a major review finds weak evidence surrounding the use of treatments like puberty blockers and a toxic debate that stops professionals being honest about what they think. the moment the hamas leader, ismail haniyeh, is told three of his children and two grandchildren were killed in a strike in gaza. showing off their cash, five people admit stealing more than £50 million in one of britain's biggest benefit frauds. and how champion athletes at the paris olympics will come away this time with a lot more than a gold medal. coming up on bbc news, rangers have accused dundee of negligence and unprofessionalism after the scottish premiership match was postponed the second time because of a waterlogged pitch in park.

good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. a landmark report into gender services for children and young people says they have been let down by weak evidence surrounding the use of treatments like puberty blockers and hormone treatments. the review led by dr hilary cass was commissioned by nhs england after a steep rise in the numbers of young people asking for help around their gender, particularly girls and young women. here's our health editor hugh pym. this strongly worded report gets to the heart of a highly controversial debate on gender, medicine and society. the work of an nhs clinic caring for children, it says, was clouded by a political row. it has been four years of work, nearly 400 pages, with young people and their families among those consulted. the review report says evidence is severely lacking on the impact of puberty blockers and hormone

treatments, and that young people have been caught in the middle of a stormy social discourse. it says that an increasingly toxic ideological and polarised public debate has made the work of the review significantly harder. ideology on all sides has directed care, rather than care being directed by normal principles of paediatrics and mental health. i mean, certainly professionals are afraid to do the things they would normally do in any other consultation. genderservices, provided by the controversial tavistock clinic in london, ended last month. the use of drugs to stop the onset of puberty has now been halted in england untilfurther research is done. keira bell started taking puberty blockers aged 16, after being referred to the tavistock. she then took legal action, arguing she wasn't challenged enough at the clinic and regretted her decision. her lawyer responded to the review findings.

whilst it is very reassuring for young people who are going through gender—questioning at the moment, and their parents, it is, unfortunately for many young people, too late. they live with the ongoing consequences. today the prime minister welcomed the report's conclusions. of course we must treat children who are questioning their gender with compassion and sensitivity, but we have to recognise that we need to move with extreme caution in these areas. i think it does raise some serious concerns that are pretty scandalous, actually. i think we have got to ask ourselves, you know, why is it that we have seen medical interventions that have been given on the basis of very weak evidence? the review recommendations include services to be at the same standards as elsewhere in the nhs, individualised care plans for children, and a new service for 17—25 —year—olds. one of those could be sonia from birmingham. she wanted to transition when she

was 15 and waited four years to see an nhs specialist. she then opted to go private. hopefully with the review and its findings, the young trans people of today and the next generations can have a more human and a more respectful transition. nhs england says there will be an implementation plan. for sonia, it is the detail and delivery which will count. hugh pym, bbc news. so there's been a sharp rise in the number of children and young people accessing gender services in recent years. 0ur health correspondent sophie hutchinson has been looking at the data. one of the striking factors about the former nhs gender identity service is the exponential growth in the number of referrals over the past 15 years. have a look at this graph.

back in 2009, just 51 children and adolescents were referred for treatment. but by 2016, thatjumped to more than 1,700. and when the old service closed last month, there were thousands of young patients on the waiting list. one of the factors that has perplexed experts is the change in the case mix. previously it was mostly boys being referred for gender related problems, but by 2016 that changed and close to 70% of those referred were girls. the review�*s chair said there's no clear explanation for the rise in girls, but it's clear they've faced particular modern—day pressures. this is the first generation that's grown up with social media from very early on, and obviously there has been a lot of media coverage, as you know, about online harm, the children's commissioner report about early exposure to pornography, and i think all of that is potentially having an impact. the review suggests that gender

issues stem from a complex web of biological, psychological and social factors. these include a possible genetic predisposition, harm from the internet and social media and the stress of puberty. but some are concerned that looking for explanations will mean children won't be listened to. these are people, these are children who are finding the courage to come forward and say, "actually, this is who i truly am." they trust an adult enough to say, "this is who i am." sometimes there is no reason, there is no reason for certain things. we have to look after them and love them, rather than try and shape them into what we think they should be. today's review says it is not seeking to define what it means to be trans, or undermine trans identities. it says its goal was to find the best way for the nhs to support this growing number of young patients. thank you.

three sons and two grandchildren of the hamas leader, isamil haniyeh, have been killed in a strike near gaza city. they were travelling in a car when they were hit. the us presidentjoe biden says he believes that israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu is making a "mistake" in his handling of the war in gaza. he has urged israel to agree to a six—to—eight week ceasefire to allow "total access" of food and medicine into the territory. 0ur international editor jeremy bowen joins us now. than, sophie. he is the head of the political apparatus of hamas outside gaza and the palestinian territory, israel makes no distinction between different branches of hamas. says they are different branches of hamas. says they are all different branches of hamas. says they are all terrorists different branches of hamas. says they are all terrorists now different branches of hamas. says they are all terrorists now at different branches of hamas. says they are all terrorists now at the moment, he was told that his three sons and their children were reportedly in a car in one of the

refugee camps in gaza city, and they were apparently targeted, and the car was destroyed and they were killed in it. now, afterwards, mr haniyeh said that the lived lives of her chirp were no more valuable than any other gazan lives and it wouldn't affect the ceasefire talks of which he is a prominent participant but the americans wants hamas to change their position, they wanted them to soften their position, so perhaps killing haniyeh�*s children may not be the best way of achieving that. in gaza itself, today, and right across the palestinian territories as well, today was meant to be a day of celebration, festivity, it normally is, not this year, instead it was a day of for muslims this day, eid al—fitr, the celebration at the end of ramadan should be joyful. even in gaza, this is rafah, where life was always hard.

it was a respite. this year, graveyard visits instead of presents, sweet treats and new clothes for the children. this woman is at her son hassan�*s grave, one of more than 33,000 palestinians killed by israel. translation: i'm asking god to take revenge on israel and america. - may they suffer, too. oh, god, have their children killed and their wives widowed. they destroyed our house. we live on the street. gaza is drowning in destruction, darkness and damnation. ben—gurion university, about 25 miles from gaza, looks tranquil. translation: i'm asking god to take revenge on israel and america. - may they suffer, too. ben—gurion university, about 25 miles from gaza, looks tranquil. but more than 100 students and staff from here were killed or taken hostage on 7th october.

6,500 students were mobilised. among them, three young men just back from gaza after months in combat. tell me what the impact of 7th of october was on you. i think everybody here is related somehow to what happened. everybody knows someone that was kidnapped, that was killed. it's all, all around the country. i mean, you saw palestinian civilians inside gaza and they've been going through hell. what was going through your mind? i think many of them aren't innocent. and i think it will be really hard to find those that are innocent. but it doesn't mean i think everyone should get hurt. and what's the future going to be with the palestinians next door? i think that if you would have - asked me this question on october 6, then i would say definitely yes. i would just do a palestinian state, let them live over there. _ we'll live over here and we'll- coexist and everything will be nice. but after october 7th, _ it seems clear to me that they don't want it as much as i wanted it.

of course, i prefer to be here in the university to study, to go and drink my coffee instead of going fighting a war, like a war. it's not fun going to fight in a war, but sometimes it's necessary. and in this situation it's necessary. it's a two way street. like your question. i mean, like it feels kind of israel's responsibility to not radicalise gazans, but whereas gazans are responsibility to towards us, you know, i mean, if we ever want to coexist, if we want a two state solution, we need responsibility on both sides with accountability. the fences that did not stop hales have been repaired. last week after international anger about the humanitarian catastrophe in gaza israel promised to open this crossing to allow aid directly into the north, which faces famine. it is still shut. the north, which faces famine. it is stillshut. prime the north, which faces famine. it is still shut. prime minister netanyahu is under a lot of pressure at the

moment, from the americans who want a ceasefire and for him to open the gates of gaza to unlimited amounts of humanitarian aid. from the hostage families who want a deal with hamas, to get their people back. and, from the ultra nationalists in his own coalition who are said that if that offensive into rafah doesn't go ahead, then they will bring down his government. north gaza gripped by hunger and disease is on the other side of the wall. when the siege was imposed the israeli defence minister said they were fighting human—animal, six months on israel's allies say it is 1200 dead on the 7th october did not give it license to kill and destroy so much. jeremy bowen, bee news five people have admitted stealing

more than £50 million in what's being called the biggest case of benefit fraud ever seen in england and wales. all of them are bulgarian nationals who are based in north london. they're due to be sentenced next month. here's our social affairs correspondent, michael buchanan. they stole so much, they could play with it. one of the gang that defrauded nearly £54 million from the welfare budget treating taxpayers' money as confetti. £750,000 in cash was found in one of the gangs�* homes, some of it stacked in suitcases. jewellery, watches and a luxury car were also discovered by investigators. this was a sustained attack op a system that is supposed to protect the most vulnerable in our society. society. but instead this gang used it as a cash machine to fund lavish lifestyles. these are the five people, all bulgarians, who pulled off britain's biggest ever benefit fraud. prosecutors say they made

6,000 fraudulent claims for universal credit between 2016 and their arrest in 2021. the gang recruited some people from bulgaria, used their identity documents and paid them a share of the benefit payment. these premises, now a legitimate entirely unconnected shop, were one of three so—called benefit factories where the claims were processed. in a back room, documents like tenancy agreements and medical letters were forged, to support a claim. if an application was rejected they would simply repeatedly apply until it was granted. when universal credit was introduced the government said it was designed to reduce fraud, that simply didn't happen, fraud increased and billions and billions of pounds were lost annually. its and billions of pounds were lost annuall . , , . and billions of pounds were lost annuall. , , . , ., annually. its started well before the pandemic. _ annually. its started well before the pandemic, refined _ annually. its started well before the pandemic, refined what - annually. its started well before - the pandemic, refined what documents they needed to convince the claims were legitimate and took advanceage

of that when the department's attention was making sure money got out to the people that needed it. they paid less attention perhaps to having took some of the checks and balances and balances out of the system. the department for work and pension say the fraudsters had used a sophisticated combination of legitimate and fake documents to make it appear as though they were eligible for benefits to which they were not. the gang are all due to be sentenced next month. prosecutors will also attempt to confiscate as much money and other assets as they can. michael buchanan, bbc news. a man who murdered his four—week—old son has been jailed for a minimum of 22 years. ollie davis was found unresponsive at the family home in leicester in 2017. he had a broken neck as well as dozens of other injuries. 29—year—old michael davis was found guilty of his son's murder following a two—month trial. ollie's mother, kayleigh driver, has been jailed for seven years for allowing the death of a child and allowing serious physical injury. more than 7,000 complaints were made

to police in the first week after scotland's new hate crime law came into operation. the controversial law created a new offence of stirring up hatred against what are known as protected characteristics, including age, sexual orientation, and transgender identity. police scotland said the "vast majority" of the reports were anonymous and in most cases no further action is being taken. our scotland correspondent lorna gordon can tell us more. this legislation has been controversial. concerns were raised about the effect of policing it, the pressure is policing it might have on front line officers. others are concerned about the chilling effect it might have on freedom of speech. the authorjk rowling challenged police to arrest of comments she made on social media broke the law. police scotland found she had committed no crime. in fact, these figures show that the vast majority

of complaints made in the law's first week of operation also resulted in no action. the figures also show that most complaints, most of those 7000 plus complaints to the police were made anonymously. the scottish police federation which represents rank and file officers it says this shows that the legislation was being misused by the public and people are not contacting the police because they are a victim of hate crime, but because they are making political or personal points. they said that this situation is not sustainable. well, the scottish government's justice sustainable. well, the scottish government'sjustice secretary sustainable. well, the scottish government's justice secretary says she believes the situation is being managed well, she said the act's protects communities most vulnerable to marginalisation and also protects freedom of expression and freedom of speech. a spokesperson for police scotland said the impact on front line policing has been minimal. laura, thank you. the time is 18.17. our top story this evening. a major review finds weak evidence

surrounding the use of treatments like puberty blockers and a toxic debate that stops professionals being honest about what they think. and why athletes striking gold at this summer's olympics in paris will be significantly richer. coming up on bbc news. it might be time to say a prayer and hope for the best. the unique challenge of agusta and its corner to host the first major of the golfing year with the pga in live players combined. france is hosting the olympics this summer, and security is already being stepped up to reassure the public. extra police have been on patrol at railway stations and near stadiums after new warnings that the islamic state group

could be planning to attack european football events taking place this month. there's growing concern across europe about threats that have been on a pro—islamic state media channel. our paris correspondent andrew harding has the story. high in the french alps this afternoon, an army role—playing exercise. soldiers practising how to handle a knife—wielding attacker. france is furiously busy preparing its security forces for this summer's olympic games at a time when all of europe appears increasingly on guard. in paris today, a security operation is already under way at this stadium after warnings that the islamic state group might attack tonight's quarterfinals in the champions league. not that fans here seem too troubled. for now, i feel safe. we've got security personnel, so i feel safe. lots of police. yeah. and will you be going to the match? hope so. we're confident, says aziz, in the french police and their security preparations here. it is three weeks now since this horrific attack in moscow which was claimed by islamic state.

since then, there have been new warnings that european sporting events might be targeted next. in spain, the police are treating the threat seriously, with the recent arrest of several suspected islamists. germany, too, says islamic state is now its biggest internal menace. in a rare step, the germans will introduce land border controls ahead of the european football championships injune. but it is france that will soon host the world's biggest sporting events, the olympics. the plans for this unusual opening ceremony on the river seine. some 60,000 french police and soldiers will guard the centre of paris. but there is a twist to all this talk of an islamist threat. what's new, and i think significant, is the role that russia is accused of playing in all of this. the french are convinced that the kremlin is working online to exaggerate the threat of islamist

attacks in order to scare europeans and to weaken faith in western democracies. france's president, emmanuel macron, is sounding increasingly indignant, accusing the kremlin of waging a war of lies against the west. as for the security threat, it is a real concern, but it is one that france has lived with and learn from for years. but it is one that france has lived with and learned from for years. andrew harding, bbc news, paris. in russia, thousands of homes have been evacuated after severe flooding. the region of orenburg has been affected by worse than usual seasonal flooding because of melting snow from the surrounding mountains. russian officials estimate that more than 10,000 homes are underwater. in neighbouring kazakhstan, more than 100,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes. tesco has posted pre—tax profits of £2.3 billion for the year to february.

that's nearly a three—fold increase on pre—tax profits the previous year. the chief executive of the supermarket chain said inflationary pressures had "lessened substantially", but said he was conscious "things were still difficult for many customers." some 7.4 million uk adults are still struggling to pay bills due to the high cost of living, according to a survey from the financial conduct authority. the number has fallen from last year, but many households still feel "heavily burdened". its survey suggested one in nine adults had missed a bill payment in the six months to january. the former conservative mp james arbuthnot, who, in 2009, was one of the first mps to raise the issue of subpostmasters and their complaints about the horizon it system with the government, has been giving evidence at the public inquiry into the post office scandal. lord arbuthnot — who became a leading supporter of the subpostmasters�* campaign

forjustice — told the inquiry he had had doubts over the post office's approach to the truth. here's zoe conway. he's been called the sub—postmasters�* most trusted voice. lord arbuthnot tried to get the government to help them 15 years ago, but he says the attitude from ministers was "not me, guv." they told him the post office was run at arm's length. there's a sort of democratic deficit that is popping up here if the government is refusing to take responsibility for it. and also, the risks of owning a dangerous dog, you cannot say that the dangerous dog has an arm's—length relationship with you. he was also damning about how the post office management kept from mps problems with the horizon computer system. they knew that there were a large number of bugs in the system, which they had not told mps about.

but they were operating some sort of behind the scenes deception process, which suggests to me now that they were stringing mps along. he was played in the itv drama by alex jennings. when he was conservative mp, he fought for his constituent, former sub—postmistressjo hamilton, who was at today's hearing. what is it like for you once we have all gone away, the cameras are switched off, what is it that you are all still living with? financially i'm in a good place, health—wise i'm in a good place, but there are others who are still waiting forfinancial redress, which i think is awful, and they will be waiting beyond the inquiry finishing. there was an incredible moment in that drama when the lee castleton character said, "this is never going to end, is it?" does it sometimes

feel a bit like that? yeah. yeah, but we just have to stick with it because we have lived it all this time, so if they think we are actually going to wither and go away until it is all sorted, we won't. lord arbuthnot says he finds it difficult to stop thinking about all the sub—postmasters who have died before seeing justice. zoe conway, bbc news. britain's most successful gymnast, max whitlock, has announced that he will retire after the olympics in paris this summer. the 31—year—old is bidding to become the first to win four olympic medals on the same apparatus when he competes on the pommel horse. at rio 2016, he became team gb�*s first individual olympic gold medallist in gymnastics. it still feels a bit weird. i've made a decision and it's the right time for me that paris 2024 olympics, hopefully be my fourth olympic games, but will also be my final olympic games.

i have done this sport for 24 years, i'm 31 years old now, i feel it in my gut, and i think you have got to listen to that, that, yeah, it's the right time for me. some more olympians for you here. linford christie and sir mo farah, some of great britain's most famous olympic athletics champions. they all came away with a gold medal. but this summer, anyone who wins gold in athletics at the paris olympics will get more than that. for the first time, they'll win prize money, as well — almost £40,000. here's our sports editor dan roan. it's an enormous one. my goodness me, it's an enormous one. athletics has provided the olympics with some of its most iconic moments. jessica ennis is the olympic champion! this summer, it is set to make history. its governing body today announcing it will become the first international federation to award prize money at the games. a total of almost £2 million made available at the paris olympics,

with gold medallists each receiving £39,000. i think it is a very simple proposition, and that is that as our sport grows, and it has grown well in the last year or two, and we have brought more sponsors on board, that this isjust a recognition that the athletes are the stars of the show. we are growing the sport in order to give them more financially viable landscape and hopefully a more secure future. in response, the international olympic committee said it redistributes 90% of all its income, and it was up to each sport how to serve their athletes and development. one team gb star today welcomed the news. i think it is fantastic. i can only hope now that the world aquatics of this world and potentially the ioc in general can start to follow suit and really start to, you know, protect their sports. non—amateur athletes were originally banned from competing in the games,

but the rules were relaxed in the 19805. but the rules were relaxed in the 1980s. the professional stars of the us basketball dream team at welcomed in barcelona in 1992. and olympians are now regularly paid by sponsors and national bodies. when athletes compete here at the olympic stadium in paris later this summer, they will know that there is money, as well as medals and glory, at stake. some will welcome this move, given that track and field is fighting to remain relevant in its current format, but others will no doubt have concerns that this may go against the olympic spirit and its amateur ethos. i against the olympic spirit and its amateur ethos.— against the olympic spirit and its amateur ethos. i am a bit of an old fashioned person, _ amateur ethos. i am a bit of an old fashioned person, really. - amateur ethos. i am a bit of an old fashioned person, really. i- amateur ethos. i am a bit of an old fashioned person, really. i do - fashioned person, really. i do believe in my country, representing my country. very proud to have done it. ithink, obviously, we came my country. very proud to have done it. i think, obviously, we came out of an amateur sport into professionalism, it was our era that made that platform for those athletes to really benefit today. i don't believe that we should be

earning money at the olympic games. the amount that world athletics are offering artwork by the riches available in other sports, but in paris, a gold medal will become even more valuable. dan roan, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's tomasz schafernaker. it isa it is a stunning photo. i wonder who took it. i it is a stunning photo. i wonder who took it. ., , ., ., ., took it. i took that photo at 6:30am! — took it. i took that photo at 6:30am! it _ took it. i took that photo at 6:30am! it was _ took it. i took that photo at 6:30am! it was torrential l took it. i took that photo at i 6:30am! it was torrential rain took it. i took that photo at - 6:30am! it was torrential rain about an hour after that.— an hour after that. red sky in the mornin: , an hour after that. red sky in the morning, shepherd's _ an hour after that. red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning. i. an hour after that. red sky in the i morning, shepherd's warning. iwill leave ou morning, shepherd's warning. iwill leave you alone _ morning, shepherd's warning. iwill leave you alone now. _ morning, shepherd's warning. iwill leave you alone now. it _ morning, shepherd's warning. iwill leave you alone now. it is _ morning, shepherd's warning. iwill leave you alone now. it is so - morning, shepherd's warning. iwill leave you alone now. it is so cloudy out there at — leave you alone now. it is so cloudy out there at the _ leave you alone now. it is so cloudy out there at the moment. - leave you alone now. it is so cloudy out there at the moment. it - leave you alone now. it is so cloudy out there at the moment. it is - leave you alone now. it is so cloudy out there at the moment. it is not i leave you alone now. it is so cloudy| out there at the moment. it is not a pretty picture at all. outbreaks of rain for the rest of the evening. the outlook is not looking too bad. it is turning warmer. not necessarily promising clear blue skies everywhere, but the temperatures will rise significantly. here is that weather front. just ahead of that weather front, we saw those spectacular skies there in the south and other

parts of the country. with that weather front runs this rather warm current of air that will be over us for the next few days. through this evening and tonight, a lot of cloud across the uk. outbreaks of rain, quite gusty winds overnight, but it is going to be a very mild night. double figures pretty much across the board, bar one or two places, typically around 10—12. tomorrow morning, a lot of sunshine in the north—east and the north sea cost. later in the day, i think the cloud will build ahead of another weather front. with these southerly winds and the warm current of air, look at these temperatures, 18 in newcastle, high team is expected in belfast. we will probably exceed 20 in one or two spots across the south and east. the current of my other air is still with us on friday, the mild south—westerly, again bringing some rain towards these north—western areas. across the bulk of england and wales, we are talking about high teens. belfast also around 17. the

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