Scotlands First Minister humza yousaf addresses his partys conference for the first time as leader and calls for a Uk Resettlement Scheme for refugees caught up in the middle east conflict. On bbc london. The moment a london surgeon working in a gaza City Hospital alerts us that its been hit. Good evening, were live injerusalem, with news of the worst single mass killing of palestinians in the israel gaza war so far. Killing of Palestinians Health officials in gaza say hundreds of people are dead. Thousands of people were sheltering there, having fled 10 days of bombing by israel. The World Health Organisation has condemned the blast, and called for the immediate protection of civilians. Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied israel was resaponsible, and blamed what he called Barbaric Terrorists for the blast. Israel says its Bombing Campaign is targeting members of hamas, responsible for killing around 1,400 israelis last week, and a group designated as a Terror Organisation by the uk government. Hamas said tonight that israel was responsible for the blast, and that its a war crime. Palestinians have been on the streets in the west bank protesting, and thereve been clashes with the security forces. The huge blast happened at the Al Ahli Hospital that is right in the heart of gaza city. Heres our international editorjeremy bowen. Loud blast the missile hit the hospital not long after dark. Man shouts you can hear the impact. The explosion destroyed Al Ahli Hospital. It was already damaged from a smaller attack at the weekend. The building was flattened. Very soon video was posted from gaza of bodies laid out near the ruins of the hospital. So many dead and the size of the explosion, together looked to be having a profound impact on what was already the most dangerous crisis in the middle east in a generation. The wounded were taken across gaza city to Shifa Hospital. The israeli armys First Response said hospitals were highly sensitive and not targets of its military and urged caution about what it called the unverified claims of a terrorist organization. That statement will not be believed by palestinians and by millions of others in the middle east who see these images. The wounded and the dying pouring into shifa from al ahli arrived at a hospital already overwhelmed by thousands of casualties from israeli airstrikes. It was already struggling to treat patients after israel cut off fuel, water, food, and deliveries of medical supplies. Jordan and egypt condemned israel for a dangerous escalation. Jordan said the International Community should pressure israel to stop its attacks to prevent what it called wide cycles of violence. As fury and fear gripped palestinians, israel denied that it was responsible. We would not deliberately target a hospital, and my information i have just received from the highest authority, because i asked about this, i knew you would ask about this, i knew you would ask about this, is that all indications are that this was not israeli orders, this was rather a hamas rocket that fell short. This was rather a hamas rocket that fellshort. I this was rather a hamas rocket that fell short. I want to explain this, from past conflicts with the terrorists in gaza we know that on average about 33 of the rockets that they shoot at us for short and land in gaza. Fall. That they shoot at us for short and land in gaza. Fall. Land in gaza. Fall. Pictures on social media land in gaza. Fall. Pictures on social media showed land in gaza. Fall. Pictures on social media showed many land in gaza. Fall. Pictures on i social media showed many children are among the casualties in gaza. So many people needed treatment that the corridors of Shifa Hospital were packed. Its also causing even more anxiety among the hundreds of thousands of palestinians who fled to gazas Southern Border with egypt after israel told them to leave their homes. 8000 people here at night and it is usually loud, kids are running around, but tonight there is silence, absolute silence. You cant hear a thing. People are just silence, absolute silence. You cant hear a thing. People arejust in absolute shock about what has happened. It is really, really shocking. Ijust dont know what happened. It is really, really shocking. I just dont know what to say. I have no words. Anger spilled onto the streets in the occupied west bank, the other part of the Palestinian Territories thats separated from gaza by israel. Since hamas attacked out of gaza on the 7th of october, there have been fears that mass casualties caused by israels response could ignite west bank towns that have been the centre of unrest for well over a year. The young men on the streets, and Palestinian Armed groups in the west bank, will not believe israels denials. The latest from israels Prime Minister blaming what he called Barbaric Terrorists for the attack. The attack is a seismic event in a war that might spread elsewhere in the middle east. There are reports that the palestinian president has cancelled a meeting with the us president , whos due in israel tomorrow morning on a mission that was aimed at easing the plight of palestinian civilians, and who will now walk into an even deeper crisis. Jeremy bowen, bbc news, in southern israel. We can now go back to clive in jerusalem. Thank you. Lets pick up with our international editorjeremy bowen. I want to make the point that obviously this is a shocking event that we have all seen. Both sides are putting forward competing claims about who is responsible, trying to get out the truth of this is going to be very difficult indeed. Yes, it will be. More to be very difficult indeed. Yes, it will be. More than to be very difficult indeed. Yes, it will be. More than anything to be very difficult indeed. Yes, it will be. More than anything it to be very difficult indeed. Yes, it| will be. More than anything it is an appalling tragedy for the hundreds of people who were killed, the thousands who were injured, their families, in a place where civilians are already going through terrible ordeals. In terms of the different assertions that are being made, israel very quickly denied it had anything to do with it. Even more quickly, arab countries blamed israel. It was notjust hamas blaming israel, it was egypt, and jordan, who have Peace Treaties with israel, it was the United Arab Emirates which normalise relations with israel under the abraham accord, and it was saudi arabia who until all this began was talking to the americans about normalising relations with israel. So that already is a sea change in the complexities of politics in the middle east. And i think that the way this is going already, the sheer volume of casualties on top of all the other people, or the other civilians in gaza who have been killed, Ithink Civilians In Gaza who have been killed, i think that is enormously dangerous and inflammatory and i think as well that the consequences of this could be very serious. Indeed. Jeremy, we will speak to you later in the programme. What about reaction across the region . 0ur correspondent John Donnison has more. Explosions fury tonight in the west bank. In ramallah, youths battled with Palestinian Security forces who responded with tear gas and sound grenades. Earlier, as reports of the Hospital Strike came in from gaza, thousands took to the streets in protest. There is anger directed at israel but also at president Mahmoud Abbas and his palestinian authority, which many perceive as weak and lacking legitimacy. Mr abbas announced he was cancelling a meeting with President Biden, scheduled for tomorrow injordan, and was flying home. Chanting there were mass protests there this evening too, and clashes outside the Israeli Embassy in amman. Translation during the foundation of israel, when it occupied this area, they are breaching International Humanitarian law. Geneva agreement is obvious in this regard. Medical centres or hospitals should not be touched. In turkey also, thousands rallied against israel. As the war in gaza escalates, it is a dangerous moment for the wider region. Jon donnison, bbc news. Just some up the mood in the west bank tonight . Bank tonight . You have got to remember bank tonight . You have got to remember that bank tonight . You have got to remember that even bank tonight . You have got to remember that even before i bank tonight . You have got to l remember that even before the bank tonight . You have got to remember that even before the war in and around gaza, tensions on the west bank were already at Boiling Point and we have had more violence in the last year between israelis and palestinians there than at perhaps any point in the last two decades. So over the course of the last ten days that tension has only increased and when it becomes clear, if it does, what has happened today, that can only add fuel to the fire. The situation in gaza as a result of this blast of this explosion, what are you hearing . We this blast of this explosion, what are you hearing . Are you hearing . We have been sueakin are you hearing . We have been speaking to are you hearing . We have been speaking to our are you hearing . We have been speaking to our correspondent l are you hearing . We have been. Speaking to our correspondent in gaza, a relative of his has been to the hospital and has described scenes, bodies laid out on the lawn, huge numbers of casualties, fires still burning. Israel is saying that it was not them who did that. But given that we have gotjoe biden arriving tomorrow and given that we have got these protests across the region, if it was not them, they have got to produce pretty conclusive evidence pretty quickly to prove that is the case. For now, thanks for to prove that is the case. For now, thanks forjoining to prove that is the case. For now, thanks forjoining us. President biden is due to arrive in the region tomorrow. He is expected to meet the israeli Prime Minister, then hell travel to amman, jordans capital, to meet other key regional leaders. But the palestinian president , Mahmoud Abbas, has tonight cancelled after the gaza blast. Rishi sunak may also travel to the middle east in the coming days. Lets speak to our north america editor, sarah smith. President biden� s aeroplane was already in the air when this explosion and this blast took place. How does that change the dynamic of the conversations he was going to have with regional leaders here . It has made the situation much more complex and joe biden is due to leave the white house any minute now and will be setting off very shortly heading for tel aviv. This is an extraordinary trip which was a very high stakes gamble even before the news came in of this Hospital Bombing and it is a visit with two purposes, and both of those got a lot more difficult today. Firstly, he wants to go there to demonstrate what he calls his ironclad commitment to israel and its right to defend itself and that is a position thatjoe biden has had for over 50 years now. But it is a position which is much more uncomfortable to defend tonight than it was even this morning. The other thing he wants to try to achieve is to get israel to allow emergency humanitarian aid into gaza and to put in place some kind of measures to protect innocent civilians stop that looks a lot more difficult now as well. Because you have got the american president flying into a situation where the hamas leader says it is the fault of the us, that the Hospital Bombing has happened, because america gives israel cover for its aggression, he says, and the palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has cancelled his meeting withjoe biden. And then at the same time israel are going to ask him for over 10 billion worth of emergency military aid. So he is arriving in a situation that was already complex and it is now considerably more volatile before he even touches down. ,. ,. ,. ,. , down. Indeed. Sarah smith, our north american editor, thanks american editor, thanks forjoining us. Meanwhile, earlier today, the family of a 13 year old british girl who had been missing from her home in israel since the hamas attacks ten days ago now say she was murdered. Yahel� s mother, lianne, was also killed. Her 16 year old sister noiya and herfather are missing. Lucy manning has more. 13 year old yahel, just a few months ago, celebrating the moment a jewish girl enters adulthood. A future that she now wont realise. Murdered by hamas, her older sister noiya, missing. Her british family shared these pictures. They said yahel was beautiful, full of adventure and mischief. A bundle of unbridled energy and joy. Cheeky and sharp. We will forever miss her, they said. Yahel truly lived her life. Brave enough to jump out of a plane, with the family on a skydiving trip. She made them all laugh before shejumped. This family hamas tried to obliterate. Yahel, murdered. British mother lianne, also murdered. Sister noiya and dad eli, missing. Yahel, she was the funny one from the girls. She was speaking very fast and i remember telling her, yahel, just slow down she would sit with me and show me pictures on her phone. Yahel� s uk relatives said she and herfamily loved coming here for christmas and easter, enjoying the british festive season. Lianne, her mum, had moved to israel when she wasjust 19 to volunteer on a kibbutz. Lianne was the one you wanted to celebrate with. She knew how to sing, she taught me how to drink beer, and we were good friends. You still have hope for noiya and for eli. Of course, of course. Until we get a clear message, i do not want to say it, but now i have to arrange the funeral of lianne and yahel, and i dont even know how to do it, because i never did one funeral. How can you arrange two or three orfour . Yahel brought light into our lives, said herfamily, for the too short time she was with us. Lucy manning, bbc news. We will go back Tojeremy Bowen now in southern israel. We were hearing from sarah smith in washington about how all this complicates the Task Thatjoe Biden had in trying to broker some kind of deal to get aid into gaza. The magnitude of this tragedy tonight, how does it complicate things on the ground do you think, when it comes to that part of what he was trying to do . I think it is immensely complex. I think it is immensely complex. I think that anyway it was a gamble, as sarah said, the president coming over here. Normally president s get on their planes and turn up to sign agreements when the agreements have already been negotiated, when they know what they are going into. Joe biden didnt really know what he was coming into and the americans were not sure because of the fast moving nature of what was happening before the attack on the hospital. Now, by the attack on the hospital. Now, by the time he lands, assuming he goes ahead and takes off, it is going to be even more complex in Lebanon Hezbollah are calling for a date of rage and there will be more demonstrations elsewhere and those countries which the americans regard as allies are condemning israel. And as allies are condemning israel. And as for this business about who actually did it, maybe the americans will say that they have satellite information, maybe they are watching what is going on with their very advanced technology. One thing i would say was that it was, judging by the video that was posted, and by the level of casualties, and judging also by the fact that the whole building appears to have been destroyed, it was a very powerful missile. One thing that will have to be established in any investigation, even a really quick one over the next 12 or 2a a was, is whether Palestinian Islamichhad who were specifically mentioned by the israelis, the number two group, armed group in gaza, whether they had missiles which had that much power in them. At the missiles that have been hitting here in ashkelon because pretty much minor damage. These are questions which i cannot answer but which need to be answered to get some clarity on this, because, you know the sides are way apart and what is significant is that levels of hatred are growing really exponentially among people involved in all of this. And one mission for President Biden, when he decided to come here, was to try to stop the whole thing escalating, stop the whole thing escalating, stop the whole thing escalating, stop the whole thing spreading. And as he is even preparing to get on his plane, the risks of that happening have increased markedly. Jeremy, thank you, jeremy bowen live in southern israel. President biden is preparing to make what will be an even more difficultjourney here to the region than was the case a few hours ago. We will get more from us here in the programme a little bit later but now it is back to reeta. Clive, thank you. So, what effect is this devastating strike likely to have on attempts at diplomacy in the region . Our Correspondentjames Landale joins us now. As has been repeated, it is still unclear how this happened and who was responsible but this must be a defining moment in this conflict . I think it is because even before this attack, the round of diplomacy we have had in recent days has produced very little progress and on all the key issues, with its protecting civilians, opening a humanitarian corridor, rescuing hostages. The trip the President Biden was designed to unlock all that by persuading the israelis to give some humanitarian aid and do more to protect civilians. And that was supposed to bring the arab leaders on board because they would be able to say to their people and constituencies, look, we have made progress, we have got some aid in and some safe zones created but all of that is blown out of the water by this incident. One thing we know is that civilians are not Getting Better protection and the second thing is that there is now much less trust. People are reaching their own conclusions about what has happened and all of those arab leaders who were hoping that possibly there could be some kind of deal that might reduce the violence, they now have much less room to manoeuvre because their own populations are inflamed. For many years, arab leaders have put their own Public Opinion to one side and said, look, it is good to do deals with israel, but that trade and security agreements, things like that, and the palestinians should be put to one side but they cant do that any more. As we have seen, there are demonstrations across the middle east right now. A final scary thought, not only are we seeing more violence and demonstrations, might this also be used as a Pretext A Pro Iranian militia to attack israel . That is the really scary thought. Israel . That is the really scary thou ht. ,. ,. ~ , thought. James, thank you very much, james landale. Thought. James, thank you very much, james landale, our thought. James, thank you very much, james landale, our diplomatic james landale, our diplomatic correspondent. The head of m15 has said the Security Service is monitoring the potential radicalising of people in the uk because of events in the middle east, leading to possible violence. Ken mccallum was speaking at his First Everjoint appearance with counterparts from the so called five Eyes Intelligence Group that is, spy chiefs from the uk, us, canada, australia and new zealand who met at an event hosted by the fbi in california. Our security correspondent Gordon Corera reports. Seen in public for the first time together, what are known as the five eyes. These are the security chiefs of five allies the us, uk, australia, canada and new zealand appearing together in california to warn of the threat of secrets being stolen, but speaking in the shadow of violence in the middle east. This is the first time, after all those years, that we have ever chosen to come together in public. Here from the uk is the head of m15, ken mccallum. Before the event, i spoke to him about the threats he sees, including those resulting from hamass attack on israel. The scale and the monstrous nature of that attack is a shock. And what does it mean for uk and security in the uk . Is there a risk of that Conflict Spilling over onto the streets of the uk . We have seen radicalisation being fuelled by various conflicts across the world over the last generation and clearly, one of the things that concerns me most right now is to understand quite what the shape of the uk impact will be coming from the recent and ongoing unfolding events in the middle east. The Meetings Focus was not the middle east but china. It was held at Stanford University because it is at the heart of silicon valley, home of technological innovation. The message was that Companies Need to understand the risks of their work being stolen. If you are working today at the cutting edge of technology, then geopolitics is interested in you, even if you are not interested in geopolitics. But at the individual company level, what it can mean is that the precious assets that you have worked so hard to develop through your research, through your innovation, through your perspiration, those assets can be stolen from you pretty quickly by ruthless actors backed by states on the other side of the world. The challenge for m15 is dealing with competing threats. How do you balance the ability to track a teenage would be terrorist consuming extreme right wing hate filled material in his bedroom and potentially considering buying a bladed weapon, with the longer term risks posed by theft of precious, Cutting Edge Research from one of our universities . They both matter to our National Security but trying to find the best available way of responding to these competing risks is one of the most challenging parts of our role. And so, after this brief appearance for the public, the five eyes will go back to watching. Gordon corera, bbc news, california. Scotlands First Minister, humza yousaf, has given his First Party Conference speech as leader of the snp. He pledged to Freeze Council tax in scotland next year, and told delegates in aberdeen the party must focus on the economy if theyre to win support for independence. Mr yousaf, who has family trapped in gaza, also called on the International Community to create a Refugee Programme for people fleeing the territory. Our scotland editor, james cook, reports. The party that likes to say yes to independence has seen support sink in the past year, after suffering a series of setbacks. I am announcing my intention to step down as First Minister. Nicola sturgeon quit after her plan for a second referendum was blocked. Then she was arrested and released without charge by Police Investigating the snps finances. Scottish labour party, 17,850. And this month the snp has lost one seat at westminster in a by election and another with a defection to the tories. And our First Minister, humza yousaf. So mr yousaf� s task here was to steady the ship. But with his wifes parents trapped in gaza, he began by thanking delegates for their kindness. So on my behalf, on behalf of nadia, on behalf of my girls, perhaps most importantly, on behalf of our family that is in gaza, from the bottom of our hearts, we say thank you to each and every single one of you. He condemned hamas, called for israel to end its blockade, and urged the world to take in palestinian refugees. Scotland is willing to be the first country in the uk to offer safety and sanctuary to those who are caught up in these terrible attacks. He then turned to matters at home, promising to double investment in the arts and to spend more on building wind turbines, cutting nhs Waiting Lists and helping Domestic Abuse survivors. And then, a surprise. I can announce to the people of scotland that next year your council tax will be frozen. Applause and thats the snp delivering for people when they need it the most. At the weekend, they talked here for hours about how to achieve independence. Today, their leader wanted to focus on why. Independence is not simply an end in itself. Its inextricably linked to the cost of living crisis. Its about raising living standards. Its about protecting our nhs. Above all, its about a new wellbeing economy. This tough and emotional week for humza yousaf and his family puts politics in perspective, but it doesnt put it on pause. He knows his party needs a reset and this is his answer. He also knows if it doesnt work, hell be in trouble. James cook, bbc news, aberdeen. And to football, where all three nations played this evening. Home nations. Northern ireland lost their qualifying match against slovenia while scotland were defeated in france in a friendly. But scotland know theyll be playing in the euros next summer and now, so do england, after a 3 1win over italy. Joe wilson reports from wembley. The police at wembley intended to be visible and reassuring. When a Football Match in belgium is abandoned, when two swedish visitors are killed, it is a profound shock, in particularfor supporters who follow their nation everywhere. And uefa directed that a silence should proceed all the evenings european games. Italy versus england at wembley, you will recall, was the last euros final. Remember who won . Yes, they are in blue. Gianluca scamacca, once of west ham, gave italy the lead with some ease. So, the response. Jude bellingham bursting through and the contact, there. Penalty. Which meant harry kane, which nearly always means this. And the england captain does it second half, bellinghams energy again, to set up the chance for marcus rashford. Rashford took it from there, he really took it. Rashford well, dont stop the finishes. Strength, balance, determination, all of that from harry kane to go on to win the match 3 1. Now, forget the last euros, and start imagining the next. Qualified. Joe wilson, bbc news, wembley. In a moment well go back to clive injerusalem, but first lets take a look at the weather. Heres stav daneos. Thank you and good evening. It has been a fine start to the week but things are set to turn a lot more autumnal moving from wednesday onwards and stormy with storm babet
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