more than i palestinian territory, where more thani million people need food, water, as well as medicines, and a short while back, egypt did confirm that it will open what it called a sustainable aid corridor through the rafah crossing into gaza. the announcement comes after a visit to israel by the us president, and whatjoe biden called a very blunt negotiation, to get as many aid trucks into gaza as possible. president buys and is now on his way back to —— president biden is on his way back to the us in a short while ago he spoke about his phone call with the egyptian president. he agreed that what he would do is open the gate to do two things — one, let up to 20 trucks through to begin with. satterfield, my ambassador, is down there... not down there, in cairo now. he's going to co—ordinate this. he has my authority to do what is needed to get it done. they're going to patch the roads. they have to fill in potholes to get these trucks through and that's going to occur. they expect it'll take about eight hours tomorrow, so there may be nothing rolling through until... what's today? i'm losing track of days. wednesday? probably until friday. and that's the rafah crossing you're talking about? - yes. yes — for this purpose, for this purpose. not to allow a lot of people out... for humanitarian assistance? for humanitarian... for the trucks to be able to get through. it was him speaking on board air force one. president biden�*s trick was overshadowed by tuesday's blast on hospital in gaza, which the health authority they say killed a71 people. our international editorjeremy bowen has been looking at what president biden achieved on his trip to israel and if it paid off. a car park outside the al ahli hospital became a killing ground. the arguments about who's responsible come too late for the people whose lives ended here. even with their bodies taken away, the clean—up this morning also meant collecting small pieces of flesh. "god have mercy," he said, "they were civilians." and muhammad, a neighbour, can't unsee children with legs blown off, and the bodies he helped to carry. "they all", he said, "thought they'd be safe "near a hospital." early this morning at the defence ministry in tel aviv, the military presented data it said proved israel did not attack the hospital. instead, they said, it was a malfunctioning rocket fired by palestinian islamichhad. the trajectory analysis from the barrage of rockets confirms that the rockets were fired in close proximity to the hospital. according to our intelligence, hamas checked the reports, understood it was an islamic jihad rocket that had misfired, and decided to launch a global media campaign to hide what really happened. they went as far as inflating the numbers of casualties. coming to tel aviv was a gamble for president biden. he wanted to ease gaza's humanitarian catastrophe, while supporting israel's war effort — perhaps an impossible circle to square with israel's leader, benjamin netanyahu. but a deal emerged from their meeting — food, water and medicine — but no fuel — from egypt to gaza. for israel, more military aid, and agreement that they didn't hit the hospital. and based on what i've seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you. i wanted to personally come and make that clear. thank you for having me, and i'm looking forward to having a thorough discussion about where everybody goes from here. the president won't change the minds of those who insist israel attacked the hospital. joe biden�*s presence here will only deepen the conviction among palestinians and millions of other arabs that america isn'tjust on israel's side but that it's also complicit in everything israel is doing in gaza, including killing civilians. until the hamas attacks on israel, president biden dreamt of transforming the middle east. the americans were negotiating with saudi arabia and israel, to try to get the two countries to recognise each other. that is not on the agenda any more. grief is crushing the families of gaza's dead. israel was warned byjoe biden not to be consumed by rage, while in gaza's shifa hospital, a father was saying goodbye to his dead children, in a corridor that's been turned into a mortuary... ..a waiting room for the grave. jeremy bowen, bbc news, in israel. once again, just to reiterate, palestinian health officials in gaza say a71 people were killed in the explosion, with hundreds of others injured. 0ur correspondent in gaza, rushdi abualouf, has been to the site of the al ahli hospital, in the centre of gaza city, and sent this report. a warning — viewers may find some of the images distressing. when i arrived at the hospital this morning, they were still collecting the dead... ..after what looks to have been the deadliest moment we have seen so far in gaza. there were burnt—out cars, after a huge fire, following last night's blast. i was talking to one of the people, who witnessed this, what the palestinians are calling a massacre. he said that they were just sitting in their garden, peacefully, and suddenly a huge explosion rocked this area. he said, "we collected bodies, injured people, we evacuated "serious injuries using motorcycle." "some people evacuated on foot," he said, "from there "to shifa hospital." blood—soaked mattresses lay on the ground, as we picked our way through the devastation, wreckage, children's backpacks and collapsed tents, where people had been sleeping. doctors told us thousands were seeking shelters at the hospital when it happened. eyewitnesses said the hospital grounds were packed with people living under siege and under fire. people are still collecting body pieces from on the ground. people are still in panic. people are still trying to understand what happened. fear, grief and anger. translation: my message to the world, "stand up - "for the right thing, don't be afraid of the americans. "don't be afraid of the israeli air forces. "we will continue this fight until the last drop of blood." health officials here are saying hundreds are dead, injured and missing. this is a moment of horror for palestinians already traumatised by this war. rushdi abualouf, bbc news, gaza city. very difficult images coming out from both gaza and israel. rushdi abu alouf has been reporting from the ground under very difficult circumstances himself, and his family having to relocate multiple times. we have been tracking that regulation from the ground and looking at the politics and the diplomacy that is playing out. i have been speaking to ivo daalder, a former us ambassador to nato, and asked whetherjoe biden achieved his objectives in this visit. we will have to wait and see. i think he wanted to do three things that were important, first of all he wanted to make absolutely sure that the israelis knew and the world knew that the united states stands squarely with israel, following these horrific events that we saw on october seven, and are still seeing the results from. secondly, he wanted to send the message that no one should be thinking about escalating this war and attacking israel, whether it is iran, his —— hezbollah or anyone else. next, he wanted to have a conversation with netanyahu. another major speech neta nyahu. another major speech by netanyahu. another major speech by the president, but we will have to see whether he is able to convince people not to get involved in the war any further, no further escalation, and of course we will have to see what is going to happen on the ground, with regard to gaza. importantly, as you reported, he did convince the israelis, and now the egyptians, to allow humanitarian aid into the gaza strip, and that is a very critical step, strip, and that is a very criticalstep, but strip, and that is a very critical step, but how this goes further is something we will have to wait and see. in fact, i wanted to ask at that point about the humanitarian access. that seems to be one of the big tangibles from this trip, at least as far as the announcement has been made by the president, but how is that likely to play out, in your opinion, given the circumstances in the difficult situation on the ground? well, everything _ situation on the ground? well, everything that _ situation on the ground? well, everything that comes - situation on the ground? well, everything that comes into - situation on the ground? well, | everything that comes into gaza at this point, in terms of food, medication, water, is welcome. the situation is dire. it is extremely difficult, as you and everyone else has been reporting, for the people in gaza that remain, and some form of humanitarian aid is absolutely necessary, and the us has been working diligently, together with other countries, together with other countries, to try to convince both the israelis and the egyptians to allow that aid to flow in. hopefully we have now broken the logjam and that will start the logjam and that will start the process, but a lot of aid is necessary, and a lot more will be necessary in the coming days. will be necessary in the coming da s. ., v will be necessary in the coming das. days. that's right, consistent su - -l days. that's right, consistent sunply of _ days. that's right, consistent sunply of aid _ days. that's right, consistent supply of aid there _ days. that's right, consistent supply of aid there but - days. that's right, consistent supply of aid there but one . supply of aid there but one final question, in terms of preventing the conflict from escalating, as president biden, has president biden, rather, committed himself to any red lines with his warnings if iran does make a move come and look at those red lines look like, according to you? i at those red lines look like, according to you?— at those red lines look like, according to you? i don't think is drawn any — according to you? i don't think is drawn any red _ according to you? i don't think is drawn any red lines. - according to you? i don't think is drawn any red lines. he's i is drawn any red lines. he's just made very clear that this is something that should not be doing, and should not contemplate. the reason the united states has deployed two aircraft carriers, 2000 marines and put more forces on alert is to make it very clear that there are going to be very serious consequences, without necessarily telling those out in public, but we do know that the us has been communicating with around privately, through channels that are established for that very purpose, and iran, no doubt, knows exactly what the us is prepared to do. it's just not something that the president at this point is willing to say publicly. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. the inquest into the death of manchester arena bomber salman abedi has returned a conclusion of suicide. the record of inquest was published today by thejudge—coroner, who chaired the manchester arena inquiry. the formal conclusion recorded by the inquest was, "suicide while undertaking a terror attack that murdered "22 innocent victims and injured many others". official figures show that food prices have seen their first monthly fall in two years, but fuel prices have risen sharply. milk, cheese and egg prices all fell, but petrol rose by 5.1p a litre. it means the uk's overall rate of inflation holds steady at 6.7%, after three consecutive monthly falls. the met office has issued a rare red weather warning for parts of eastern scotland on thursday. forecasters are concerned that heavy rains and winds brought by storm babet could cause a risk to life. the storm is currently hitting ireland after sweeping in from the atlantic. you're live with bbc news. let's get more on the israel—gaza war that we have been tracking, the deadly exposure at the hospital that of demonstrations across the middle east and around the world and in lebanon hundreds of people joined world and in lebanon hundreds of peoplejoined a world and in lebanon hundreds of people joined a protest at the capital of beirut, organised by the lebanese group hezbollah. security forces using tear gas and water cannon to control the protesters demonstrating near the us embassy. protests also in iran, jordan, the west bank as well as turkey. the us government is based on their own assessment, israel is not responsible for yesterday's hospital blast. the bipartisan leaders of the senate intelligence committee agreed with the administration and president biden earlier acknowledged as a lot of people out there who are not so sure. in the us hundreds of protesters swarmed the canon rotunda in the us capitol complex in washington, dc, demanding an immediate ceasefire. cbs news reports some 300 people have been arrested. shingai nyoka sent us this update. hundreds of protesters have gathered at cannon which is an office building for the house of representatives on capitol hill. they say they are here to support the palestinian cause and they say are being subjected to genocide. many of these people, as you may be able to see, call themselves jews and they say they are the jews and they say they are the jews for peace and there is probably about a dozen or so organisations represented here. the police have, one by one, been arresting these protesters and every time someone is arrested there is cheering. they say there should be a ceasefire, that the biden administration essentially is not speaking on behalf of americans. many of these people are americanjews. there's been significant protests around the world, not so many here in america but this is probably the most significant one here. a few hours ago, there was protesters in the park about half a mile from here, where democrats representatives, congresswoman essentially condemned joe biden and said he does not speak for all of the democratic party. but as i said, this is really a significant moment here, the most significant protest that's been held so far as they air their voices —— add their voices to many protests happening around the world in support of the palestinians in gaza. we will track that story closely for the moment i want to turn our attention to other big story taking place in the region, russian leader vladimir putin is given a red carpet welcome at beijing at a summit on wednesday. the meeting celebrated ten years of the belt and road initiative. he has rarely left russia since they invaded ukraine in february last year and he is facing increasing diplomatic isolation, the icc issuing a warrant for his arrest on allegations of war crimes. let's understand what the meeting is and the significance of it. let's bring the executive dean and professor of the university of china, also formerly the chief opinion editorfor formerly the chief opinion editor for china's global times newspaper. thank you for your time and welcome to the bbc. how crucial is his meeting between xijinping and vladimir putin? between xi jinping and vladimir putin? , , putin? this is the 42nd meeting in the past _ putin? this is the 42nd meeting in the past decade _ putin? this is the 42nd meeting in the past decade between - in the past decade between them. they've talked over three hours about bilateral relations and the series of regional hot topics and also promoted cooperation on a series of major issues such as infrastructure construction, nuclear safety, cultural exchanges, etc. yesterday, i saw an interesting screen in automatic mentioned. where president xi stepped down after his speech and shook hands with the leaders of more than 20 countries. when president xi shook hands with president putin, applause on the screen was noted as being louder. you know there should be over 3000 people on side and mocro these indicate the china russia cooperation there is widely welcome. cooperation there is widely welcome-— cooperation there is widely welcome. ~ ., ., welcome. also another point that needs — welcome. also another point that needs to _ welcome. also another point that needs to be _ welcome. also another point that needs to be made - welcome. also another point that needs to be made here | welcome. also another point l that needs to be made here is the meeting is taking place during the conflict unfolding in the middle east. do you think that china and russia can play a big role in helping de—escalate, given the relationship that they have with iran? relationship that they have with iran?_ with iran? actually, i think now china _ with iran? actually, i think now china and _ with iran? actually, i think now china and russia - now china and russia cooperation becomes much deeper than before and we call it a no limit friendship between the two countries and also, call it a china russia as a model of big power and leadership. as you know, china and russia have over a000 kilometres on their border and there are no soldiers on the border. the political and mutual trust between china and russia has reached a very high level and also, the two big powers seek more cooperation including iran, the middle east solutions, as well as the inaudible. i'm full confidence on the future of the two big power relationship.- power relationship. earlier this year — power relationship. earlier this year vladimir - power relationship. earlier this year vladimir putin i power relationship. earlier - this year vladimir putin signed off on a policy that ended up curtailing western dominance, he said, closer ties with china are a very important and critical part of the policy. president xi, he also talked about the common threats that would bring both countries together. are you seeing this as the birth, in a way, of a new, if i may say, anti— western alliance? is that how they want to be seen? he. western alliance? is that how they want to be seen? no, no, i don't think— they want to be seen? no, no, i don't think so. _ they want to be seen? no, no, i don't think so. the _ they want to be seen? no, no, i don't think so. the china - don't think so. the china russia leadership isjust the so—called anti—western allies. china and russia are a leadership, as well as the other minister levels. we are never talking about that we go against western. actually, the two countries, the two big power leadership just, two countries, the two big power leadershipjust, i two countries, the two big power leadership just, i think, the first priority is to improve our mutual economic inaudible. in the past five years you can see the average annual in automatic between the two countries has an automatic 20% and also i estimate that by 2030 russia will increase japan and south korea as the top five trading partners. ithink and south korea as the top five trading partners. i think this is a very obvious cooperation. so—called anti—western allies, i think is not russia and china's policy.— i think is not russia and china's policy. i think is not russia and china's oli . ~ ., ., china's policy. we will have to leave it there. _ china's policy. we will have to leave it there. thank - china's policy. we will have to leave it there. thank you - china's policy. we will have to | leave it there. thank you wang wen for your time here on newsday on bbc news. thank you. back to the — newsday on bbc news. thank you. back to the ten _ newsday on bbc news. thank you. back to the top story _ newsday on bbc news. thank you. back to the top story again. - back to the top story again. during his visit to israel president biden reinstated his administration public commitment to peace between israel and the palestinians and one area where both live and work together is east jerusalem. it's considered a part of the west bank under international law and palestinian territory. clive myrie has been there to find out what both communities think about the events of the last few days. in occupied eastjerusalem, some palestinians and jews living here prefer to keep a wide berth. but cheek byjowl, they live. to reach the western wall, a sacred site in thejewish faith, you enter the old city ofjerusalem through the damascus gate — an important cultural icon for palestinians. and in between, along al—wad street, competing narratives of who owns the ancient stones beneath their feet and beyond. hyatt ali is 78, watching events in gaza with sorrow. translation: we can't doj anything, just pray and cry. there is nothing, nothing... god help us all. moshe knobel, who works in a synagogue on al—wad street, says he knew in his heart israel did not attack the hospital in gaza, that anti—israeli propaganda is everywhere. so, it's clear in your mind what happened in gaza? with the hospital? last night? 100%. even biden, that came here today, said, "i checked it "out and it's not the israelis". so, there's a lot of lies, a lot of fake news. it's much quieter here today. the palestinian shops are closed in protest over the gaza hospital blast. but the israeli defense forces remains on guard. there is a tension here with the nation at war, broken by the exuberance of youth. we came across nitai atari and his friends, all 19 years old, with their lives ahead of them and the pride in their nation. like, i don't hate palestinian people. i hate terrorism. it's really hard for us to live here but we're not going to leave. this is our land, our home. then, as the call to prayer sounds, riyad najib appears with his son. for palestinians, the gaza blast and everything else they've endured over decades, they blame on israel. translation: yes. honestly the feeling was pain and sadness for what the occupation has done to us, crimes towards our people in this holy land. this is not the first crime and not the last. how old is your son? four. four years old. do you think he will grow up to know peace in this land? thank god, all of us love peace, but how many times have we just talked about peace? that's a story we continue to track and before we go drawing your attention to the bbc news website where we have a live page on at the moment, as you can see, to get all of the very latest developments and especially the big newsline became it about the egyptian president finally agreeing to open the crossing to allow up to 20 trucks of aid into gaza. you can get further information on our website. that's all for now. stay with bbc news. hello there. well, storm babet continues to push northwards across the uk. its impacts are likely to be felt for much of the rest of the week. in fact, the met office has issued its highest level of alert. it's a rare red warning in force for rain, valid from 6 o'lock on thursday evening right through until midday on friday. it's for north—eastern areas of scotland, parts of angus and southern aberdeenshire. the totals are really going to start to stack up. the rain is quite widespread across the uk as we head through the rest of the week but nowhere more so than across north—eastern areas of scotland, where there could be as much as two months' worth of rainfall by the time we get to the end of the day on friday — around 200—250mm of rain. and that heavy rain is moving northwards — this is storm babet, of course. the winds are strengthening out towards the east coast of scotland. gusts of wind here of around 70 miles an hour. the winds lightening towards the south. it's turning drier here. it is a mild start to the day but, of course, the temperatures are largely academic. and so, that rain will continue to push northwards as we head through the morning. sunshine and showers, some of the showers possibly heavy and thundery across england and wales. the rain will start to turn very heavy, very persistent. it aligns with that strong south—easterly wind as we head through the day on thursday and it willjust keep coming as we come into thursday night and friday morning itself. so, that south—easterly wind driving more rain, acting as a kind of conveyor belt. and there are wider amber weather warnings in force across scotland as well, another one for rain across caithness and sutherland, and this one is for wind, too. now, with that brisk south—easterly wind, it's not the prevailing wind direction, so there could be some trees down, likely to be some impacts from these strong, gusty winds. but this, of course, is of most concern within the red warning area. now, there could be some extensive flooding, possibly some deep, fast—flowing floodwater, maybe some structural damage as well. some very tricky travelling conditions as well, so dangerous for travel. and then, we see a second area of low pressure. that's just going to enhance the rainfall a little further, i think, on friday. but then, as that low pressure builds through, we still see these gusty winds out towards the east coast. the focus of that rain will tend to be across central areas of england, down through parts of wales and particularly the south east of england as we head towards the end of the day. still very windy for eastern coasts, but at least the rain lightens across scotland. do keep tuned to the forecast. in from the atlantic. us presidentjoe biden announces unprecedented aid for those displaced by the war in gaza. also ahead on the programme, gaza. also ahead on the programme.— gaza. also ahead on the programme, gaza. also ahead on the rouramme, ., �* programme, right now i'm in jakarta and _ programme, right now i'm in jakarta and i'm _ programme, right now i'm in jakarta and i'm heading - programme, right now i'm in jakarta and i'm heading to i jakarta and i'm heading to bandon. if we were driving it will take about three hours, but with wish, it will take about a5 minutes. this but with wish, it will take about as minutes. as leaders meet in beijing _ about as minutes. as leaders meet in beijing for— about as minutes. as leaders meet in beijing for a - about as minutes. as leaders meet in beijing for a major. meet in beijing for a major infrastructure summit, we assess the impact of chinese investment in southeast asia. hello and welcome to asia business report. let's get you the big story that came in earlier today. the us president has announced $100 million in aid for those displaced by the war in gaza. president biden said he would be asking congress this week for the funding to be folded into a massive $100 million package. president biden has now left israel. meanwhile, the us treasury is targeting hamas's financial network, saying it has sanctioned two senior members of the armed group's leadership. members of the armed group's leadership-— leadership. today, i'm also announcing _ leadership. today, i'm also announcing $100 _ leadership. today, i'm also announcing $100 million i leadership. today, i'm also announcing $100 million of| leadership. today, i'm also i announcing $100 million of new us funding for humanitarian assistance in both gaza