plus: the president of georgia vetoes a controversial new law on foreign funding that's sparked weeks of protests. hello. i'm helena humphrey. glad you could join me. we begin in the middle east, where thousands of protesters have gathered in israel amid anger over prime minister benjamin netanyahu's failure to secure the release of hostages still being held in gaza. these are the scenes in tel aviv. police have arrested some demonstrators and used water cannon to disperse two rallies, which had merged. in the latest development, the israel defence forces say that they recovered the body of another hostage, identified as ron binyamin. in the latest sign of divisions within mr netanyahu's war cabinet, benny gantz has threatened to quit the government, unless he agrees to a far—reaching plan for gaza, with a deadline to do so in around three weeks�* time. meanwhile, the united nations

says more than 800,000 people have now fled rafah in southern gaza. many have been forced to head northwards to areas which the un says have little clean drinking water or sanitation as the israeli offensive continues. 0ur diplomatic correspondent paul adams sent this report. street battles injabalia. israeli forces have been fighting here for days. gunfire. hamas, they say, is back, and needs to be dealt with. this is dangerous urban warfare, at close quarters. the israelis were here months ago and moved on. these, some warn, early signs of an insurgency that could last for months. israel has been attacking from the air too. scenes today reminiscent of the war�*s terrifying early stages. buildings flattened, bodies trapped under the rubble. gunfire. more street battles, this time in the south.

the israeli army still advancing on rafah, the only city yet to experience a full—scale assault. but 800,000 palestinians have already fled the area, to the coast or to other devastated cities. with israel issuing fresh evacuation orders in the north, as many as a million palestinians have been displaced in the past two weeks — almost half gaza's entire population. some aid is getting in — some of it along america's new maritime corridor. it's a welcome new route. but with other key crossings still closed or not functioning as they should, it's not enough. tonight, in tel aviv, another display of support for israeli hostages still in captivity. the mood sombre, after news that the bodies of four hostages had been retrieved in the wreckage of gaza. the fourth, ron benjamin, identified today. my heart goes out to those families who received the news

yesterday that their loved ones are not alive. time is not on our side. time, for a long time already, has not been on our side. and pressure is building on the prime minister. a senior cabinet member threatening to resign in three weeks unless the government spells out a clear strategy. translation: at the fateful. crossroads where we are now, the leadership must see the big picture to identify risks and identify opportunities, formulate an updated national strategy so we can fight shoulder to shoulder. this war is exposing deep political divisions. two senior ministers now pleading with mr netanyahu to explain his endgame, soon. earlier i spoke to itamar rabinovich,

former israeli ambassador to the us, to discuss this further. i'd like to begin, if i may, with the comments that we've heard today from benny gantz, something of an ultimatum issued to prime minister netanyahu, saying that if there's not a plan for a postwar period in gaza, if it doesn't have that plan police 8 june, that he would threaten to withdraw the support, to withdraw the support, to withdraw his centrist party from the government. what did you make of that?— you make of that? quite a bit. and actually. _ you make of that? quite a bit. and actually, there _ you make of that? quite a bit. and actually, there were - you make of that? quite a bit. and actually, there were six i and actually, there were six items to the ultimatum and the ultimatum it is. —— and an ultimatum it is. —— and an ultimatum it is. —— and an ultimatum it 5 and it is not the stand—alone ultimatum, because a couple of days ago, the minister for defence, mr gallant, came out openly criticising mr netanyahu for the conduct of the war, and his

refusal making clear some clear decisions regarding the future or what you call the day after. so it put together that rift with the minister for defence and the ultimatum by mr gantz who, by the way, is not a full member of the government or the cabinet, he and his party only joined the war cabinet, because of the emergency, but they are not full members of the government. in any event, if he does leave the government, it would be probably a very important step towards the end of the netanyahu government and the holding of new elections. not sure, but potentially.so the comments from yoav gallant as well as benny gantz, who said today that netanyahu must choose between victory and disaster. does this reflect concerns, broader concerns, in israel in regards to how netanyahu is prosecuting this war? and only his failure to secure any kind of deal to see the release of the remaining

hostages?— the release of the remaining hostaues? , ., , . hostages? yes. that is correct and, of course, _ hostages? yes. that is correct and, of course, mr— hostages? yes. that is correct and, of course, mr netanyahu| and, of course, mr netanyahu has what one calls his base, that stays with him and the country is torn or divided between people who support him and a majority, according to the polls, who are now critical of him, and in the event of an election would vote against him. so obviously he's not interested in an early election and, of course, the issue of the hostages occupies a very high place on the agenda. you know, ironically, if you want to now how bad the situation is, we had some quote—unquote — good news. four bodies of hostages were retrieved from the gaza strip. in today's israel, this is called quote—unquote good news. i israel, this is called quote-unquote good news. i want to touch on — quote-unquote good news. i want to touch on the _ quote-unquote good news. i want to touch on the situation - quote-unquote good news. i want to touch on the situation as - to touch on the situation as well in gaza for palestinians there. according to the news, for palestinians has said that

some 800,000 palestinians have had to flee rafah but he says that they're doing so without safe passage, without protection. they're going to places without sanitation, clean drinking water and so on. doesn't israel have an obligation to make sure that those people who are having to flee amid a ground operation have somewhere safe to go so? it should be the case, but it is not at all certain that a large—scale operation will take place in rafa. at this point what is happening in rafah is a limited operation. i should say that the american national security adviser is coming to israel tomorrow to discuss precisely that point. the us is not interested in an expanded israeli operation and it would be a topic high on the agenda of his conversations with mr netanyahu. so we'll have to wait until this meeting and perhaps other conversations take place to know whether the

kind of large—scale operation that would require 800,000 or any other large number of palestinians to move yet again would be a reality or a speculation.— would be a reality or a speculation. would be a reality or a seculation. ~ . , speculation. well, that will be a very interesting _ a very interesting conversation. of course, we'll be monitoring what comes out of it. but it also comes at a time when there have been warnings from the united nations, when we've seen the pictures ourselves of children suffering from acute malnutrition. is there the risk, faced with this situation, that washington could withdraw some of its support for israel? i could withdraw some of its support for israel?- support for israel? i doubt that united _ support for israel? i doubt that united states - support for israel? i doubt that united states will. that united states will withdraw its support from israel. and let me also mention the exotic possibility that the leadership of hamas would agree to make a hostage deal. in that event there would be a ceasefire of 45 days. there would not be a large—scale operation and a lot of suffering from the palestinian population could be averted. so it's not israel alone, you

know? hamas is also a party to this. ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky says his country only has about a quarter of the amount of air defences needed to fend off russian attacks. his comments comes as russian forces continue their summer offensive. so far, moscow claims it has seized a number of villages on ukraine's north—eastern border near kharkiv. president zelensky added ukraine needed up to 130 f—i6 fighterjets to continue to defend its skies and that his military was short on manpower. speaking to the afp news agency, he described the current moment in the war as a pivotal one. translation: we are in a nonsense _ translation: we are in a nonsense situation, - translation: we are in a nonsense situation, where | translation: we are in a - nonsense situation, where the west is afraid that russia will lose the war, but it doesn't want ukraine to lose it either. because ukraine's final victory will lead to russia's defeat. and the time victory of russia

will lead to ukraine's defeat and here we are right now in such a moment and such a challenge for everyone. 0ur ukraine correspondent james waterhouse has more on the president's comments from kyiv. well, i mean, he always plonks air defences at the top of his wish list. that's been the case for the past year or so because of two things really. russia has continued to launch missile attacks on cities across ukraine, but also russia has become far more superior, norodom in the air right across the front line. so what that means is when you have exhausted, thinly stretched ukrainian troops trying to defend cities, you have russian fighterjets defend cities, you have russian fighter jets flying defend cities, you have russian fighterjets flying in and dropping missiles and glide bombs and as of the situation in the north—east, where this incursion is taking place, you know, we're hearing from the authorities around the town of

vovchansk which is on the border, they're saying thousands of glide bombs have been dropped, which reflects, i think, russia's ability to mound these kind of strikes unchallenged. so president zelensky has been quite specific on what he both needs and lacks. he wants more air defence systems. he says heal he's only got a quarter of what he's only got a quarter of what he needs, as you say, and he specified how many f—i6 fighter jets he would like. it's worth pointing out that despite ukrainian fighter pilots being trained by allies, in the uk for example and others, not one has been used operationally by ukraine. it was once predicted they would arrive last year. that hasn't happened. here we are halfway through 2024, no fighterjets yet, but he's not giving up on that clearly. for more on this, i spoke to mark cancian, a senior adviser at the center for strategic and international studies. president zelensky, as we were just hearing there, calling this moment a pivotal one. what do you make of that? how

pivotal do you see it as being? could this be a make—or—break moment? could this be a make-or-break moment?— could this be a make-or-break moment? ~ , ., , moment? well, every moment is ivotal moment? well, every moment is pivotal for _ moment? well, every moment is pivotal for ukraine's _ moment? well, every moment is pivotal for ukraine's survival. - pivotal for ukraine's survival. they can't afford to lose any moment. this is pivotal because of two things. first, the usaid isjust of two things. first, the usaid is just starting to arrive and the ukrainians, of course, have run down many of their previous supply so they are at a particularly weak time. and it's also pivotal because the russians are trying to stretch the ukrainians out, hoping that at some point they can break through. they're attacking in about half a dozen areas along the front lines.— the front lines. well, talking about those _ the front lines. well, talking about those attacks - the front lines. well, talking about those attacks that - the front lines. well, talking about those attacks that are | about those attacks that are going on, particularly around the north—east of the country in kharkiv, in the region there, president putin had said that his forces were not looking to take over kharkiv itself, the second—largest city in ukraine, but to create a buffer zone instead. what do you make of that? do you trust

him on that?— him on that? well, i would never trust _ him on that? well, i would never trust putin _ him on that? well, i would never trust putin but - him on that? well, i would never trust putin but i - him on that? well, i would| never trust putin but i think in this case, he is telling the truth, that is the russians have not massed the kind of combat power they would need to break through to kharkiv. they tried that, of course, at the beginning of the war and they failed with much larger forces. they seem to have actually stopped after moving maybe two miles, 2.5 miles into ukraine, but what they're trying to do is to stretch the ukrainians. you have to keep in mind that the active front in the east is about 600 miles long and that's where most of the fighting has occurred over the last two years. but there's also 400 miles of border between ukraine and russia that's been very quiet and then there's another 400 between ukraine and belarus, and what russia's trying to do is to make ukraine defend all of this and pull forces away from the active fronts in the east, so that there be a breakthrough some place on their active attacks.

mark, i mean, ukrainianforces clearly already are stretched thin. they're outmanned. we know that there has been now this law which means that prisoners can fight on the front line for ukraine but presumably they have to undergo training first so might it take a while before they can actually be deployed into this war and make a difference? well, the ukrainians are having the problem that any military has when it gets into a long war and that is they're running out of infantry. every country experiences this. the russians experienced it. so the ukrainians have, for example, reduced the draft age from 27 to 25. now they're allowing convicts to serve. these troops will need to be trained, but they're going to need a lot more. armies in conflict need a lot of infantry. there's a, i think, a feeling that forces, personnel, are at equal risk. that's really not true. 80% of the casualties are in the infantry. they need constant

replacements. if infantry. they need constant replacements.— infantry. they need constant replacements. if you look back throu . h replacements. if you look back through history _ replacements. if you look back through history of _ replacements. if you look back through history of russian - through history of russian wars, often what you'll see in these long, protracted wars, as you well know, is russia make tectical errors and then, over time, essentially, they learn from those mistakes and have gone on to victories. do you think we could be seeing something similar play out here? ~ �* , something similar play out here? ~ �*, . ., , here? well, it's certainly possible- _ here? well, it's certainly possible. russia - here? well, it's certainly possible. russia made i here? well, it's certainly - possible. russia made many errors early on. their initial strategy, of course, was badly flawed. they thought that the ukrainians would collapse. but over time, they have learned. they've become more proficient. they've become more proficient. they've also increased their production of weapons and the number of personnel. we saw that they were able to defeat the ukrainian counter—offensive by digging extensive fortifications. we understand that on the front lines there's a, you know, measure, counter—measure, counter——counter—measure with regards to drones for example. so the russians have been learning. they're getting better but, to be fair, so are the ukrainians and the

ukrainians are now going to be getting more supplies from the united states.— united states. mark, president putin also said _ united states. mark, president putin also said this _ united states. mark, president putin also said this week - united states. mark, president putin also said this week that l putin also said this week that he is open to dialogue on ukraine. he did use the word "negotiations". do you think that there's any realistic prospect that either side will sit down at this particular juncture in the war, where the map currently stands, for talks? ~ . , talks? well, we always hope that there'll _ talks? well, we always hope that there'll be _ talks? well, we always hope that there'll be some - talks? well, we always hope | that there'll be some formula that there'll be some formula that there'll be some formula that the two sides can agree on, but there doesn't look like a lot of overlap between the two positions. the russians are talking about, you know, maybe a ceasefire where they are right now. that would cede about i8% of ukraine to russia. the ukrainians have showed no indication that they're willing to do that. in fact, not only do they want to get back what they've lost in the last two and a half years, they want crimea back, they want reparations, they want war crimejudgements. there doesn't seem to be overlap yet. i don't

think each side is really desperate enough to give up on some of their desired goals. georgia's president has vetoed a controversial new law on foreign funding that's sparked weeks of mass protests, largely led by the country's youth. the president says the legislation was an obstacle on georgia's path to eu membership and was russian in both its essence and spirit. but she acknowledged her veto is largely symbolic and will likely be overruled by parliament. the foreign agent law would require non—government organisations and media to register if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad. for more on this controversial law, i spoke to the former parliamentary secretary to the president of georgia and the leader of georgian political party for the people, anna dolidze. so we know that the president has now vetoed the law. do you think that will do anything? do you think that will concretely stop it? or do you think, instead, that the governing party will essentially overturn the veto? ~ , , ., ,

the veto? well, this is a very important — the veto? well, this is a very important step _ the veto? well, this is a very important step from - the veto? well, this is a very important step from the - important step from the president, as it opens up a window, perhaps a final window this spring, for the government to change its mind and to change the course to withdraw the bill or to amend it, or yeah to —— or rather to withdraw it or postpone its adoption. however, i'm quite sceptical that government will do it, considering that i am convinced, as are very many of my colleagues, that this is part of a larger political turn. it's no longer about only this law, only curbing western grant funding. it's rather a wider geopolitical turn that moves georgia from our historic orientation towards west, towards russia.— orientation towards west, towards russia. �* ., . towards russia. and so watching this, what do _ towards russia. and so watching this, what do you _ towards russia. and so watching this, what do you think- towards russia. and so watching this, what do you think the - this, what do you think the protesters will be making of all of this? you've been at the protests. you've been speaking to people. do you think this will calm them? or do you think they will continue to have that scepticism that you've just expressed? scepticism that you've 'ust expressedafi

scepticism that you've 'ust expressed? scepticism that you've 'ust exressed? , ., ., expressed? yes, we have to say it's the 38th _ expressed? yes, we have to say it's the 38th day _ expressed? yes, we have to say it's the 38th day of _ expressed? yes, we have to say it's the 38th day of peaceful - it's the 38th day of peaceful protest and i'm incred ibly proud of georgian people. i think this level of resilience and determination was a great surprise also for the government itself. i don't think they expected this kind of commitment and spirit. and the spirit of protest is amazing. it's a big celebration of georgian national identity. i think the protests will continue because this is not only something geopolitical or technicalfor people. it technical for people. it resonates technicalfor people. it resonates with georgian annexation in 1921, when georgia became part of the soviet union. it resonates with the trauma of losing georgian national identity. it really is a new national liberation movement. so i think it will continue. it might transform. it might be more fragmented but finally it will culminate in the elections of october 2024. i want to read you a quote from the eu chief charles michel who

said on saturday that georgia gained a moment for further reflection after the veto. are you concerned that what has happened, the international attention that it's garnered, could actually put the brakes on membership of the european union? �* , on membership of the european union? �*, ., , , on membership of the european union? �*, , , union? it's absolutely building and white. _ union? it's absolutely building and white, unfortunately. - and white, unfortunately. that's why this is not only about curbing ngos. it really puts a stop, a major obstacle, towards georgia's aapproximation towards the european union. this has been said many times from the highest levels from the eu and this is georgian people think they're losing. they're losing their chance for better welfare, for better standard of life, for more safety, more security, all the things the eu is associated with in georgia. unfortunately, this is the case. the risks are high here so therefore i think the government should take further time to contemplate what kind

of damage it's incurring to the georgian population. i of damage it's incurring to the georgian population.- georgian population. i also want to get _ georgian population. i also want to get your _ georgian population. i also i want to get your assessment georgian population. i also - want to get your assessment of what you think moscow will be making of this situation playing out, a particularly tense time and, of course, as you mentioned, many georgians — they have still fresh in their memory what happened in 2008 as well. what do you think the creme lip will be making of this? , , , , this? definitely this is another _ this? definitely this is another instance - this? definitely this is another instance of i this? definitely this is - another instance of russia flexing its muscles to the west. this issue is not local, it's not even caucasus—related. it's regional. russia pulls its strings and flexes its muscles in its neighbourhood, or the area that it considers its neighbourhood. and definitely this move is a part of hybrid warfare that russia conducts against sovereign republics that have long announced its willingness to be independent from the russian influence.

there's a big chance that the escalation of conflict protests and instability in georgia will be used by russia as one of the bargaining chips vis—a—vis the west. let's turn to some other important stories around the world: slovakia's deputy leader says the country's prime minister robert fico is steadily approaching a "positive prognosis" after being shot on wednesday. he is currently in a serious condition and has undergone several surgeries. mr fico was shot four times at close range as he greeted supporters. meanwhile, the man charged with his attempted murder appeared in court and will be held in custody until trial. flash floods triggered by heavy rains have killed at least 50 people in afghanistan. officials in the province of ghor in central afghanistan say thousands of homes have been damaged or destroyed and about 2,000 shops are under water. many key roads have been cut off. from the frontlines to world champion, ukranian boxer 0leksandr usyk wins the heavyweight title, defeating briton tyson fury on saturday. in a split decision, usyk becomes the first undisputed heavyweight

champion in nearly 25 years. the fight took place at a sold—out kingdom arena in riyadh, saudi arabia. the two men will face each other again in a rematch planned in october. now, bridgerton has been a fan favourite on netflix for four years, and it has just returned for a third outing. set in the early 1800s, the series showcases the regency era with its decadent gowns and grand ball rooms, and grimsthorpe castle in lincolnshire has served as the backdrop to some of this year's scenes. let's take a look at how the filming went. we've been open since about 1978, so we've been open a long time. but you don't really see us, you know, that much on the internet or anything like that. so, yes, seeing usjust randomly scrolling through your

phone, it's like that's grimsthorpe castle in a little ad by netflix.— ad by netflix. you look especially _ ad by netflix. you look especially beautiful - ad by netflix. you look - especially beautiful tonight, miss — especially beautiful tonight, miss featherington. this especially beautiful tonight, miss featherington.- especially beautiful tonight, miss featherington. this is the hall where _ miss featherington. this is the hall where they _ miss featherington. this is the hall where they filmed - miss featherington. this is the hall where they filmed their . hall where they filmed their ballroom scenes and it was amazing. so they... they hung these beautiful blue curtains and they made sure they matched the colours, blue and gold, to the colours, blue and gold, to the grimsthorpe colours, so we're blue and gold. so this floor, you can see, is stone and marble and because they wanted to bring in 200, you know, dancers, film crews, as you can imagine, that's heavy trolleys, lots of cameras, lots of lights. so they built a fake floor. it was the first night, they filmed coming out of the carriage and they came in the doors and you could just see their faces change. they were sort of... were acting, came in, looked around, stopped and were like, whoa. and they said it was amazing and it was one

of the most beautiful properties they've actually filmed in. so that was nice to hear. i'm really hoping it's going to bring more visitors to grimsthorpe, more visitors to lincolnshire and a slightly different demographic as well, maybe like a younger audience that don't normally visit stately homes. stay with us here on bbc news. hello, thanks forjoining me. fairly quiet on the weather front across most of the uk right now. the storms have also cleared from southwestern england as well as wales. this is what we had during saturday — flash floods in places. how about the weather on sunday? it's actually not looking bad at all for most of us. a lot of bright, if not sunny weather on the way.

however, some coastal areas, particularly around the north sea, could be grey and chilly. so this is how we start the day. inland and out towards the west, the weather's looking fine and sunny right from the word go. but these eastern counties, or here, it may take time for that sunshine to break through that layer of gray or that stratus and sea fog that will have rolled in overnight. so the afternoon looking pretty sunny across most of the uk, again, with the exception of some coastal areas. could be some showers across southwestern parts of scotland, maybe the southwest of england. inland 22 or 23 celsius in that strong sunshine. but where the low, grey clouds stick around anywhere along the north sea coast, but particularly the further north you are, it will be chilly, maybe no higher than around 12 degrees. we have that on saturday. could happen again on sunday. so through the course of the evening, you can see that low grey cloud. once again it's going to roll inland out towards the west, it's going to stay generally clear. now, here's monday. cloudy skies out towards the east, but then the sun comes out

and it's a repeat performance. a fine day on the way. again, temperatures in the low 20s inland, closer to the coast closer to around the mid—teens. now, on tuesday, subtle changes. showers will appear in different areas. we could see some forming across scotland, northern ireland, the lake district as well. but i think the further south you are, the better the weather will be. temperatures won't really change an awful lot. in fact, overall, the first half of the week for most of us isn't looking too bad. but, as we head through wednesday and thursday, this low pressure sweeps in out of the east this time. it'll bring quite breezy weather and also a spell of persistent rain, and at times it will be heavy. so a change on the way second half of the week, and that's reflected in the forecast here. not really bad at all until around about tuesday, bar a few showers here and there. but then wednesday, thursday and friday, it's all change and it's hello low. bye— bye.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. hello and welcome. this week we will talk about the hit netflix series baby reindeer and the huge media controversy

it has generated. baby reindeer is a drama that purports to be based on a true story but a woman has come forward to say it is about her and that she has been misrepresented. i have a sneaky feeling you might be the death of me. and we will meet the reporter who has uncovered how ai—generated news stories have been passed off as the work of human journalists. the articles had a byline and head shot but it was all ai. let's start with baby reindeer. it tells the story of a scottish comedian, richard gadd, and how he was stalked after serving a woman a drink in a pub. his stalker, named martha in the series, allegedly sent him more than 41,000 emails and left 350 hours of voicemails to his phone. martha also turns up at his home and workplace. baby reindeer is the nickname that his stalker has given him.

and at the beginning of the first episode,