Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC 20240703

At least 232 people have been killed and almost 2,000 wounded there in retaliatory israeli strikes recently its warplanes have hit several multi storey buildings in the centre of gaza city. The barrage of rocket fire from gaza into israeli territory began just after dawn, with explosions heard on the streets of ashkelon. Sderot is one of the towns thought to have been infiltrated by militants. With the latest on this fast escalating conflict, heres our middle east correspondent yolande knell, and a warning that you may find some of her report upsetting. Israeli partygoers from an overnight rave running for their lives. Israels Nightmare Scenario armed Palestinian Militants at large in Southern Israel. It is thought that dozens entered, some cutting through the Perimeter Fence from the gaza strip. In the town of sderot, residents hid as fighters drove in. There was shooting and the israeli casualties began to mount. In a dramatic turn, videos were also shared of israelis being taken into gaza as hostages. The day had begun with intense barrages of palestinian rockets, some reaching as far asjerusalem. But the worst damage was in the towns closest to gaza. This was ashkelon. Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met top security officials. Translation since this morning, | the state of israel has been at war. Our first objective is to clear out enemy forces that infiltrated, and restore the security and quiet to communities that have been attacked. The second objective, at the same time, is to exact an immense price from the enemy within the gaza strip, too. Leaders of hamas, the Islamist Militant Group which controls gaza, now living overseas, were shown watching the unfolding news and praying. In gaza, there were celebrations after an israeli tank was captured, and stolen Israeli Military vehicles were driven in. But soon the deadly pounding by israeli warplanes began. The Israeli Military saying it was targeting hamas sites. And in gaza, too, the hospitals have now been overwhelmed. Many palestinian families have fled from their homes and are seeking safety in un run schools. After this unprecedented Surprise Attack, israel is calling up military reservists. It said hamas will pay the price for its actions. And the fighting goes on. The question now, can it be stopped from spreading to other palestinian areas and the wider region . Us President Joe Biden gave this statement. The people of israel are under attack, orchestrated by a terrorist organisation, hamas. In this moment of tragedy i want to say to them and to the world, and to terrorists everywhere, that the United States stands with israel. We will not ever fail to have their back. We will make sure that they have the help their citizens need and that they can continue to defend themselves. Now, the world has seen appalling images. Thousands of rockets, in the space of hours, raining down on israeli cities. I got up this morning at 7. 30, eight oclock, my calls, Hamas Terrorists crossing into israel, killing not only Israeli Soldiers but israeli civilians. In the streets and in their homes. Innocent people, murdered and wounded, entire families taken hostage by hamas. Just days after israel marked the holiest of days in the jewish calendar. Its unconscionable. You know, when i spoke with Prime Minister netanyahu this morning, i told him the United States stands with the people of israel in the face of these terrorist assaults. Israel has the right to defend itself and its people, full stop. There is neverjustification for Terrorist Attacks and my administrations support for israels security is rock solid and unwavering. Let me say this as clearly as i can. This is not a moment for any party hostile to israel to exploit these attacks, to seek advantage. The world is watching. I have also been in contact with the king ofjordan, spoke with members of congress, directed my National Security team to engage with their israeli counterparts, military to military, intelligence to intelligence, diplomat to diplomat, to make sure israel has what it needs. I have also directed my team to remain in Constant Contact with leaders throughout the region, including egypt, turkey, qatar, saudi arabia, jordan, 0man, the uae, as well as our European Partners and the Palestinian Authority. It is also a terrible tragedy on a human level. Hurting innocent people. Seeing the lives that have been broken by this, the families torn apart, its heartbreaking. Jill and i are praying for those families that have been impacted by this violence. We grieve with those who have lost loved ones, lost a piece of their soul. We have hope for a swift recovery for many of the wounded. We will remain in close touch with the Prime Minister, and i will personally maintain close contact with Prime Minister netanyahu as this situation continues to develop. And let there be no mistake. The United States stands with the state of israel, just as we have from the moment when the United States became the first nation to recognise israel, 11 minutes after its founding 75 years ago. Thank you very much. We will speak to our correspondent In Washington in a moment, but first to our live page on the website. Reports quoting wires, and according to hamas, 150 rockets fired at tel aviv. A residential building has collapsed and two wounded people were pulled from the rubble according to israeli media. They have quoted fire and rescue services there. Videos on social media show a barrage of rockets over tel aviv, and local Media Reports say around ten people. Inaudible. Hamas said it has fired 150 rockets at the central area of tel aviv. Reports coming in from wires, according to hamas, which is on our live page if you want more information on that. Live now to Shingai Nyoka In Washington. Thanks forjoining us. We heard there from joe biden, who spoke a bit earlier, unequivocal support for israel, as to be expected. find bit earlier, unequivocal support for israel, as to be expected. Israel, as to be expected. And it was very much israel, as to be expected. And it was very much expected. Israel, as to be expected. And it was very much expected. It israel, as to be expected. And it was very much expected. It was| israel, as to be expected. And it| was very much expected. It was a repetition of the statement he put out earlier. His address was brief, but as you say, unequivocal, that the United States stands with israel, and that it will never fail to have israels back. The important point there that he pointed out was these are traditional ties that exist between the us and israel. The United States recognised israel almost from the point of its inception, many, many decades ago. So, really, emphasising the historical ties between the two nations. Absolutely unequivocal in the fact the United States will stand in whatever way with israel. Is it likely the us will play some form of Mediation Role in this conflict . Because tomorrow, on sunday, we are going to be hearing from the Un Security Council. And as we have heard all day from experts on bbc news, this is unlikely to be a Military Solution thats going to end this. It will have to be more thanjust end this. It will have to be more than just that, end this. It will have to be more thanjust that, and people end this. It will have to be more than just that, and people are going to have to talk and mediate, and facilitate some kind of peace. President biden hinted at that. He didnt really spell out all of the assistance the us is going to provide to israel, but he said his National Security advisers, he had instructed them to maintain communications with israel at all the levels. Military, intelligence, as well as diplomatic. So it appears as well as diplomatic. So it appears as if the us is trying to at least establish some kind of diplomatic communication to help in alleviating this particular crisis. We understand the Secretary Of State Antony Blinken had a discussion with the Palestinian Authority earlier on, to the leader Mahmoud Abbas, where he called on the region to condemn this attack. But also to defuse the situation so it doesnt escalate. Its not clear what kind of diplomatic role the us is going to take. But as we speak, there are frantic calls between the us and other countries in which it is trying to find a diplomatic solution to this. ~ ,. , trying to find a diplomatic solution to this. , ~ i. ,. Trying to find a diplomatic solution to this. ~ ,. , to this. Thank you very much for that undate to this. Thank you very much for that update. Our to this. Thank you very much for that update. Our correspondent| to this. Thank you very much for. That update. Our correspondent in that update. 0ur Correspondent In Washington there. Well, my colleague Samanthan Simmonds spoke to ourjerusalem bureau chiefjo floto, who gave us the latest on what israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhu has been saying. He has been summarising again that the country is in a state of war. He says, we will take revenge on hamas for this black day. He is preparing the population, and sending a very clear message to israels enemies that they are going to hit them very, very hard indeed in the coming days and weeks. We have seen a military build up beginning already. A lot of this comes after the entire countrys reeling in shock at the level of this infiltration. The military are saying hundreds of militants have infiltrated israel, and the fighting is still ongoing. They still have not retaken some of the military posts on the frontier between gaza and israel, and there are still Hostage Crises as we speak unfolding in the small towns near the gaza border. Yeah, and weve heard from Prime Minister netanyahu saying that they are giving the full force of whatever it takes to bring the situation under control. The fear is what will it take, where could this end up . We are in Uncharted Waters to some extent, because of those hostages. Prime minister netanyahu did warn hamas against harming any of those people who have been taken back into gaza. We understand that could be dozens of people, both military and civilians who have been grabbed by this extraordinary militant operation today, and are now back in gaza. We have seen video of families being bundled onto vehicles and taken across. Also with looted Mountain Bikes and toys and other household items. We have seen children in that effort, we have seen people marched down the streets of these tiny towns on the gaza frontier. This is a terrifying ordeal for civilians next to the gaza strip, but also it is a humiliating Military Defeat today for the israeli army. This is exactly what hamas have always proposed that they would do, which was to bring the war into israeli civilian homes, by infiltrating, by getting out of the gaza strip, heavily fortified border. They were not supposed to be able to do this. This is what the military have the israeli population couldnt happen, and it happened today. And in considerable numbers. Hundreds taking positions inside israel and using powered parachutes to get into the air, they have used boats, theyve driven dozens of motorbikes through holes in the fence, and attacked about 22 different locations around the border. What do we understand about the ongoing operation in gaza, where at least 230 people have been killed and thousands injured . So this is the initial phase of what promises to be quite a bloody and drawn out conflict. The Israeli Air Force are hitting targets that they associate with hamas. Some of them may well be significant military installations. 0thers Mayjust be owned by hamas. Make no mistake, there is a great deal of political pressure to be seen to act, and they are striking hard across the whole of the strip. That has led, as weve seen, to a very rapid increase in casualties. But the military has also said it is draughting thousands of soldiers into the regions. Theyve already moved in a couple of dozen battalions and three brigades are moving in as well. That means they are preparing to hit on the ground in a very concerted way. That wont happen immediately. These things take time to plan. But the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said they will go in and destroy hamas capability. Hamas in response said, thats exactly what we want, come in and we are ready for you. But they also highlighted the fact they have hostages which they wish to swap, to do a deal, to release some of their prisoners in israeli jails. How this plays out, no one knows at the moment. Israel has never had to deal with this number of hostages. Theyve been taken in the past in ones and twos, and eventually israel has done a deal to release prisoners. But it has never had to face this. There are civilians, families, we think there may be children involved, and we � ve also seen a number of corpses of Israeli Soldiers who have been taken back into the gaza strip, again to be used as bargaining chips. But tonight in the gaza strip, there is a massive bombardment ongoing through the night, and we dont expect that to stop soon. Jo, for the people in gaza, theres nowhere to hide, is there . Absolutely not. Its one of the most densely populated places on earth. It is somewhere that people had become accustomed over the last couple of years to hoping for a better way of life. We had an increase in tension in the last few weeks, in which hamas had encouraged protests by the border fence. We were led to believe this was part of a negotiation that they wanted for more money, more assistance from qatar and egypt, and more permits to allow workers to cross into israel to earn money to keep up the standard of living. We imagined and had been told the threshold for Military Action was quite high, because no one wished to risk an improving humanitarian situation in gaza. Well, all of that appears to have been a ruse, and the hamas leadership have ordered this huge assault, knowing what the result would be. But they are the Islamic Resistance movement, this is what they are about. They are built, they are born and they exist in order to fight israel. So at some point, they needed to refresh their credentials in the resistance movement, and that is what we have seen today. Samantha simmonds also spoke to the former israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. She got his reaction to the scenes in israel and gaza. This is the worst Terror Attack on israel in our history. At 6 30am israel time, hamas, in an unprovoked and heinous method, came and attacked our communities, killed more than 150 women, children, men, kidnapped. We dont know the precise number. And as were speaking right now, there are still over a dozen live kidnap and Terror Attacks going on in the Southern Parts of israel. What more can you tell us about those Ongoing Operations at the moment . Well, theyre very complex because were talking about civilians. Were talking about several hostage situations. Throughout the day, i myself was talking to folks who are behind their doors and can hear the terrorists from just outside their door, maybe two or three metres away. And some of them are keeping silent and have to keep their own babies from crying. Its reminiscent of other days, other very dark days. This is an unprovoked, deliberate attack on the state of israel. So, the state of israel is at war. Were at war with The Terror State of hamas in gaza, and it will continue as long as it needs to. When you say you were talking to people in live situations, can you expand on that . Tell us who you spoke to and what they were saying. A few minutes ago, i was talking to a woman in one of the kibbutzim, one of the kibbutz on the southern part of israel. And right now, there are terrorists Walking Around her kibbutz trying to enter any home. All the homes are locked, but theyre burning up some of the homes. And her own parents were murdered. Her mum and dad. Her brother is in a different apartment and shes very worried about him right now. So thats one example. Another example is another woman that has a baby and shes been stuck with him since 6am. So that would be about 14, 15 hours. And shes running out of food and the babys crying. And shes afraid that the noise that the baby will make will gain the attention of terrorists. So im trying to help our Commando Forces and our Special Forces to get there and defend and kill the terrorists. So youre personally trying to intervene, to pass on, relay this information to the Security Forces to get help to these people . Yes. Yes. And i think over the past couple of hours, weve seen a big number of idf soldiers come to the southern part of israel. I met the soldiers in the field just a few hours ago. And were preparing. But right now, the main thing is to clean up Southern Israel and fend off the terrorists. And then we can think about the next steps. Yeah. And also these hostage situations. I dont know if you can clarify how many people are being held hostage . 0ur Correspondent was suggesting 50 people being held hostage in one kibbutz and another family of four being held hostage in their home . Thats correct. Thats the information im aware of as well. Hostage situations are very complex. I myself served in a unit that fought in these sort of situations. So you dont want to come and just shoot everyone. You want to be very selective and kill the terrorists, but protect the hostages. So were trying to control these two situations. But beyond these two situations, there are now dozens of other events where its not a hostage situation. Its simply a battle going on right now and in several communities in Southern Israel. How would you characterize the response by the government, by the Security Forces . Weve had the israeli Opposition Leader yair lapid calling for an Emergency Unity government. As a former Prime Minister yourself, do you think that should happen . Is that necessary . Would it help . Yes, absolutely. I support an immediate unity emergency government. You know, our enemies think that israel might be vulnerable because of our domestic issues, but theyre wrong. Israel is united. And the left and right, religious and secular, everyone together, we stand behind our soldiers. We stand behind our civilians. Were going to fight back. This is a hard day for israel, but ultimately, we will win. A hard day. Was it avoidable . Its a huge and devastating Intelligence Failure, isnt it . I mean, israeli officials have been predicting since august and likely attack from either hamas or hezbolla. Hamas or hezbollah. Theres going to be time to learn everything. Right now, the immediate thing that we need to do is get the terrorists out of israel, clean it up, release our hostages and ultimately release the israelis that are in gaza. And at the same time, hamas is going to have to pay perhaps the most profound price possible so this can never occui again. The palestinian president , Mahmoud Abbas, who is not affiliated with hamas, who, of course, the Palestinian Authority controls the west bank, he says that palestinians have a right to defend themselves against israeli crimes. Whats your response to that . Thats utter nonsense. We handed gaza over to Mahmoud Abbas. Hes the guy we gave the keys to, 15 or more years ago. We pulled out every single soldier. We pulled out every single israeli from there. And we were told were going to get the singapore of the middle east. Instead, what we got is afghanistan, and its Mahmoud Abbass responsibility as well as hamas. So ill say this again. We handed gaza over to Mahmoud Abbas and we didnt want any more issues with gaza. Theyve been shooting Tens Of Thousands of rockets on israel. My own family in my home, just about ten minutes, ago had sirens about ten minutes ago, had sirens and we were down in the shelter. And its all stemming from the very gaza that we handed over to the palestinians. So this thing of whining all day about israel is utter nonsense. There is an aggressor here. The aggressor is the palestinians and hamas. And were going to hit back. What does hitting back look like . Weve already seen the number of, we think, at least 200 People Killed in gaza. Its not clear how many of those may be militants or not. We dont have clarification. Weve seen israeli rockets target the leader of the hamas organisations home. Where does this end in terms of retaliation on gaza . It doesnt need to end soon. All Israelis Stand behind the government and are giving as much time as necessary to the idf to do the job. And i want to be very clear. A home, a school, a hospital that hosts terrorists is not a home. Its not a school and its not a hospital. Its a terror base. And as such, if theyre shooting rockets at us, from there, we will retaliate back. If you were still israeli Prime Minister, would you recommend that israel goes back in and takes control of gaza . Im not going to give recommendations right now to the government. I know what its like to run a country. They dont need more advice, they need backing, and that, even if im opposed to some elements on regular days, all Israelis Stand behind the idf and the Israeli Government. Right now, we need to do thejob. We need to secure israeli lives. The former israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet there. Mustafa barghouti, general secretary of the Palestinian National initiative, has given us his perspective. Hes in the west bank. Its an unprecedented israeli failure, given it is the most protected in the world. The attacks came from many things. First of all, we are under Israeli Military occupation for 56 years now. And the world is doing nothing to end that occupation. That occupation has transformed into the worst system of apartheid ever, much worse than in south africa. And at the same time, during the last eight months, we have been subjected as palestinians to attacks from Israeli Settlers, terror, which took the lives of 248 palestinians, including a0 children. And more than that, netanyahu stood up in the united nations, raised a map of israel that included all of the west bank, all of the gaza strip, as well as the golan heights. And his government has been declaring that they have no intention whatsoever to talk to palestinians, to have peace with palestinians. Their main goal is to annexe occupied Palestinian Territories including the west bank and gaza. And in addition to that, one last point, the attacks on muslim and christian holy sites by israel. This drove hamas into what we see today. That is a reaction to this horrible situation for palestinians. Israel would say that its actions in gaza are against militants trying to destroy its country. What are hamas in your view trying to achieve by these actions today . First of all, i dont think it is right to accept what israel claims. At the end of the day, we are not the ones occupying gaza. Israel is occupying us. We are not oppressing israelis, israelis are repressing us, and for a very long time. Israel would say you elected hamas, which is an organisation committed to the destruction of israel, and therefore they have to implement security. Thats what they would say. But i want to ask you specifically about hamass actions today. Do you support them . What do you think they will achieve . I dont think the way israel describes hamas is correct. Hamas wants to change the Balance Of Power so that we can have peace. So that we can have an end of the israel occupation. And what they have done today is actually an act to try to change, and they have achieved that, they have exposed israel. They have destroyed the israeli intention of liquidating the palestinian cause and palestinian rights, by normalising with the arab countries at the expense of the palestinian people. And they are actually uniting all palestinians behind the resistance. At the end of the day. Inaudible if israel wanted peace, why it doesnt end the occupation . Do palestinians have the right to defend themselves like israel has the right to defend themselves . At the end of the day, the question is simple. Are we equal to israel or not . I dont want anybody to be killed or lose their lives, but it is the reality that we are the ones who are occupied. 200 israelis killed in this attack. I would like to know what you think hamas is trying to achieve by launching these attacks, you have explained yourjustification why you think they are doing it but what do they think is the end result . Their deputy had just declared. That their goal, they are not ready to accept a two State Solution if israel ends its occupation, you said 200 israelis were killed, nobody should be killed. But after this moment, a70 palestinians are killed. Exactly. So, let me ask you this. It was very clear that, as soon as hamas launched these attacks, that there would be retaliatory action by israel and that many palestinians would be killed. What is your reaction to that . Are those deaths justifiable in this conflict . No death. 248 palestinians were killed by Israeli Settlers in the west bank. Response to those attacks in gaza. Nobody did anything to stop israel. Your game here is the claim that palestinians are killed because of hamas. Palestinians are killed because of israeli occupation. Just one moment, just one word. I do believe that the responsibility for Killing Palestinians and israelis and the continuation of this conflict is an occupation which should end as soon as possible. As you can imagine, a lot of videos have been posted on social media during the day. The bbc verify team have been working to check them out. Weve spent today here in the bbc verify hub, just looking at all the images that are starting to emerge on this story. And were building up a picture of whats happening with some of the material that is beginning to emerge on social media and messaging apps, and what is being sent into bbc verify. Now lets just start here, and weve had a lot of footage today, especially this morning, showing those barrages of rockets being fired out of gaza into israel. We can move on to this map now, and here were getting a picture now of all the events and mapping out where those palestinian attacks within israel have been taking place. And every location marked with a red square there is where weve been able to verify one piece of footage of attacks from militants. Some of these are missile strikes. Some of them are active shootings by militants whove infiltrated into israel. And some show the aftermath of battles with images which we think are too graphic to show. Weve got correspondents reporting from the scene, but using some of the technology here, weve been able to verify some extraordinary footage. 0ur Investigative journalists have been able to see the pattern that the hamas fighters have used in todays attack, taking as many hostages as possible, which is unusual. Now, the most disturbing content is of hostages being taken and paraded on the streets. Some of that content weve seen is distressing and weve chosen not to show it. But we do think its important to build up a picture of whats happening on the ground using the Verification Tools that weve got. So lets just have a look now at this. Now you can see this blackjeep. Now, within the back of this jeep, there is an israeli hostage. This was filmed on the outskirts of gaza in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. Weve edited this video, but we want to show you what we think is happening. In this clip theres a woman who looks like shes been badly beaten. Her hands are tied behind her back. Shes barefooted and shes dragged out of thatjeep by her hair and bundled into the back by armed men and then driven off. Now, a spokesperson for the Israeli Defense forces has confirmed that soldiers and civilians have been abducted by militants. Lets move on to Something Different now. This is footage from the aftermath of an all night nature party near Kibbutz Rahim in israel. Now, these are people running across the desert in panic. Presumably theyve heard sirens, that sort of thing. And our team injerusalem have spoken to some of those who were at the event. Theres other footage coming to us into the building. Our team of experts have been able to verify. Lets just have a look at this now. Now, this is the border itself being destroyed. This is a Bulldozer Being used by Palestinian Militants. Its appeared on snapchat and its got a caption, 0ur Heroes Bulldozers Remove The Wire from the border. Now, this is at the northern end of the gaza strip. Its right next to the erez checkpoint, which is one of the main ways in and out of gaza. Ive crossed through it many times myself. And were also starting to build up a picture of the response by the israeli Security Forces. This is in the city of ashkelon, just north of the gaza strip. And here you can see what we think are Israeli Military or Police Patrolling the streets. You can see otherwise the streets are pretty quiet. Now, lets just move on to something a little bit different. This here. Is fairly extraordinary footage of two Israeli Fighterjets Being towed away from the border area near gaza. Weve been able to geo locate the towns of arad and arara by negev. We saw the road signs with those names on and theyre located due east of gaza. The road layout, the signage and Traffic Lights match those seen on street view. So we were able to work out where it was, and its thought they were planes that were being moved after Israeli Air Bases near gaza were evacuated. And finally, lets just have a look at this. This is Drone Footage from the military wing of hamas, the alqassam brigades. Its pretty sophisticated, as you can see. And it shows a drone strike on an unmanned israeli machine gun post. You just saw the explosion there. Its right on the border between israel and gaza. And you can see that that was a pretty sophisticated attack and some pretty Sophisticated Media operation, too, from hamas. We will continue here to work with our team of experts building up a picture as this conflict continues. Live now to khaled elgindy, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute and who directs their programme on palestine and Israeli Palestinian affairs. In terms of Intelligence Failure, we have been discussing that a lot, about how, so this failure of intelligence is that israel wasnt able to pick this up. Intelligence is that israel wasnt able to pick this up. Yes, youre riuht. Able to pick this up. Yes, youre right there able to pick this up. Yes, youre right. There is able to pick this up. Yes, youre right. There is no able to pick this up. Yes, youre right. There is no way able to pick this up. Yes, youre right. There is no way to able to pick this up. Yes, youre i right. There is no way to overstate just how massive an Intelligence Failure this is, on so many levels. Israel is the most sophisticated and heavily armed country in all of the middle east by far, not by a little, and we are talking about in comparison to actual states with armies as opposed to a group of militants like hamas. But also because gaza has been one of the most heavily surveilled areas anywhere in the world. By Israeli Intelligence. There are drones flying overhead in gaza on a daily basis. Israel controls the entryways in and out of gaza by air, land and sea, and the fact that Israeli Intelligence was completely caught off guard i think speaks to a massive Intelligence Failure. But also, i think it points to a real serious political failure, also, i think it points to a real serious politicalfailure, in the sense that the far right Israeli Government that has touted its security credentials, that has said that they are the coalition of israelis that will bring security once and for all to israelis. Clearly they havent done that. But also, netanyahu has been talking about in the middle east that he is interested in creating and that normalisation was just around the corner with saudi arabia and other arab countries and that the palestinian issue was a thing of the past. Certainly the notion of palestinian state was a thing of the past. And clearly, it seems to have pointed to, israelis were lulled into a false sense of complacency and security. fin into a false sense of complacency and security and security. On that point, in terms of and security. On that point, in terms of the and security. On that point, in terms of the regional and security. On that point, in terms of the regional impact, | and security. On that point, in i terms of the regional impact, we have heard the us Secretary Of State Antony Blinken making calls to leaders in the region. President biden has hinted that as well in his statement. What sort of impact will this have on the region, our neighbouring countries . We this have on the region, our neighbouring countries . We dont yet know what longterm neighbouring countries . We dont yet know what longterm impact neighbouring countries . We dont yet know what longterm impact it neighbouring countries . We dont yet know what longterm impact it might know what long term impact it might have because it is still unfolding and things could get, as bad as they are, and they are quite terrible your report showed, we are touting deaths in the hundreds on both sides in a very short period of time. We are counting. It also has the ability to become even more horrible, so we do not know actually what the fallout will be from this. But i do think that it is bold enough, audacious enough, type of operation, it is calculated to change everyones political calculus. And i think it will do that. I think it is designed to demonstrate to the israelis, much as what happened exactly 50 years ago, when egyptian and Syrian Forces launched a Surprise Attack on israel, that the status quo isnt that unsustainable, and notjust for one side. That unsustainable, and not ust for one side. , , that unsustainable, and not ust for one side. , one side. People will remember those attacks, one side. People will remember those attacks. And one side. People will remember those attacks. And the one side. People will remember those attacks, and the much one side. People will remember those attacks, and the much traumatised. Attacks, and the much traumatised and scarred by that and tomorrow, we have the Un Security Council meeting. We have heard from President Biden pledging his support, we have heard from the uk Prime Minister rishi sunak pledging similar allegiance. What happens now . Is there any mediation . That is the Million Dollar now . Is there any mediation . That is the Million Dollar question. Now . Is there any mediation . That is the Million Dollar question. Beyond l the Million Dollar question. Beyond that the pro forma Talking Points about condemning hamas, of asserting israels right to defend itself, the reality is that there was a context here, 56 years of israeli occupation, occupation is not a peaceful endeavour, it is organised, structural violence. There is only one way to maintain control over millions of people while depriving them of their most basic rights and thatis them of their most basic rights and that is through force. We see that force and violence on a daily basis. And, unless the us and the uk and the International Community are prepared to tackle the underlying causes, which is israeli occupation, then im afraid things are likely to get worse. Then im afraid things are likely to net worse. ~ , then im afraid things are likely to net worse. , ~ i. , then im afraid things are likely to net worse. , ~ ,. Then im afraid things are likely to net worse. ~ ,. , get worse. Thank you very much for oininu us get worse. Thank you very much for joining us from get worse. Thank you very much for joining us from the get worse. Thank you very much for joining us from the middle get worse. Thank you very much for joining us from the middle east joining us from the Middle East Institute In Washington, khaled elgindy. Lyse doucet is our chief international correspondent. Shejoined my colleague Samantha Simmonds in the studio alongside lina khatib, who is direcor of the soas Middle East Institute. Lina explained why hamas launched this attack now. There are a few reasons, one, it is symbolic, almost 50 years after the Yom Kippur War of 1973, it is symbolically important for hamas to be seen as heroic on these days, and that you have domestic drivers to do with the behaviour of the Israeli Government under Benjamin Netanyahu towards palestinians which have seen tensions escalate under this right wing government and a lot of people in gaza and palestinians in general are quite fed up and that is why people are so expressing support for hamas in this campaign. And there is a wider geopolitical reason, which is to do with the talks between israel, saudi arabia and the United States about potentially brokering a deal. And that deal of course means that saudi arabia would have to talk to the Palestinian Authority about some sort of solution for the Palestine Israeli conflict and hamas is not part of that discussion. 0ver recent years we have seen Israel Normalising relations with an increasing number of middle eastern countries, and egypt says it is in talks with saudi arabia and jordan to defuse the tensions between the israelis and palestinians, so give us some perspective on that. Egypt always tries to be mediator in this conflict. Surely it can the gaza strip originally surely it can the gaza strip originally it surely it can the gaza strip originally it controlled the gaza strin it was seized from egypt in the six day war of 1967 and in 2005 israel withdrew its troops from the gaza strip although it still maintains control of the airspace and the sea around gaza. It controls at six of the seven crossings that gaza has, which is why, when israel says, we no longer occupy it, it says that you still have indirect and in some ways direct control over our lives and it has been described for many years as the worlds biggest prison but there is a crossing into egypt. They have tried to mediate but as lina says, this mediation comes at a very sensitive but very unprecedented time in terms of the diplomacy of the region. It is hard, given the Extraordinary Events of the last hours, that only last week you were having discussions between the de facto ruler of saudi arabia, mohamed bin salman the crown prince, and The Americans as well as the Palestinian Leader Mahmoud Abbas, with some kind of a deal involving saudi recognition of israel, bringing saudi into the wider fold of the arab states including the uae which is why the statements we have heard today are not the statements we have heard in the past and have been all too many conflicts between israel and gaza, much more muted saying that they are following it closely, and they are wanting to be seen as the ones who can resolve this but the United States is behind the scenes and will no doubt play a role as well. Lina, give us some background to this normalisation between israel and saudi arabia which would be, to say historic would be an understatement, it would be huge, and there are some people suggesting that iran might be behind these attacks today, because they want to stop that happening, they want to make sure that they cause so much trouble in the region that that cant happen. What is your take on that . Well, i have been in conversation with saudi officials about this deal. Saudi arabia is very serious about not being seen to have given up on its own Arab Peace Initiative that it had presented years back, as a way out of the conflict. So the saudis are saying, we are notjust going to give Israel A Freebie by signing a deal that is just ink on paper. They actually know that, for their own credibility, they need to involve the palestinians in the deal. And that is why they have been talking to the Palestinian Authority and Mahmoud Abbas. Of course, hamas is backed by iran, and iran will not want to see such a deal. It wants to have its own agenda on the table. And in a way this attack today is also a message to Mahmoud Abbas by hamas to say, we are the ones who are the voice of the palestinians, and not the Palestinian Authority, so this is all about the tensions domestically. The last reported meetings that we heard between President Biden and Prime Minister netanyahu, the report was that they made it absolutely clear that there had to be substantial progress on the Israeli Palestinian issue, they had to show a horizon for what the palestinians want which is an eventual palestinian state but there could be no rapprochement with saudi arabia and no formal recognition until israel did more on the palestinian front and what has happened today has underlined it, as we have been saying all day, in an unprecedented way, how far the two sides are and how much more must be done and also the depth of anger, we have been speaking about how the israelis are rallying around Prime Minister netanyahu but the palestinians will also rally around hamas politically because they are under attack. Just explain the relationship between hamas and the Palestinian Authority, hamas controls gaza, and the Palestinian Authority the west bank, and with a declining amount of authority, you might say, Mahmoud Abbas. Many predict that after this attack Mahmoud Abbas will have failed to represent the voices of the palestinians altogether. So it is likely to see a change in leadership in the Palestinian Authority in the aftermath of what has happened now. What would that change of leadership look like . Around the world we see ageing leaders, in israel as well, somebody who has been on the political scene for a long time. Is there any succession planning, anybody who wants to move towards peace . Unfortunately not. This has been a very contentious issue within the Palestinian Authority and more generally within palestine. There is no clear successor. Again this is something that hamas will take advantage of politically. A lot of what is happening today can actually be to the political advantage of hamas. There is a lot of Notjust Simmering Anger but outbursts of anger, we have seen it in the growing confrontation between very radical jewish settlers in the Northern West Bank but also there was anger against the Palestinian Authority and the leadership of Mahmoud Abbas, he is in his 805, his health is not good, he and his family are widely regarded as corrupt. There are names which come up to say this person could possibly be someone who could replace him, they name which comes up the most someone who will probably spend the rest of his life in an israeli prison, barghouti, he has failed to stand up to israel and to govern effectively and to give a pathway to the kind of leadership which can genuinely represent in particular a new generation of palestinians who are growing up without any hope that in their lives are going to get any better or that the situation is going to change. That there will be one day a palestinian state which is why they feel that this is the only way to do it and hamas, its very name means a resistance movement. Iran into some people whod just come back talks with very senior hamas leaders trying to convince them to move away from the rule of the garden and these mediators were very optimistic and i said, it is going to take some time, isnt it, but i was very struck by how they felt that they had made some Progress Talking To Israelis and palestinians and talking to hamas and then all of a sudden this happens and what a moment this is. And when hamas decides to go ahead with an attack on the scale knowing the number of people that will be killed and the condemnation from worldwide that will follow and the retaliatory attacks that will flow onto gaza, and no doubt there will be innocent People Killed, how does that come into the equation, and what they think about that and the support that they might win or lose as a result . When it comes to the people, they have been so fed up. Gaza, one of if not the most densely Populated Areas in the world, where people live in practically an open air prison, and then when you see attacks happening even outside of gaza, including injerusalem, on arabs and palestinians, tensions are so high that a lot of people are very aware of the high cost and high price that they might personally have to pay, but they are still cheering for hamas, because they think, we are dead, either way. Nothing to lose is what we were hearing from many in gaza, even though israel seemed to have been taken by surprise there was a feeling in gaza that something was being prepared, not just that something would happen but would have to happen, because they have got nothing to lose, and within that culture of resistance, to die in this kind of war is a noble thing. It is martyrdom better to die a fast heroic death than to live a very slow death, in gaza. The us Secretary Of State Antony Blinken has asked the Palestinian Authority to enhance steps to restore calm and stability in the west bank. What is your reading of that . That is the new fear, of escalation. When there have been these open hostilities that have gone on for weeks in some cases, there have been clashes, there have been incidents and attacks in the west bank, but today, given the scale and audacity of this attack, giving the israeli threats to retaliate, there are fears that this will escalate across, this will light a fire across the west bank and there has been concern also about what will be done in lebanon by hezbollah, so they are appealing to Mahmoud Abbas to do what he can so he lacks such little authority and legitimacy that they will be thinking, what have we got to lose . Can you put into context where lebanon and hezbola are involved in this . Hezbolla are still heavily involved in syria. They have local tensions in lebanon to worry about. Lets not forget that there are other militants in lebanon, in the south, some Palestinian Militants that coordinate closely with hezbollah and on occasion they launch rockets at israel whilst hezbollah pretends it knows nothing about such attacks, and it is plausible that we could see the responses happening from Southern Lebanon rather than directly involving hezbollah. One of the new threads at this moment too, there was that extraordinary rapprochement between saudi arabia and israel were, after years of being archrivals, between iran and saudi arabia, what are they saying behind the scenes, are they talking, because iran is linked to hezbollah and to islamicjihad, the other main party in gaza, hamas holds greater sway but islamichhad is also a key player, and advised by many of the same resistance policies as hamas, sometimes even more radical and it will be interesting to see behind the scenes whether saudi arabia is also talking to iran about trying to find a way forward. If i might add, decisions to engage in war are not taken by hezbollah or islamichhad or by hamas single handedly, there is always consultation with iran first. You are watching bbc news. Hello. This rarely do we see a day of weather contrasts stark as though we saw during saturday. Across many parts of scotland we have huge amounts of rain, flooding and disruption. We have this met Office Amber Warning in force for the best part of Sunday Morning but this new warning stretching from aberdeenshire up towards inverness, this warning is in force until 2pm on sunday with further flooding and disruption likely. This is the rain we had on saturday. It was relentless. Well over 100 millimetres in places and some spots in the north of scotland only got to seven sources, compare that with 25 in south east england, where it was the warmest october day we have seen in five years. Into sunday this frontal system still plaguing parts of scotland with outbreaks of rain, the focus for the heaviest rain shifts further north and east, with some rain still through the central belt causing further problems, southern scotland looking drier with some sunshine. Patchy cloud and sunny spells for Northern Ireland. Quite murky for some western coasts of england and wales. And more Clatter Eastern Coast too. We should broadly speaking see some spells of sunshine on what will be another very warm day for the time of year, at around 25 celsius, not as cold across the north of scotland. Heading through sunday night, we will still see some bits and pieces of rain through scotland heading into Northern Ireland but generally it will turn a bit drier, quite windy in the far north, very mild as we start monday morning with some areas of low cloud, mist and fog for these western coasts and some of that could linger as we go through the day. Scotland, certainly drier than it has been although this little line of rain could just plague the South West Of Scotland from time to time. Temperatures 13 in stornoway, still 24 in london. Moving deeper into the week, that warmth is set to be swept away. A frontal system pushing south and east through the middle of the week, heavy rain with that, and behind it something cooler, something more like we would expect at this time of year. A mainly dry, warm start to the week but things will change from midweek onwards. Live from washington. This is bbc news. Israel and hamas trade strikes across the gaza strip, Killing Hundreds after Palestinian Militants launch a Surprise Attack on israel. As israel confirms a number of its soldiers and civilians were taken hostage, Prime Minister netanyahu vows vengeance. Translation since this morning, the state of israel translation since this morning, the state of israel has translation since this morning, the state of israel has been translation since this morning, the state of israel has been at translation since this morning, the state of israel has been at war. Translation since this morning, the state of israel has been at war. Our state of israel has been at war. Our first objective is to clear out enemy forces that infiltrated and restore security and quiet to neighbourhoods that have been attacked. Im helena humphrey, thank you forjoining us. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on saturday that israel is, quote, at war, and is promising revenge. This comes as dozens of Israeli Soldiers and civilians have been captured after a surprise and unprecedented attack by Palestinian Militants on israeli territory early saturday morning. Israels government says hamas launched more than 2,000 rockets into the country, killing more than 250 people and wounding over 1,100 others. Officials in the gaza strip say over 230 people have been killed and over 1,700 were injured in retaliatory strikes. The Un Security Council plans to meet about the violence in the region tomorrow. The Early Morning assault began with a barrage of rocket fire from gaza just after dawn, with explosions heard on the streets of ashkelon