second—largest city, kharkiv. the mayor says residential buildings and a children's nursery were struck. and in australia — more than 150 people are rescued from floods around sydney — as others prepare to leave their homes. good evening from jerusalem, we are broadcasting special coverage as the israel— gaza war reaches the six month mark. today, for the families of hostages, who have desperately been waiting for their loved ones to come home, there came a grim news. the israeli military has confirmed that a body has been recovered from gaza during an overnight military operation. it accused the islamichhad group of murdering the man, who's been identified as elad

katzir. 47 years old, he was seized from nir oz in the early hours of october the 7th in southern israel. during that assault, his father was murdered, while his mother was abducted then later released. the israeli army said the body of elad katzir was retrieved from the khan younis area of southern gaza. it once a day more to do bring the hostages home but also change the way it is fighting the war. presidentjoe biden of the united states, one of israel's strongest allies from the beginning of the war has in the past few days significantly toughened his language. in what was widely described as a very tense telephone conversation on thursday, israel's

rai mr benjamin netanyahu, he warned if israel didn't change the way that they were fighting the war, america would have to change its�*s policy. the us and many other countries around the world are asking israel to do much more to get aid into gaza, protect civilians, and bring about a ceasefire which could bring the hostages home. is this a significant moment? i've been speaking about those calls with gina abercrombie—winstanley, a former us ambassador who's now president of the middle east policy council about that pressure. we have not seen anything like this in decades of the very close relationship between the united states and israel. there has not been questioning at senior levels of our arms relationship let alone our diplomatic relationship. this is a change everyone can mark as

significant and meaningful. the relationship, of course, is there is a long pipeline for weapons sales. any urgent or immediate is something that would be difficult to carry out. the signal is strong, and one claiming the prime minister is heeding. d0 claiming the prime minister is heedinu. ,, ~ , heeding. do you think president biden will respond _ heeding. do you think president biden will respond to _ heeding. do you think president biden will respond to the - biden will respond to the congressional call? you know he is willing to use tough talk, but many are asking if you would actually take the step to suspend the transfer of arms that israel depends on. they make up two thirds of the weaponry that israel is using to fight this war.— weaponry that israel is using to fight this war. what i would say is that the president _ fight this war. what i would say is that the president clearly - that the president clearly communicated to the prime minister that he meant business, and precedent biden is known for his straight talk, which we understand

was used during that call. these calls from democratic members of congress to strengthen his hand. this helps the prime minister understand that this is not merely talk, that there is support in the united states from long—time strong supporters of the government of israel, of israel as a nation, who are saying that enough is enough. but there are changes that are necessary. i strongly believe these members of congress are strengthening the presidentmccann, and the changes united states is looking for meaning that the united states does not have to alter in an appreciable way. states does not have to alter in an appreciable way-— appreciable way. president of the middle east _ appreciable way. president of the middle east policy _ appreciable way. president of the middle east policy council, - appreciable way. president of the j middle east policy council, there. precedent biden said the call for an immediate ceasefire in gaza comes after similar calls were made for bored ministers across the region

and leaders who say they should have been a ceasefire a long time ago. the call has been especially pronounced from arab foreign ministers, and the loudest from jordan. i've been speaking tojordan�*s foreign minister, ayman safadi. i asked him if washington's angry reaction, to the killing of seven aid workers this week, could spell a turning point in the conflict? let's hope it is because for the past six months we've seen nothing but an israeli government that is defying the will of the whole international community, proceeding with a massacre that have produced nothing but death and suffering and destruction to the palestinians. six months into this massacre, the world has to act more assertively to ensure that israel complies with international law, international humanitarian law. not only stop killing palestinians through this war, but also stop the starvation which is claiming more lives day in, day out. so it is way past time that israel is held responsible for what it has done and stopped this massacre and allow all of us then to come

together and see how we can get beyond this misery and work towards a future that will ensure peace and security for palestinians and israelis. israel has announced new steps to get desperately needed aid into gaza, including opening a northern crossing, an israeli port and expanding the capacity through jordan. will that make a difference? we've heard those promises before. we'll believe them when we see them. thus far, in the last six months, only an average of 100 trucks a day have entered gaza compared to what the un estimated was 800 trucks needed on a daily basis. so the amount of humanitarian aid entering into gaza is completely insignificant as of yet. we'll wait and see if israel really does take any action to allow more aid in and also to allow humanitarian agencies into gaza, because without the un being there in charge of those

operations, without ngos being able to work, without the threat of being bombed and killed, the issue of distribution will also be a major problem. so what's needed now is opening all land crossings into gaza and allowing the un and other ngos full access and full ability to receive the aid and to distribute the aid. there's a growing debate in britain, in the united states about whether arms sales to israel should be suspended. is that a move that you and your arab colleagues would welcome? the reality is, for the past six months, israel has ignored every call by all members of the international community to do what's right and stop its violating international law and stop this war. we've seen new un security council resolutions. we've seen two sets of provisional measures by the icj and israel has done nothing. so i think it is time israel faced consequences and real consequences for what this government is doing. israel has not listened.

now the israeli government has to face the consequences of its actions and instead of sending weapons to israel, i think the world should be sending aid and should be sending political delegations to make sure that we get over this catastrophe. so, yes, we do support we do support ending arms sales to israel, among other sanctions. it must be tough being an arab foreign minister, you shouting as loudly as possible, including to your friends, the united states — it doesn't seem to be having much impact. pressure is growing in your own street saying you're not doing enough. absolutely. the whole world is not doing enough. that is the perception and that's the belief and that's the reality. the fact is we have an israeli government dominated by radical

racist extremists who are defying the will of the whole international community, who are killing with impunity, who are starving people using food as a weapon. and despite many calls by all members of the international community, almost including friends in support of israel, this israeli government has not listened. so, yes, it is frustrating. people are outraged. we are outraged. and i think the anger that you refer to demonstrated by people on the streets ofjordan is an anger that represents not just all ofjordan. it represents a growing number of people across the world. so, yes, there is tremendous anger and tremendous frustration, notjust with what israel is doing, but also with the inability of the international community to impose an international law and to have this israeli government stop the massacre that it is allowing in or leading or enabling in gaza. and in one word, are you now more hopeful that the end of this war will be coming soon? unfortunately, no. you hear statements coming from israeli government, they're talking now about a ground invasion into rafah despite again warnings by the us, europe,

everybody, the israeli, the rhetoric coming from israeli politicians is still saying that they will go there, they're going to go in and if they go into rafah, that will be another massacre and that should not be allowed to happen. so now we are at a point where — do we allow an israeli government dominated by radicals to continue with this massacre and determine and doom the future of the region to more conflict and suffering? or does the international community take the necessary action to stop that and impose compliance with international law? thank you, mr safadi. jordan's foreign minister, also the deputy prime minister, saying israel must do more, that the world must do more to bring an end to this war. israel has repeatedly said it is doing all it can to minimise civilian casualties and to get aid into gaza, but since that telephone call on thursday, it has taken more steps. what else can we expect from

israel in this prosecution of the war? we can now speak to gideon levy who is a journalist for the israeli newspaper haaretz. thank you forjoining bbc news. thank you forjoining bbc news. thank you for having me. figs thank you forjoining bbc news. thank you for having me. as you know, benjamin _ thank you for having me. as you know, benjamin netanyahu - thank you for having me. as you j know, benjamin netanyahu likes thank you for having me. as you i know, benjamin netanyahu likes to say he values his relationship with the united states, but that he will say yes when it is in israel's interest, and know when it is not. how do you think he will respond to the new warning from precedent biden? we the new warning from precedent biden? ~ . the new warning from precedent biden? ~ , the new warning from precedent biden? . , , , biden? we 'ust saw it yesterday, in the biden? we just saw it yesterday, in the famous — biden? we just saw it yesterday, in the famous phone _ biden? we just saw it yesterday, in the famous phone call, _ biden? we just saw it yesterday, in the famous phone call, it _ biden? we just saw it yesterday, in the famous phone call, it was - biden? we just saw it yesterday, in i the famous phone call, it was enough conversation for half an hour to change everything. the entrance of more aid from the northern part of gaza for months and months. what happens now? now it is possible? yes, it is possible, because he understands israel cannot go on without the americans in their back.

the problem is now, the us only spread promises, advice, threats, condemnation, but no measures, and as long as this is not followed by measures, he could easily ignore any advice from the white house. what advice from the white house. what about his right-wing _ advice from the white house. what about his right—wing ministers? i remember when the cabinet says, and i remember netanyahu saying, no aid will go into gaza from israel directly. that has now changed. what will his key supporters on the right wing in his government to do now? at wing in his government to do now? git a certain stage, they will all understand that there is no choice. for them, elections is also suicidal, therefore, that this government, this is the best weapon of this government to stay together and may be, god forbid, to stay for another two years. figs

and may be, god forbid, to stay for another two years.— and may be, god forbid, to stay for another two years. as you know, the calls for an — another two years. as you know, the calls for an election _ another two years. as you know, the calls for an election have _ another two years. as you know, the calls for an election have sounded i calls for an election have sounded on the streets. since before this war. now, leading members of nest�*s will cabinet say the dates should be set for months to come. do you think that benjamin netanyahu wants to stay in power for as long as possible and will allow that to happen? t possible and will allow that to ha en? ., ~' possible and will allow that to ha . en? ., 4' ., possible and will allow that to hauen? ., ~ ., .,~ happen? i would like to make it clear that all _ happen? i would like to make it clear that all of _ happen? i would like to make it clear that all of the _ happen? i would like to make it clear that all of the protesting l happen? i would like to make it| clear that all of the protesting in israel is quite remarkable, not again continuing the war and the massacre, because people from the outside, they have a tendency to believe that all of the people of israel do not support the war, that the people of israel don't. the people of israel to support the war, it has very little resistance against it. now, it depends what the

alternatives are. netanyahu will do anything for the elections, but if the americans really take measures, imagine if americans stopped tomorrow the delivery of weapons, the war is over in 48 hours. you mentioned _ the war is over in 48 hours. you mentioned support _ the war is over in 48 hours. you mentioned support from opinion polls showing strong sub—nick daley public support for the poll. you and your newspaper have been among the strongest criticism of the military operation. leaving the mood is changing and if it will be affected by washington?— changing and if it will be affected by washington? unfortunately, it is not changing. _ by washington? unfortunately, it is not changing, the _ by washington? unfortunately, it is not changing, the israeli _ by washington? unfortunately, it is not changing, the israeli media - by washington? unfortunately, it is not changing, the israeli media is i not changing, the israeli media is betraying its profession in the most shameful way, they don't show anything from gaza. israelis do not

see anything that any work in birmingham saw. it is therefore very easy to shape public opinion after the atrocities and the crimes and the atrocities and the crimes and the massacre of the 7th of october for any kind of action in gaza, including mass killings. this did not and will not change if the israelis have to feel they are punished for this war and have to pay for it, then they made me consider it —— they may reconsider it. consider it -- they may reconsider it. ., ~ , ., consider it -- they may reconsider it. ., ~ i. consider it -- they may reconsider it. thank you so much for “oining us here as we — it. thank you so much for “oining us here as we continue _ it. thank you so much for “oining us here as we continue our _ it. thank you so much forjoining us here as we continue our special - here as we continue our special coverage of the israel— gaza war as it reaches the six—month mark. it is a war has shaken israel to the core, but it has also left gaza in ruins and has created a situation where israel is coming under mounting pressure across the region and in western capitals, even among the

closest allies in washington. we will continue our coverage, but now we handy back to london. western governments are facing an authoritarian alliance... working ever more closely together. it was said... the head of nato says western governments are facing an authoritarian alliance — comprised of russia, china, iran and north korea — which is working ever more closely together. jens stoltenberg told the bbc�*s "sunday with laura kuenssberg" programme that the government in beijing was propping up what he called russia's war economy. he said north korea was sending enormous amounts of ammunition in support of president vladimir putin's war against ukraine. mr stoltenberg said nato was responding by working with countries outside the alliance, including japan and south korea. on the war in ukraine, he said kyiv must prevail; but he said it might have to make compromises. most wars end at the negotiating table. but what we know is that what happens around the negotiating table is very closely linked to the situation on the battlefield.

so now russia believes they can achieve their goals on the battlefield by by continuing to push militarily against ukraine. so the way to convince russia that they have to sit down and accept a solution where ukraine prevails as a sovereign, independent, democratic nation in europe is to give military support to ukraine. then, of course, at the end of the day, it has to be ukraine that decides what kind of compromises they are willing to do. we need to enable them to be in a position where they can actually achieve an acceptable result around the negotiating table. viewers in the uk can see more of that interview on "sunday with laura kuenssberg" on bbc one tomorrow morning at nine o'clock. seven people have been killed in two russian drone attacks on ukraine's second—largest city, kharkiv. the city's mayor says iranian—made drones hit several buildings, including a residential blocks

of flats, early on saturday morning. 11 people were injured. our eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford gave us this update from kyiv. there are constant strikes in kharkiv at the moment. it is becoming increasingly regular to hear of missile and drone attacks against ukraine's second city up in the north—east of the country. certainly we know that seven people were killed early this morning. so the first missile struck sometime after midnight. two s—300 russian missiles, according to ukrainian authorities, fired at kharkiv killing residents in a residential areas of the city and wounding other people there. they then talk about a wave of drones launched at kharkiv city centre. they say those were shot down by ukraine's air defences and of course when that happens it means fragments fault of the ground,

and of course when that happens it means fragments fall to the ground, they explode, more people are injured and more buildings are damaged. we know about nine residential buildings, blocks of flats, have been badly damaged in this latest attack on kharkiv, but it is the latest of many. certainly, we don't know exactly what the russians were targeting. they say it was a military target. we do know, thought, in recent days the energy system in kharkiv has come under direct and sustained attack and that that city is now living with blackouts, rolling blackouts, people without power for at least six hours every day. sarah, this is also significant because of the geography. kharkiv is relatively close to russia and as you say the second largest city. it is. it is a strategically important city. it is a bit of a pearl for russia. there have been rumours recently about a possible military push towards kharkiv by russian soldiers. we don't believe there is any intelligence to suggest that is imminent but there is a lot of talk in the russian media about that happening. people here in ukraine warning against psychological warfare about these rumours being spread

deliberately to scare people. but i was in kharkiv a few days ago and people are worried, they are nervous. i was speaking to students in one of the central squares who said they were definitely considering leaving kharkiv again. and, remember, this is a city which was under direct and awful shelling at the beginning of this war. many people evacuated, left as refugees, but then they started to come back, things got calmer, they felt a little bit more safe. that safety, i think, has been rocked by these recent missile and drone attacks. i think people these days are very worried, very nervous there. sarah raynsford, our correspondent. it's been described as an election between those who support the west and those who favour the kremlin — people in slovakia are voting in presidential elections. they are choosing a successor to the country's liberal president, zuzana caputova. she decided not to seek re—election after receiving what she said was a torrent of abuse, including death threats. two men are now bidding

for the largely ceremonial but highly influential post — the pro—western former diplomat ivan korcok and peter pellegrini, the candidate of the populist nationalist government. our correspondent rob cameron is in prague, in the neighbouring czech republic. he told me this election is seen as hugely consequential for slovakia and its liberal democracy system. that's because it's coming at a time when the government, the populist nationalist government has really taken a sledgehammer to some of slovakia's institutions. he's already watered down some of the criminaljustice system. and now it seems he's set his sights on the public media. so these two men will play very different roles if they are elected. one is a liberal pro—western figure and his supporters believe that he can act as a bulwark against the populist government holding back some of the excesses that they claim

the leader is capable of trying to push through in slovakia. and the man who's challenging him, peter pellegrini. he's a member of the governing coalition and they say that if he is elected, he will simply do the leader's bidding. so there's really all to play for in this election in slovakia. and rob, this sort of east—west divide is something that's been existing in slovakia, in politics for decades, isn't it? it is, and it's really come to the fore, i think, since the war in ukraine as well, the war really overshadowed this election. indeed, peter pellegrini, the government's candidate, accused him of being a candidate of war. he said that he would send slovak boys off to fight in ukraine. observers pointed out that the president can do no such thing because it's a parliamentary democracy. the military regime that seized power in myanmar three years ago has suffered another big defeat,

this time on the eastern border with thailand. opposition forces have taken control of the busiest border crossing into thailand, through which much of myanmar�*s trade passes. for months, the soldiers have been under attack by ethnic karen insurgents who are fighting to overthrow the military. the authorities in myanmar have also lost control along parts of the border with india and china. mexico has suspended relations with ecuador. it's in protest against a police raid on its embassy in quito to arrest a former ecuadorean vice—president, jorge glas. he'd been sheltering in the compound since december but was wanted on corruption charges. mexico says it had granted glas �*political asylum', but ecuador authority called the action �*illegal�*. glas's lawyer said he was innocent. an investigation�*s under way after two passenger planes collided on the ground at heathrow airport. the wing of a virgin atlantic plane collided with a stationary british airways aircraft. the virgin boeing was being towed at the time. virgin has launched an investigation. a heathrow spokesperson says no

passenger injuries have been reported, and they are not expecting any impact on airport operations. what's the secret to living a long—life? well one great—grandfather from merseyside, who hasjust become the world's oldest man, says it's down to eating fish and chips every friday. john tinniswood from southport, is 111 years and 224 days old. he was born in 1912 ? the same year the titanic sank. apart from a weekly fish supper, he says regular exercise is also important. if you don't eat too much, and so long as you exercise both the brain and the body, you should keep them young. if you don't, they will

weather. it is a simple as that. wise words there. that is it for this half hour. there is plenty more of all of the day's stories on the website. i will be back with you after a short break. stay with this. good afternoon. storm kathleen's dominated weather headlines in recent days. the storm arrived last night and yes, it's bringing gale force gusts of winds in the far northwest. it's also tapping in to some very warm air indeed. now, so far today, we have seen a gust of wind in excess of 90 mile an hour on the tops of cairngorm. yes, but even at lower levels through northern ireland, down to the isles of scilly, we've had gusts in excess of 60, close to 70 mile an hour. so the storm is anchored way out to the west of the uk and that's allowing this south—westerly wind

to push up some very warm airfrom africa. and so temperatures really quite a dramatic difference, particularly in scotland where just a few days ago we were seeing a maximum of five degrees, not that much in the way of rain around for the rest of the day. sunny spells and scattered showers. there will be quite a lot of cloud around from time to time and it will stay windy. so inland we're looking at around 45 mile an hour plus winds out through the irish sea. we could see 65, close to 70 mile an hour wind gusts still continuing, but the temperatures will be way above where they should be for this time of year. anywhere above 20 degrees will make it the hottest day of the year so far. and we could see a high of 22 across east anglia, a pulse of wetter weather, some sharper showers moving their way north and east through the night. we keep quite a lot of cloud around as well and it will stay mild through the night. double figures perhaps across the south east. so we start off tomorrow morning with a spell of wetter weather

and we could see some showers just funnelling together in a fairly organised line through the south west coming up through the bristol channel towards the midlands. and here, the wind gusts could be a little bit stronger tomorrow, over 50 miles an hour at times. it'll still be mild for the time of year. we're looking at 10 to 17 degrees, the overall high. now, as we move into monday, there's another low that could bring yet more wet and windy weather in a similar track to kathleen. so we're keeping an eye on that. a brief lull behind before another low continues to push in from the atlantic. so the weather pattern stays the same. we're looking at it staying pretty unsettled with showers or longer spells of rain. temperatures will come down just a touch. so if you are planning to spend some time outside, this is the story. rain or showers, lighter winds, temperatures about average.

live from london, this is bbc news/ live from london, this is bbc news. the israeli military recovers the body of a hostage in gaza. elad katzir was taken from a kibbutz in southern israel, six months ago during the hamas attacks on october seven. attacks on october 7th. president biden is facing growing pressure from within his own party to pause arms sales to israel, following the israeli air strike that killed seven aid workers. about 40 democratic members

of congress have signed an open letter expressing outrage at the deaths. dutch police arrest several climate activists who attempted to block a main road in the hague. those detained include the swedish campaigner, greta thunberg. she was among hundreds marching against fossilfuel subsidies. and in australia, more than 150 people are rescued from floods around sydney after three days of torrential rainfall across the easter regions — others prepare to leave their homes as floodwaters rise. it's time to get a full round—up from lizzie in the bbc sport centre. manchester city are level on points with leaders liverpool in the premier league. they beat crystal palace 4—2 at selhurst park in the lunchtime kick—off. they went behind inside 5 minutes but kevin de bruyne, who was rested against aston villa in midweek, marked his return

with two goals, his 99th and 100th for the club. rico lewis and erling haaland also scored. city will now turn their attention to the champions league quarterfinal against real madrid. today kevin won the game, his first goal and his third, fourth, the team were in the game. it was a difficult place to be here. and we won the game. is place to be here. and we won the name. . ., place to be here. and we won the lame. , ., . place to be here. and we won the name. , ., . , ., ., place to be here. and we won the lame. ,., . ,., ., game. is a nice milestone to score that many — game. is a nice milestone to score that many for _ game. is a nice milestone to score that many for the _ game. is a nice milestone to score that many for the club, _ game. is a nice milestone to score that many for the club, and - game. is a nice milestone to score that many for the club, and it - game. is a nice milestone to score that many for the club, and itjust| that many for the club, and itjust means_ that many for the club, and itjust means that — that many for the club, and itjust means that i've been here a long time _ things arejust getting under way at brighton where arsenal are looking to move back to the top of the premier league. arsenal nearly scored after one

minute. there were huge wins at the bottom for both everton — their first in 14 matches — and luton — theirfirst in 11 games. there were also wins for newcastle and west ham, while aston villa and brentford drew. to germany, where bayer leverkusen are just one win from a maiden bundesliga title after victory over union berlin. florian wirtz scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot as they extended their incredible unbeatn run to 41 matches in all competitions. meanwhile, bayern munich suffered a dramatic collapse at heidenhem. 2—0 up at half—time — they lost 3—2 which leaves bayern 16 points behind leverkusen withjust six games of the season left. there's a big game coming up in seville in spain — where athletic bilbao are taking on mallorca in the final of the copa del rey. athletic are looking to win their first major trophy for 40 years, while mallorca, who won the cup in 2003, will come into this one as the underdogs, we were favourites against your owner and sociedad, and we are now

in the final. it is one game. anyone can win. there are a hard team to play against, but we have great players in our team to break them down. i will do my best to score goals, and i think everyone will do their best to give their best in the game. wejust take it their best to give their best in the game. we just take it day by day, and take in the present moment each game we play. now we are taking this moment and we go into that game to try to win. also a busy day in the european champions cup round of 16, including an all—english clash between exeter chiefs and bath. that went the way of the chiefs who came back from 15—7 down to advance into the last eight. there was an even bigger comeback in cape town as the defending champions, la rochelle overturned a 16—point deficit to beat the stormers while the bulls beat lyon 59—19. three—time winners saracens have just got under way in france, they're taking on bordeaux.

they are scurrilous there at the moment. —— leicester tigers are away at leinster in the day's final game. red bull have locked out the front row for sunday's formula one japanese grand prix max verstappen is on pole, maintaining his perfect qualifying record this season the world champion failed to finish the last race in australia but topped the time sheets in all three sessions. but he was quickest in every session in suzuka although verstappen was only 600ths of a second quicker than his team mate sergio perez. britain's lando norris was third fastest and lewis hamilton will start from 7th on the grid. and that's all the sport for now. let's get some more now on our top story. sunday marks six months since the october 7th hamas attacks on israel, and the military operation it sparked in gaza. the ongoing conflict — and decades of tensions in the middle east have led to division and despair,

but many still cling to hope of a day where both israelis and palestinians can live peacefully together. there are groups in the region trying to open up a dialogue between the sides, as a step to ending the violence. one of those is the parents circle families forum — a group of palestinian and israeli parents who have lost a family member in the conflict. i was joined by two of the group's members — bassam aramin and robi damelin. they told me about their loss — and their hopes for the future. two days after i lost my ten years old daughter to an israeli police, injerusalem, who killed and shoot her in front of her school from a distance of 15 to 20 metres in her head, from the back, she fell down, and two days later, she passed away. but ijoined the parents circle two days after i lost my daughter, because i know the parents circle two years before i lost my daughter. i am familiar with those people but i remember saying, i don't

want to join this amazing group because you need to lose someone from your family. thank you for sharing your story. and robi, tell us about what happened in your case. thank you for hosting us. my son david was killed by a palestinian sniper. but one of the first things that i said is you cannot kill anybody in the name of my child. ijoined the parents circle very soon after david was killed, and that really took over my life. since then, i haven't stopped, and...today is such a sad stopped, and...today is such a sad day, like every other day for the past six months. all i can think about is the people in gaza and the madness that is going on, and this terrible return of a dead hostage today. for what?

and i want to say that you have to free the prisoners. you can free the man who killed my son, if that willjust bring one hostage back. this i can say for myself, not for other families. thank you for sharing the stories of both david and abeer. what do you think is the way to get to a point where there may one day be a reduction in violence and perhaps no more violence in the region where you are? it's unusual to get people to talk in these conversations like your group does. but what do you think — let me start with you, robi — is gained by having these conversations? well, the only way that we can do that is to recognise the humanity in each other. and that's all the work that the parents circle really does. by telling your personal story, you allow the other person to understand with empathy and make an emotional breakthrough. and we cannot possibly give up now. this is the most important time for our work.

we have to go on. and i can tell you that there are such extraordinary people who had lost family members in october the 7th who are now talking out to end this madness, to stop the bloodshed and to stop the war. so that gives me some form of hope, because hope is a really important equation in the whole idea of ever getting peace. bassam, do you feel hopeful, especially when you see the death toll in gaza and the suffering that continues? well, no, i like the word violence. it's 75 years of brutal occupation. of course, i am full of hope. it's not hope, it's fate. it's not hope, it's faith. and always, you know, the occupation will end. and the palestinians and the israelis will remain. always i said that the palestinians,

they didn't kill 6 million israelis and the israelis, they didn't kill 6 million palestinians. and there is a german ambassador in tel aviv and there is an israeli ambassador in berlin. it means we can do it. you know, five years after the �*73 war was peace agreement with egypt. they need to recognise the palestinian people's right to self—determination. unfortunately, as long as the occupation, which so—called sometimes violence, as long as the occupation continues, we will continue to sacrifice the blood of our kids from both sides. and for that, we are in the parents circle. we believe that we will live in peace. it's not written anywhere that we're going to continue killing each other forever. we ask the leaders of the world, especially in the uk, france, germany and of course, the united states of america, because they share the same values with netanyahu, to ask him to stop the occupation and now call ceasefire to save those kids,

ceasefire to save those kids. 40,000 civilians, it's unbelievable. but the war will end, of course, we are not going to continue like this forever. and to recognise the palestinian people's right to live in their own state. otherwise, we just waste of our time, more blood, more and more victims, and we just invest in more hatred more pain and more victims, and we just invest in more hatred for the new generations. you know, the people who attack israel in the 7th of october, they were kids. they were 10 and 12 years old kids back in 2014 when israel attacked gaza. so what will happen in the next october, the next 7th of october, with those thousands, thousands of kids who have no place to run? they have no schools, they have no hospitals, no food. so enough is enough. it's too much. it's the worst. and bassam, while you were speaking, i could see on my monitor here,

robi, you were shaking your head or nodding your head in agreement. although you come to this from very different perspectives, there are a lot of commonalities, aren't there? well, i think the pain is the same pain. there's no difference between bassam and me. when we cry, the tears are the same colour. but i would like also to us that people all over the world, stop taking sides because you are importing our conflict into your countries and creating hatred betweenjews and muslims. and that isn't what we want. we want you to tell the stories that you heard today, that bassam told and that i told. we want you to be part of the solution, not the problem. because importing the conflictjust creates more hatred. robi, just hearing you say what you say there does give me hope sitting here miles away from where you both are speaking to me from, because it shows that dialogue can make a difference. how extensive is the work that you do?

because i visited the region a long time ago and i remember speaking to israelis and palestinians, many who never really mixed with each other. you know, i think especially those days, those days, it's very difficult. but we, you know, when we talk from our pain, it's our kids are nothing more important than our kids. and we have another children. we want to protect them. so we have no fear. we will face the world because we want to protect our kids. you know, what we talk is about peace, reconciliation and humanity and understanding and this fascist government, even before the 7th of october, they

prevent us going to their schools, to talk to the kids because we are dangerous, because we are terrorists, because we are poisoning the minds of the kids. and in spite of that, we are very determined to continue. robi, let me let mejust bring robi in on that point as well. i mean, there's a lot of anger from you, bassam, towards the israeli government. how do you feel about the israeli government and mr netanyahu? well, i could only say the sooner the better that they go. but it's very interesting to see how much healing has to be done. you know, we have and the people don't realise what the closure on the west bank is all about. for instance, we have kids who go to a summer camp, which the government, in its great wisdom, tried to stop. and fortunately, the american embassy and the german embassy intervened, and we had the summer camp. those same kids from 14 to 17 signed a paper at at the united nations injerusalem on the 21st of september, which is international peace day for non—violence

and for reconciliation and to end occupation. but three weeks later, there was a war. and, of course, children of that age, they were not nuanced, they were very angry. and they wrote to each other on tiktok and all these dreadful social media platforms. and so we started to work with them on an individual basis, israelis on one side, palestinians on the other, and now they have agreed to meet. and the saddest part is that we have to take this summer camp out of the country to cyprus because these kids need to heal. and these kids are our future ambassadors. so there's so much sadness and so much fear and so many displaced people and so many more bereaved families, but also the extraordinary stories of those who want to stop the war. that's brave. it's very brave. and may the demonstrationsjust get bigger and bigger and bigger every day so that the hostages will come back.

so the war will end and hopefully we will have a new government. thatis that is robi speaking they are, and before that we heard bassam. dutch police have arrested a number of climate activists who attempted to block a main road in the hague. those detained included the swedish campaigner, greta thunberg. our correspondent, anna holligan was there: the final few climate activists have just packed up their banners and are preparing to go home. earlier there were cries, cheers of "you are not alone" as greta thunberg was picked up off the highway by dutch police and put onto a minibus along with hundreds of other protesters. you can see her here, chatting happily to fellow activists. she's here in the hague to announce international actions against governments who make it cheap and easy for large companies

to use fossil fuels by offering them tax breaks and subsidies on excise duties. greta thunberg described her arrest as "peaceful". most of the protesters have gone home or have been detained by police and taken away in minibuses. police are just keeping watch to make sure that nobody else tries to block this highway, the a12 in the hague. are correspondence, and there. to australia next. more than 150 people have been rescued from floods in and around sydney. others have been told to be prepared to leave their homes because of the rising floodwaters. the region's main reservoir, which supplies most of the city's drinking water, is overflowing. there've been three days of torrential rainfall across much of eastern australia.

people living in parts of new south wales have been told to stay indoors. our sydney correspondent phil mercer explained conditions were like now. at the moment, we know that there are two deaths that have been associated with these wild days of weather here in eastern australia. on thursday, a 71—year—old man was found in floodwaters near brisbane in the state of queensland. and earlier today, a man's body was found in floodwaters in western parts of sydney. now, the police here say that they don't know the circumstances of the second fatality but safe to say it has been a wild few days in eastern australia. record—breaking amounts of rain have fallen. here in the state of new south wales, across one 24—hour period, a month's worth of rain fell. so at the moment, there are still evacuation orders in place in parts of sydney, but thankfully for the five million or so residents of this city, this storm system is moving south, and it is expected to head out

to sea over the weekend. but as you'd imagine, the flood warnings are continuing because all of that rain is flowing into rivers and creeks. their levels are rising, so with them the risk of flooding to low—lying areas. here in the uk, train drivers are on strike at five more operators, as the wave of industrial action in england, wales and scotland by members of the aslef union continues. these are the companies affected today. passengers are advised to check before they travel, with the action likely to lead to cancellations, delays and no services in some areas. our correspondent yunus mulla is at york railway station and updated me on the situation. services here in the north of england have been badly affected by this national dispute, especially for those people who are planning to travel from one side of the country to the other. that's because transpennine express,

which covers that route along with northern, have issued this no—travel warning. they're not putting on any trains. there are some reduced services operating by lner, a national operator, but when you speak to passengers, you're told about overcrowding and significant delays because of the reduced services that that operator is putting on. clearly not a great experience for passengers, and if you look away from here, especially for anyone flying into the uk, heathrow, of course, is one of the busiest airports in the world, the heathrow express, which covers the route into the capital. those services in early morning and late in the evening are not running at all. so there is a significant impact on day two of this strike. as far as what the union is saying, well, aslef says it does want to break this deadlock and wants to negotiate with the government and train companies,

and it blames the government. the department for transport, however, is accusing the union of targeting passengers and not putting to members a pay offer that is already on the table. ok, and do we know how long therefore these talks continue? as you say, this could impact passengers even when the strikes end. sometimes there are kind of hangovers days after. well, if you look at this dispute, it's 22 months now since aslef have been involved in this dispute with the train companies and the government late last year. in november, rmt, another union managed to strike a deal. so aslef remains the only rail union, the government says, who is involved in this dispute. the last time the two

sides met for any kind of meaningful discussion was last year. that pay offer was rejected by this union and therefore the union believes there's no point in putting any offer to members when it's not acceptable as far as pay and conditions are concerned. so they're hanging on until something better is put on the table. now, if you speak to passengers, clearly they're having to make alternative plans. but the options aren't always there. well, today, for example, a number of bus services were cancelled. so you had the situation where people were coming off the trains and they're trying to find a bus and they couldn't get to their destination and were hanging around for hours on end. so clearly, there's a lot of frustration on passengers. there is some sympathy from some of the passengers towards this dispute, but it's fair to say they want this to end. more than 140 flights have been cancelled in the uk as storm kathleen has hit parts of the country. the met office has issued two yellow weather warnings, as winds of more than 70 miles per hour were recorded — but in some places it was a different story, as it was the hottest day of the year so far, reaching nearly 21 degress in suffolk. simonjones reports.

wet, windy and wild. weather warnings failed to keep these vehicles away from this lock in county down in northern ireland. gusts of around 70 miles per are brought into trees, and part of the visitor attraction titanic belfast has been brought down. forsome, trying titanic belfast has been brought down. for some, trying to get away on holiday has not gone to plan. we are on holiday has not gone to plan. - are expecting to sit in the hot tub overlooking the loch, but unfortunately it is very windy! storm kathleen has hit republic of ireland the hardest. elsewhere, you might wonder what all the fuss is about. in scarborough in north yorkshire, people headed to the beach as the winds blew in unusually warm weather. but in edinburgh it

has been a hair raising day! studio: glad i am safe in the studio. france will become the first non—commonwealth country to take part in the king's changing the guard ceremony — to mark the 120th anniversary of the entente cordiale. emily brown reports. well, the entente cordiale, set out in 1904, was an understanding between britain and france — not an alliance as such, but more of a form of diplomatic cooperation. and to mark the 120th anniversary, french troops will guard buckingham palace at the king's changing of the guard ceremony. they've been rehearsing here at the wellington barracks in london. and france will become the first non commonwealth country to take part in the ceremony. 32 french soldiers willjoin 40 guardsmen and will parade the grounds together. let's find out what we can expect to see. to the public, they'll be surprised because they'll see french gendarmerie on the forecourt of buckingham palace,

which doesn't happen very often, if ever it's happened before. and they'll see what is very similar to what is a king guard's kings guard change. well, the ceremony will take place at the palace on monday morning, where they'll be inspected by the duke and duchess of edinburgh. the band of grenadier guards will also perform both countries' national anthems. meanwhile, a similar guard change attended by president macron in paris will see 16 british troops. and the ministry of defence has said that these events will celebrate the two nations historic military and diplomatic ties. emily brown there. before we go, let's take you to the scene live in tel aviv, where you can see dozens have gathered in anti—government protests. people they are taking to the streets to demand new elections. they want prime minister netanyahu to go to the polls. they also want

to go to the polls. they also want to ensure that he secures the release of hostages were being held in gaza. it comes, of course, as israel's military says it is recovered the body of a man taken hostage and held in gaza. we will have more on six months since the 7th of october attacks here on bbc news throughout sunday. stay with us here on bbc news. good afternoon. storm kathleen's dominated weather headlines in recent days. the storm arrived last night and yes, it's bringing gale force gusts of winds in the far northwest. it's also tapping in to some very warm air indeed. now, so far today, we have seen a gust of wind in excess of 90 mile an hour on the tops of cairngorm. yes, but even at lower levels through northern ireland, down to the isles of scilly, we've had gusts in excess of 60, close to 70 mile an hour. so the storm is anchored way out to the west of the uk and that's allowing this south—westerly wind

to push up some very warm airfrom africa. and so temperatures really quite a dramatic difference, particularly in scotland where just a few days ago we were seeing a maximum of five degrees. not that much in the way of rain around for the rest of the day. sunny spells and scattered showers. there will be quite a lot of cloud around from time to time and it will stay windy. so inland we're looking at around 45 mile an hour plus winds out mile an hour plus winds. out through the irish sea, we could see 65, close to 70 mile an hour wind gusts still continuing, but the temperatures will be way above where they should be for this time of year. anywhere above 20 degrees will make it the hottest day of the year so far. and we could see a high of 22 across east anglia. a pulse of wetter weather, some sharper showers moving their way north and east through the night. we keep quite a lot of cloud around as well and it will stay mild through the night.

double figures perhaps across the south east. so we start off tomorrow morning with a spell of wetter weather and we could see some showers just funnelling together in a fairly organised line through the south west coming up through the bristol channel towards the midlands. and here, the wind gusts could be a little bit stronger tomorrow, over 50 miles an hour at times. it'll still be mild for the time of year. we're looking at 10 to 17 degrees, the overall high. now, as we move into monday, there's another low that could bring yet more wet and windy weather in a similar track to kathleen. so we're keeping an eye on that. a brief lull behind before another low continues to push in from the atlantic. so the weather pattern stays the same. we're looking at it staying pretty unsettled with showers or longer spells of rain. temperatures will come down just a touch. so if you are planning to spend some time outside, this is the story. rain or showers, lighter winds, temperatures about average.

live from london. this is bbc news. the israel military confirms it's recovered the body of hostage elad katzir from khan younis — nearly 6 months after being abducted by hamas. it comes as israel faces renewed concern over its ground strategy in the gaza strip. seven people die in russian drone attacks on ukraine's second—largest city, kharkiv. the mayor says residential buildings and a children's nursery were struck. voters in slovakia are deciding

on a new president — a contest between a pro—western former diplomat and a candidate from slovakia's nationalist government. and in australia — more than 150 people are rescued from floods in sydney — as others prepare to leave their homes. welcome to bbc news. hello, i'm lukwesa burak. the israeli military has recovered the body of a hostage in gaza, during an overnight operation. it accused the islamichhad group of murdering the man, who's been identified as elad katzir. he was 47 years old. israel said its mission to search for hostages, and return them to israel, would continue. from jerusalem, hugo bachega reports. elad katzir was kidnapped in southern israel six months ago. his body returned from gaza today.