won't get in the way of food, water and medicine getting to civilians, as long as the assistance does not "reach hamas." mr biden says they are a few more things that need to happen before the aid can come in. this has been a very blunt negotiation i have had, so we want to get as many of the trucks out as possible. there are a 150 or so there. not all will go. the first tranche, if there is a second tranche, see how it goes. let's look at some of the other top headlines from the war at this hour. protests across the middle east erupted over the explosion at the al—ahli hospital in gaza tuesday that left at least a71 people dead. arab states and the main palestinian militant group, hamas, have continued to blame israel for the explosion, even as mr biden backed israel's claim that it had nothing to do with it. and the united states vetoed a un security council vote calling for humanitarian pauses in gaza, a move that was condemned by other members including russia, china and the uae. our international editor jeremy bowen has more on the day on the ground. and a warning — his report contains distressing images. 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. health officials tonight in gaza say a71 people were killed in the hospital blast on tuesday, and our correspondent, rushdi abu alouf, was at the site and seen the carnage first—hand. the al—ahli hospital, is right in the centre of gaza city, and a warning, you may find some of the images in his report 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 a 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, beds scattered and 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. it was against that backdrop that president biden arrived in tel aviv to meet with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. mr biden is the most high—profile us politician to visit the war zone of course, but he's not the only one to visit israel in recent days. a bipartisan group of us senators has just returned from a trip to israel where they met with prime minister netanyahu and his war cabinet. i spoke to one of the senators on that trip, republican bill cassidy of louisiana. thank you so much forjoining us on bbc news tonight. you have just returned with a bipartisan delegation from a visit to israel. can you tell us what you witnessed, what you learned there? well, we met with both prime minister netanyahu and his war cabinet. we met with in a separate meeting with general galante, a separate meeting with president hertzog and then a separate meeting with benny gantz, and then lastly, with family members, american israelis with family members who have been taken hostage. from all of them, a sense of grief, a sense of shock, of disappointment that people were not kept safe. now for the political and the military leaders, there was a resoluteness that they were going to address this, secure the border with gaza strip, they were going to protect against any incursions by hezbollah. from the family members, they were unfortunately buffeted by events and there is an incredible sense of tragedy, but they still were hopeful. i'lljust say this. one woman said it is hard to imagine the good news is that you hear although your son has lost an arm, and is being held hostage by hamas in gaza, the good news is that he's alive, and i think that kind of summarises the pathos of the situation. senator, we just heard the president have a rare wartime visit to israel where he reaffirmed the us�*s support for israel. what you think the message he delivered on the trip, and he will also be speaking to the nation about the war thursday evening? the message is that the united states stands with israel and we stand against terrorism, and there is no one better to convey that message than the president. we did it as five senators and he did it again as president. by the way, going back to the families who have family members taken hostage, one of them expressed an incredible disappointment that their government had not kept them safe, but said that they were looking to the united states to kind of be that big brother who is going to support them, even if they felt as if their own government had not done itsjob. now i'm just almost directly quoting what they said, so when the president goes there and expresses his support, i can imagine the emotional impact it has upon many who have been so terribly and emotionally assaulted. there has been criticism of the us�*s role in not pushing enough on behalf of the citizens in gaza at the moment, and president biden did work with egyptian president al—sisi to allow 28 trucks into gaza. egypt now say there will be an sustainable aid corridor. our correspondents say that will be of little help because the hospitals need fuel right now. should the us be doing more to support civilians in gaza? we have to recognise that there is a limit to what the united states or anyone can do. it requires the cooperation of the egyptians, the israelis and hamas, so we can propose but others have to permit, and if we think that we, the united states, can go in there and just dictate, in a chaotic situation, people have the wrong perception. i will point out by the way. let me say this as an aside. armenians with the israelis were asking that us help to make sure humanitarian aid gets into gaza. they were asking for that. which i think says something for the israelis who are differentiating hamas from the palestinians. from the palestinian people. as far as the us role is, we should push for whatever we can do to bring humanitarian aid in, understanding that israel will have security concerns about some of what they might be. we've spoken to multiple experts who have said that the israeli aim to eradicate mask will be militarily difficult, politically perhaps impossible. since you met with the and will catlett as you said, what are they sure about what israel's plan might be going forward critically for gaza? the plan might be going forward critically for gaza?— critically for gaza? the only erson critically for gaza? the only person i — critically for gaza? the only person i asked _ critically for gaza? the only person i asked permission. critically for gaza? the only. person i asked permission to quote was benny gantz but they also said about the same thing. benny gantz had at the end that there may be some guy wander around with an ak—47 about their military leadership and operational leadership will be crushed. so if you view hamas as an ideology, yes, it will persist. why about israel, kill all the jews, persist. why about israel, kill all thejews, but if persist. why about israel, kill all the jews, but if you persist. why about israel, kill all thejews, but if you want to view it as an operational and military organisation, it is israel's and had a crush on. whether they can we will see but they are resolved to do so. there were large protests at the capital today including a jewish group: the end of israeli bombing of gaza and advocating for a ceasefire. what is your message to those protesters? we what is your message to those protesters?— what is your message to those protesters? we have to put that in perspective- _ protesters? we have to put that in perspective. when _ protesters? we have to put that in perspective. when 3000 - in perspective. when 3000 americans were killed in 9/11, if someone said to the americans don't go after some of bin laden, joker after afghanistan which is hiding the fellow, we said you have to be kidding me. they killed 3000 americans. if you take the small population of the israelis, a new extracted to be 30 million of the us with the same proportion, it'd be 30 to 40,000 americans killed. looking at what happened in 911, 3000 argument we were going to go after those people that did it. imagine that 35,000 had died. ithink that did it. imagine that 35,000 had died. i think you have to recognise that from the israeli viewpoint this was an unforgivable assault upon their people and they cannot have safety for their people were over there people live as long as hamas is committed to killing all the jews. as hamas is committed to killing all thejews. you have that perspective, you have their perspective, you can understand why they are conducting this operation. we will have to _ conducting this operation. we will have to leave it there. thank you so much forjoining us on bbc news tonight. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's take a look at some other stories making news. russian leader vladimir putin was given the red carpet treatment at a global summit in beijing on wednesday. the meeting celebrated 10 years of chinese president xi jinping's belt and road initiative. putin has rarely left his country since they invaded ukraine in february last year. he is facing increasing diplomatic isolation. the international criminal court has issued a warrant for his arrest. the head of a jewish centre in germany says the community's been left shaken following an attempted firebomb attack. early on wednesday, two masked men threw burning bottles towards the building, which landed on the pavement by the building. it is the latest in a string of reported anti—semitic incidents in europe amid the deepening conflict in the middle east. climate activist greta thunberg has been charged with a public order offence after her arrest outside a meeting of oil executives in london on tuesday. police say they asked the activists to move on to the pavement to comply with the conditions of the demonstration. the 21—year—old has been released on bail. her trial date has been set for november 15. you're live with bbc news. us congressman jim jordan has failed in his second bid for house speaker. 22 of his fellow republicans voted against him — that is two more than in the first vote. jordan is hoping to replace former speaker kevin mccarthy, who was ousted two weeks ago. mrjordan says he will not drop out of the race and his team indicated that a third vote could happen on thursday. for more on this, i spoke earlier with robert costa from cbs news. great to have you back in the studio. ~ . . , , , great to have you back in the studio. ~ . ., , , , ., , studio. what happens now? this is a crisis moment _ studio. what happens now? this is a crisis moment for— studio. what happens now? this is a crisis moment for house - is a crisis moment for house republicans. they have to figure out what are they going to do? ombudsmanjimjordan of ohio has not met and necessary threshold in the first two ballots on the floor of the house of representatives. he has decided to spend the night talking to his colleagues, trying to get to that number, but the tensions are higher among republicans. so many of the moderate members of the house feel threatened by jordan's allies and supporters on the right wing of the republican party in that trumpet orbit, and because of that they are not moving towards jordan that they are not moving towardsjordan tonight. so he is either going to drop out of the race orfind a magic way is either going to drop out of the race or find a magic way to get there politically.— get there politically. other any other _ get there politically. other any other candidates - get there politically. other any other candidates who l get there politically. other - any other candidates who could have a chance? 50 any other candidates who could have a chance?— have a chance? so many are awaiting _ have a chance? so many are awaiting right _ have a chance? so many are awaiting right now— have a chance? so many are awaiting right now on - have a chance? so many are awaiting right now on the i awaiting right now on the shores of the speaker race, trying to see, doesjordan stay in or not? politically, jordan is popular so no—one wants to push him out of the race, they wanted to be his own decision, but you could have some emerge a potential consensus speaker. someone like patrick mchenry them at republican from north carolina who is currently serving as a speaker pro tempore, which is an interministerial position to oversee the speaker's race. because republicans can't come together on a candidate, that is a push tonight to have patrick mchenry from north carolina serve as either the speaker of the house is a consensus peak or to have his powers expanded so they can pass legislation on funding for israel and government funding injust a few israel and government funding in just a few weeks. i israel and government funding in just a few weeks.— in just a few weeks. i want to talk about — in just a few weeks. i want to talk about what _ in just a few weeks. i want to talk about what is _ in just a few weeks. i want to talk about what is at - in just a few weeks. i want to talk about what is at stake i talk about what is at stake because the biden administration is drafting a $100 billion aid ash —— package that includes assistance for israel and ukraine, as have to sign on and right now they can't. �* g ., ., .,, can't. and jordan as the speaker _ can't. and jordan as the speaker candidate - can't. and jordan as the speaker candidate is - can't. and jordan as the i speaker candidate is facing can't. and jordan as the - speaker candidate is facing all of these challenges tonight because president biden and his administration are seeking is $100 million fermenting spending package to deal with all of these package. jim jordan is known as someone who likes to cut spending and because of that so many of the more traditional republicans, the appropriate is inside the house are looking for guarantees from jordan that he will not try to subvert this new appropriation request in any way that is typical spending ork will not be a typical spending he win the speaker's gavel. he has to make reassurances, in a sense, weakening his political position on spending so he can ultimately get to the position of power. ultimately get to the position of ower. ., , , of power. the former president alwa s of power. the former president always has _ of power. the former president always has a — of power. the former president always has a role _ of power. the former president always has a role to _ of power. the former president always has a role to play - of power. the former president always has a role to play in - always has a role to play in all of this. he has been commentating on the speaker's race in the war between israel and hamas. can you tell us what he has been saying about all of this? ., ., , , , he has been saying about all of this? ., , , he has been saying about all of this? ., ._ , ~ , this? notably, trump has kept his hand out _ this? notably, trump has kept his hand out of _ this? notably, trump has kept his hand out of the _ this? notably, trump has kept his hand out of the speaker's l his hand out of the speaker's race beyond his endorsement of jimjordan, though race beyond his endorsement of jimjordan, thouthim race beyond his endorsement of jim jordan, thouthim jordan has a political capital of a trumpet author that has given him a boost certainly in the speaker race but trump is now preoccupied his advisor tommy with his ongoing legal channels especially with what is happening in new york, the civil trial about his finances, he has been accused of fraud. the trump organization his long—time company accused of fraud. he sitting in the courtroom voluntarily this in new york because he wants to defend his reputation and his company for the because of that, his attention is in new york, it is not in washington on the speaker's race and i have asked his advisers really do anything forjim jordan, and they say he might but for now it is jordan's they say he might but for now it isjordan's race to win on his own. it is jordan's race to win on his own-— it is jordan's race to win on his own. .., .,, ., ., his own. the contrast of that as president _ his own. the contrast of that as president biden _ his own. the contrast of that as president biden returning j as president biden returning from a whirlwind trip to israel, the latest pbs newshour poll shows that if the 2024 presidential election were held today, joe biden and donald trump would be statistically tired. what do you think we should make of those numbers? there is real concern among democrats about resident biden's poll numbers. for now, he does not have any significant primary challenge. marion williams is running, robert fjr decided not to run the democratic nomination, now running as an independent. dean phillips, democratic, some from minnesota has talked about possibly running against biden for the nomination, he is a wealthy democrat from minnesota, pretty moderate, centre of the road in his views though he has not made a final decision on whether to get to this race stop so many demographics, even though they are worried about the poll numbers, they believe he ultimately is the best candidate to take on donald trump to the former president become the republican nominee. always great to talk to you. thank you for your analysis tonight. thank you for your analysis toniaht. . ~ i. the battle for the us speaker role wasn't the only drama on capitol hill today. as we were discussing earlier, hundreds of protesters swarmed the us capitol complex here in washington, dc on wednesday, demanding an immediate ceasefire in gaza. some 300 people have been arrested. and it wasn't just washington that saw protests. hundreds of people joined a demonstration in beirut, organised by the lebanese group, hezbollah. security forces using tear gas and water cannon to control protesters demonstrating near the us embassy. elsewhere, protests also erupted in iran, jordan, the west bank and turkey on wednesday amid widespread anger over the hospital explosion and the ongoing violence. during his visit to israel on wednesday, president biden restated his administration's commitment to peace between israel and the palestinians. one area where both live and work together is eastjerusalem. under international law, it's considered a part of the west bank and, therefore, palestinian territory. the bbc�*s clive myrie has been finding 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 the jewish faith, you enter the old city ofjerusalem through the damascus gate — an important cultural icon for palestinians. and in between, along al—wadi 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 force 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 are not going to leave. like, 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? translation: thank god, all of us love peace, - but how many times have we just talked about peace? clive myrie reporting there. we will be continuing our coverage of the war and its impact across the region on our website, bbc.com/news or the bbc news app. we have news and analysis from our teams on the ground in israel, gaza and around the world. i'm sumi somaskanda. stay with us here on 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 hasissued its highest level of alert. it's a rare red warning in force for rain, valid from 6:00 on thursday evening right through until midday on friday. it's for northeastern 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 northeastern 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 70mph. 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 southeasterly 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 southeasterly 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 southeasterly 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 southeast 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 for the forecast. voice-over: this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. modern life — the school run, work calls, inflation. remember your lines. scientists are carrying out pioneering... sorry, that whole thing. ok, the whole thing. the whole thing. 0k. our brain never evolved for any of this, and yet here we are getting on with it, as best as we can. and it's all thanks to our brain's incredible capacity to adapt, to learn, to grow. i'm on a journey to understand the miraculous plasticity of the human brain. the brain will even change its structure. the core, the architecture of the brain can change. this is neuroplasticity. once thought to be limited to youth, we now know it's a constant force in shaping who we are... your minds can change the very substrate of its own operations. ..helping us to learn... adaptability is one of the most remarkable aspects of humanl intelligence, and i think. plasticity is the mechanism behind it. ..and to heal... well, neuroplasticity actually is at the core of neurorehabilitation. ..an active field of study that's helping us to understand how we became us.