hello and welcome to sportsday. i'm hugh ferris. our headlines this evening: palace puncture liverpool's

premier league title chances — they end a bad week with a second straight home defeat, while villa do the same to arsenal on a day for manchester city to enjoy. it's the same in scotland for rangers. not the moment to lose to ross county for the first time. martha thomas sends spurs to wembley for a first ever women's fa cup final, where they'll play manchester united. also coming up on sportsday: can anyone stop scottie scheffeler as he goes for his second masters title on the final day at augusta? hello again. with margins as tight as they are, could this be the day that liverpool and arsenal rue more than any other in the premier league title race?

both suffered home defeats, both now trail manchester city at the top of the table. we start at anfield, where liverpool's poor week ended with a 1—0 defeat to crystal palace. patrick gearey reports. # you'll never walk alone... # anfield is a place of full voiced confidence, but perhaps quietly there were also nerves. they had lost 3—0 here in europe in the week, and crystal palace seized on the uncertainty. good position, eze! eberechi eze in all sorts of space — a goal to make you say "wow" indeed. and wow again — minutes later, here wasjean—philippe mateta. he can't have come much closer. andy robertson to the rescue in the nick of time and space. but it was still early. liverpool would get chances — they always get chances, but taking one is the trick. time and again, the ball dropped, the world waited, and somehow the goal didn't come. liverpool have surfed the momentum of their manager's last season,

a tide that kept taking them back towards goal. curtisjones on his own. jones! 0h, he's missed it. liverpool kept on desperately trying to breach the palace wall, but guards appeared from nowhere. then time ran out. the maths tells you their title challenge is not over. the faces say something different. patrick gearey, bbc news. and it caps eight days of disappointment forjurgen klopp�*s side. notjust atalanta on thursday, but dropped points against manchester united last sunday too. this time, though, the manager gets it. it is just crazy how big are the chances were and we didn't use them, so second half, palace were lucky that we did not punish them, first half they deserve their 1—0 lead, and that is sometimes enough, and thatis and that is sometimes enough, and that is why we stand here with no points instead of three.

outstanding win here at anfield, it is so difficult to win here, the boys — is so difficult to win here, the boys deserved it, congrats to the team _ boys deserved it, congrats to the team and — boys deserved it, congrats to the team and players, how they played, especially _ team and players, how they played, especially the first half, that was nice to _ especially the first half, that was nice to save for a manager, the passion. — nice to save for a manager, the passion, the desire, the spirit, we defended — passion, the desire, the spirit, we defended in — passion, the desire, the spirit, we defended in the second half because there was_ defended in the second half because there was a lot of pressure from liverpooh — after liverpool lost, still arsenal had a chance to take advantage. but they too slipped up at home, losing 2—0 to aston villa at the emirates. chasing a champions league spot this season, villa had already hit the woodwork twice before sub leon bailey slid home to silence the home fans. and as arsenal buckled, ollie watkins strode clear to chip in a sublime second for unai emery�*s team. the defeat leaves arsenal two points behind manchester city, having played the same number of games. west ham's chances of another season in european football were reduced further by a 2—0 defeat at home to fulham. andreas pereira scored both goals, as the away side registered a first

league win at west ham for 23 years. fulham move 12th, while west ham stay two points behind the two teams above them. i thought it restarted game really well, in the first 20 or 25 minutes, well, in the first 20 or 25 minutes, we played really well today. we go behind to a really disappointing goal, and as it went on, they created one or two chances, but in the main i thought we had done some good stuff. but ultimately we didn't have enough today to get a win. pleased to fight for the three points, — pleased to fight for the three points, a _ pleased to fight for the three points, a great win, well deserved, i think_ points, a great win, well deserved, i think we _ points, a great win, well deserved, i think we played really good football, some very good moments as well, fantastic transitions in some moments — well, fantastic transitions in some moments of the game, and we were the team on— moments of the game, and we were the team on the _ moments of the game, and we were the team on the pitch that deserved more to win _ rangers have not had a week to remember — a second aborted attempt to play their scottish premiership match at dundee on wednesday

and then another trip, this time to dingwall, with even less to enjoy. they were beaten 3—2 by ross county, a defeat that could be pivotal in their title race with celtic, a team they now sit four points behind. in the highlands, it was second versus second bottom, with the rangers fans hoping their site could keep up the pressure and title rivals celtic. but with barely a minute on the clock, ross county almost had the lead, which seems to shock the glasgow side into life, and they struck first when jack baldwin's clearance found a way through. translation: you have followed those directives from a to z, and they have brought life—saving moments. days after such an exemplary interception yesterday thwarted the iranian attack, iran and its

proxies, iraq, hezbollah and lebanon have saved the whole of the middle east, iran blocked the airspace of all the countries around them, while sending a massive swarm of explosives, we are talking about 180 uavs and cruise and ballistic missiles, which could have truly caused an explosion of the whole area. but with israel's operational intelligence and technological supremacy, they managed to thwart this, alongside our defence systems, with the regional coalition led by the united states and great britain, france and other countries in the area, we managed to intercept 99% of the threats, it is the first time that such an international defence

alliance has managed to succeed in doing such an operation. we spoke with to them and thanked them for having led this coalition, and we asked to express our gratitude and appreciation for everything. iran wanted to hit a strategic infrastructure, so we tried to really thwart it, or they tried to hit out at the air force base, but we thwarted that attack as well. there were very few who did actually permeate and penetrate our airspace. but they did only slight damage, and we continue carrying out not only the defence but also our attack and interception of all these missiles

and uavs, we are continuing to fight in the gaza strip, we are continuing to do so, and we will now be recruiting, in the next few days, two additional brigades and two additional divisions that willjoin them, but we never, at any point do we forget the 133 hostages that are still being held captive in the gaza strip. 0ur return of those hostages are our deeply sinister commitment, we will do so, it is our responsibility, we are preparing ourselves, and the highest possible level of readiness. we are working on issues of not only defence but offence as well. any questions? has israel decided _ offence as well. any questions? has israel decided to attack a on - offence as well. any questions? has israel decided to attack a on a - israel decided to attack a on a rainy and _ israel decided to attack a on a

rainy and ground? _ israel decided to attack a on a rainy and ground? we - israel decided to attack a on a rainy and ground? we are - israel decided to attack a m —. rainy and ground? we are at a very high level of readiness in all the theatres and arenas, ready for any possible situation or scenario, we are awake, aware and ready for everything, we will not expand on that here, but our role is to secure and defend and safeguard the security of the people of israel. last night, a defensive collation of israel and its international partners successfully thwarted a large—scale attack from iran. iran and its proxies launched approximately 350 suicide drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles and rockets from iran, iraq, yemen and hezbollah in lebanon

towards israel, with approximately 60 tonnes of warheads and explosive materials, but the threat from iran was met with aerial operations, technological and intelligence supremacy of a united defensive coalition of international elements, led by the united states, together with great britain, france and other partners. together, we intercepted 99% of the threats towards israel. together, we thwarted iran's attack. iran's unprecedented attack was met with an unprecedented defence. this was the first time that such a coalition worked together against the threat of iran and its proxies in the middle east. even while under attack from iran, we have not lost

sight, not for one moment, of our critical mission in gaza, to rescue our hostages from the hands of iran's proxies, hamas, of our moral duty to do everything in our power to bring 133 hostages back home. hamas recently rejected a hostage release proposal offered to them by the mediators. hamas and iran want to ignite the middle east and to escalate in the region. we are still on high alert and assessing the situation. 0ver on high alert and assessing the situation. over the last few hours, we have approved operational plans for both offensive and defensive action. we will continue to protect the state of israel and together with our partners, we will continue to build a more secure and stable future for the entire middle east.

questions, please. question from nbc, what do you think iran's intentions were for this attack, and how will it affect israel's plans for gaza and in particular rougher? last night proved that iran seeks escalation. iran launched over 358 threads, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, rockets and suicide drones towards israel and also other countries in the region. iran does notjust pose a threat to israel, iran poses a threat to the entire middle east, iran yesterday seized a shape in the maritime domain, she hijacked a western innocent cargo ship towards iran. this is a crime, this is piracy. iran closed the aerial space yesterday, firing all

those threats towards israel. iran, from the beginning of the war, once only one thing, to escalate in the region. until now, she worked through her proxies, but now she is revealed trying to escalate the region herself. hamas, like iran, wants to escalate the region. hamas is still holding our hostages in gaza, and we must do everything we can to release the hostages in gaza. there are also hostages in rafah, and we will do everything we can to bring them back home.— bring them back home. thank you. that news conference _ bring them back home. thank you. that news conference from - bring them back home. thank you. that news conference from the - bring them back home. thank you. | that news conference from the idf, praising israeli citizens first of all for following the directions they have been given over the last few days in anticipation of those attacks, praising also the country's

defences, which he said had intercepted 99% of the threat, together with the us, the uk and others. you talked about the call—up of two reserve divisions and said that they had approved operational plans, both defensive and offensive, without saying actually what he was referring to exactly, and concluding there by saying that iran seeks escalation, posing a threat to the entire middle east. well, that is just the latest from that briefing from the idea. i have been talking live on the programme to general lord richard dannatt, a former head of the british army. he gave me his reaction.

well, the last two speakers summed up the situation pretty well. the iranians telegraphed what they were going to do, they were calibrated about the method of the attack, and it enabled israel and its allies, particularly the united states, and i think the united kingdom as well, to make sure the damage was limited. that said, we should take nothing away from the fact that, rather like the russian attack in ukraine in 2022, this was a sovereign state, iran, attacking another sovereign state, israel, and should condemn it absolutely roundly, and with the greatest degree of outrage. that is exactly what has come out of the g7 meeting, i think we can put on screen the first pictures of the call that was made with those leaders, the g7 unanimously condemning the iranian attack, calling on both sides to exercise restraint, no surprise in terms of that being the outcome, but your assessment, lord dannatt, of how dangerous a moment we have arrived at. well, it is a dangerous moment. i think the other question is to ask why iran decided to mount this attack directly against israel, and not act, as it has been doing,

through its proxies, so in this case hezbollah. i think the answer to that is we know that hezbollah has around 150,000 missiles or rockets that could strength the length and breadth of israel and would undoubtedly overwhelm the iron dome and other air defence systems. i think had that happened, and certainly in briefings to me from idf headquarters in the past, they have made it quite clear that if hezbollah attacks in that way, they would mount a massive counteroffensive against southern lebanon and probably strike iran itself. and iran knows that, and that was one of the reasons why they held back from encouraging hezbollah to have a go at israel, because they didn't want an israeli counterattack. but nothing gets away from the fact that this is an outrage, it is one sovereign country attacking another sovereign country, and frankly within the structure of the united nations, that is quite unacceptable and the g7 is right to condemn it.

you mentioned hezbollah — one leader said the attack could usher in a new stage of these conflicts, and that is the fear going forward, but in terms of the basic line from washington, trying not to let this conflict since october the 7th escalate, bit by bit, it is, isn't it? you have got gaza, you have got all the actions from the houthis, you have had that shelling over the lebanese border constantly going on, week after week, we have reached a fork in the road, have we not? yes, we have. i think the israelis will do well, as i'm sure they are considering, to put what has happened in the last 36 hours in the wider context of the last six months. there were quite right to attack hamas in gaza, but there is a lot of criticism about the way they have conducted that operation.

now, if the israelis were to mount a massive counterstrike onto iran, and let's face it, the iranian air defence system is nothing like the israeli air defence system, if the israelis were to strike tehran and targets, nuclear facility targets, they could cause enormous destruction and loss of life. and put themselves once again under the cosh of international opinion. so i think the israelis would do very well to pause, to think, to be nuanced about it, and exercise massive restraint. there are pressures on benjamin netanyahu, aren't there? pressures of exactly what you're describing, pressures of restraint, and all those lines coming out of the white house, and yet you have a hoax within his administration, he himself has talked for many, many years about the threat from iran. he will be under pressure to actually take this moment to address that threat, won't he? yes, he will, but i think he and his war cabinet have got to consider whether taking everything in the round, that is the right thing to do,

and it may well be that to, as i suggest, to be more nuanced about it, to reflect for a while. of course, they will continue the operation against hamas in gaza, and that is a related but separate issue, but think very carefully what they stand to gain and what they stand to lose if they were to attack iran directly and because what i think would be a considerable loss of life against relatively immature and comparatively ineffective air defence systems that iran has. how do you de—escalate this? well, i think a certain amount of de—escalation comes with the amount of back negotiating that goes on between the united states and iran, to the extent that is possible, and other players in the region, to try and get international diplomats on all sides to reflect on what is actually everybody�*s real interest, and i think precipitate action that escalated the violence would actually only make this worse, and i

don't think it is in any party's interest. the bottom line is that it is not in iran's interest, they can dial this up and down through their proxies, and i think what we have seen with relatively cautious, well telegraphed attack was ultimately defeated and the iranian attack on israel, they are saying, yeah, we will not be taken lightly, but we will be very careful not to provoke a major war with the united states, and of course with israel as well, in the wider region. let's bear in mind that the netanyahu government is not popular, is under pressure, the iranian regime is not popular and is under pressure. everybody is walking a tightrope here. you talk of back channels, and there were reports that iranian back channels to washington were telegraphing these attacks, but also saying that perhaps they wouldn't be carried out ifjoe biden was able to actually get a ceasefire in the gaza conflict, yet the american president wasn't able to actually make israel

perhaps pivoted a strategy, was he? not yet, and i'm quite sure that joe biden and the americans will continue their pressure on netanyahu to moderate their activities. clearly, you know, we come back to the basic objectives of both hamas and the israelis — hamas has vowed to destroy the israeli state, and the israelis want to destroy hamas, so that is a pretty non—negotiable situation. but the other major factor is the 33,000 plus casualties and fatalities that have occurred in gaza and a negative effect that has on world opinion and any support that is residual still for israel. netanyahu would be well advised, one hand, knowing that he has to keep pressure to get the hostages released, but also not to alienate remaining and residual world opinion that might still be, to a degree,

in support of israel. exactly on that point, it is interesting, the last 20 minutes or so, reuters has reported the israeli military says it will be calling up two reserve divisions for operations in gaza over the next few days. people will obviously look and say and think whether an operation in rafah is going to go ahead, as the israelis have said, you know, all of the direction at the moment is the wrong direction, isn't it? it is the wrong direction, and i'm afraid, not that this is helpful, if the israelis were to be honest about their operational campaign plan for their ground war in gaza, they got this back to front. by going for gaza city first, thinking they can strike the leadership of hamas, that turned out to be fundamentally wrong. it could well be argued they should have gone for rafah earlier, where there was a larger concentration of hamas fighters. the fact of the matter is we are where we are,

and they perfectly reasonably, in their own logic, if they are determined to root out hamas, root and branch, they have got to go into rafah and finish thejob. but on the other hand, coming back to world opinion, 33,000 fatalities, a population that is starving, they have to make sure that the people who have a right to food do get food, even when they continue pressure on the terrorists. lord dannatt talking to me a little earlier. before i go, some of the live pictures coming into us, jerusalem first of all, and those live pictures we continue to watch, we have just heard the israeli spokesman saying that israel is still on high alert after that iranian attack and going on to say they have approved defensive and offensive

plans, not saying exactly what they mean, but improving defensive and offensive plans. the us, of course, urging againstany offensive plans. the us, of course, urging against any escalation into a wider war. what we still do not know is how exactly israel will respond. let me take you to the bbc website, because of course so much of the most up—to—date information coming on the ground is there, so do head there for all the noticed details from our correspondents, analysis, there on the bbc website. but that is it from me, thanks for watching, lyse doucet is here with the latest from jerusalem in just a moment or two. bye—bye. hello. it's turned cold across the whole of the uk now, and that's the course we're on for the next few days. monday is expected to bring blustery

winds, frequent showers, some downpours with hail and thunder too, all because of this low pressure which will be sweeping across the uk during the next 2a hours. a steep pressure gradient here — you can see the isobars. that means strong north—westerly winds, and these winds will drag in that cooler air from the north. in fact, it will feel quite cold, particularly in the north of the country, but nothing out of the ordinary — in fact, farfrom it, quite typicalfor april. so the forecast then for the night shows, frequent showers for northern ireland, scotland, the north of england, further south too, just about stays dry. in east anglia and the south—east here in the morning, around 6—7 degrees, maybe nine in cardiff, just a touch of frost in the sheltered glens. and then the forecast for monday morning shows a distinct band of heavy rain crossing england and wales. it'll reach the south east later on in the morning. behind it, yes, some sunny spells,

but also frequent showers pushed by that very strong north—westerly wind. occasionally, the showers will be torrential hail and thunder possible, gusts of wind could approach 50 miles an hour around some exposed locations in the west and the south. and the is typically ten in the north, maybe a couple of degrees higher in the south. this area of low pressure will eventually pull out into the north sea during the course of monday evening, but on its western edge here, a bit of a sting in its tail. you can see it here. and that means, again, some strong winds blowing in from the north, dragging in some further showers, particularly into parts of yorkshire, lincolnshire, east anglia. and there'll be showers developing inland too during the day, and also in scotland and northern ireland, the chance of catching the odd downpour. temperatures again around ten in the north, typically about 13 in the south. how about the middle part of the week? well, it does look as though things are slowly going to calm down. the winds will certainly ease, at least for most of us, as we see this area of high pressure trying to push in off the atlantic. but there will be a weak weather front that does mean thicker cloud towards the end of the week. probably not much rain.

is it going to warm up? well, it does look as though the temperatures may recover just a little bit as we head towards friday, maybe 16 in the south and just into the teens in our northern towns and cities.

live from london. this is bbc news. sirens. iran strikes at israel with an unprecedented attack involving more than 300 drones and missiles.

almost all them were intercepted before they landed. israel has vowed to respond to iran's attack, further raising fears of a major escalation of the conflict in the middle east. iran doesn'tjust iran doesn't just pose iran doesn'tjust pose a threat to israel, it poses a threat to the entire middle east. g7 countries "unanimously" condemn the iranian attack, and call on both sides "to exercise restraint". the white house urges israel not to strike back. whether and how the israelis will respond, that's going to be up to them. we understand that and respect that, but the president has been very clear, we don't seek a war with iran, we don't want escalation here, we will continue to help israel defend itself. and i'm lyse doucet injerusalem, on a night where israeli officials are saying that they will respond to

iran's unprecedented attack, at a