Welcome to the programme. Starting with the developments in israel where the military says its preparing for a major Ground Offensive into gaza. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a Cabinet Meeting of the countrys expanded Emergency Government and has promised to destroy hamas, the group designated as a Terror Organisation by many western governments, including the uk, which was behind last weeks massacre of nearly one and a half thousand israelis. The Military Response from israel, has already seen more than 2,600 People Killed in gaza, from airstrikes, according to the Health Ministry there. The United Nations says gaza is now witnessing an � unprecedented human catastrophe�. Well report from inside gaza, and take a look at how any Israeli Military operation might pan out. And what of the ongoing diplomatic efforts in the crisis . But first, heres the bbc� s jeremy bowen with the latest. Along the border, it looked like the eve of battle. In the next few days, israel will send its armed forces into the gaza strip. Israel declared its war aims even before the tanks arrived here. First, demolishing hamas, so it can never be a threat again. And avenging more than 1,300 people, mostly its own civilians, massacred by hamas. In the last few days, the border has become an armed camp. Israel says its offensive is anchored in justice, security and morality. It has mobilised 360,000 reservists. Border communities, like kibbutz kfar aza, that were barely defended when hamas stormed in, are now staging areas for the offensive. 0ne certainty is that, when israels soldiers move forward, many more Palestinian Civilians will die. Gaza was pounded again the eighth day in a row. Mohammeds sons, daughter and cousins have been killed, eight of them, with three bodies still trapped in the rubble. They were children, he said, they didnt carry guns. Many palestinians see the body bags and believe israels campaign against hamas is also aimed at forcing them out of gaza for good. The price of losing, said this hard line israeli politician, is for gaza to get smaller, that is the language palestinians understand. The hamas massacres, and the response from israel they have unleashed, destroyed what seemed to be the status quo. Fear is already a winner. The soldiers look like theyre ready for whatever comes next. In tel aviv, the war cabinet has been meeting at the ministry of defence, finalising details, making decisions. There are big questions, though how long the operation will take and what happens afterwards. This afternoon, israeli troops patrolled the gaza boundary. Very soon, they will cross it, and this long conflict hurtles into its next destructive chapter. Jeremy bowen, bbc news, southern israel. The situation in gaza continues to be one of concern for the civilian population. Theres once again limited phone and Internet Connection in parts of gaza. My colleague rushdi abalouf, who has been reporting from gaza, was also forced to move with his family from the north towards the south after israels warning for all to relocate. He sent us this update from a hospital in khan younis, in the south of gaza. The humanitarian situation is deteriorating, reaching the level of catastrophic as the director of this hospital in khan younis told me. He said, we have as little as 200 litres of fuel to run all the essential operation for the hospital, and they expecting tomorrow midnight, should all the generators in the hospital here will stop. This hospital is providing services for not only 4,000 people who originally lived in khan younis, but for another half million palestinians who are displaced from their homes in gaza city and the north. The hospital now is supposed to be treating, working to help one Million People. We are getting reports that reserves of fuel at all hospitalsacross the gaza strip are expected to last only around 2a morehours, the United Nations humanitarian office said on monday, the shutdown of Backup Generators would place the lives ofthousands of patients at risk. Ever since last weekends unprecedented attack by hamas, israel and egypt have not allowed journalists to enter gaza. But palestinians trapped inside have been trying to get their stories out. 0ur former gaza correspondent, jon donnison, has been speaking to one young woman who, over the past week, has been documenting her daily life there. We are evacuating, we are leaving our houses. Bisan 0wda is a 25 year old film maker in gaza. Shes been posting a video diary about life under fire. And other safe places, but theres no safe places in gaza. Last monday, israel warned people in her neighbourhood to flee their homes. Bisan decided to head for shelter at a nearby hospital. Pray for us. And later that night, israel did bomb the ramal district of gaza city, reducing much of it to rubble. This is the first bottle of water that im going to drink from it. With a complete Blockade Of Gaza in place, bisan, like millions of others, has been running out of basic necessities. There is no food, there is nothing. Then on friday, another warning from the skies israel dropping leaflets, telling more than a Million People in the north of gaza to flee to the south. And so they went, in their hundreds of thousands. But not bisan she and her family decided to stay put in the north, and later that day, another update from the hospital. Do you remember when i said that they did push people to evacuate from the northern to the Southern Areas Via a safe route, as they said . Ok, that was a trick, that was a trick. They targeted ambulances, cars and buses. Israel says its investigating what happened in an apparent air strike on the main road heading south. 0utside, look, theres no electricity at all. As bisan waits to see what the night will bring, she gives her own sign off. Its now 10pm. I collect my stuff to my bag in case we need to evacuate as fast as we can, if there was bombing around us or on us during the night hours. This is my daily routine. What about yours . Tell me. Jon donnison, bbc news. Pray for us. The United NationsSecretary General has made two direct humanitarian appeals to both hamas and israel. Antonio guterres issued a statement, saying it was his duty as we are on the verge of the abyss in the middle east. He called on hamas to immediately release the hostages it was holding, without conditions. And urged israel to allow rapid and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid into gaza, including supplies and workers for the sake of civilians there. America has sent the uss Eisenhower Carrier Strike group to the Eastern Mediterranean in a move aimed to deter any widening in the war between israel and gaza by other parties. This move comes as us Secretary Of StateAnthony Blinken said israel must defend itself in a way that protects human life, but urged israel to do Everything Possible to avoid harming civilians. The way that israel does this matters. It needs to do it in a way that affirms the shared values that we have. For human life and human dignity. Taking every possible precaution to avoid harming civilians. 0ur International Editor jeremy bowen said this choice of words was deliberate for a number of reasons. First of all, its very clear that hamas has committed the most appalling war crime. So, he is saying to israel, dont try and do anything that the most appalling war crimes. So, he is saying to israel, dont try and do anything that will allow people to say you are going down that route, too. And of course, israels critics are already saying that, in terms of the pressure on the civilian population in gaza, they are breaking International Humanitarian law. But its more than that hes worried about escalation, about the war spreading, perhaps tojerusalem, perhaps the west bank, perhaps further afield. And a lot of palestinian civilian casualties might cause that process to speed up. Thats why the americans are sending not one, but two Carrier Battle Groups into the area. And thats nothing to do with hamas thats because they are worried about what iran might do, what hezbollah, which is irans ally in lebanon, might do. So theres a lot of balls in the air here, and as well as that, of course, i think the americans are trying to calm things down. This is not something. They dont want the region to be heated up again. And one more thing, i think that because the Secretary Of State, mr blinken, is due back here tomorrow, that may well delay the start of the israeli offensive. Around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. Lets look at some other stories making news. The Snp Conference in aberdeen has approved humza yousaf� s plan to use the next General Election result to push for Independence Negotiations with the uk government. It voted through a motion which said winning a majority of scottish seats at the next election, which would be at least 29, would be a mandate for holding a new referendum. Hundreds gathered at a vigil in Central London on sunday to commemorate israeli victims killed in the hamas attack. Many were draped in israeli flags carrying posters which said bring them home with names and faces of the hostages captured by hamas. It comes a day after tens of thousands of people took to the streets across the uk in a show of solidarity with palestinians in gaza. Rail services in and out of euston in Central London have suffered severe disruption today. A signal points failure caused all lines to shut for several hours. Some delays are continuing. Network rail has apologised to customers. Youre live with bbc news. Exit polls following the General Election in poland suggest the governing law and Justice Party has lost its majority in parliament. The numbers suggest that Opposition Parties might be able to form a coalition to take power. Vote counting is still under way, but the former European Council president , donald tusk, who leads the civic coalition, has already declared victory for the opposition bloc. 0ur correspondent Sarah Rainsford sent us this report. We were at the Results Event for the opposition coalition, the civic coalition, and donald tusk, the leader of the party, was greeted like a star. His name was cheered, people were cheering in the crowd. There was an exit poll published on screen, and that was greeted with a big roar from the crowd. They are seeing this very much as a victory. It is just one exit poll but it does suggest the Governing Party, law and justice, although it won the most seats according to this poll, may not be able to form a coalition or reach a majority, whereas the opposition look like they could do exactly that. That is why this was like a victory party. It wasnt what people were predicting. This has always been a very close race but there was a huge amount of relief when those figures first appeared on screen. The Election Campaign has been massively divisive, this country is very polarised. The Governing Party was always campaigning about security, russian aggression, talking about illegal migration a lot, and social spending. The opposition has campaigned heavily on democracy itself, talking about the rule of law, the freedom of the press, repairing relations with the eu, which have been badly damaged in recent years. People going to the polls to vote were saying this was a historic moment, it was about deciding the kind of country this is going forward, which direction this Country Moves in. Everyone said it was extremely important, and theres just one figure which shows that above all the turnout. Initial figures suggest at least 73 turnout, the highest number since democracy was returned to poland after the collapse of communism. So a very, very engaged population here, a Long Way To Go of course, votes still to be counted. But at the moment, it looks like a very significant result. Lets take a look at some other stories in the headlines. At least two people have been killed and more than 150 injured by a 6. 3 magnitude earthquake in west afghanistan. Residents in the city of herat said they had just begun to return to their homes after two previous powerful quakes when the latest tremors hit. An aid worker said people had been left traumatised. Officials at Hong Kong International airport uncovered 11 kilograms of suspected cocaine hidden in the cushions of this electric wheelchair. The haul, worthjust over £1. 2 million, was found when a 51 year old man was going through customs on saturday. The man, who travelled from the caribbean country of sint maarten, has been arrested. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov is due to visit china this week, as president Vladimir Putin prepares his own visit to beijing soon. A spokeswoman said lavrov would arrive on monday to take part in the one belt, 0ne Road Forum and hold talks with his chinese counterpart wang yi. Lets return to the conflict now in the middle east. The israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has promised to destroy hamas, and his Defence Forces seem set for a major Ground Offensive into gaza. But what are the challenges israels forces will face . 0ur defence correspondent Jonathan Beale has this assessment. This is who israels now at war with. Hamas, who last week crossed the border, solely focused on taking life, murdering women and children. For most, it was, in effect, a suicide mission. The left side of my head was hit with shrapnel from an rpg or a grenade, hard to say exactly what. Got shot in my finger on my left hand, and a bullet got wedged in the left side of my neck. Yoav, who grew up in london, was among the first Israeli Military casualties of this war. He wont be the last. Weve been asked to hide his identity. He says israels fighting an enemy unlike any conventional army. They have only one interest, which is to to killjews. There was no preservation of their ability to go home afterwards. They were going to die doing whatever they wanted to do, and that meant killing as many people along the way, theyd die doing it. This isjust some of their arsenal. Israel today displaying to journalists weapons theyve seized. They say this is just 20 of the Weapons Hamas brought into israel, and it is just a fraction of what Israeli Forces will face when they go into gaza. Israel says many of these are built in factories inside gaza itself. Are you worried about Israeli Forces going in if theyve got factories producing this . Im not worried. The idf can deal with everything that stays in that room and more. But this is only a fraction of what they have. The tightly packed streets of gaza is where israel could soon be fighting, which hamas knows best. It could be littered with booby traps and roadside bombs, and their network of Hidden Underground tunnels. Brutal urban warfare can favour the defender. Hamas still has one Bargaining Chip more than 100 israeli hostages. 0ne israeli whos helped negotiate Prisoner Exchanges in the past is once again working his hamas contacts. Theyre still talking, but hes noted a dramatic change of mood. In the first days, they were boasting their bravery and their heroism and how they surprised israel. And in the last few days, the tone is very different. Their tone is, were going to fight to the death, were not afraid of dying. Israel is preparing for a major offensive. But invasions are often easier to plan than to execute and getting out harder than going in. Jonathan beale, bbc news, southern israel. As the Israeli Defence force prepares for its offensive, aid groups say the situation in gaza is developing into a humanitarian catastrophe. The International Committee of the red cross says hospitals there risk turning into morgues. Gazas biggest hospital, al shifa, has continued to receive a steady flow of injured. On sunday, the palestinian Health Ministry said 300 people, mostly children and women, had been killed in 2a hours, with more than 800 injured. I spoke with laetitia courtois, the head of the International Committee of the red cross delegation in new york, and its permanent observer to the un. She gave us the latest from their teams on the ground in gaza