in other news, events are being held across rwanda to mark three decades since the beginning of the genocide against ethnic tutsis and moderate hutus. and as millions prepare for the solar eclipse in north america, we look at how to safely watch the total blackout. hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan. the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, says his troops are just "one step away from victory". it's six months since hamas gunmen stormed into southern israel, massacring 1,200 people and kidnapping more than 250. the attack sparked what's become the deadliest and most destructive israel—gaza war, killing over 33,000 palestinians. speaking at a cabinet meeting,

mr netanyahu said a ceasefire would not be agreed until israeli hostages, captured by hamas in october, were released. translation: the achievements of the war are great. we eliminated 19 out of 2a of the hamas battalions, including senior commanders. we killed, wounded or captured a significant number of hamas terrorists. we purged shifa and many other terrorist headquarters as well. we destroyed factories, manufacturing rockets, control rooms, weapons, ammunition, and we continue to systematically destroy what is underground. we are one step away from victory. israel is not the one preventing a deal. hamas prevents a deal. its extreme demands were intended to bring about an end to the war and leave it intact, meaning to ensure its survival, its rehabilitation, its ability to endanger our citizens and our soldiers.

surrendering to hamas demands will allow it to try to repeat the crimes of october seventh again and again, as it promised to do. hamas hopes that the pressure from outside and inside will make israel surrender to these extreme demands. it will not happen. israel is ready for a deal. israel is not ready to surrender. benjamin netanyahu, there. israelis have been visiting the site of the nova festival in southern israel where the october 7th attack unfolded. it comes as talks resume in cairo to try an negotiate a ceasefire. sebastian usher reports from jerusalem. grieving for those who were killed on october the 7th at the nova festival in southern israel. six months on, the trauma for israel still runs deep. and for some, it's a personal grief that can never be assuaged. we were talking with our kids on the phone in the last minutes

and seconds, and we tried to help them, but we couldn't. in front of our eyes and ears, we saw our son and daughter killed, and nobody could help us. and it's the worst thing that a father and mother can feel for their son and for their daughter. last night in tel aviv, tens of thousands of israelis came out to demand that government do more to save the lives of those who survived but were abducted and taken to gaza, all building more pressure on the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, who's already facing unprecedented criticism from israel's closest allies. the urgency of those protests is underscored by the front page of one of the main newspapers in israel today, haaretz, framed by the faces of the israeli hostages still missing in gaza and with the headline reading, "there is not a day to lose." the message is the same

from the devastation of gaza. the ruins of al—shifa hospital are emblematic of what palestinian civilians have suffered. the israeli army says it was hunting down fighters there. but palestinians say civilians were among those killed or wounded in a scene that has been repeated for six months across the territory. as the displaced in the southernmost town of rafah gather to break their ramadan fast, they're still hoping that shattered lives can somehow at sometime be pieced back together. sebastian usher, bbc news, jerusalem. 0ur chief international correspondent lyse doucet spoke to efrat machikawa, whose uncle is still being held in gaza. it's very, very hard, especially as we received the news of elad katzir yesterday. i'm about to leave very soon back to new orleans for his funeral.

to nir 0z for his funeral. it's devastating. you have seen the pictures, but you have not smelled the smell and felt the atmosphere. it's terrible. it's devastating. this war, as previously said, isn'tjust a war. it's a global war against terrorism, and it's awful. 0ur loved ones are still there, held. we have no idea whether they drink water, they can see sunlight, they eat enough. we have no idea what's going on. and it's painful. it's painful because it has been six months that we can hardly breathe. and it's so hard to imagine what's happening with them. the fact... you lost, efrat, four, five

of your family were taken that day. six, six of them were taken. six were taken that day. four came back. my aunt, efrat katz, was murdered and my uncle, gadi moses, is still there. he turned 80 on march 12. 80 years old, wonderful, sweet, loving grandfather. and we have no idea how he is or where he is. and we're waiting. you can see his picture on the screen. this lovable person has been helping people all around the world. he is an agronomist, a specialist, and he has been helping communities in third world countries really all over the world. he's a great teacher. he's a wonderful volunteer. he loves making his wine and he has a little line

of production with his son. and we're all waiting for him. he is, as you can see on this smile, a loving, loving person. and he, like the rest of the family, was taking away on saturday morning from his home. you saw the homes of mir 0z. this is how the kibbutz looks like. one of four. think of your neighbours — one of four. it's an incredible, incredible, sad number. i'm sure if you've been following the protests, you may even have taken part in them, felt that the anger of the families of the hostages seems to be growing with a call for the government to make their return a greater priority. some of them calling

for a ceasefire, although not all of them do, but many do. what do you what do you say should be done now? i think our war isjust, we are all fighting the terror. but i must admit myself, i havejoined the protest. i have joined the calls. i think that six months have proved us that whatever is going on now is probably going on wrong. and it's time for our prime minister to show leadership and to give someone who can bring the deal in to do so. we see so much suffering. we want this to end. we concentrate on bringing our beloved ones back home. they're citizens of the israeli state. they deserve the full deal

there is no price where the 133, unfortunately, now 33 only left in gaza. there isn't any price. no price is high price. they cannot be taken as something that has a price. their lives are sacred and they have to be back home. the dead for a respectful barrier and the live back home. we are waiting for them to back home. and for that today we released a song, a song written by hadas egozi farkash, who is a clinical psychologist who took care of my aunt. when she came back, i met her at the hospital. and yuval levkovsky, a very young, talented singer, is singing it. we released it today. and it's a song of hope. it's talking about our heroes because each and every one

of the hostages is our heroes, not only mine or my family, but our state and our citizens heroes. state and our citizens are heroes. and, you know, we end the song saying in a day of shadow and hope and storm, "we pray for you to come home". and this is what it is all about. israel cannot go on. i don't think the world should go on unless we have them back home. they must come home. come home. that's all we ask for. let them come home. bring them home now. the un is warning that hunger is imminent in parts of northern gaza — and aid charities say the health system is on the verge of collapse.

earlier, my colleague lyse doucet spoke to cindy mccain head of the world food programme.— spoke to cindy mccain head of the world food programme. famine is imminent in _ world food programme. famine is imminent in the _ world food programme. famine is imminent in the north. _ world food programme. famine is imminent in the north. this - world food programme. famine is imminent in the north. this is - imminent in the north. this is something that, if we wait much longer, we are going to go over the edge and be unable to recover from. that is why it is so important we be able to get food at scale in. we at w p are grateful there is consideration to a pen the corner point and the port, we are hoping to see that happen soon. all of those things we are hoping to see along with airdrops and everything else thatis with airdrops and everything else that is going on. it will help us get food in at scale, that it cannot stop... it cannot be a dribble of seven or eight tracks per day or per week, it has to be multitudes of trucks and quickly.— week, it has to be multitudes of trucks and quickly. there have been calls u- to trucks and quickly. there have been calls up to the _ trucks and quickly. there have been calls up to the tap _ trucks and quickly. there have been calls up to the top of _ trucks and quickly. there have been calls up to the top of the _ trucks and quickly. there have been calls up to the top of the un - trucks and quickly. there have been calls up to the top of the un that i calls up to the top of the un that while welcoming these new moves,

saying that all of the crossings should be open, and if not, that it will still be difficult to get the amounts of aid in that are needed. is that also your view? that amounts of aid in that are needed. is that also your view?— is that also your view? that is our view, we would _ is that also your view? that is our view, we would like _ is that also your view? that is our view, we would like every - is that also your view? that is our view, we would like every gate i is that also your view? that is our . view, we would like every gate open, we need to get food in and get it in at scale. we can no longer wait to be considered or wait to see if our drivers are cleared, wait to see if the checkpoints are going to be a pen. we need to get in now. children are dying as we speak. they are dying of hunger. that is why it is so important we do what we do best: taking large amounts of food and feed those who are desperately hungry. feed those who are desperately hunt . .,, ., ., hungry. those delivering the food feel at risk after _ hungry. those delivering the food feel at risk after the _ hungry. those delivering the food feel at risk after the killing - hungry. those delivering the food feel at risk after the killing of - feel at risk after the killing of seven aid workers with world central kitchen. agencies have suspended their operations. do you feel it is still safe for your wfp staff to

operate, and are they still doing so? ~ , , ., ., , operate, and are they still doing so? ,,. .,, .," operate, and are they still doing so? ,,. .,, ., so? well, this is dangerous work no matter how — so? well, this is dangerous work no matter how you _ so? well, this is dangerous work no matter how you look _ so? well, this is dangerous work no matter how you look at _ so? well, this is dangerous work no matter how you look at it. _ so? well, this is dangerous work no matter how you look at it. we - so? well, this is dangerous work no matter how you look at it. we at - so? well, this is dangerous work no | matter how you look at it. we at wfp are not going to hold or suspend any of our operations. we continue to do the best we can to get aid in. again, these new openings and these new ports etc, if we do get them to scale and get them operational, they will be of great help. but, we should have done it awhile this is something that has allowed the northern part of gaza to simply die. and so, for those of us at the un who work on humanitarian principles and believe in delivering food and aid in a principled fashion, we feel very strongly about how much needs to go in and why we should be in there. and once again, aid workers should be safer. it was

unconscionable that wca was hit. it was a terrible situation. —— wc k was a terrible situation. —— wc k was hit. we are sorry for all of them. we have to keep going. we have tea. , n ., them. we have to keep going. we have tea. , a ., ., , them. we have to keep going. we have tea. , a . ., them. we have to keep going. we have tea. , a . ,, ., , tea. cindy mccain was speaking to my collea . ue, tea. cindy mccain was speaking to my colleague. lyse _ tea. cindy mccain was speaking to my colleague, lyse doucet. _ tea. cindy mccain was speaking to my colleague, lyse doucet. you - tea. cindy mccain was speaking to my colleague, lyse doucet. you can - colleague, lyse doucet. you can watch loose to set presenting her programme, the darkest days, about six months of the conflict. she will have eyewitness accounts from both israel and gaza. if you are in the uk, you can watch it on iplayer. it is time to take a look to sport. hello from the bbc sport centre. liverpool have the chance to go top of the english premier league table — they're currently in action against manchester united at old trafford. it's just kicked off in the big match between manchester united and liverpool in the english premier league with liverpool hoping to re—gain

top spot in the table. it is currently i—0 it is currently 1—0 to liverpool. we are just approaching it is currently 1—0 to liverpool. we arejust approaching half—time. we arejust approaching half—time. we are into injury time. after 45 minutes, it is 1—0 to liverpool. it is one of three legs in the premier league today. chelsea had a dramatic late win and our away at sheffield united. they lost to liverpool on the same night. later on sunday, tottenham host relegation threatened nottingham forest. you can follow all of those matches on the bbc sport website. to a huge game in scotland now. it was a six goal thriller at ibrox with the old firm match finishing in a 3—3 draw. celtic dominated the first half — daizen maeda capitalising on a mistake early on, then matt 0'riley scored from the spot to put the visitors 2—0 up. rangers also converted a penalty and then equalised late on through abdullah sima. there were a frantic last few minutes with celtic�*s adam idah putting the visitors back in front on 88 minutes. but the game wasn't over with rangers' rabbi matondo rescuing a point.

there's still one point between the two sides. rangers have a game in hand. six goals scored in der klassiker in the dutch eredivisie, but for just one team. feyenoord have beaten theirfierce rivals ajax 6—0 in the derby. igor paixao scored twice as the home crowd in rotterdam were treated to their side's biggest ever win against the amsterdam giants. yankuba minteh also scored twice as ajax slipped to a new low in a season which has been turbulent on and off the pitch. it's also ajax's biggest loss in eredivisie history. they are 33 points behind the leader leaders psv eindhoven, with feynenoord in second place. after failing to finish in australia a fortnight ago normal service resumed for formula one world champion max verstappen in japan this morning. the dutchman took a clean sweep of pole position, fastest lap and race win. it was the 57th victory of his career. he beat his red bull

team mate sergio perez by twelve and a half seconds. carlos sainz continued his impressive start to the season with a podium at suzuka. england's women lost their final one—day international against new zealand in hamilton. new zealand reached their target of 195 to win with seven wickets in hand and 66 balls remaining. sophie devine hit a six to not only win the match, but reach her century too. england had already won the series heading into this one, after taking the first two games. england captain heather knight says her side can learn from devine's excellent innings. the pitch wasn't quite as straightforward, it was a bit of a tricky one. i thought sophie showed us exactly how to bat. the way she soaked up pressure at the start of her innings, tactically targeted a bowler that was matchup for her, and was able to soak up that pressure and put it back on us, i think it a really good lesson for our middle order and our batting group.

american danielle collins will play daria kasatkina in the women's singles final at the charleston open on sunday. the miami 0pen champion continued her impressive run by knocking out number three seed maria sakkari in the semi final. collins is on a 12 match winning streak, it will be 13 in the final if she beats kasatkina, who overcamejessica pegula in the other semi final. and that's all the sport for now. just to update you: half time at old trafford, still 1—0 to liverpool. you can say up—to—date with that on the sport website. ceremonies are being held across rwanda to mark three decades across rwanda to mark three decades since the start of the genocide against ethnic tutsis and moderate hutus.

injust 100 days, 800,000 people were killed in 1994. rwanda's president paul kagame said the international community failed his country either through contempt or cowadice during the massacre. france acknowledged that it could have stopped the genocide, along with its allies, but lacked the will to do so. faith mbabazi, former journalist and east africa faith mbabazzi, former journalist and east africa communications specialist. she's been at the ceremonies in the capital kigali2. in the capital kigali. it is the 30th anniversary of the 1994 genocide against the tutsis in rwanda. we all know it has been a journey, a remarkablejourney. it is very significant. today, it has been a very busy day. it started quite early in the morning with the lighting of the flame of hope at the kigali genocide memorial. it was led by president khatami and his wife,

the first lady, keg army. later, there was another commemoration event where hundreds of rwandans and their friends event where hundreds of rwandans and theirfriends met event where hundreds of rwandans and their friends met together and there were speeches, it was a very sombre event, and president kagame gave a speech. laterthis event, and president kagame gave a speech. later this evening we will be participating in what we call a walk to remember. and then there will be a night vigil organised by young people, the youth, where they will discuss the country pass history, the never again campaign. it is an open event. throughout the 100 days, the three months, there are going to be activities including giving remains of victims of the 1994 genocide against the tootsie is, who were not given a decent

burial. today was quite a sombre mood in kigali, shops were closed all morning, people were gathered in their villages for commemoration activities, so yes, today was long and busy, and quite sombre. everybody thinking about the past and where we are coming from. find and where we are coming from. and when ou and where we are coming from. and when you speak about the commemorations today, you speak about how a lot of young people have been taking part, many of whom will not have been alive when this took place. how much is the legacy of what happened three decades ago ran through everyday life in rwanda? i think that the rwanda of 30 years ago and the rwanda of today are totally two different countries. yes, we still have the history, we still have women who lost all of their families still have women who lost all of theirfamilies and are

still have women who lost all of their families and are leaving their homes alone —— living in a home alone. the sense of unity, rwandans are not identified by who they are, as hutu or tutsi, rwandans are identified as brandon's. everybody in rwanda has hope that they are able to thrive and are given equal opportunity. everybody in rwanda identifies as rwandan. 12 years of education, the first 12 years, it is in rwanda. and i think society is healing. it is a long process, but society is healing.— healing. it is a long process, but society is healing. faith mbabazi, from kigali. _ society is healing. faith mbabazi, from kigali, thank _ society is healing. faith mbabazi, from kigali, thank you _ society is healing. faith mbabazi, from kigali, thank you so - society is healing. faith mbabazi, from kigali, thank you so much. l now imagine running the entire length of africa for charity. well russ cook, who calls himself the hardest geezer, is now not far from reaching the finishing line of his year long quest to do just that. the 27—year—old is set to end his epicjourney in tunisia. ellie price has more. let's go!

day three! day four! day six! only the hardest geezer could run nearly every day for 350 days, covering more than 10,000 miles. day 349 of running the entire length of africa. he's run through deserts, rainforests, savannahs, mountains, jungle and 16 countries, and so far he's raised well over £600,000 for the running charity and sandblast. he's faced complications with visas, health scares, and even an armed robbery. cheering. how are you feeling? yeah, all right. but he's taken it all in his stride, and in this final stretch, he's had a little help from his friends. ready to run a marathon? yeah! he should make that finish line in tunisia within the next hour, and he says the first thing he's going to do — have a strawberry daiquiri on the beach. ellie price, bbc news.

now, solar eclipse fever is building. millions of people in north america will be able to witness a rare solar eclipse on monday, hoping to spend around four minutes in total darkness as the moon blocks the sun's light. for some, those precious minutes will be an opportunity for often impossible science experiments — a chance to unravel the secrets of our universe. the astronomical phenomenon will be less dramatic in the uk, but a partial eclipse could be visible in some parts of the country. and we will have special live coverage of the solar eclipse on monday here on bbc news. we will have a special live stream as well. you can also find lots more on the bbc news website including how scientists will be conducting experiments during the four minute blackout window. there is plenty in that story and all of the rest of the day's news on the bbc news website including the

latest on developments from the middle east six months on from the israel — gaza conflict. i am rajini vaidyanathan, i will be back after a short break. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. it certainly has been a weekend of contrasts — wet and windy, stormy for some, glorious for others. you had to make the most of the sunshine when you had it. after the warmest day of the year so far in east anglia, it was not a bad start to sunday morning. it did cloud over a little as the day progressed. and the week ahead is going to stay pretty unsettled, i'm afraid. 0ften wet and windy, a little bit cooler as well to begin with. but then there's a potential for something warmer to return from wednesday into thursday later on. more on that in just a moment. but we've got this deepening area of low pressure for monday, which is going to bring some wet weatherfor some of us.

so we'll start off on monday morning with rain into the channel isles, moving up through cornwall, gradually into south wales, up through the irish sea. ahead of it, we'll have this band of showery rain developing as well. so across england and wales it's a case of quite a lot of cloud around. there will be some showery outbreaks of rain. top temperatures, though, still on the mild side, 17 celsius here. in the east, the pennines, 17 celsius and it may stay dry for much of the afternoon. heaviest of the rain through the isle of man, just fringing into northern ireland. the bulk of scotland for monday afternoon, staying fine with some sunshine, highs of ten to 12 celsius. but that rain will move its way across northern england into scotland overnight, and also the wind direction is set to change back to a north—westerly, which is going to push that milder air over into eastern europe. a cooler air source arrives for all of us on tuesday. tuesday doesn't look a particularly pleasant day either. there'll be a spell of heavy rain which will grind to a halt

for a time across southern scotland and northern england. quite a lot of cloud and plenty of frequent showers. temperatures on the whole will struggle due to the strength of the wind gusts in excess of 35 to 40 mph, so on your thermometer, probably only looking at between eight and 12 celsius as a high. wednesday will start off for some of us quite promising. we've got this little ridge of high pressure quieting things down, but the next frontal systems are waiting in the wings to move in from the west. so eastern areas seeing the best of the dry weather on wednesday with some sunshine coming through. that rain clears through to sunny spells and scattered showers in the north, but it is going to allow more heat to return in the south later on.

this is bbc news, the headlines: israel says it has withdrawn more ground troops from southern gaza. the move was announced as benjamin netanyahu claims his troops are "one step from victory". the israel gaza war reaches its six—month mark. on october 7th, hamas attacked israel killing about 1,200 people and taking hundreds hostage. in the war that has followed, the hamas—run health ministry says at least 33,000 palestinians have been killed.

slovakia's elected a new president — peter pellegrini is a nationalist who's sceptical of sending military aid to ukraine. he won by a greater margin than expected, defeating the pro—western candidate ivan korcok. and as millions prepare for the solar eclipse in north america we look at how to safely watch the total blackout as the moon blocks the sun's light. now on bbc news, laura kuenssberg and paddy 0'connell chew over the week's political news in newscast. newscast. newscast from the bbc. hello, it's paddy in the studio. and laura in the studio, and.... hello, i'm injerusalem. it's great to have you with us. so it's hard to know where to start, isn't it? the story is so enormous. shall we start with what's been happening in the last 24 hours? there's an awful lot going on at the moment. i mean, there are loads of strands to this. first of all, inside israel,

big demonstrations because the two