bad you could join me. —— glad. at least 15 people have been killed in israeli air strikes on rafah in southern gaza. israel is continuing air raids on the city where 1.5 million displaced palestinians are sheltering. prime minister benjamin netanyahu said on sunday that israel "will deliver additional and painful blows" aimed at hamas. he has, for weeks, threatened to start a ground offensive on rafah, claiming hamas members are hiding there. gaza's health ministry, which is run by hamas, says more than 35,000 people have been killed by israeli military action since the start of the war in october. as fergal keane now reports, while there are concerns about a wider war between israel and iran, the suffering in gaza continues. a warning — this report contains distressing scenes. air-raid sirens blaring the eyes of the world were on a bigger drama, played out in the skies above israel.

shouting but in gaza, nothing changed. this was rafah today after 15 children from one family were killed in an air strike. translation: show me one man among them. l they're all children and women. you can see my identity is completely erased with the deaths of my wife and children. a pregnant woman was among the dead. her baby daughter was saved in an emergency operation. a child born to a mother she will never know.

there is the story of everyday death, and the story of what follows for the families caught in the shadows of death. nawara's husband, abdulrahman, was one of more than 70 civilians killed in an israeli raid to rescue hostages in february. these were the couple's children in the aftermath of their father's death. we went back to see nawara, now eight months�* pregnant with her dead husband's child, and in grief, awaiting the arrival of a new life. nawara's words — the elegy of a wife and mother

for all that's been lost. in central gaza, israeli forces hunt hamas. they're still launching attacks from tunnels and buildings. and as the war rages on, sickness and hunger haunt gaza. these children in central gaza are queuing for food to try and feed entire families. many are weak, listless. the un says less than half the amount of food needed is reaching the population. translation: we have been coming here for six months, l and we are completely dependent on the food charity. we come here to take food, to eat and feed the other children. in the north, where the threat

of famine is most acute, amjad kanu, age three, suffers from kidney disease exacerbated by malnutrition. his six—year—old brother, ahmad, provides comfort for the youngster. souad has more than one sick child. her older boy has suspected cancer and in war—ravaged gaza, can't get the proper treatment. such are the days and lives of gaza after six months of war. fergal keane, bbc news, jerusalem. civil defence teams in gaza have uncovered dozens of bodies buried in the courtyard of al nasser hospital in khan younis. it comes two weeks after israeli forces withdrew from the city following weeks of fighting

around the hospital. the world health organization previously said hospital staff had no choice but to bury the bodies of dead patients within the hospital while under israeli siege, but palestinians accuse israeli forces of killing some of the victims. the israeli military said it is checking reports about the bodies recovered from the mass grave. israel accuses hamas of using medical facilities as command centres, which hamas rejects. dr zaher sahloul is co—founder and president of medglobal, a us—based nongovernmental organisation that is sending doctors and nurses to provide emergency care in gaza. thank you so much for being with us this evening. dr sahloul, you were in gaza injanuary. there have been four medical missions from your organisation. what have you been seeing, what have you teams been seeing? thank you for having me. what i

have seen is something that i have seen is something that i have never seen in my professional life. i have been going into disaster areas in countries like area, ukraine, yemen. i have been in gaza multiple times before but what i saw injanuary is heartbreaking, destruction, systematic destruction of the healthcare systematic destruction of the healthca re system of systematic destruction of the healthcare system of hospitals, of clinics, huge displacement of clinics, huge displacement of the population. i was located in rougher but also al—nassr hospital in khan younis and i have seen tents everywhere, abouti million everywhere, about i million people everywhere, abouti million people are displaced in rougher which is the centre of the ngo's operations and many clinics we have are operating there. —— rafah. mass casualty event after mass casualty event, children injured with severe injuries. 0ne event, children injured with severe injuries. one was 12 years old who had brain injury and abdominal injury after a

missile hit a distribution centre near the hospital that led to 32 injuries coming to the hospitalfor the half of them are children. i have seen doctors and nurses who are overwhelmed this year, more than 73,000 people have been injured so farand than 73,000 people have been injured so far and was of them have moderate to severe injuries. i have seen a lot of death among children. one in 100 children in gaza are killed which is the equivalent of half a million american eldon being killed in six months. this is unprecedented, this is catastrophic and it should stop. catastrophic and it should sto. ., ~ catastrophic and it should sto-. . ~ ., catastrophic and it should sto. . ~' . stop. talking about the impact on children, _ stop. talking about the impact on children, tell _ stop. talking about the impact on children, tell us _ stop. talking about the impact on children, tell us more - stop. talking about the impact| on children, tell us more about the physical brunt of this that they are barren, a lot of children losing limbs, if they don't lose their lives, and then the mental toll here as well, so many children being orphaned as well. i well, so many children being orphaned as well.— well, so many children being orphaned as well. i mean, as we know, orphaned as well. i mean, as we know. now _ orphaned as well. i mean, as we know, now there _ orphaned as well. i mean, as we know, now there is _ orphaned as well. i mean, as we know, now there is an _ know, now there is an additional problem which is the

acute malnutrition among children. one third of the children. one third of the children in gaza have acute malnutrition which will lead to irreversible impact on your physical and mental health and development of the children in gaza. they will suffer for a few decades because of what is happening right now. when i said 73,000 people have been injured, most of them are children, half of them have moderate to severe injuries. they will have some type of disability, physical disability for the rest of their lives in gaza, and you can of course imagine their mental health trauma, i have seen in the clinic children so traumatised because of the sounds of explosions that happen every night, and many of them have physical illness and one of the children i have seen in the displacement centre, i ask every child, what would you like to be in the future, and they say doctors. they like to be. as in the future, not fighters, except for one child,

i saw him and he had typical ptsd, i asked i saw him and he had typical ptsd, iasked him i saw him and he had typical ptsd, i asked him what he would like to be in the future, and he said what future? i think it is very important for us to make sure that these children in gaza, the 1.1 million children in gaza, many of them who lost their lives and they had nothing to do with seven of october, it is our 0ctober, it is our responsibility as humanitarians, as western countries that can influence the situation, and that is what i shared with president biden when i met with him three weeks ago at the white house. his legacy will be determined by what he does in gaza. talking about those _ what he does in gaza. talking about those doctors - what he does in gaza. talking about those doctors and - what he does in gaza. talking i about those doctors and nurses who use said were overwhelmed there, we know one international humanitarian law, they should be protected under they should be protected under the geneva conventions. being upheld? the geneva conventions. being uheld? , , ., ~ upheld? definitely not. when we see 7596 of _ upheld? definitely not. when we see 7596 of the _ upheld? definitely not. when we see 7596 of the hospitals - upheld? definitely not. when we see 7596 of the hospitals in - upheld? definitely not. when we see 7596 of the hospitals in the l see 75% of the hospitals in the clinics stop working, many of

them have been destroyed. oxygen generators being bombed. incubators stopped working because of lack of electricity. patients die because of lack of medical supplies and medications. the main tertiary centres, ali 750,000 people every year and has more than 25,000 surgeries every year, and hospital is not many patients with chronic illness will die unnecessarily, people with chronic kidney disease and heart disease and cancer, children who are suffering from malnutrition, women who are bleeding after delivery, all of them will not have access to healthcare. and what we are seeing is unprecedented attacks, systematic attack on healthcare. attacks, systematic attack on healthcare-— healthcare. the president of med global, _ healthcare. the president of med global, thank - healthcare. the president of med global, thank you - healthcare. the president of med global, thank you so i healthcare. the president of - med global, thank you so much. bringing us your perspective from the ground. we appreciate it. ., ~ from the ground. we appreciate

it. . ~ , ., us presidentjoe biden has spoken out against anti—semitism on university campuses after a rabbi associated with an ivy league university urged jewish students to leave campus. anti—israeli protesters at columbia university in new york city were reportedly heard shouting slogans in support of hamas and the al-qassam brigades, both recognised as terror groups by countries including the us and the uk. witnesses also reported hearing the protesters chanting that tel aviv — israel's largest city — should be "burned to the ground." in a whatsapp message, orthodoxjewish rabbi elie buechler told students that columbia university and the new york police department "could not guarantee jewish students' safety," telling them they should return home as soon as possible, apparently referring to the events. in his message to mark the beginning of thejewish holiday of passover, president biden said "this blatant anti—semitism

"is reprehensible and dangerous, "and it has absolutely no place on college campuses or anywhere "in our country." moving ukraine now. —— moving on to ukraine now. ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky says a multibillion—dollar military aid package approved by the us house of representative of saturday will give his country a chance of victory over invading russian forces. the bill now goes to senators for approval before heading to the president's desk. in an interview on us television, the ukrainian leader said more weapons will help kyiv retake the initiative in the two—year conflict, especially long—range missiles. ukrainian forces are facing mounting pressure against russian troops, especially on the eastern front lines. the us assistance comes as russian forces advance west. they seized the strategic town of avdiivka back in february. earlier, russia's foreign ministry condemned the us aid package, saying the us is wading deeper into a war that will end in its humiliation. joining me now from new york is dora chomiak, ceo of the non—profit for ukrainian—american

human rights, razom. thank you so very much for taking the time to join us this evening. president zelensky has said the military aid package approve by the us house of representatives will give ukraine a chance of victory against russia. what do you make of it — is it enough? it is certainly very, very important and it is certainly very, very importantand our it is certainly very, very important and our colleagues all over the ukraine, we have been working over ukraine for ten years now have been waiting for it. we see how people in ukraine are literally standing up ukraine are literally standing up to defend freedom for the rest of us, and certainly the military economic humanitarian package that was approved by the house is much—needed and much anticipated. so certainly i want to express my gratitude to speakerjohnson for really showing leadership here. we have heard — showing leadership here. we have heard a lot of gratitude from people working with ukraine, from ukrainians themselves, but ijust wonder

are there any concerns in kyiv, that this is to wait? —— too late? that this is to wait? -- too late? . . that this is to wait? -- too late? ., ., ., ., late? there are a lot of concerns _ late? there are a lot of concerns and _ late? there are a lot of concerns and justifiably late? there are a lot of - concerns and justifiably so, but as i speak with my colleagues and friends and family throughout your brain, in this whole full—scale invasion, there is other choice. you unions... —— ukrainians... it is an existential war, ukrainians... it is an existentialwar, but ukrainians... it is an existential war, but to be determined and work with anything you have got to defend the existence of your country. so it would have been much appreciated, much sooner, we have been calling to close the skies and is a full—scale invasion in 2022 but we have seen how determined and innovative ukrainians within what they have, and ijust holding hope that the senate will pass the bill very quickly

and i do appreciate that the us military has been preparing for this so i have the actual physical goods ukrainians need to defend themselves will appear in the right as quickly as possible. if you look at how those votes fell, you still had a majority of republicans voting against it. are you concerned about the future of support for ukraine if there is a change in administration in the presidential election? putin has always been playing the long game, awaiting everybody out. so the sooner the ukrainians have the tools they need, we have seen again and again the faster they can do what needs to be done for the rest of us, and as we work with over 500 medical institutions throughout ukraine and over 150 very, very local ngos, i keep saying day in and day out how determined people

are. and they recognise the urgency and the need to really finish this and push back and authoritarian rating regime, and so time is a big enemy here, and i think it is very important that congress got over its logjam and is now able to flow the support to ukraine that ukraine needs, and i certainly hope this gives europe some breathing room to step up and continue to support ukraine, because time is not our friend ukraine, because time is not ourfriend right ukraine, because time is not our friend right now.- ukraine, because time is not our friend right now. thank you very much _ our friend right now. thank you very much for— our friend right now. thank you very much for being _ our friend right now. thank you very much for being with - our friend right now. thank you very much for being with us. i very much for being with us. thank you for covering this story. i really appreciated. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. uk mp mark menzies says he has

quit the conservative party and will stand down at the next general election. the party investigated claims that menzies used political donations to pay off "bad people". it says it "cannot conclude" whether he misused party funds because the money came from a body outside of the party's remit. but it found menzies had shown a "pattern of behaviour" falling below the standards of mps. menzies has denied the allegations. the party has since concluded that there has been a misuse of conservative party funds. british conductor sir andrew davis has died aged 80 from leukaemia. he was one of the longest—serving chief conductors of the bbc symphony orchestra. he retired from the bbc in 2000 to work with the lyric opera of chicago. thousands of people attended a vigil in sydney to remember those who were killed by a man with a knife last week. as the sun set on bondi beach, people lit candles in memory of the victims. six people were killed, including the mother of a nine—month—old girl injured in the attack. 11 others were also hurt.

you're live with bbc news. ecuadoreans are voting in a referendum on proposals to tighten security in response to a surge in violence by drugs gangs. it comes as officials say that a prison warden was murdered in ecuador on sunday. measures include the expansion ofjoint military and police patrols. they'll also significantly boost gun controls, tightening regulations, and impose harsher prison sentences for "terrorism" and drug trafficking. ecuadoreans wanted abroad for organised crime—related offences could be extradited if the constitutional changes are passed. as he voted, president daniel noboa said the outcome would define state policy in fighting violence, corruption and organised crime. he declared a state of emergency injanuary and sent the army to take control of prisons, after a gang leader escaped. this referendum was really all about tightening security measures in the country after a

wave of violence earlier this year that led to a state of emergency being called in the country. this included armed gunmen storming a television station while it was lion air, prison riots and various politicians being killed as well stop people in ecuador today were voting on a range of different measures which included enshrining the military�*s presence on the streets to help police tackle organised crime, but also things like increasing prison sentences and allowing extradition violent criminals as well. lots of people we have spoken to today in ecuador were voting for these measures, saying that they think it would make them feel personally safer, particularly those who may have experienced some kinds of violent crimes, kidnappings, thefts and robberies themselves. but there was also a significant amount of people who were voting no as well, people who are worried that for example increasing the powers of the police and military could lead to more arbitrary arrests and potentially even human rights abuses if police or the military were to abuse any of those powers.

let's turn to some important news around the world. terry anderson, a us journalist held hostage in lebanon for six years, has died. the beirut bureau chief for the associated press was kidnapped by islamist militants in 1985. his daughter tells the bbc he died saturday at his home in greenwood lake, new york, saying he "found quiet, comfortable peace in recent years." preliminary results from the parliamentary elections in the maldives show the pro—china people's national congress party led by president mohamed muizzu won a landslide victory. sunday's vote was seen as a crucial test against the the pro—indian opposition in their plan to strengthen economic ties with china. us presidentjoe biden has congratulated workers at a volkswagen car factory in tennessee after they voted tojoin the united autoworkers union. the vote passed on friday with 73% support. volkswagen is one of several companies that opened non—union plants in southern us states in recent decades, lured by weaker labour laws. staff at a mercedes—benz plant in alabama will vote on unionisation next month. six republican governors

condemned the effort, saying it will lead to lay—offs. uaw members ratified new contracts with detroit's big three carmakers — ford, general motors and stellantis — in november. earlier, i spoke to a chattanooga assembly worker and member of the volunteer organizing committee who led the successful unionization effort there, isaac meadows. very good to have you with us, issak. we saw employees overwhelmingly vote to unionise, it had previously failed twice. why now do you think you have enough votes this time around? it think you have enough votes this time around?— this time around? it is a pleasure _ this time around? it is a pleasure to _ this time around? it is a pleasure to be - this time around? it is a pleasure to be here. - this time around? it is a pleasure to be here. i l this time around? it is a i pleasure to be here. i think this time around? it is a - pleasure to be here. i think we were successful just because the time was right. we saw the big one in the big three last fall in the economy is in great and people are struggling, yet we see these companies with astronomical profits, and the time is right, we got the word out and we were successful. 50 out and we were successful. so out and we were successful. so you were part of the committee getting that word out, speaking

to your fellow employees. we know at the same time there were six other governors including tennessee's warning basically to workers there that joining could threaten the region's economic progress, it would lead to layoffs. what did you make of that? it would lead to layoffs. what did you make of that?— you make of that? it was to leave politics _ you make of that? it was to leave politics at _ you make of that? it was to leave politics at the - you make of that? it was to leave politics at the door, l leave politics at the door, it wasn't about politics of the politicians, this was about the workers, the labour movement, and by coming together, we were able to show everybody that we have the power when we come together with a voice, and these companies are profitable, our plant here is a very stable plants, we build a very popular product, the company has always shown us the sales are going up, our production volume is going up and they can afford us. going up and they can afford us. going up and they can afford us, ,,. , going up and they can afford us. so, specifically, what is it nowthat— us. so, specifically, what is it now that the _ us. so, specifically, what is it now that the union - us. so, specifically, what is it now that the union hopesj us. so, specifically, what is i it now that the union hopes to be able to achieve? what workers want to see? right now

it is having _ workers want to see? right now it is having that _ workers want to see? right now it is having that voice _ workers want to see? right now it is having that voice so - workers want to see? right now it is having that voice so that. it is having that voice so that we can have a say in the company. up until this weekend i dictated everything we did from schedule to pay to benefits. now we get a call that the negotiating table and benefit us while at the same time benefiting the company. you mentioned they're things like scheduling, rights, leaves, pay. you will take that to the negotiating table. what kind of tactics will you use there? is a possibility for a strike in the likes of which we saw in detroit, for example? we hoe saw in detroit, for example? we hone not- _ saw in detroit, for example? - hope not. that is obviously something that is talked about but we explained to people a strike is a tool we can use if we need to, but it is a last resort. nobody benefits from a strike, nobody wants to go on strike. if we are forced to, thatis strike. if we are forced to, that is an option we will look at but i believe the company is ready to negotiate with us in good faith and i think we will have a good negotiation. so you

are the first _ have a good negotiation. so you are the first foreign _ have a good negotiation. so you are the first foreign carmaker- are the first foreign carmaker to unionise in the south of the united states. you think this is part of a broader movement? do you expect other carmakers there in the south to get on board? do you think the employees to unionise? absolutely. there is a movement going on right now and it is notjust in auto manufacturing, it is across all the areas of labour, but we are the first, we are proud to be the first, it is something we were striving for, we are going to be an example. mercedes is a few weeks behind us, they are very strong down there in their movement and i think they will have great success, and once we negotiate our contract, we will continue being that example for all these other auto plants going through the struggle right now. b. going through the struggle right nova— going through the struggle riaht now. �* , ., right now. a member of the volunteer — right now. a member of the volunteer organising - right now. a member of the - volunteer organising committing leading that successful unionisation effort there, thank you so much for talking to us. . ., thank you so much for talking to us. ., ,, i. thank you so much for talking to us. ., ~' ,, , thank you so much for talking tous. ., , . before we go,

we wanted to show you this pod of dolphins sharing a wave with the winner of an australian surfing event. the dolphinsjoined hawaiian surfer gabriela bryan as she won her first world championship. stay with us here on bbc news. join us at the top of the hour for more. hello there, good evening. much further east across the uk, it remains cold, particularly across north—eastern parts of england with cloud in the breeze coming off the north sea. high pressure is close by but it is tending to edge away and that is allowing these weather fronts to bring cloud and even some rain southwards overnight, but ahead of that, we have clear skies for east anglia and the southeast, so damages could be close to freezing first thing in the morning before the

cloud comes in and there will be a lot of cloud on monday, we have a slight rain and drizzle affecting northern england, the midlands, wales, heading towards the southwest, ate few spots of rain moving down across got in northern areas of the sunshine returning in the afternoon but they won't be as much sunshine in northern ireland, it won't be as warm on monday. may make 16 degrees in glasgow but it will be particularly chilly for the midlands and eastern parts of england. that area of high pressure continues to just get pushed away in these weather fronts move southwards overnight with clearer skies following into scotland, an early frost around. most of the cloud will be affecting eastern parts of england heading to the southeast. the northerly wind follows in the show around north sea coasts. cloud will build up, the sunny skies western scotland, northern ireland and wales. cameras will base 13 to 16 degrees. again, it will be colder further east and generally over the next few days west is going to be best. high pressure is no longer with

us by wednesday but we are still in the cold air stream with a northerly wind, bringing the odd shower down some of those north sea coasts well it will build particular cold. we may well see a touch of frost here and there is the cloud breaks but the cloud will tend to build up through the day on wednesday and that could lead to a few showers mainly for england and wales, looking a bit sunny about in western scotland and northern ireland but temperatures are 11 degrees in belfast and that will be a typical best number on wednesday. it is going to be a chilly week ahead. travel dropping across northern areas and the risk of frost overnight before lower pressure baby brings some rain by the end of the week.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. ketamine, a horse tranquilliser and anaesthetic known for its dissociative effect, making it a popular party drug. when you've got that music and you're taking it and you're having that, like, dance, that stomp, feeling the vibes... but it's not always such a party when you take too much. it does destroy your body. it does destroy your organs. it does destroy your bladder. i wanted to die. i didn't want to be - in the world, in that pain, completely reliant on ketamine. hospitals are now setting up

ketamine clinics to support those getting addicted... we've seen so many patients, and it feels like we're getting more and more and more. ..but is it enough, and what more can be done to help those young and addicted to ket? ketamine is a very effective medical drug used as an anaesthetic since the 1970s and, more recently, to treat some mental health conditions. but its use as a recreational drug is on the rise, partly because it's cheap and because more of it is being made in parts of asia. hey, i got you a present! oh, my goodness! where did you hide it? in october 2023, 54—year—old actor matthew perry, best known for playing chandler in the us sitcom friends, was found dead at his home in la. i'm in control of the first drink.

he'd openly struggled with drug and alcohol addiction