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i'm thriving by helping others everyday. people who know, know bdo. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news". sumi: i am sumi soman washington and this is bbc world news america. the u.s. is letting out new standards for countries receiving military aid as it warns israel about going over the top and its response in gaza. israel orders a plan ahead of an expected ground invasion. the vote count continues in pakistan as allies of the former prime minister imran khan pull ahead.

♪ sumi: welcome to world news america. we start with a number of developments out of the middle east. israel intercepted dozens of rockets fired from lebanon. the iran backed has movement said the rockets are in response to an attack in southern lebanon. the israeli prime minister ordered evacuation from the city of rafah as ground troops begin to move in. palestinian authorities say two years ago, rafah's population was about 260,000. it is the last major city troops have not entered in the population stands at 1.4 million. antonio guterres called it -- he said such an action would naturally increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare

with unknown consequences. the white house warned it would not support operations in the city calling and unplanned -- a warning, this report has some distressing images. >> israel bombed rafah again. a family wanting medical aid for a child already dead. around 1.2 million palestinian civilians have crammed into rafah. this man said thousands more would be killed if the israelis move their troops in. the kids cannot sleep. they are terrified and so are the adults. hunger and illness is spreading in camps. lines of plastic tents go on for miles. the aid operation -- it says an

israeli offensive into rafah would have terrible consequences. >> such a military operation would add an additional into the gaza strip. >> apocalyptic is a strong word. >> it is a strong word but if you talk about already 5% of the population having been either killed or injured and then you conduct a military operation in the space, you can only add an additional disastrous layer of tragedy and this needs to be avoided. >> he has sacked a dozen employees that would took part in the october 7 attacks. there are serious allegations hanging over this agency, the main provider of humanitarian aid to the people of gaza.

there is israel's seeming determination to extend the military offensive into the town of rafah despite the opposition of its most important ally, the u.s., who says in a fit civilians have suffered enough. those comments will only deepen the suspicion among government supporters. >> it is a terror organization. give the people medicine, food. >> that is an occupation. >> the possibility is to give it back to hamas and to face again another october 7. we will never agree to it. >> he went off to join protesters, mostly religious nationalists, whose views on

gaza are shared by most israelis , urging the government to ignore its critics, including the world court, which is investigating accusations of genocide in gaza, as well as joe biden. it is simple, them or us. sumi: on thursday night, joe biden sharpened his criticism of israel, saying it had gone over the top and its military response in gaza. he issued a memorandum, laying out standards for countries receiving u.s. military aid. countries receiving that aid must sign a waiver promising to maintain international law and not block supplies. countries involved in acts of conflict have 45 days to sign a waiver. others have 180 days. if the agreement is breached the u.s. could halt arms transfers. it requires the administration

submit a report to congress. more than 100 countries received u.s. arms or military aid. israel is historically the biggest recipient, receiving $3.8 billion per year. we could talk about the latest now with a former spokesperson for the israeli defense forces. very good you happy you with us in the studio. i want to start with the national security memorandum. it would mean within 45 days israel would have to sign off saying it is using u.s. weapons in accordance with international law and it is not blocking the entry of any u.s. aid. will israel be able to do so? >> it is an interesting move. i think politically driven from the u.s. perspective. those are the restrictions and limitations that existed before that the u.s. has on providing military aid. i do not think there is anything new of substance.

the declaration is of importance and israel abides by international law and has been providing tens of thousands of trucks going into gaza with humanitarian aid. it would not be difficult to sign off on it. sumi: there are a lot of members of congress who are concerned about the current israeli operation in gaza. you know the numbers well. more than 27,000 killed. right now about -- according to the hamas run health ministry. about 1.7 million people displaced. many aid organizations that the flow of aid has not been forthcoming and has not been enough to make sure people are supplied. >> there is a problem with aid. one problem is hamas is stealing it and harboring it for themselves or selling at 300%, 400% price in gaza, to gazans, even when it is labeled,

intended for aid, not to be sold. israel has been providing, both through egypt and now through israel, as 136 israelis are being held in gaza. humanitarian aid is going in. yes the hostages are inside gaza yet israel is providing military aid. families think that is an absolute travesty. sumi: come back to the hostages. the other piece of information we saw is the prime minister has ordered an evacuation of rafah, possibly preparing for a ground invasion. rafah is where so many gazans went to at the beginning of this operation. aerial footage shows at least half the buildings in gaza are destroyed. where are they supposed to go? >> ideally they would have gone were israel asked him to go in the early stages of the war. sumi: to rafah? >> know, to a humanitarian zone

israel asked for in a sandy area hamas does not have any infrastructure. that is were israel asked for a humanitarian zone. sumi: for nearly 2 million people? >> it would have been much better than being in rafah. if they would have agreed to create humanitarian zone -- israel said we will not strike there because hamas has no infrastructure so it would be the safest place to be. arguably much better than being in rafah. sumi: how can the idf carry forth an operation looking at the situation in rafah? you know there are tens of thousands of people sheltering. there is not much international support. president biden saying the israeli operation have gone over the top. >> it is very interesting and i think it will be very interesting to discover when -- not iff--get to the tunnels underneath rafah, we will have

cameras to show the world what went on for many years, from egypt into gaza, it will be interesting to see because i read, i see a lot of pressure, u.s., egyptian and now european, do not go to rafah. sumi: it is the question of what it takes to get there. >> frankly i do not think the egyptians are concerned about the fate of gazans. they are concerned about other things. what israel is concerned about is to get rid of these tunnels because as long as they are open hamas or any other terrorist organization will have the ability to flow weapons into gaza and that is something israel cannot allow. sumi: we spoke to someone who had a family member who is being held in captivity and two family members who were killed. i want to play you a brief clip of what she said. >> i have to believe that bringing them home is the only way forward because it is the only way that we as a country

move forward. this was a social contract that we would be protected by our government and military and it was broken on the seventh. to begin repairing that, we need to see every single hostage come home. sumi: what do you think of that? do you think the israeli government is supported the stated aim of eliminating hamas above what the hostage's families have said? >> i can feel the pain, i cannot imagine what they are going through. i would have been very happy to see the idf successfully getting hostages out, rescuing them. sadly we have not seen that. the israeli government is left in a difficult situation. i do not think it would be possible for israel to accept the outrageous terms hamas has put forward. using the pain and the suffering of these families in order to make outlandish demands.

they know israel will not end the war. sumi: we have to leave the conversation there but thank you for joining us. >> thank you for having me. sumi: i want to bring in a human rights attorney who has been with us before on bbc news. very good to see you. i want to get your perspective on this, as well. what would you think an evacuation of rafah would mean for those who have set up there? there are tens of thousands of civilians there at the moment. >> very devastating day. as much as it is not surprising because israel has made its intent clear, the were counted has made the intent clear from the beginning. they have told us its goal is to depopulate gaza. they have equated the decimation of hamas, which they cannot achieve militarily with the depopulation of the entire gaza strip. we have seen a pattern and practice of that.

they move them below the line from the north, they move them. they did not provide them safe quarter. they have removed them elsewhere. they were not provided staff quarter. there are now 1.5 million of the two point 2 million people in the gaza strip in rafah, who are now told they do not have. safe quarter there is a pattern and practice indicating israel is aiming to depopulate this trip. the crime of all crimes that is tantamount to genocide. >> the israeli government, the spokesman we just heard from say the goal they have -- their stated aim as you said is to eliminate hamas. they have said it is hamas itself putting palestinians under threat by building

infrastructure in and abetting among civilian populations. what is your response? >> let's be clear. there is no military solution. israel cannot decimate hamas. it has destroyed all of the hospitals, universities, killed 27,000 palestinians. created a situation of starvation and a humanitarian crisis and intelligence tells us they have only destroyed 20% of hamas fighters who still have the capacity to shoot rockets. they are either an awful army or their goal is not decimating hamas. they want to depopulate the gaza strip. we were told us much on november 12. he said this is the -- as to the talking points, those are talking points. i do not understand by we would trust any spokesperson of a belligerent state to tell us what they are doing or not doing. i would get the u.n. observers or the agencies who could tell

us more. they have not demonstrated they have been used as human shields. in the case -- i heard the spokesperson said that hamas was harboring aid and selling it back. just this week israel targeted a u.n. convoy with food. on the seventh, israel targeted a group of palestinians waiting for water. we have to push back -- sumi: i want to jump into ask you a question because we are seeing, as we mentioned earlier, certain conditions to aid. there have been negotiations. they did not lead to a cease-fire this week. are you confident we might see with growing international pressure both sides come to the table and reach a cease-fire agreement that would get the aid in and stop the fighting in the meantime? >> let's be clear, this is not a both sides issue. hamas that it is willing to

release all the hostages. israel has imposed a 17 year siege on the gaza strip which has condemned them to a slow death. 56 years of prolonged military occupation that the icj will be reviewing. it has condemned them to 75 years of colonial removal and apartheid. hamas has made clear it will release all the hostages and has released them through negotiations. it was israel that rejected the cease-fire proposal. here, the impedimentss to the will of the international community, even to u.s. to mastic for a cease-fire has been the united states and israel. sumi: a quick last question. what do you want to see happen next from the international community if you are not constant the players at the table are able to achieve that?

>> they need to do everything in their power to end the genocide happening on livestream. there are children sleeping in chicken farms in rafah. we have left children who are babies who are -- they cannot have formula. all of these countries have the capacity to end their weapons transfers to israel, as has belgium and japan. there are countries that can and diplomatic ties, as has south africa and ireland. there is an arsenal of diplomatic means in order to end a genocide and yet we are hearing instead is a number of condonation, thoughts and prayers. leave that to those praying. states, we ask you to act. for state actors, if you are in a situation where your government is part of the problem, we ask you to resign. sumi: we have run out of time but thank you for joining us on bbc news. >> thank you for having me.

sumi: moving on to other news. pakistan has jailed former prime minister imran khan and he is claiming he is the winner of the general election. mr. khan's party was barred from the election so candidates ran as independents. those candidates are far ahead of rivals. the incumbent prime minister said his party should stay in power. in an ai generated video message mr. khan celebrated what he called a landslide victory. in a postelection rally, mr. sharif invited others to join him in a government. mr. sharif is seen as favorable to pakistan's powerful military. mr. khan was jailed for 10 years for violating official secrets. he said it was politically motivated. foreign governments criticized the political environment under mr. sharif with the foreign minister david cameron criticizing unfairness and a

lack of inclusivity in the election. president vladimir putin said the west needs to realize it is impossible to defeat russia and ukraine. he made his comments during a lengthy interview with tucker carlson. his first one-on-one interview with western media since 2019. mr. putin faced few tough question and was not challenged about war crimes. are russia editor said president putin revealed nothing new in that interview. >> hard-hitting it was not. >> are we having a talkshow or serious conversation? [laughter] >> it was the first time vladimir putin sat down with a western media personality since his full-scale invasion of ukraine. he used the tucker carlson interview to send a message to the west. stop arming ukraine. you will not defeat russia. >> wouldn't it be better to negotiate with russia? make an agreement already

understanding the situation that is developing today? realizing that russia will fight for its interests in the end? i will give you these documents. >> one bizarre moment -- a present from putin. some 17th-century documents and a lecture on 1000 years of russian history. >> judging by how often his face is on russian tv, it is little surprise the kremlin shows tucker carlson for this interview. the conservative commentator from the u.s. is a controversial figure. much of what he says matches the kremlin's anti-liberal worldview. >> most americans have no idea why putin invaded ukraine. >> tucker carlson claim since the russian invasion, not a single western journalist had bothered trying to speak to putin. wrong, there. . imran four hours trying and

failing to ask president putin a question. the kremlin has turned down several bbc bids for an interview. for president putin, this was a platform for transmitting to the west's narrative on the war in ukraine. russia is completely innocent here in the. war is. the fault of the west. more than two hours, he was able to do that, pretty much unchallenged. but tucker carlson did ask about evan gershkovich, the respected u.s. reporter jailed in russia on espionage charges. president putin hinted moscow would be interested in a prisoner exchange, swapping him for a russian assassin convicted in germany. no questions on war crimes or domestic repression in russia. instead, two hours of the world according to vladimir putin.

sumi: the super bowl will see the kansas city chiefs take on the san francisco 49ers in las vegas. while there is a usual excitement about the game at halftime entertainment many headlines are about a celebrity you might not even attend. taylor swift is dating travis kelce. >> it is one of the most-watched sporting events in the world. more than 100 million people tune in for the super bowl every year. the person dominating the headlines is not in the football lineup or even performing at halftime. the romance of pop icon taylor swift and football star travis kelce means it might as well be named the taylor swift bowl. >> taylor dominated the grammys. if you thought she was on your tv a lot wait until next sunday. >> if you're going to bed on the game i of course mean better on taylor swift. >> it is the perfect connection

of two things they love. taylor and football. this four-year-old is a dedicated swifty. >> tell me about what you want to be when you grow up. >> i want to be taylor. >> you want to be taylor? >> i think she is wholesome. and she really does seem like a genuine person. she loves her fans a lot. she has always been a huge star. i think by her being in kansas city and going to the chiefs games, it made her more like a relatable human. >> the taylor swift effect is in full force across the country. >> i love it because i love taylor swift. >> her current music tour is boosting the u.s. economy by billions and some believe she is getting new fans interested in the nfl. >> we were able to double our

sales from last year. it was bigger than any time the chiefs won the super bowl. >> the swift effect is not stop at music and football. one of the world's most prestigious universities is analyzing her impacts. we have come to harvard to find out why students think she is worth studying alongside some of english literature's greatest writers. >> we should offer courses around songwriting as an art form. part of the goal of the course is to appreciate taylor as a major songwriter and see whether songs work as they do. another part of the goal is to say this is connected. >> it is such a great opportunity to study her sound running -- songwriting and influence. ♪ >> with all that power, there are questions if the popstar can politically influence the country. she has not endorsed anyone for the u.s. election yet. ♪ but at the moment for most

people it is really just about the music. in the football. bbc news, kansas city. sumi: you can get the latest on our website, bbc.com/news or check us out on social media to see what we are working on. i am in washington. thank you for watching "world news a narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... man: bdo. accountants and advisors. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: "usa today" calls it, "arguably the best bargain in streaming." that's because the free pbs app lets you watch the best of pbs anytime, anywhere.

away. on the newshour. president biden pushes back at the special counsel's comments on his mental fitness that the white house calls gratuitous. a climate scientist million dollar legal victory shines the light on conservative attacks on science. the father of a palestinian-american teenager killed in the west bank