Blinken said President Biden will focus on securing the release of hostages taken by hamas while underscoring the need to minimise civilian casualties in gaza. On wednesday, President Biden will visit israel. To that end, today and at our request, the United States and israel have agreed to develop a plan that will enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organisations to Reach Civilians In Gaza and them alone. Including the possibility of creating areas to help keep civilians out of harms way. It is critical aid begin flowing into gaza as soon as possible. We share concern that hamas may seize and destroy aid entering gaza or may otherwise prevent from reaching who need it. If hamas in any way block humanitarian assistance from reaching civilians including by seizing the aid itself, will be the first to condemn and work to prevent it from happening again. We welcome the government of israels movement to this plan. The president looks forward to discussing it further. Commitment. The president s trip will include a stop in amman where hell meet with King Abdullah ofjordan, egyptian president el sisi, and Palestinian Authority president abbas. President biden met earlier on monday with his National Security team in the oval office. Spokesperson john kirby told reporters after blinken� S Announcement that the us is not dictating directions to the israelis when asked about the timing of an expected Ground Offensive around the president s visit. The announcement comes as hundreds of thousands of palestinians are trying to escape gaza amid a near total israeli blockade. Israels siege has plunged gaza into a deepening humanitarian crisis, cutting off fuel, food and electricity supplies. The un says hospitals are close to complete collapse, threatening thousands of lives. People hoping to flee across the rafah Border Crossing in the south of gaza are still unable to escape because egypt wont open the border. This, despite diplomatic pressure for the evacuation of foreign nationals. On the egyptian side of the crossing, a convoy of humanitarian aid waits, blocked from delivering vital supplies as the crisis inside gaza deepens. And on monday, an air strike Hit The Rafah Crossing on the egyptian side. There are no reported casualties at this time. Israeli air strikes have killed more than 2,750 in gaza over the past week according to Palestinian Health officials as israel targets members of hamas. Hamas has continued their strikes on israel, with Air Raid Sirens triggered injerusalem and tel aviv. The group is designated as a Terror Organisation by many western governments and is responsible for last weeks attack that killed more than 1,400 people in southern israel. Israel now says the number of people they believe are being held hostage in gaza is up to 199. Hamas has released a Video Showing one of the people it took hostage during the assault on israel that triggered the war. The video shows a young woman speaking hebrew who identifies herself as 21 year old mia shem. It includes footage of the same woman receiving treatment foran arm injury. In it, the woman says she is from Central Israel and appeals for her release. A spokesman for the family said they agreed these pictures could be shown. Earlier, i spoke to elise labbott, ceo and founder of zivvy media, a digital platform engaging the gen z audience. She has covered the Israeli Palestinian conflcit. Is to have anyone. I want to stop with thiS Announcement that President Biden will be heading to israel this weekend. What do you make of that . It is obviously to show support for israel, unequivocal support that the us is standing by its ally. It is also a message to iran, hezbollah, do not even think of getting involved because the us has israels back. I would also say that as he is going tojordan and meeting with King Abdullah and the egyptian president and that is about the humanitarian situation in gaza and i think what President Biden is trying to do right now is hug the israelis close and show the us is on their side, to have that leverage on how this Ground Offensive is undertaken and to try and have leverage over the israelis as they do this to be mindful of the humanitarian situation in gaza and keep an eye on the day after, remind him that israel was working towards a full integration into the region and preserving space for Diplomatic Solutions to the crisis is the best way to do that. Also seen Antony Blinken shuttling between middle east capitals trying to work with leaders specifically on this issue of balancing and battling hamas on one side but also ensuring that civilians in gaza are protected and he has been talking about the need for both. From what you have seen, what do you think he has been able to achieve . They are negotiating heavily with the egyptians about opening the border. The egyptians have concerns. They do not want a lot of refugees crossing the border and they do not want to see a lot of palestinians going back into the sinai because that evokes an issue of what they call the forced palestinians from their land. There is psychological effect to that. Thirdly, they want to get aid in but the us has been saying to the egyptians you need to open up the border so we can let foreign citizens out and the egyptians are saying, listen, yes it is important for those citizens to get out but it is also important for aid to get in. So right now egypt is using the border as leverage. I want to also ask you about the fact that we have seen hamas militants release a Hostage Video of one person taken hostage, nearly 200 people are being held hostage at the moment. We heard the Secretary Of State say that will be one of the topics that President Biden will address. How much has that shaped what israel and the United States are trying to do here . I think it shapes it a lot. Because of what israel is trying to undertake, hamas has these hostages hidden somewhere and it will be very hard to find them if the israelis have a rough idea of where they are, deep in gaza where hamas could be hiding them and israel does not want to do anything to hurt these hostages. Two dozen of them are americans and obviously that is a consideration. I would say however that i do not think it is as much of a consideration for the israelis now as going after hamas. They obviously do not want to lose their citizens and we have seen over the years how israel when there was a soldier taken hostage, they spent five years negotiating for him. But for israel, they need to know if they want to negotiate with qatar and egypt are involved, they have good relations with hamas and are talking to them about getting hostages released. Do they make that bargain . Do they let hamas prisoners out of israeli jails . It is a tricky situation. You wrote a piece in politico about the us and its role in Middle East Policy and its interesting, i think you said it is time for a new kind of Peace Process where the us is not the sole broker. Indeed, we see President Biden meeting with the king ofjordan and the egyptian president and the president of the Palestinian Authority. What role do you think they will take . They have a role in pushing and reminding, the egyptians but really the jordanians and King Abdullah have been continually reminding the United States and israel about, we have seen the Abraham Accords where israel forms relations with arab states including the gulf states and that is great and could help the region grow with tourism and commerce and better relations between people of the region. But you cannot move forward on that until there is a solution to the occupation, until the palestinians get their own state. So what i am talking about and what i think President Biden is also trying to do, right now you are going back to basics. That is the core quartet, King Abdullah, President Of Egypt that is really who it was originally. We have other players such as the uae and bahrain and saudi arabia which the us has been trying to make a big relationship with. I think they will have a bigger part in a regional Peace Process. They will have a bigger role in trying to top with reconstruction of gaza. We know that there will need to be a lot of work to rebuild gaza and i think they are going to want the arabs to really have a hand on this. It cannotjust be that the arab states want kosher hotels and tourists, israeli tourists coming in and getting tourism dollars. They need to step up and show some responsibility. They said they want peace with israel, having the bigger part in the Peace Process is what they need to be doing. Do you think the us no longer is disengaging with the middle east . ,. , , is disengaging with the middle east . ,. , , , east . No. He was president try to Disengage East . No. He was president try to disengage from east . No. He was president try to disengage from the east . No. He was president try to disengage from the middle l to disengage from the middle east, either to china, to disengage from the middle east, eitherto china, deal with the war in ukraine. The middle east always comes back to grab and the us, very important region for the United States and they will continue to remain engaged. There could be bigger players playing more of a part along with the yes but the us is always going to be indispensable in the region. Always great to have you won. Thank you forjoining us. As weve been hearing, the situation on the ground in gaza is getting worse by the day. The un is warning that more help is needed to support the hundreds of thousands of palestinians whove moved from the north of the territory to the south. But there are also those who are refusing to leave their homes, saying theres little help for them if they do move. Our former gaza correspondent jon donnison has more. Much of the north of gaza looks unlivable. This is jabalia. Once one of the worlds most densely populated neighbourhoods, and where those whove survived are clinging on. Not far away, abu jalil is one of them, trying to squeeze the last drops out of gaza citys water system, cut off for days. We will not leave, he says, we cant. Even if they destroy our homes, where will we go, with a family of five or six . Multiple families are now packed into apartments after their homes were destroyed, but they say its not safe to move south. The bombing is happening without warning, says this man, and if i leave with 50 members of my family, where are we going to get food and water . And this is where people are being told to go. Amid the destruction in southern gaza, the homeless and the hungry who fled the north in their hundreds of thousands are trying to survive. We have nothing that we need to live, says this man, who fled south. We are living in a dump, and if we move, well die. Amid the detritus, and with too few toilets, many are fearful about the spread of disease. Theres food, but not enough. All this will feed less than 2,000 people, says amir. Just a fraction of those in need. There are long queues to get bread, but its being rationed. Weve been waiting here since six in the morning, he tells us, just to get food to feed the kids. We will run out of flour, the baker says, in two days maximum. Clean water is also in short supply. And all the while the hospitals in the south, like in the rest of gaza, are overwhelmed with patients, from the old to the very young. Ten days . Four days . Born amid the chaos less than a week ago, what kind of life lies ahead of her . Jon donnison, bbc news. Earlier, my colleague Caitriona Perry spoke with dr natalia kanem, executive director of the United Nations population fund, about the effect this humanitarian crisis is having on some of the most vulnerable pregnant women. Thank you forjoining us. We are seeing images coming out of gaza of small babies in Intensive Care Units in hospitals that are under Evacuation Orders or almost out of fuel and supplies. What is the latest situation underground as you are aware of it . ,. ,. ,. , it . Terrible humanitarian catastrophe it . Terrible humanitarian catastrophe in it . Terrible humanitarian catastrophe in the it . Terrible humanitarian l catastrophe in the making. It . Terrible humanitarian catastrophe in the making. The big concern, especially for unfpa that works with pregnant women is opening the humanitarian access corridors and ensuring the people who are really in distress that may be in hospital are protected and they are safe and they dont have to move. Have to move. What is the situation have to move. What is the situation like have to move. What is the situation like at have to move. What is the situation like at the have to move. What is the l situation like at the moment for pregnant women in gaza . Working within gaza, we know there are well over 50,000 women who are pregnant. About 5500 of them are expected to deliver in the next coming days. Weeks, months. About 160 deliveries a day. At this point, the uncertainty around where to deliver is what women are reporting to us. We have had some pretty gripping understandings about the race against that when you asked to move and are heavily pregnant, you are not sure if there is going to be a complication. The woman that already hospitalised and whose newborns may need a Nikki Bennett an incubator, it is a minute to minute guess about whether the fuel holds up, whether the energy that allows the incubator will be available and you can imagine if you need a cesarean section at this hour how dire the circumstances are. At this hour how dire the circumstances are. Also the Situation Circumstances are. Also the situation regarding circumstances are. Also the situation regarding the circumstances are. Also the situation regarding the lack| circumstances are. Also the i situation regarding the lack of clean water. How will that be impacting women and children whether they are at the point of delivery or not . Whether they are at the point of delivery or not . This is why the united of delivery or not . This is why the United Nations of delivery or not . This is why the United Nations secretary. The United NationsSecretary General has been so clear about rescinding this movement and evacuation order. The point being for health and hygiene, food, water, the inability to have a reliable supply of medication, nothing is as precarious as a woman carrying her child, walking and inferior, not understanding what is going to happen to her next. One of the important provisions of international communitarian law is Health Facilities be spared. For us as midwives are trying their best, even using hot lies to communicate with mothers trying to be able to give guidance by remote. When you reach a hospital or Health Facility that has to be a safe haven. Unfortunately, nine or ten days out, this applies in these hospitals are exhausted. Unfpa along with other communitarian arms including the Red Cross Have Dignity Kids at the ready at the border with egypt. We hope the good offices of all concerned will result in an opening of that corridor so that supplies can come in. For people who are trapped in the north as well, for women with disabilities, Orwomen North as well, for women with disabilities, or women who have had high Blood Pressure complications, they need that medication by drip. They are not going to be able to move. We assessed the Health Facilities be protected zones. Is it surprising to you that it has taken so long and still no humanitarian aid order has been established . What i have to believe in and we have to offer hope to people who are caught up in a crisis not of their own making is that the dialogue process, the Peace Process, with she is the fervent wish of everyone that has caught up in this situation right now, they respected. I am surprised because as a sufficient physician myself, as a leader of a Reproductive Health group, unfpa, we know that pregnancy is actually a sacred time for the mother and the unborn child, so i really do expect that all actions will be taken to protect people who are just lit by minute trying to reeves, trying to get through a crisis. I will also say that from a perspective from the movement of people, there are times and circumstances where the sacrosanct quality of a woman in labour must be respected and this is one of those times. Thank you very much forjoining us. Around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. Lets look at some other stories making news. A us federaljudge has imposed a partial gag order against donald trump in his trial for conspiring to overturn the 2020 election. The judge said she would not allow the former president to launch a Smear Campaign against people involved in the case. Special Counseljack Smith had filed a motion, arguing that mr trumps rhetoric threatened to undermine the trial. Nearly all the votes have been counted in polands general election, and it appears that the right wing law and Justice Party has lost its majority. Opposition parties led by the former European Council president donald tusk may be able to form a coalition government. Mr tusk has vowed to improve relations with the eu and continue strong support for ukraine. Two Gun Manufacturers in the Us State Of Texas are now barred by from selling products that can be quickly converted at home into firearms known as ghost guns. The Us Supreme Court granted a request by President Bidens administration to once again block a federaljudges order. It says was intended to back Gun Manufacturers. Youre live with bbc news. Turning to belgium now, where two swedish citizens were shot dead in the countrys capital, brussels. Police are still looking for the suspect. The attack prompted the country to raise its terror alert in the brussels region to its highest level as our europe correspondent sophia bettiza reports. Now, a short while ago, we were sent a video, and in that video, a man is filming himself on a scooter and he claims that he is the gunman, that he carried out the attack and, speaking in arabic, he said that he killed three people in the name of god. Now, the motive of the attack at the moment is unclear, but what some local media here in belgium are saying is the two victims were wearing Sweden Football shirts and so they could have been football fans. Now, there is a match here tonight in brussels, sweden versus belgium, and that has now been suspended and all fans have been asked to remain in the stadium as a precaution. Now, the federal prosecutor here in belgium has treated this as a Terror Attack and we should say that the gunman is still at large, the police are still looking for him, and because of that, the alert level has been raised to four for brussels, which is the highest level. And it means that a threat could be imminent. Prosecutors say theres no evidence of any connection to the war in the middle east at the moment. Russian president Vladimir Putin has arrived in beijing for key talks with his chinese counterpart, xijinping. With the kremlin isolated on the world stage, the Chinese Government has offered significant moral backing, refusing to criticise the invasion of ukraine and saying it will boost Trade Relations with russia. Our china correspondent Stephen Mcdonell travelled to the border region in Northeastern China to gauge the state of the relationship. Beijing and moscow say trade between their countries is growing, along with a closer political alliance. The port where russian goods cross the river into the chinese Border City Of Heihe seems to have a lot of activity. Translation im carrying | soybeans, wheat and barley, all from russia, and its busier than before. The Truck Drivers tell us theyre getting plenty of work. Translation im transporting sand and coal from russia. Others are moving containers with food. Chinese tourists come here for a peek into neighbouring blagoveschchensk, where russian coastguard officers exercise in the autumn sun. You can see how close we are to russia here you could swim across that river to the blocks of flats where russian people live and so you would think this would be the obvious place to build Trade Relations between the two countries. And yet, when you speak to Business People on this side of the border, many are saying that, actually, it hasnt been that great. Large Shopping Centres here have either closed or never opened because of a lack of customers. Former stallholders, now operating out of their cars, say trade has been flat for years but even worse recently. Translation after covid, the borders havent been open for long. There arent enough russians coming across. They are poor and they are at war. A woman shows us her hats, which once sold very well. Translation the fur is from russia, but theyre made in china. She says she used to have many chinese and russian customers. Translation just take a look at the streets l empty. In the past, they were filled with potential buyers. You cannot compare now to the past. Elsewhere, the Provincial Capital Harbin was a century ago dominated by russian residents and russian culture. And local tourists visiting here seem well disposed to the man in charge at the kremlin these days. Translation putin has iron fists, hes tough. Do you know why hes at war with ukraine . I ask. Translation ordinary people dont comment on such things. | back near the border, as part of its so called no limits partnership, beijing is helping out an isolated moscow by piping in more russian natural gas. But economic links still have a Long Way To Go for chinas trade with russia to match what it has with many other countries. Stephen mcdonell, bbc news, heihe. That is our show at this hour. And you can get all the latest about the situation in israel and gaza on our website bbc. Com news or the bbc news app. We have a live page that is constantly being updated with news and analysis from our teams on the ground in israel, gaza and around the world. We will also continue coverage of President Bidens Upcoming Trip to israel injordan. That flurry of diplomatic activity we will see announced tonight. Thank you for watching. Hello there. Its been a fine start to the week thanks to a ridge of high pressure. Weve had some sunshine, chilly nights, mind you, with some frost and fairly cool days. Tuesday, the last of this settled, chilly weather, because by wednesday onwards, we start to see low pressure taking over, bringing gales, heavy rain, but also milder air too. Now, this area of low pressure has been named Storm Babette by the met office. Thats going to continue to push northwards, affects our shores wednesday, thursday, merges with a larger area of low pressure, and that area of low pressure itself will affect us for the end of the week and into the weekend. So Rainfall Totals really mounting up across the board, but particularly so across more northern and eastern parts of the country. And we do have some concerns for eastern scotland, which could see heavy and persistent rain throughout this week, which could lead to localised flooding. Of course, the ground is pretty saturated here as well. However, for tuesday, its a fine day. Chilly start there, therell be some early mist and fog, plenty of sunshine around. The breeze picking up across southern britain, and well start to see this Weather Front bring some patchy rain to southwest england, southwest wales, then push up towards Northern Ireland later in the day. And temperatures will be a little bit higher than monday, 12 to 16 degrees. But the winds will continue to pick up through tuesday night. Rain will splash its way northwards, into Northern Ireland and scotland. Elsewhere, largely dry, variable cloud, some clear spells. There will be some further rain pushing into the southwest by the end of the night, but nowhere will see frost. Its going to be a much milder night, 9 to 12 degrees. Wednesday then, we see Storm Babette start to push up in towards southern britain, bringing gales and heavy rain. Initially, well start off with that early rain across scotland. That will tend to clear away. Much of central and Northern Britain will have a fine day on wednesday. Quite windy, though, those winds picking up through the day from the southeast, and it turns much wetter across south wales, Southern England later in the day. Some heavy, thundery rain here as Storm Babette pushes northwards. Widespread gales developing as well. But on the mild side, 13 to 17 or 18 degrees in the south. On thursday, Storm Babette will be affecting the north of the uk, rain piling into eastern scotland, strong and gusty winds here. Further south on thursday, something a little bit quieter, but its going to stay quite windy, with sunny spells, showers or longer spells of rain, and temperatures up to 18 or 19 degrees here, mid teens further north. But we see further very wet and windy weather on friday, certainly across the south and the east of the country. That lasts as we head into the weekend as well. See you later. Voiceover this is bbc news. We will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. Phone rings the promise is an instant loan. The reality is a nightmare. Across india, at least 60 people have taken their own