is happening on the ground. you can hear more of that interview later in the programme, but let's get some analysis from our political correspondent, nick eardley. as you heard, david cameron

is pretty clear that the uk is looking closely at what's happening in gaza. there has been some nervousness in the uk government, i think it is fair to say, that the actions of the israeli government. there is real concern about the prospect of a ground invasion or a more substantial ground invasion or a more substantial ground invasion in rafah over the next few days. the thing that the uk could do to put more pressure on israel is not doing. there has been speculation for weeks over whether whether or not there would be a changing of the position on arms licences. that's not happened yet. you heard the foreign secretary say this morning that doing that now could strengthen hamas and the uk government believes it would not be a wise path, it would make getting hostages out even less likely. despite the uk government continuing to say that it has those concerns, it is not changing its mind

at the moment about granting those licenses for arms to be sent to israel. and just talk to us about the domestic pressure within the uk on the government here to try and stop selling arms to israel. how much pressure is there, politically, in the uk for the government? well, there is some. there are certainly some campaigns against this. there are some mps who are very uncomfortable with the situation, like the snp, for example. one of the things reducing the pressure slightly is that the labour party in the uk haven't quite got the point where they're saying "stop all arms sales to israel." they have said they don't want uk weapons used in a ground offensive in rafah, they are saying that they agree with president biden in some senses, but not in that sense at the moment. it is worth pointing out quickly at the uk doesn't sell arms to israel in the same way that the usa does. to israel in the same way the us does. this isn't government to government, state to state. the uk does have some suppliers who are licensed to sell those arms to israel. that's what's in question.

there is definitely some pressure, but t the moment, i don't think it's enough to change the government's mind. more protests are expected in tibilisi later today against a controversial bill that would brand organisations that receive funding from abroad as "agents of foreign influence". the bill is similar to a law passed in russia that critics say was used to crack down on independent media and activist groups. large demonstrations against the bill have been taking place in the capital for weeks and have lead to violent clashes with the police. opposition mp khatia dekanoidze has been speaking to the bbc about why people are opposed to the new law. some of my friends, i mean, they have been labelled as a foreign some of my friends, i mean, they have been labelled as a foreign agent with stickers in front of their apartments. some of my friends had been beaten up. but i don't think that this russian style terror can stop georgian people because we made our geopolitical choice,

we don't want to be russia. it is very obvious for everybody, especially youngsters. a lot of people are finding the whole situation quite confusing because the government keeps denying that they are acting in russia's interests. why do you think the government is pushing for this law? and it looks like they will adopt it, why are they doing this now? ivanishvili wants to monopolise the power, and he understands that he can't really win the elections in 2024, in october, so he decided to eliminate all the civil society members, ngos, opposition. and you see that they even have adopted this law and what kind of intimidation is going on. he is really scared of putin and he thinksjust, you know, to move georgia close to russia, that russia will help him to monopolise the power and to grab the power again. for more, let's speak to our south caucasus correspondent rayhan demytrie, who joins us from tbilisi.

so, the final reading is expected in the coming days with the government firmly backing this. what are demonstrators hoping for? well, they will start out — demonstrators hoping for? well, they will start out a — demonstrators hoping for? well, they will start out a me _ demonstrators hoping for? well, they will start out a me here _ demonstrators hoping for? well, they will start out a me here later - will start out a me here later tonight —— start rallying. this will begin at 10pm local time because they're planning to spend the entire night as i parliament overnight into monday, and on monday, the legal affairs committee of parliament will hold the third and final reading of this controversial law. we have the latest development, a statement made by the country's prime minister, and he said without specifying sources, he said without specifying sources, he said without specifying sources, he said according to their sources, 60% of the georgian population supports this law and the government therefore will adopt the bill. he

also warned against any potential violence overnight and he said the ministry of internal affairs will act accordingly and also making comparisons with what's been happening in the united states and european countries, saying that the police here will respond accordingly. so, we're expecting that it's going to be quite you did —— a heated night. the that it's going to be quite you did -- a heated night.— that it's going to be quite you did -- a heated night. the eu have been auainst it, -- a heated night. the eu have been against it, russia _ -- a heated night. the eu have been against it, russia is _ -- a heated night. the eu have been against it, russia is backing - -- a heated night. the eu have been against it, russia is backing it. - against it, russia is backing it. protesters say this is an attempt by the government in the leasee to block its attempts to join the eu. what's the response to those government claims?— what's the response to those government claims? that's right, it's the main _ government claims? that's right, it's the main reason _ government claims? that's right, it's the main reason why - government claims? that's right, it's the main reason why so - government claims? that's right, it's the main reason why so many people have been out in the streets protesting for nearly three weeks, because they believe that with the adoption of this law, georgia will lose this once—in—a—lifetime opportunity tojoin the

lose this once—in—a—lifetime opportunity to join the european union. it was granted candidate status late last year. since all the statements that were made by european leaders, by the united states, they have been urging the government to reconsider. georgia's president has urged the government to first bone the bill and until after general elections. but the government says they are all has set and they are determined to push ahead. ., . and they are determined to push ahead. . , , and they are determined to push ahead. ., , , , , ahead. rayhan demytrie in tblisi, thank yom _ we just have some breaking news coming in from the reuters news agency, which is at the israeli military has said it's opened a new humanitarian aid crossing into the gaza strip in coordination with the united states. the crossing has been called westin areas and has been

openedin called westin areas and has been opened in the northern strip to transfer humanitarian aid. this is a statement coming in from the israeli military, saying it's open to new humanitarian aid crossing into northern gaza. we'll bring you more news on that as soon as we get it here on bbc news. the taliban say 315 people have now died in devastating flash floods in the north of afghanistan. a spokesman for the interior ministry told the bbc that most of the casualties were in the province of baghlan. emergency teams have been sent to rescue those stranded by the floodwaters. on friday, a massive torrent of water swept away hundreds of houses in several villages. dozens of people are still missing. in the last hour, i spoke with our south asia editor for the bbc world service, anbarasan ethirajan. i asked him what do we know about the impact of these floods.

as we speak now, thousands of people have been left homeless. they are waiting for food, shelter and other help from humanitarian agencies and the authorities. now, these calamitous floods on fridayjust swept through villages, taking down walls on its way, houses, livestock, and also farmland, importantly, for many of those living in the rural areas. so these are devastating floods. we are talking about hundreds killed and thousands injured, and the economic impact is quite huge because people's wealth in these rural areas are livestock and most of the livestock has been wiped out. and people will come back to their houses, whatever is remaining there, they find that their houses are full of mud and most of the belongings washed away, cracks on the houses.

so, these are already suffering communities in the rural part of northern afghanistan, they also had very strong floods last month that killed about 100 people. so, aid agencies are now struggling to reach out to many of these people because the transportation, the transport infrastructure has been severely hit — bridges, roads — so people are now not able to move from one village to another because there are still flowing rivers without any means of crossing these hurdles at the moment. and how were the taliban authorities responding to the crisis and how prepared were they for a disaster like this? already afghanistan has spain and are facing a number already, afghanistan has spain and are facing a number of natural disasters in the past two years. for example, they had quite a few earthquakes last year and then unseasonal floods, rains and floods and now they are having this and taliban are struggling. first of all, they don't have a very detailed infrastructure

for emergency rescue and effort. they say that they are now deploying some helicopters to take food and material. baghlan, badakhshan, herat, so in takhar province. so they are literally struggling to cope with this magnitude of this disaster. and the humanitarian agencies are now calling for more help. they are also on the ground. they are also on the ground, but then again, the scale is so huge they are asking for help from other countries and also from other aid groups. but what people are struggling now is to how they can go back to their villages and find because many of them are still not sure about what happened to their relatives as the dozens are still missing. and this is the kind of disaster what these people here and the taliban authorities are facing now. voting is under way in catalonia where pro—independence supporters wanting to break away from spain are hoping to maintain their majority in the regional parliament. catalonia made a failed attempt

to break away from spain in 2017, and the election comes as the parliament in madrid is expected to approve a controversial amnesty law for separatist catalans facing legal action. our correspondent guy hedgecoe is in madrid. he told us what choices the voters have in these regional elections. well, catalonia has quite an unusual political landscape because you have a division between the left and the right, which you see across the rest of the country. but it also has that division between those who want independence and those who don't. so, for example, the party of spanish prime minister pedro sanchez, the socialist party, which looks like it could win this election, is opposed to independence and self—determination. so that could mean that it makes it

very difficult for it to form a new government after the election, even if it wins. there are two major pro—independence parties vying to be the main nationalist party in the region. but the big question is whether, together with those parties, together along with other smaller nationalist parties, whether they can hang on to that pro—independence majority, which pro—independence parties have had for about a decade and a half. guy hedgecoe there. at the eurovision song contest final pro—palestinian protesters clashed with police over israel's involvement. israeli contestant eden golan was booed at the malmo arena in sweden. the build—up to the show also saw the dutch entry disqualified for a backstage incident. but ultimately, switzerland were crowned the winners of this year's competition — one of the most controversial song contests of recent times. our arts correspondent, david sillito, reports from malmo. switzerland, winning one of the most extraordinary eurovision song contests

of all time. fans had had to file into the arena amidst a small melee of police and protesters. the presence of israel in the final has provoked demonstrations and discomfort from some of the competitors. but when israel's eden golan took the stage, all passed without incident. the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, said her presence alone meant she'd already won. there were, though, jeers from some parts of the crowd at the end. for the uk, olly alexander's performance of dizzy was definitely dizzying. the cheer at the end, whatever the voters thought, the uk's pride was in tact. and then the mysteries of eurovision voting, which began with boos for the eurovision�*s martin osterdahl. booing what can you tell us about the result? and the politics of the evening

led to some last—minute changes of presenters. but it was soon apparent there was a runaway victor — switzerland with nemo's spinning operatic the code. for the uk, 18th place. but after the withdrawals, the disqualification and the protests, by the end, it feels very eurovision and very much switzerland's night. david sillito, bbc news, malmo. scott bryan is a tv critic and broadcaster. he looked back at what has been a controversial and politicised eurovision song contest. made at the ebu will be looking back and probably thinking to themselves, my word. i feel in the lead up to it in the weeks running up, israel's or just a patient has had protests and calls for boycotts, while there have been many people thinking the country should remain within the

contest, too. ithink country should remain within the contest, too. i think the last 2a hours, with spokespeople leaving the competition and not representation their country, and of course booing from martin auster, i think it has been obviously a difficult contest for them. been obviously a difficult contest forthem. i been obviously a difficult contest for them. i think as of piece of tv, it was smooth sailing and no interruptions. it went pretty smoothly, and i think at the end of it, ended up with having a very standout winter. i think it became out the last part of the contest, but this shows to me that the revision has been through the wringer and as we look ahead, you wonder how we rug reflected.

the best television programmes of 2023 will be honoured at tonight's bafta tv awards in london. sucession and the bbc�*s police drama happy valley both have five nominations. netflix's the crown has four. the actor brian cox who plays the lead in the series succession, which is nominated for a number of baftas has been speaking to our entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba. succession, up for five awards today. you're up for best actor. i mean, what's it been like the journey been like the journey with this character? we've had a great time. you know, it's been a phenomenal success more than we ever imagined. you know, wejust do the work, and it's up to the audience to either like it or not like it, and apparently they loved it. and people watch it again and again and again. so, no it's been a great show, a great show to do,

and i'm very proud that i did it. you say it's up to you to do the work, but you've done so many scripts over the years, you must get some and think, you know what, this has the potential to be something special. i mean, i knew this. i knew about this. i had the pitch from jesse and adam mckay, who was one of our producers, and who did the pilot, who actually directed the pilot. so, when the pitch came, i knew, because there's a tradition of shows like dallas and those family shows, and i think that succession is slightly more upmarket than that. but it's basically the same principle, and it worked and it worked for the audience, and that was the key. you've been a huge name in the industry, done some amazing work over the years. but it seems succession has pushed you up a notch in the recognisability factor. how's that been? it's not altogether comfortable because i loved my anonymity. i've been doing this for 60

years, so i kind of liked the fact that i could bob and reeve and people say, oh, it's you were. oh, no. theyjust want me to do the expletive and that's it. well, we're live on bbc news, so we'll let that one go. there will be no expletive. brian cox, thank you so much. enjoy the evening. best of luck in your category. you can follow news from the bafta tv awards ceremony — as it happens in london — on the live page on the bbc news website. if you're in the uk there's also coverage of the event on bbc iplayer. a reminder of the breaking news in the past hour it was that the israeli military has opened a new aid crossing into the northern gaza strip in coordination with the united states, it's called the crossing... this comes with concerns about the situation in northern gaza. you're watching bbc news. stay with us.

hello. as the weekend draws to an end, so does the generally dry and very warm weather. storms have been breaking out across western parts of the uk and that pretty much sets the scene for the week ahead. it's going to be more unsettled and not quite as warm. and this evening and overnight, it's an area of low pressure is approaching us and that spells rain for some of us on monday. but more recently, it's been about the storms and here are the lightning strikes and the satellite image and see across northern ireland, south western parts of the uk and some thunderstorms breaking out across western scotland to no storms further east or south. and through the evening we will have seen these storms, local downpours, flash flooding in places moving northwards and towards the east. but in some areas, we still have clear skies tonight. and guess what? i know that last night was disappointing, but tonight, if you're inclined to have a look, there is a chance

of seeing a faint aurora almost anywhere in the uk, say between around 11pm and 2am, if you're inclined to know when going to work first thing. now, here's monday's forecast. so, we start the day with some hazy sunshine, temperatures 10—13 degrees. outbreaks of rain with this weather front sweeping into cornwall, devon, wales through ireland into the irish sea, but never reaches at least during the day, eastern parts of the country here, some hazy skies and very warm — 23 in norwich, hull and also newcastle, much fresher with that cloud of rain towards the west. they're about 15 celsius and it's a slow moving weather front. a slow—moving weather front, and one of the reasons is because this low pressure kind of stalled here. it's not really moving anywhere. so the weather front is rotating

around and back into the center of the low, and that means that on tuesday, it's eastern areas that are stuck underneath the cloud and the outbreaks of rain probably not as persistent by that stage — bigger gaps in the clouds. i think by that stage, we have some sunny spells, but i think lower temperatures for all of us. and this is more or less bang on the average, be it a little on the high side. still, i think for parts of scotland now, that low will eventually kind of rain itself out as we go through the week and the possibility of high pressure moving back in again. but i think overall, if we look at the weather icons, i think shower clouds most days on average temperatures, i think in the south, typically in the high teens. that's it for me. thanks for watching.

this is bbc news, the headlines... israel carries out fresh strikes on gaza, as it tells tens of thousands more palestinians to leave rafah, where military operations are intensifying. it comes as britain's foreign secretary, david cameron, says restricting arms deliveries to israel because of the war would strengthen hamas. relief workers are struggling to deliver aid to those hit hard by devastating floods in northern afghanistan. the un's world food programme says more than 300 people have died and thousands more have been injured after rivers of water and mud swept away houses. and the best television programmes of 2023 will be honoured at tonight's bafta tv awards in london, as stars arrive at the red carpet. the bbc�*s police drama happy valley and sky atlantic's succesion are leading the way with five nominations apiece, while netflix's the crown has four.

hello i'mca the commander of ukraine's armed forces has warned that his troops are finding it difficult to hold their positions in the northeastern region of kharkiv, after russian forces launched a fresh assault last week. the regional governor says all areas of the northern border are under enemy fire "almost around the clock". moscow claims to have captured another four villages, after seizing five yesterday. let's get more on this with the world service's europe regional editor danny aeberhard. so, these are developments happening in the kharkiv region, what are the authorities there saying?— in the kharkiv region, what are the authorities there saying? you've got two ma'or authorities there saying? you've got two major messages _ authorities there saying? you've got two major messages that _ authorities there saying? you've got two major messages that have - authorities there saying? you've got| two major messages that have come across today, catherine. this all

starts, really, on friday, when russian forces made separate incursions at two points across the border between russia and ukraine. this is the first time that they've done that since they were kicked out of the region in 2022. so the commander of the ukrainian forces, general alexanders here ski, said the situation of his troops in that area has significantly worsened since friday. and he saying that ukrainian forces are now trying, doing everything they can to hold onto their defensive positions there but it's clearly been reading the lines from a different difficult situation. it's notjust difficult there, he says it's difficult in other parts of the region and further south in doughnuts, there are fearsome battles happening in a number of areas around the front line. the governor of kharkiv who has also been talking about a complicated situation there, says

there, the shelling and artillery strikes aerial bombardment 2a hours a day, across the northern border and he's also talking and he's been trying to organise evacuations, so he said in the last couple of days, 4000 people have been evacuated from that area. he still says there are 500 civilians still in one of the towns coming under russian pressure. at the same time, we're hearing of a strike in belgrade in russia, and different accounts as to what's happened. different accounts as to what's happened-— different accounts as to what's hauened. ~ ., ~ ., , ., ., happened. what we know is that an entire section, _ happened. what we know is that an entire section, ten _ happened. what we know is that an entire section, ten stories - happened. what we know is that an entire section, ten stories high, - happened. what we know is that an entire section, ten stories high, of| entire section, ten stories high, of an apartment block in south of belgrade collapsed with an explosion hitting the base of the building or taking place in the base of the building earlier on today. there's a huge pile of rubber though. we know at least six people have died, according to the russian authorities, they've been pulled out of the rubble dead. there have been another 20 people injured including another 20 people injured including a one and a half month old baby

according to the region's governor and another teenager. and there's a massive ongoing rescue operation there, they still think seven people are missing and they may find survivors still under the rubble. the russian authorities call this terrorism but what they are not referencing is what russia has been doing inside ukraine for the last two years. and belgrade road itself is only 30 km from one of these areas in kharkiv, they are very close, they are cities. so there is a correlation there between that fighting. it's interesting, the russian military of defence suggested it was a fragment of a ukrainian missile that hit the building. the ukrainians have cast out on that, one official even said that it may have been a glide bomb that it may have been a glide bomb that caught one of these devastating weapons that are fired from a distance towards ukraine but maybe the glide wings of the glide bomb

didn't open and that's what caused the devastation, so we wait to see. denny, thank you very much for bringing us those developments. let's return to the middle east, where israel has launched further air strikes on the gaza strip. these are live pictures coming to us from the israel gaza border. israel has told tens of thousands more palestinians to leave rafah and go to al—mawasi, a narrow coastal area which israel calls an "expanded humanitarian zone". it comes as the palestinian health ministry says that eight people have been killed after houses in the central area of the gaza strip were hit. israel has also sent tanks north of there after a night of heavy aerial and ground bombardments. drjames smith is a british doctor currently working from the un building in rafah. speaking to the bbc earlier he outlined what the situation — on the ground is like. i went to rafah today.

the streets that were previously packed with idp's living in makeshift tents, most of those tents have now been dismantled and people have fled. the area immediately around the un building is almost unrecognisable now. all of the people that were seeking some degree of sanctuary there have fled. the roads yesterday from rafah city up towards khan younis were completely packed with people. it was almost impossible to move. we also saw people moving by foot for the first time now — that's because there are so few vehicles available to transport i went to rafah today. people and the cost of a journey in a vehicle or even on a donkey cart now is prohibitively expensive for many people. the british foreign secretary has reiterated the government doesn't support a �*major operatation�* in rafah, without a plan to protect civilians. speaking on sunday with laura kuenssberg, lord cameron says he's not seen such a plan.

it comes after the israel military intensified its operations in southern gaza, telling tens of thousands palestinians to leave rafah. let's take a listen to lord cameron's interview. we don't believe they should go in for a major operation in rafah unless they have a plan to move people out of the way and to make sure they have shelter and food and medicine. we haven't seen that plan, so we don't support a major operation in rafah. but i do think the us and uk are in quite different situations. the us is a massive bulk supplier of weapons sort of state to state. we don't do anything like that. indeed, uk export of weapons under our very strict licensing system is less than 1% of israel's weapons. but this is a question of principle, though, isn't it? president biden has very clearly said if you take this action, there will be this consequence. it's not about how much is supplied, is it? it's about the principle. and i think the principle in our case is that we have a very strict system based on legal advice

to the foreign secretary. and ourjob is not to publish that legal advice or comment on the legal advice. it's to act consistently with it. and that's what we do. it's a rolling process that looks at what israel is doing, looks at humanitarian aid, looks at the treatment of detainees, and crucially looks at the behaviour of the israeli defence forces and asks that central question is there a serious risk of a serious — breach of international humanitarian law? and at the moment the answer... the answer up to now has been that we've allowed the export licensing to continue, and that's a rolling process and we work on the basis of the advice. but in terms of president biden�*s very clear now warning that if they go into rafah, you've said you don't want them to go into rafah. he said there will be a cost and that's not just about what's actually sent or supplied. it is also about a powerful diplomatic message. it is about a principle. one of our viewers wanted us to ask

you about this deal. one of our viewers wanted us to ask you about this. it's undoubtedly true we could, if we chose to make a sort of political message and say, we're going to take that political step. now, the last time i was urged to do that, just a few days late, i didn't do that. and just a few days later, there was a brutal attack by iran on israel, including 140 cruise missiles. so there's not sort of, you know, tiny drones, huge cruise missiles blasting into israel. and i think it would have sent entirely the wrong message. it would have been a very unwise move. so, you know, as we stand here today, i think there is a better answer, which is, you know, hamas must take the hostage deal. you get the pause in the fighting, you build a ceasefire out of that. but i think actually, just to simply announce today "we're going to change our whole approach to arms exports rather than go through our careful process," it would strengthen hamas. it would make a hostage deal less likely. i don't think it would be

the right approach. so is president biden wrong to take that approach then? he is in a totally different position. they are a massive state... for them, it's not so much a principle because actually it's really they are a massive state supplier of weaponry. they are involved in the idf, tactical and strategic thinking. it's a totally different situation and i'm not really you know, and i'm not really... you know, what i want to do is make sure british policy has impact. you know, we've got three things we want to achieve. we want to stop the fighting, get the hostages out and remove the hamas threat. we want to get aid into the palestinian people in gaza. and we crucially want the long term solution of the two—state solution i was talking about. what i measure is, you know, are we making progress on those things? that's frustrating. not enough aid is getting through, but we're hammering away every day on "open the port of ashdod. "get this pier built off the off the gazan beach. "switch on the water and the fuel back into gaza. "get the 500 trucks a day." that's what we're doing, hammering away on that because that will make a real difference.

i'm not really interested in the sort of message sending. i'm interested in what can we do to maximise the british pressure and the outcome that will help people in their lives, including getting the hostages, including british nationals, by the way, released. working parents in england can now apply for 15 hours of government funded free care a week for children from the age of nine months. but there are concerns about a shortage of available places and childcare providers say the government's hourly rate often doesn't cover their full costs, so parents can be charged extra. our business correspondent marc ashdown has more. the lack of affordable childcare is often one of the biggest barriers cited by parents trying to find or get back into work. the government hopes by expanding free childcare places to even younger children in england, it may help tip the balance so many more people can afford to get a job. from today, working parents of a child aged nine months can

apply for 15 hours of free childcare a week. the places will be available from the start of the september term. it comes after two—year—olds started getting access to 15 free hours from april, and three and four—year—olds already qualify for up to 30 hours a week for free. the plan is eventually to offer 33 hours to all under—five children but there are concerns they may not be enough places to meet demand. the department for education estimates that 85,000 more childcare places and 40,000 extra staff would be needed by september 2025 and even though the hourly rate paid to childcare providers is going up, some say it often does not cover overall costs, so parents can sometimes be charged for extras like meals, nappies, and trips to help balance books. on average, people are paying £158 per week for a part—time

place for one child, and that went up 7% since last year. those costs are crippling families, especially when there are so many other costs have been authorising leaving parents in a position where they cannot afford to work or not work. the prime minister said today's change delivers on a promise to oversee the biggest expansion of childcare in history. labour has criticised the plan as a total mess which it would look to reform but that it would honour the promises made in this expansion plan. marc ashdown, bbc news. manchester camerata are one of the uk's top symphony orchestras. their dayjob usually involves playing mozart or bethoven symphonies — but they've taken on a new role. helping to tackle demantia. they've been given more than a million pounds — to work with the alzheimer's society — to deliver music cafes and therapy sessions — to more than a thousand people living with demantia across the city region. juliet phillips reports. one music as a form of medicine. this workshop at gorton monastery sees people with dementia

and their carers playing alongside musicians from manchester's camerata orchestra. forjohn and his daughterjo, it's the highlight of their week. try on the drums. you've had a good try on the drums. yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. but i can only play them loud. i know you can't. you don't like the bells, do you? when it goes to the bells, you're a bit. what are these? what do we do here with the bells? you want the drums? small workshops like this one will be rolled out across greater manchester thanks to a £1 million funding boost. amina, who runs these sessions, has seen the difference.

music can make people arrive at the sessions and they might have had a bad night or a bad few days. and they come because they're their carers or their family members know that they love it when they get here. and then by the end of the session they, they seem like quite different people. they're much more themselves, much more...in tune with how they're feeling and like lifted spirits. the new funding will also support the alzheimer's society's singing for the brain programme. an army of 300 community volunteers will be recruited to support the roll out of this mammoth musical project. you just have to have an interest in music, be a people person and want to make a difference for people with dementia and carers and just want to come along and have a fantastic experience in the singing group where people just sort of become alive and animated in that situation. so rewarding to see and we want people who would really love to do that sort of thing. it's hoped in the long term the model will be scaled up and rolled out across the uk. for collette, the impact these sessions are having on herfather in law, alan, is already clear to see. it's difficult to pinpoint one thing that makes it so worthwhile, and it's definitely something

that enhances his life. skydivers have made history after successfully completing a wingsuit flight through the tower bridge in london. our reporter emily brown can tell us more. two skyd ivers two skydivers took off this morning, here they are. they completed the first ever wings to fly to the tower bridge in london, they took off from a helicopter about 3000 feet above the city. this is about 530 in the morning, earlier, and here they go through the tower bridge. they then flew 260 feet back up, this is a complex manoeuvre called a flare, so that they could safely open their parachutes and then they landed on the river thames. and the flights lasted about 45 seconds covering a distance of about 1.2 km, reaching a

top speed of 246 kph. now to prepare for the challenge, the pair carried out more than 200 practice jumps using two cranes to mimic the structure of the bridge and the skydivers gave their reaction after landing safely earlier. i'm feeling good, i'm feeling really good. it was quite intense, i would say, but yeah. we were well prepared and i'm really happy now. yeah, everything worked out really good so the last two years - we planned everything through, l so from the beginning to the end we had the best training, the best preparation, - we did around 200 training jumps just for this project. _ so we were well prepared. there we go. very happy skydivers there after completing the first ever wing suit flight through the tower bridge in london.- ever wing suit flight through the tower bridge in london. emily, thank ou for tower bridge in london. emily, thank you forthat — tower bridge in london. emily, thank you for that story. _ here in the uk — as summer approaches, increasing numbers are heading to the coast.

the idea of banning dogs on beaches during this period is proving quite divisive, as phil norton reports. # the sound of sunshine coming down... the sun is finally shining, and where better to head than the beach. four—legged friends are very much part of the family. but here in sutton on sea, there is a dividing line. in summer, you can't take your dogs on the beach on this side of the line but you can on this side of the line, and some people say this rule should change. claire is a dog owner and runs a dog exercise business nearby and says it is outdated, hard to enforce and putting dog owners off visiting the coast. the amenities here are quite a long way down the beach here and we can't go on the beach until we are here so we are missing out on the bars, cafes and ice creams, toilets.

if you start in the place where you should be and go for a nice walk along the shoreline, how are you supposed to know when the ban begins? irresponsible dog owners that should be other than everyone else being punished. yesterday we went to cleethorpes i and we have to walk miles and then it was like a river. would that stop you going to cleethorpes again? this one was covered in mud. as we were filming, martin and his dog separate started off and his dog pepper started off on the wrong side of the bad line but were heading to the right light side of it. but a few others, he actually agrees with the ban. i agree with it. the children come, everybody else, we have tonnes of beach to go on. if you have young children running around, you don't want dog poo on the beach, do you? i am all for it because there - is nothing worse than inadvertently

stepping in dog's mess on the beach. it is nice to come to the beach and not have to worry about where you are walking or to bump into dogs that you don't really want to greet, whereas the owners think you would like that. leanne from the resort team supports the ban. they leave bags of dog poo. we have found many but now since then we have not had one. te council says its priority is to maintain clean and safe public spaces for everyone to enjoy and that last year it reviewed and added more clear signage. it also says the restrictions are needed to help keep the area's blue flag award. life is not always a beach for man's best friend. philip norton, bbc news. manchester united have beaten tottenham in the women's fa cup final.

lucia garcia scored two goals in the 4—0 victory in front of a packed wembly stadium. both teams were looking to win the cup for first time but it was the reds who came out on top in front of a crowd of over 76,000. we spoke to manchester united fan, natalie burrell, earlier today on the fan coach on the way down and now we can speak to her on the coach again after seeing her team lift the cup. so, natalie, tell us how you are feeling. i'mjust so, natalie, tell us how you are feeling. i'm just over the moon, everyone here is so excited. you know, just the feeling, watching the balls go in, it was a hard first half for ella tune, scored the first goal on the way, could have been five or six in the end, we were

delighted. five or six in the end, we were delighted-— five or six in the end, we were deliahted. ., , delighted. five or six in the end. and we are _ delighted. five or six in the end. and we are seeing _ delighted. five or six in the end. and we are seeing pictures - delighted. five or six in the end. and we are seeing pictures of. delighted. five or six in the end. | and we are seeing pictures of the crowds there, 76,000 spectators, the stadium was packed. just describe the atmosphere there. filth. stadium was packed. just describe the atmosphere there.— the atmosphere there. oh, it was electric. the atmosphere there. oh, it was electric flags — the atmosphere there. oh, it was electric. flags were _ the atmosphere there. oh, it was electric. flags were waving, - electric. flags were waving, constantly, singing songs, i go to a lot of the games as well and to me it's just as good, i enjoyed watching both teams and i'm just so delighted that manchester united women have been around since 2018 and this was there for silverware. natalie, i think the line is breaking up slightly, i'll try again, natalie. obviously this comes at a time when manchester united women's have struggled to win. what could this mean for the team? first

troh in could this mean for the team? first trephy in five _ could this mean for the team? first trophy in five years, _ could this mean for the team? first trophy in five years, i _ could this mean for the team? f “st trophy in five years, i want this to be the first of many.— be the first of many. the first of many and _ be the first of many. the first of many and we've _ be the first of many. the first of many and we've seen _ be the first of many. the first of. many and we've seen obviously the women's game going from strength to strength even though tottenham didn't lift the cup, i imagine it had loads of supporters in the stadium. what do you think this means for the game, the amount of support that women players are getting at the moment? yet. support that women players are getting at the moment? yet, so this is the second — getting at the moment? yet, so this is the second time, _ getting at the moment? yet, so this is the second time, wimberly - getting at the moment? yet, so this is the second time, wimberly had i is the second time, wimberly had over 70,000 so i think it'sjust going to continue and football is growing and a lot more people coming to stadiums, supporting their team and this is what we need for the women's game to grow in england. that's what we need for the women's game. and just describe the atmosphere there on the fan coach as you and the rest of the fans are heading back home.— heading back home. yeah, it's coming in it, that's why _ heading back home. yeah, it's coming in it, that's why it _ heading back home. yeah, it's coming in it, that's why it was _ heading back home. yeah, it's coming in it, that's why it was breaking - in it, that's why it was breaking up because everyone was just singing,

having a good time. we are now hopeful... we'rejust having a good time. we are now hopeful... we're just delighted that the women have gone and won their first trophy. thud the women have gone and won their first trephy-— the women have gone and won their first trophy. and excited manchester united fan there, _ first trophy. and excited manchester united fan there, natalie, _ first trophy. and excited manchester united fan there, natalie, thank - first trophy. and excited manchester united fan there, natalie, thank you j united fan there, natalie, thank you forjoining us on bbc news. this is carrying a satellite, these are images shortly that you see of this satellite launch by china. and officials describe the mission as space environment monitoring. the long march rockets have taken part in more than 500 space missions. now, majorspoileralert in more than 500 space missions. now, major spoiler alert here, some of the final draft of the winners have just been announced, the first

award... jasminejobson — top boy — best supporting actressmatthew matthew mcfadden — succession — best supporting actor best entertainment programme — strictly come dancing some of the winners there at the back to awards in london, of course you can go to the bbc website where you can go to the bbc website where you can go to the bbc website where you can watch live coverage there from the awards here in london. a reminder of one of our top stories here, and we have live pictures coming in from gaza and the israeli military has said it has opened a new crossing into the territory in the northern part of gaza. they are calling this crossing western errors. we'll have more of that here on bbc news, we you're watching bbc news, stay with us.

hello. as the weekend draws to an end, so does the generally dry and very warm weather. storms have been breaking out across western parts of the uk and that pretty much sets the scene for the week ahead. it's going to be more unsettled and not quite as warm. and this evening and overnight, it's an area of low pressure is approaching us and that spells rain for some of us on monday. but more recently, it's been about the storms and here are the lightning strikes and the satellite image and see across northern ireland, south western parts of the uk and some thunderstorms breaking out across western scotland to no storms further east or south. and through the evening we will have seen these storms, local downpours, flash flooding in places moving northwards and towards the east. but in some areas, we still have clear skies tonight. and guess what? i know that last night was disappointing, but tonight, if you're inclined to have a look, there is a chance of seeing a faint aurora almost

anywhere in the uk, between around 11pm and 2am, if you're inclined to know if you're inclined to. i know we're going to work first thing. now, here's monday's forecast. so, we start the day with some hazy sunshine, temperatures 10—13 degrees. outbreaks of rain with this weather front sweeping into cornwall, devon, wales through ireland into the irish sea, but never reaches at least during the day, eastern parts of the country. here, some hazy skies and very warm — 23 in norwich, hull and also newcastle, much fresher with that cloud and rain towards the west. they're about 15 celsius and it's a slow—moving weather front, and one of the reasons is because this low pressure kind of stalled here. it's not really moving anywhere. so the weather front is rotating around and back into the center of the low, and that means that on tuesday, it's eastern areas that are stuck underneath the cloud and the outbreaks of rain probably not as persistent by that stage — bigger gaps in the clouds. i think by that stage, we have some sunny spells, but i think lower temperatures for all of us.

and this is more or less bang on the average, for parts of scotland. now, that low will eventually kind of rain itself out as we go through the week and the possibility of high pressure moving back in again. but i think overall, if we look at the weather icons, i think shower clouds most days, on average temperatures i think in the south, typically in the high teens. that's it for me. thanks for watching.

live from london. this is bbc news. israel carries out fresh strikes on gaza as it tells tens of thousands more palestinians to leave rafah, where military operations are intensifying. meanwhile, britain's foreign secretary says restricting arms supplies to israel would not be a wise move and would only play into hamas's hand. fighting in north—eastern ukraine continues to intensify as russia claims the capture of four more villages in the kharkiv region. and the best television programmes of 2023 will be honoured at tonight's bafta tv awards in london. the bbc�*s police drama happy valley has five nominations. hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan. president biden�*s national security

adviser has warned that israel's operation in rafah won't "succeed in defeating hamas