Is in israel for his two day visit to the middle east. He has just sat down with his israeli counterpart, benjamin netanyahu, who welcomed him to the country. Earlier, mr sunak met israeli president isaac herzog and expressed personal condolences over the loss of life. He told the president that the uk stands in solidarity with israel and backed its right to defend itself. Mr sunak said they agreed on the importance of getting aid to ordinary palestinians in gaza and stressed the need to avoid Futher Escalation across the region. Iam glad i am glad we have had the chance to talk. Palestinians are victims of what hamas has done, and it is important that we continue to provide humanitarian access. I welcomed the announcement yesterday. We in the uk have announced further aid that we are prepared to bring into the region, and we are keen to see that that gets to those who need it to enable, as you say, when people have been asked to leave, to protect civilian life, which is the right thing to do, where we can support them, we want to do that. The fact you are here gives us a certain the fact you are here gives us a certain sense of responsibility and a kind certain sense of responsibility and a kind of certain sense of responsibility and a kind of support for the fact we are there a kind of support for the fact we are there to uproot the military capabilities of this enemy so that we can capabilities of this enemy so that we can bring back decent, honest, innocent we can bring back decent, honest, innocent people to live back on the border, innocent people to live back on the border, and innocent people to live back on the border, and live in peace with their palestinian border, and live in peace with their palestinian neighbours. We believe most palestinian neighbours. We believe most nations deserve peace. Uk Prime Minister rishi sunak has met israel president isaac herzog in the last hour and expressed his solidarity with israel and also the need for humanitarian access to gaza. Lets get more on british Prime Minister rishi sunak� s two day trip to the middle east. Our Political Correspondent, damian grammaticas, joins me now. This visit to israel today is part of a longer visits. Rishi sunak hopes to meet leaders in the arab world as well. He hopes to meet leaders in the arab world as well. World as well. He does, although details of that world as well. He does, although details of that have world as well. He does, although details of that have not world as well. He does, although details of that have not been details of that have not been released at the minute. Downing street have told us this is expected to be a two day trip, so going on to tomorrow but the details where he will go have not been released. It is unclear if they had been finalised, and they say it is because it is a fluid situation. We wait to see. Hes had that a meeting with the israeli president isaac herzog, where you hit the comments, and hes gone into the meeting with benjamin netanyahu. That is the key meeting because that is the one where rishi sunak will sit down and discuss these issues that he wants to see talked about, so talking about support for israel, the protection of civilian life in gaza, the need to get aid in. He said he welcomes the fact that the agreement with the us yesterday is in place, but he would like to see more. We wait to see what might come of it. And the issue of british hostages. One thing i can update you with is the bbc understands one more british Israeli Citizen is confirmed to have been killed in those attacks on October The 7th. He is a british israeli man who was killed in the attack on the 7th Of October. He had two children and was a big Manchester United fan. He was planning to take his son to old trafford next month. That brings the number of british citizens known to have died in the attacks to eight, with nine still unaccounted for, possibly being held hostage. Thats a considerable possibly being held hostage. Thats a considerable number possibly being held hostage. Thats a considerable number of possibly being held hostage. Thats a considerable number of british citizens involved in those unprecedented attacks, the Massacre Inside Israel on the 7th Of October. It has an impact close to home. Also british passport holders inside the gaza strip amongst Palestinian Civilians as well, as well as british passport holders amongst the 200 hostages taken into the gaza strip. Nobody wants to say one dead person, one Hostage Takers is more important than another. H0. Person, one hostagetakers is more important than another. Person, one hostagetakers is more important than another. No, and that is something important than another. No, and that is something which important than another. No, and that is something which was important than another. No, and that is something which was stressed important than another. No, and that| is something which was stressed when rishi sunak was here in Parliament Yesterday for his weekly Prime Ministers questions session, where he takes questions from the Leader Of The Opposition, keir starmer, and other mps. There was agreement there, we saw that every life mattered, and needed to be cared for, or care needed to be taken to protect civilian lives. And to try and get aid in. Protect civilian lives. And to try and getaid in. The protect civilian lives. And to try and get aid in. The situation in the uk, you have notjust many connections with both people on both sides, civilians in israel and gaza, but at the top level of politics as well. The leader of the snp, his Mother In Law is in gaza at the minute. With her husband. She has been sending messages out, in a desperate situation, desperately worried. They have had the damage done from a strike on a building near them. Very concerned. Humza yousaf, the Scottish First minister, has called for a ceasefire in gaza, saying he thinks that needs to happen. The Prime Minister and Leader Of The Opposition havent gone that far. Theyve talked about protecting civilian life, but support for israel and any action it needs to take. Personal connections all the through, both ordinary people in the uk, right up to the top of politics. People in the uk, right up to the ten of militia top of politics. Thank you very much. Top of politics. Thank you very much that top of politics. Thank you very much. That was top of politics. Thank you very much. That was our top of politics. Thank you very much. That was our political l much. That was our Political Correspondent talking about the visit of rishi sunak to israel, part of a two day visit. In the meantime, the British Foreign secretary is in egypts part of a diplomatic tour, as we see actors coming to the region hoping to avoid escalation in the conflict and hoping to get and help aid to Palestinian Civilians inside the gaza strip. As weve been hearing, egypts hazard agreed and israel have agreed aid can be let in the gaza strip from egypt. We dont know when it will be allowed, not before tomorrow. Israel has said if supplies are diverted by hamas, the delivery could be stopped. Earlier i spoke to shaina low from the Norwegian Refugee Council. I asked her about the importance of the reopening of the rafah crossing. They need aid urgently. It needs to get through rafah to reach them. My understanding is the negotiations that took place yesterday and showed that only 20 trucks would be able to pass through rafah, the un has reported that a minimum of 100 trucks of humanitarian assistance are needed in order to support the 2. 3 million civilians, men, women and children living in gaza. Its also important to note that once that aid arrives inside of gaza, there need to be assurances that humanitarians that are working to distribute the aid throughout the gaza strip will be protected and safe from bombardment, as well as ordinary civilians who are trying to access that aid, that they will also be protected and not targeted while seeking it out. Absolutely. I mean, the un is involved actually handing out direct aid on the ground. The Norwegian Refugee Council itself that you work for, what is your role in gaza . Well, we have been working in gaza for 15 years. As of October The 7th, our operations in gaza had to be suspended because we need to ensure that our 5a staff on the ground could take care of themselves and ensure that they and their families were safe. Unfortunately, we have already had colleagues in gaza who have lost family members, including one member who, just a couple of days ago, lost her only son after an israeli air strike on the house they were staying in in rafah was targeted, after their house was targeted in an israeli air strike. In terms of what we are able to do from the outside, we have been able to send some amounts of cash to palestinians in need in gaza, but this is only a very small window of time that were able to provide this type of Essential Service and cash assistance. Once theres nothing left, cash will do no good. But we have managed to get cash to some people and theyve already been using it to purchase the things they need for their families to survive. Now, you were talking about this initial convoy that is hoped to be allowed into gaza as of tomorrow, friday. You say its not enough. The us and israel have said clearly that never mind future convoys, that this convoy will also be halted if hamas diverts any of those humanitarian supplies coming into the gaza strip. But practically, on the ground, how can that be ensured and how can that be avoided . Well, humanitarian organisations such as nrc have been working on the ground in gaza for years, and we have always ensured that we dont work with Hamas On Projects or make contributions to hamas. All aid that we provide is heavily monitored to ensure that there is no aid diversion. And we make sure that all of our assistance complies with Counterterrorism Laws and that we have Due Diligence in place to ensure aid is not diverted. I know we are able to do this, in part, by relying on advice and experience of other ngos also in contact to ensure we are adhering to Best Practices and making sure aid does not get diverted. I was speaking to hear the, and weve just had figures in from the Palestinian Health ministry. They say since israel began its aerial bombardment following the unprecedented attacks on the sub of october, 3500 palestinians have been killed inside gaza. 12,000, more than 12,000 injured. Im following unrest and clashes in west bank, in palestinian towns, 69 people killed, including one woman, 22 children, according to the Palestinian Health ministry. Around the world and across the uk, you are watching bbc news. Lets look at some other stories making news. People in parts of scotland are urged to stay at home as storm babet is expected to bring severe flooding and disruption. The storm is currently hitting ireland and the army has been deployed to a town where more than 100 properties were flooded. The met office says some areas could lose power for days. Polls have opened for by elections in the constituencies of Mid Bedfordshire and tamworth. Voters will decide who replaces Nadine Dorries in Mid Bedfordshire and Chris Pincher in tamworth after the conservative mps stood down. Polling stations opened at 7am and will close at 10pm this evening, with results expected from early on friday morning. Welsh water has admitted illegally spilling untreated sewage at dozens of Treatment Plants for years. It comes after the bbc presented the Water Company with analysis of its own data. Youre live with bbc news. This is bbc news, speaking to you from jerusalem. Weve been talking a lot today about the humanitarian crisis amongst Palestinian Civilians in the gaza strip. After israel tightened its siege there and has continued aerial bombardment following the unprecedented attacks on its soil on October The 7th by militants from gaza. To talk more about that, we are joined by the World Health Organizations regional emergency doctor. Thank you so much forjoining us from cairo. You are in cairo, weve been talking today about how egypt has agreed and israel have agreed for the rafah crossing, the border between gaza and egypt, to be open to allowing an initial convoy of 20 trucks of aid. It wont be until at least tomorrow. How urgently is the aid needed . Desperately. The situation in gaza can really be characterised as catastrophic. You mentioned the number of deaths, the number of injuries. It is almost 1000 injuries descending upon hospitals in gaza each day. To those figures i would add weve got upwards of1 Million People displaced, housed in overcrowded settings. Desperately short of water and fuel and food. Hospitals have really taken an enormous hit. Four of the 35 hospitals in gaza are non functioning. Most of the others are only partially functional. Only two thirds of the clinics on functional. All the supplies and equipment that hospitals were quire to function or in very short supply. Staff are exhausted. It is a desperate, desperate situation. The aid cant get there soon enough. Israel says in its aerial bombardment, it is targeting it is targeting hamas infrastructure. But the civilian cost is so high. These 20 trucks, if they make it in as of tomorrow, it isjust 20 trucks, if they make it in as of tomorrow, it is just a 20 trucks, if they make it in as of tomorrow, it isjust a drop in the ocean. It tomorrow, it is ust a drop in the ocean. ,. ,. , tomorrow, it is ust a drop in the ocean. , tomorrow, it is ust a drop in the ocean. ,. ,. ,. Tomorrow, it is ust a drop in the ocean. ,. ,. , ocean. It is a small staff. We are in this for ocean. It is a small staff. We are in this for the ocean. It is a small staff. We are in this for the longterm. Ocean. It is a small staff. We are in this for the longterm. We ocean. It is a small staff. We are | in this for the longterm. We are in this for the long term. We are hoping to get up to at least 100 trucks a day, but the timeline on that remains unclear. It is notjust a matter of getting them across the border, youve got then to get them to the People In Need. It is a complex operation to make sure those supplies get to the people who need them most. The roads have been damaged, still an insecure area. We have to make sure security is ensured for the supplies to reach the hospitals and communities for which they are intended. There is still ongoing barmen, major disruption of the roads. It will be a very, very difficult operation ongoing warming. Over the next few weeks, it will be essential because people are dying. This aid truly is life saving. Taste people are dying. This aid truly is lifesaving people are dying. This aid truly is lifesavinu. ~. , lifesaving. We have the uk Prime Minister rishi lifesaving. We have the uk Prime Minister rishi sunak lifesaving. We have the uk Prime Minister rishi sunak in lifesaving. We have the uk Prime Minister rishi sunak in israel lifesaving. We have the uk prime| minister rishi sunak in israel today underlying the need for that aid, as joe biden did when he was here yesterday. Israel says the aid can come in and we wont disturb it travelling into the gaza strip, as long as it reaches those People In Need and is not somehow diverted by hamas. When you are talking about practicalities on the ground, how can that be ensured . Hamas governs the gaza strip and is armed. Taste can that be ensured . Hamas governs the gaza strip and is armed. The gaza strip and is armed. We are art of the the gaza strip and is armed. We are part of the united the gaza strip and is armed. We are part of the United Nations the gaza strip and is armed. We are part of the United Nations system, | part of the United Nations system, we have an agreement with egypt that our aid be taken to the border and then transferred to the palestinian area for distribution. Like many other United Nations agencies, we have a strong presence in gaza. Weve been there for many years. We have partners who we trust. We will be monitoring the distribution as closely as we can. There are lots of measures we do put in place. Of course, the ability to do the kind of monitoring that is required to make sure the aid gets to the people needed is a lot more complex, given the operational challenges we have right now. We will do everything within our power, through our staff on the ground to make sure it is distributed and gets to those in need. � , ,. , distributed and gets to those in need. I, need. And very briefly, israel says it is not allowing need. And very briefly, israel says it is not allowing fuel need. And very briefly, israel says it is not allowing fuel in need. And very briefly, israel says it is not allowing fuel in as need. And very briefly, israel says it is not allo