we'll be live in london. hello, i'm nicky schiller. welcome to the programme. in gaza, nine people are reported to have been killed in overnight attacks on rafah. more thani million people have sought refuge there. benjamin netanyahu says he remains committed to a big military offensive in rafah in the south of the strip. where 1.5 million palestinians are estimated to be sheltering. that's more than half of gaza's population. they says it's to defeat hamas, which is designated a terrorist group by many western governments. the us and other allies have warned mr netanyahu against such a full—scale assault on rafah.

these are images from overnight israeli strikes. gaza's health ministry said the fatalities happened when an israeli strike hit two apartments in one block. several other people were wounded. i will take you to pictures from outside the hospital in rafah, where families are mourning their dead from that overnight strike. air strikes also reportedly destroyed at least five houses in the refugee camp in central go is a. these are live pictures housing displaced gazans in rafah. the un agency for palestinian refugees is warning the risk of disease across gaza is rising come up with sanitation and malnutrition a real concern. scott anderson, director of the affairs for unrwa, in rafah, he has said the aid situation was not improving on the ground.

five days ago, ibrahim assalia, his wife and children managed to flee gaza to cairo, but much of his family is still in rafah. he told me about their journey earlier. in order to flee from rafah to the egyptian side, you have to register in a company called halla. you have to wait, like, 30 days to be approved in the list. actually, i have raised money and i paid for me and for my family. and part of my family make it, and right now, we are in cairo. but still, part of other family — like my brother and his wife and sister and their sister and his husband and kids — are still trapped in rafah. and how concerned are you about the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu's plans to carry out more of an offensive in rafah and what it will mean for the people that you've left there? actually, what makes me scared and other people, at the beginning, the us president and other leaders

in the world, they were talking about, we are against any operation in rafah. but before two days ago, there was, like, behind the same message, like, we are not supporting a wide operation in rafah. so, the message has changed. and now we are concerned that there will be a ground invasion in rafah. and right this moment, after what we witnessed in shifa hospital and khan younis in the north, we are fully understanding what ground invasion means. so, we are scared, we are traumatised, because we are fully understanding, what will that mean? live tojerusalem and our correspondent, wyre davies. tell us what more we know are no strikes overnight on rafah and gaza. there appear to have been two areas, the refugee camp in central gaza and an air strike the refugee camp in central gaza and an airstrike on the refugee camp in central gaza and an air strike on a tower block or a block of flats in rafah. that is the

town or city in southern gaza which israel has vowed to attack in a pretty major way and launched a major military offensive because it is there where israel says the remnants of the hamas leadership and many fighters are now base, having been pushed out of other areas where there have been israeli military operations. and israel has repeatedly said the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has vowed again and again there will be a full—scale military offensive to defeat hamas once and for all because he cannot declare victory, he says he cannot declare the war over until that has happened. that comes amid growing international concern and criticism. yesterday, the american secretary of state macro yet again warned israel not to conduct a full—scale military offensive because principally of the human c10 —— the humanitarian consequences, there are hundreds of thousands of people who are

displaced, living in and around rafah and there is great concern what would happen to them in the event of an israeli attack. what we saw last night was not a full—scale offensive, we are just starting the israeli holy week of passover in any full—scale offensive will probably not come until after the end of passover. but there was a significant military activity last night that had not gone away, despite the world's attention being focused on what was happening between iran and israel. we have -ictures between iran and israel. we have pictures of _ between iran and israel. we have pictures of one — between iran and israel. we have pictures of one of _ between iran and israel. we have pictures of one of those - between iran and israel. we have pictures of one of those camps i between iran and israel. we have l pictures of one of those camps that is for the refugees around rafah. and the un agency for palestinian refugees are also saying today they are worried about the threat of disease outbreaks in gaza as the summer approaches and the temperatures rise.— summer approaches and the temperatures rise. yes, there are alwa s temperatures rise. yes, there are always problems _ temperatures rise. yes, there are always problems down _ temperatures rise. yes, there are always problems down there - temperatures rise. yes, there are | always problems down there when temperatures rise. yes, there are - always problems down there when the heat rises, mosquitoes, malaria, other diseases that might not be a problem. if it were not for the war situation, the fact that most hospitals are not functioning

properly. some more aid is getting income and no doubt about that, under pressure from the americans are aid agencies, the israelis are clearly allowing a lot more aid in and more aid is getting in along this sea route the americans have helped build a tenby harbour in the north of gaza and it is clear more aid is getting in through there. —— have helped build a harbour. joe biden welcomes that, but it's not enough and they need more to get into gaza to alleviate a desperate humanitarian situation. liege into gaza to alleviate a desperate humanitarian situation.— humanitarian situation. live from jerusalem. _ humanitarian situation. live from jerusalem, thank _ humanitarian situation. live from jerusalem, thank you. _ iran's foreign minister has downplayed israel's involvement in the recent attack on his country, describing the weapons used as more like "children's toys", rather than drones. hossein amir—abdollahian made the comments in an interview with us media. he said israeli microdrones used in the operation had caused no deaths or damage, and dismissed it as a "desperate attempt" by israel to "make a victory out of their repeated defeats". he said iran would respond at the "maximum level" if israel

acts against its interests. tehran�*s muted response to friday morning's events has raised hopes that tensions between the countries can be dampened, and a wider escalation averted. 0ur north america correspondent will vernon reports. it's been just over 2a hours since iran came under attack. us officials say israel fired at least one missile into iranian territory. no major damage or casualties were reported. this was a relatively small—scale strike by israel. earlier, the us secretary of state antony blinken would not comment on reports the white house was informed in advance about the israeli assault. the united states has not been involved in any offensive operations. what we're focused on, what the g7 is focused on — and, again, it's reflected in our statement and

in our conversation — is our work to de—escalate tensions. and this is why the us and its allies want to calm tensions. iran attacked israel, with more than 300 missiles and drones, causing little damage. the fear in the west is that a cycle of retaliation between israel and iran could ignite a wider war. and there is hope too that the limited nature of the israeli attack will allow the iranians to walk away from any further response. officials in tehran have been downplaying the significance of israel's strike. iran's president didn't even mention it in his speech yesterday. but tensions are running high in the middle east and diplomats will be working hard behind—the—scenes on de—escalation. the key question now, what will these two well—armed adversaries do next? will vernon, bbc news, washington.

and a reminder, you can get much more on those israel—iran tensions on the bbc news website, including this analysis from our chief international correspondent lyse doucet, who says there's an audible sigh of relief in the region. check it out online or on the bbc news app. a base used by pro—iranian militias in iraq has been damaged by a large explosion, a day after israel's presumed strike on iran. one person was killed and eight others injured in the blast and intense fire at the kalso military base, south of the capital, baghdad. this footage from the scene shows the aftermath of the explosion, which iraqi security sources have described as a "bombing" which hit weapons and vehicles. the base is used by the popular mobilization forces — an umbrella organisation linking several pro—iran militias who've recently attacked us personnel in iraq. the pentagon says it has not carried out any new strike in iraq.

the focus in recent days has been on tensions between israel and iran, but let's take you inside iran now, where the clerical regime appears to again be cracking down on women. there's been a renewed presence of the morality police on the street, as videos verified by bbc persian show. parham ghobadi has more, and a warning that there are vivid accounts of violence contained within his report. iran is fighting on two fronts simultaneously — launching missiles and drones at israel and flooding the streets with police to force women to wear the mandatory headscarf. but could the two campaigns be linked? it seems very likely that they are related because of the timing of the campaign against women, and many believe that the real reason behind that move is that the regime is very fearful about the possibility of another uprising against it, especially if iran is weakened by a possible israeli attack.

in this video, verified by bbc persian, a woman is violently arrested by the morality police in tehran, as bystanders argue with them. in another video that shocked the nation, a girl is seen having a seizure after she was confronted by the police over her refusal to wear a headscarf. another woman who was beaten by the morality police shared her experience with bbc persian. to protect her identity, a journalist reads her account of events. translation: a big male officer | kicked me very hard in the back. | later, i began urinating blood. the doctor told me my kidney was partly torn. the court fined me $50. the judge warned me that if i am detained again, i will go to prison and will be banned from travelling abroad. despite the threats, many iranian women are refusing to cover their hair.

their campaign started after the death of mahsa amini nearly two years ago. the kurdish girl, who was detained by the morality police for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly and died in custody. protests swept the country, and over 550 people were killed in the government crackdown. according to the un, the reappearance of the morality police in such numbers follows an orderfrom iran's commander—in—chief. translation: everyone must obey the hijab law. everyone. i believe the government and the judiciary should carry out their lawful and religious responsibilities in this regard. despite such warnings, iranian women are refusing to give up on their dream of freedom. to the latest now on the ukraine war. a russian official says a ukrainian drone strike has killed two people in the belgorod region,

which borders ukraine. the governor says a residential building and a barn in the village of poroz were completely burned down. the governor of smolensk, just north of the belgorod region, says a ukrainian drone hit a fuel depot there overnight, setting it on fire. it comes as the us house of representatives has moved a step closer to approving a much—delayed $60 billion package of military aid for ukraine. democrats backed a procedural measure that will allow a vote on the bill later on saturday. the package includes munitions and air defence missiles desperately needed by ukraine. the vote is closely watching kyiv, where some have expressed cautious optimism that it will pass. —— watched in kyiv. let's speak to anna matveeva, a senior visiting research fellow at king's college london. do you think this money will be

approved? there is a high chance that the money will be approved. there have been quite a lot of hard bargaining for months. so apparently, there is some kind of a deal already on the table. we see the threat of banning tiktok, which is part of the package which makes it more acceptable for republicans, yes. 50 it more acceptable for republicans, es. it more acceptable for republicans, es, ., , it more acceptable for republicans, es. ., , , yes. so if the money is improved, what will that _ yes. so if the money is improved, what will that mean _ yes. so if the money is improved, what will that mean firstly - yes. so if the money is improved, what will that mean firstly to - what will that mean firstly to ukraine? , ., , ., , ukraine? this would be a big olitical ukraine? this would be a big political win. _ ukraine? this would be a big politicalwin. it _ ukraine? this would be a big political win. it would - ukraine? this would be a big political win. it would be - ukraine? this would be a big political win. it would be a i ukraine? this would be a big - politicalwin. it would be a morale political win. it would be a morale boost, it would create some kind of a sense ofjoy and the solidarity within ukraine and is especially among its leadership, armed forces. but materially, it does not change things on the ground immediately. remember, out of 60 billion, 23 billion will go immediately to reimburse the us defence companies for weapons and stock already delivered. there is also quite a lot

of loans, ratherthan delivered. there is also quite a lot of loans, rather than grants, which in theory, ukraine should be obliged to repay in some future to the united states. the controversial part of the package are the low range missiles, 300 kilometre distance. they can easily travel to russia and hit russian targets, including civilian targets. moscow already has said very clearly that it is a red line and they are going to retaliate. 50 it is a red line and they are going to retaliate.— to retaliate. so will president putin change _ to retaliate. so will president putin change his _ to retaliate. so will president putin change his strategy - to retaliate. so will president putin change his strategy if i to retaliate. so will president i putin change his strategy if that money is approved and goes to ukraine, or is he prepared tojust grind on with the war on the ground as it is at the moment? i grind on with the war on the ground as it is at the moment?— as it is at the moment? i think the strate: as it is at the moment? i think the strategy was _ as it is at the moment? i think the strategy was planned _ as it is at the moment? i think the strategy was planned with - as it is at the moment? i think the strategy was planned with a - as it is at the moment? i think the strategy was planned with a view | as it is at the moment? i think the | strategy was planned with a view in mind that this money would be approved, just it was not clear when the package would be approved. so yes, i think they are preparing for it. they know that it doesn't mean

that weapons will be delivered just like this, immediately on the battlefield. it will take some weeks for them actually to get down there. it depends on what the russian strategy is right now, whether they are planning an offensive. then they will probably start this offensive sooner than later, because these weapons are fully deployed. the other part of the strategy might be just continue with business as it is, both sides exchanging strikes, drones, missiles, but materially front line... we will no probably in the next six months. i front line. .. we will no probably in the next six months.— the next six months. i wondered briefl , the next six months. i wondered briefly. what _ the next six months. i wondered briefly, what is _ the next six months. i wondered briefly, what is that _ the next six months. i wondered briefly, what is that public - briefly, what is that public reaction in russia to the continued conflict in ukraine?— conflict in ukraine? first, there is a sense of— conflict in ukraine? first, there is

a sense of habit. _ conflict in ukraine? first, there is a sense of habit. it _ conflict in ukraine? first, there is a sense of habit. it is _ conflict in ukraine? first, there is a sense of habit. it is not - conflict in ukraine? first, there is a sense of habit. it is not such i conflict in ukraine? first, there is a sense of habit. it is not such an| a sense of habit. it is not such an unusual event as it was when it broke out. so life goes on. people are in one compartment and the other is in the other compartment. these strikes on russian civilian targets, belgorod which you just mentioned, create a sense russia needs to be defended, it is threatened. so people will rally around the flag, around the government, rather than two years ago. around the government, rather than two years age-— around the government, rather than two years ago-— around the government, rather than two years ago. anna matveeva, thank ou ve two years ago. anna matveeva, thank you very much — two years ago. anna matveeva, thank you very much for _ two years ago. anna matveeva, thank you very much forjoining _ two years ago. anna matveeva, thank you very much forjoining us - two years ago. anna matveeva, thank you very much forjoining us on - two years ago. anna matveeva, thank you very much forjoining us on bbc. you very much forjoining us on bbc news. to the united states. police in new york say a man who set himself on fire outside the manhattan court where former president donald trump's hush—money trial is being held has died. the man doused himself in a liquid, before throwing conspiracy—theory pamphlets into the air. he was taken to hospital, but later died. as our north america correspondent nada tawfik reports, it happened as the jury selection for mr trump's trial was completed.

journalists here had just learned thatjury selection had concluded slightly after 1:30 in the afternoon, when the man, later identified as a florida resident in his mid—30s, entered the park. he threw coloured pamphlets in the air, doused himself in lighterfluid and set himself on fire. and we here could see the blaze, could feel that heat. now, officials later said that he wasn't targeting any individual, any group or, in fact, this trial. their investigation is ongoing, but they believe he was a conspiracy theorist. now, they say they are going to be reviewing security protocols around this courthouse, in light of the high—profile nature of this trial, and whether, in fact, to close that park down to the public. but nevertheless, court resumed. it remained on schedule. and opening statements in this trial will now begin on monday. donald trump leaving the court today again slammed this case as a hoax, as a witch hunt. he is charged with falsifying business records to hide a so—called

hush—money payment to the adult film star stormy daniels, in order to influence the 2016 election, to hide a potentially damaging sex scandal. he denies all wrongdoing and the extramarital affair. and again, opening statements will begin on monday. and we will have coverage of that trial on bbc news on monday. the un office in haiti says more than 2,500 people were killed or injured in gang violence in the first three months of this year. that's an increase of 50% on the previous quarter. in a report, the un agency says most of the casualties occurred in port—au—prince. haiti has been plunged into violence since february, when gangs that control large parts of the capital launched a coordinated attack to push out the unelected prime minister, ariel henry. some roads in wales will revert to 30 miles per hour —

that's 48 kilometres per hour — following a backlash against the welsh government's default policy to reduce speeds to 20 miles per hour. wales' transport minister said the changes would address concerns many people had about the £34 million project. 0ur wales political correspondent cemlyn davies reports. this is the clearest the new transport secretary, ken skates, has been about his thoughts on the controversial 20mph policy. earlier this week, he talked about wanting a truly targeted approach, with the policy focused on built—up areas, where you have schools, parks, hospitals and so on. and he said that there would be some changes. and we've had a bit more detail from him in an interview he's given to north wales live, where he also admits that the welsh government has got things wrong on this policy. "we've put our hands up to say the guidance has to be corrected," he said. and he's also said that he wants communities to play a more active part in deciding what speed limits

should be, rather than having speed limits imposed upon them. and on the potential timescale, well, he said he will give more detail on that when he gives a statement to the senedd next tuesday. in the meantime, councils have welcomed these comments and have said that mr skates has brought a more pragmatic approach, compared to what was previously the case. it's about making sure we've got the balance right and that those commuter routes and those streets that are probably caught up by the 20mph criteria, that at a local level, people will say, is that actually the right speed for the road? but of course, any changes to the guidance will inevitably lead to further questions about the way this policy was introduced in the first place back in september, and may well be met by opposition from road safety campaigners, who are urging

ken skates to hold his nerve and keep the policy as it is. lancashire police says it's "reviewing information" about allegations against the suspended conservative mp mark menzies. he lost the whip after the times newspaper reported that he had asked a party activist for thousands of pounds, to pay what he described as "bad people" who had locked him inside a flat. he told the newspaper he strongly disputed the allegations. the author of a landmark review into gender identity services for children in england has called criticism of her report "inaccurate" and "unforgivable", and revealed she's been advised not to travel on public transport due to safety concerns. in an interview with the times, dr hilary cass said she wished to address the "disinformation" circulating, saying it put children at risk. she says even before her

review was published, incorrect allegations about her conclusions surfaced online. she also hit out at labour mp dawn butler, who questioned health secretary victoria atkins over the cass review. a chess master has broken the record for the longest marathon of the game ever played. tunde 0nakoya, who is from nigeria, played for 58 consecutive hours in new york's times square. he's trying to raise one million dollars for charity to support chess education for children, and was cheered on by supporters from the city's nigerian community. i can't process a lot of the emotions i feel right now, i don't have the right words for them, but i know we did something truly remarkable. i mean, in documented human history, no—one has ever played chess for this long, you know, 56 hours nonstop, and we just broke that record, and i think we can keep going for a few more maybe minutes or hours, so the next person finds it extremely difficult to break

the new record as well. congratulations to him. the world's largest digital astronomy camera — with a whopping 3,200 megapixels — has finally been built. the camera can produce a thousand images per night. it'll allow scientists to study dark energy, dark matter, and the distribution of galaxies. it'll now be sent from the united states to chile, where it'll arrive in a month. the public will see its first images in 2025. taking 1,000 pictures a night is wild. that is not something that is currently done by other telescopes. and taking that many pictures, in addition to having a view of more of the sky and in addition to being able to see really far, is a powerful combination of being able to connect a lot of data. and i like to think about it as if you are looking for a needle in a haystack — which is what you are doing when you are trying to pinpoint something in space —

the more haystacks you have, the more likely you are to find some needles. so we are putting together 1 million haystacks and we are really confident there will be some pretty fun needles in there! look forward to seeing those images. more on that and the other stories on the bbc news website or app. stay with us here on bbc news. headlines on the way. hello. it's been a lovely day so far for many, but there's a bit of a chill noticeable out of the sunshine. and if we look at our chart, how temperatures compared to normal for the time of year, the blue colours indicating across eastern parts of the uk and into much of europe showed temperatures below average this weekend. big departure for europe, where we've seen record—breaking heat so far this april. it's because of the change in pressure patterns. to the south and east, low pressure dominating, quite stormy at times here. but to the north and west,

with us, a rare glimpse of high pressure, at last. that means for most, we continue with a dry story through today. there's a few isolated showers still. eastern counties of england, cold breeze here as well, thicker cloud, with some drizzle pushing into the north of scotland later. and cloud builds up generally speaking, but across these sheltered western areas, it stays sunny and pleasant in that sunshine too. 13 to 15 degrees, the high, compared to a chilly 7 to 10 degrees in the east. 0ne crumb of comfort, i suppose, across some northern and eastern areas is that pollen levels, tree pollen that is, is low to moderate, but creeping up to high this afternoon across parts of the south—west. into this evening and overnight, we've got some showers across the south—east for a while, but many places dry. biggest exception, central and eastern scotland will see the cloud thicken up, outbreaks of rain and drizzle. a bit more cloud as well more generally through tonight, so not as cold as the “4, —3 we saw last night. but there will be an isolated touch of frost around, particularly in the sunnier west

to begin with. a lot more cloud, though, across central and eastern scotland, outbreaks of rain or drizzle. that could push into the isle of man, cumbria, northumberland, north lancashire. the clouds will be variable across the rest of england, wales. some sunny breaks, but quite a breeze to east anglia. in the south—east, that wind particularly blustery around canary wharf for those taking part in the london marathon. but by and large, a dry story. in the london marathon. not in the london marathon. too warm either. 13 degrees on the eastern coast, but look at that, northern ireland, 18 degrees possible out towards the west. now, through into monday, after a chilly start, cloud will spread its way southwards across the country. rain to begin with in northern england, north wales. that rain will spread its way southwards and eastwards through the day. further north, we'll see a little bit of sunshine break through, just one or two showers. warmest conditions in around central scotland, at 16 celsius, but a chilly 9 to 13 degrees across parts of england and wales, and staying cool through this next week.

this is bbc news, the headlines... nine people are reportedly killed in israeli strikes on homes in southern gaza, including four children. it comes as the un agency for palestinian refugees, unrwa, is also warning that the risk of disease is rising, with sanitation in rafah a major concern. a base used by a pro—iranian militia in iraq has been damaged in an apparent attack. one member of the militia was killed and eight wounded in a huge blast at a base south of baghdad. it comes as iran downplays friday's presumed attack by israel.

and the us house of representatives has moved a step closer to approving a much delayed 60 billion dollar package of military aid for ukraine. the republican house speaker, mikejohnson still faces some resistance from the right of his party. members of the scottish green party are to be given a vote on whether to continue its power—sharing agreement with the snp. it follows an outcry about the scottish government's decision to ditch key targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, a move which is said to have angered green party colleagues. the vote will be held at an extraordinary general meeting, and officials say it will be binding on the party. with more on this is catriona renton. if we can start off first with, what

if we can start off first with, what is the policy that was stitched