degrees. we start next week with dry weather, more unsettled towards the end of the week, but nothing as stormy as we have had over the last few days. thanks, ben. and that's bbc news at ten. newsnight is just getting under way on bbc two. here on bbc 1, it's time tojoin our colleagues across the nations and regions. but from the ten team, it's goodnight. prime minister netanyahu refuses an american request for pauses in israel's offensive, unless hamas releases more hostages. in a long—awaited speech, the head of hezbollah blames america for the current crisis, and says his movement will not be intimidated by us military deployments. we ask the pentagon whether it's hezbollah who blinked first. we do see that, broadly speaking, a broader regional conflict has been deterred. and so we'll continue to do that. we do not seek any conflict. and we speak to one of the british passport—holders staying in gaza. i'm exhausted. it's been 27 days, i think, of struggling for survival. also tonight, a special investigation into the people—smugglers profiting from those desperate to get to europe, advertising as "travel agents" on social media. translation: | heard that i it's very simple to come here, and we'd get here by boat, and it would take about 15 to 20 days. but it was all a lie. it took me more than seven months. good evening. it's been a day in the middle east when some fears were not realised and others intensified. a speech by the leader of lebanon's powerful hezbollah movement, which some worried would announce an all—out war against israel, turned instead into a justification for why they were not going to escalate — for now. but in gaza itself, the israeli army is fighting its way into gaza city, the main built—up area, and inevitably the risks to those sheltering in schools or hospitals are growing. an american attempt to propose humanitarian pauses, to help aid in and people out, was today rejected by israel on the basis that it could happen only once more hostages were released. we'll hear from the pentagon in a moment, but firstjoe inwood. the fighting may be focused on gaza, but for israel, the greater military threat maybe lies to the north. since the outbreak of war, lebanon's powerful shi'ite militia hezbollah have avoided full—scale confrontation. there have been limited cross—border exchanges. israel says these are strikes on militant positions. but hezbollah, a proscribed terrorist organisation by the us, uk and others, are said to have over 100,000 rockets and missiles, provided by their backer iran, as well as tens of thousands of battle—hardened fighters. and so, all eyes were on the group's leader, hassan nasrallah, when he spoke this lunchtime. he started by praising the attacks of october 7th, but saying he had nothing to do with them. translation: this great, - blessed and extensive operation was 100% palestinian in its decision, and 100% palestinian in its implementation. its initiators kept it a secret from everyone, contrary to what some may think. the key question, what would hezbollah do next? he said it was dependent on the actions of israel. translation: the first factor is of events in gaza, _ the nature of the events, threats and developments there. the second factor that governs the lebanese front is the behaviour of the zionist enemy towards lebanon. that is being widely interpreted as a sign that hezbollah will maintain pressure on israel but not escalate. so, what was hassan nasrallah trying to achieve? i think it has two purpose. one of them, to increase the confusion of the israelis. and the israelis have been confused since day one. i think what is important is to send the... the conciliatory tone with arab countries, where he tells them, you know, a win for hamas is not a win for the brotherhood, not a win for iran, it's a win for all of you, for the region. hassan nasrallah did say that a wider war remained a possibility, and that the only way to prevent it was to bring in a ceasefire. this matters, because this is not just about israel and hezbollah. any conflict between the two could well drag the us and iran into a wider and far more dangerous war. avoiding that was the explicit aim of antony blinken. the us secretary of state landed in israel this morning to offer his backing, but also to stop the war spreading. we need to continue to prevent escalation of this conflict. its spread to other areas and other theatres. partners throughout the middle east and beyond have a critical role to play in averting escalation, and that will be a major focus of my conversations throughout this trip. second, we need to do more to protect palestinian civilians. that matters because failure to do so plays into the hands of hamas and other terror groups. there will be no partners for peace if they are consumed by a humanitarian catastrophe, and alienated by any perceived indifference to their plight. hezbollah has always said it wants the destruction of the state of israel. the last time the two went to war, in 2006, it devastated large swathes of lebanon. some have suggested the memory of that conflict makes another less likely. some analysts think want iran would want to drag everyone in this war, you know, because ultimately they will benefit. i'm not really so sure. there had been widespread concern that today could see this morphed that today could see this morph from a war focused in gaza to something much broader and more dangerous for the region. those fears will be reduced but not removed. the risk of miscalculation remains, and with it, of unpredictable escalation. earlier, we spoke to brigadier general patrick ryder, the pentagon spokesman, and asked him what the difference was between a ceasfire and the humanitarian pauses that the us has been calling for. a permanent ceasefire essentially would provide hamas the ability to regroup, refit, and that simplyjust puts our israeli partners at more risk and more danger. so what you've heard our government talk about, our president talk about, is support for a humanitarian pause. temporary in nature, when appropriate, in order to enable aid to get into gaza, to enable hostages to get out of gaza. and also take into account getting citizens out of there. we also recognise it's very important to take into account the innocent civilians, the palestinians in gaza who are not part of hamas, who are also victims of hamas's cruelty. if you don't have a pause or a safe corridor, people now in gaza city under tremendous bombardment, they've got no way of getting out safely, have they? the challenge here is that we fully recognise that hamas has embedded itself into the infrastructure, underneath the city of gaza, or the territory of gaza there, and it presents real challenges for the israeli military as they seek to confront this terrorist network. ultimately, at the end of this, of course we want palestinians and israelis to be able to live safely, securely, without the threat of terrorist groups like hamas unfortunately making all of these citizens their victims. you use the word challenges, about operating in that environment. obviously a very congested environment. accusations that hamas are hiding behind civilians. but when you look at a strike like the one on the jabalia camp a couple of days ago, is that on the wrong side of the line, do you think, in terms of the restraint you've been asking israel to show? i'm not going to get into discussing individual strikes or operations. that's really for the israelis to talk about. what i can tell you is that, on a daily basis, as we discussed on a daily basis, as we discuss how we can best support israel, and also to try to get a better understanding of their needs, we do talk about the importance of thinking through things like taking into account the laws of war, civilian safety, humanitarian assistance. and we'll continue to have those conversations. what we expect our israeli partners to do is to take into account civilian casualties and mitigation. we expect them to take into account the laws of war. we expect them to differentiate between terrorists and civilians. i recall that, on a visit soon after the atrocities, of secretary austin, some powerful language, both of solidarity with israel, its right to defend itself, but also those warnings, and some memorable phrases... "resolve not revenge." do you think they have heard you? i think the israelis are a very professional military, a well—read military. we do believe that they are taking into account the laws of war. in our discussions, they acknowledge the importance. again, i'll let them speak for themselves. but i think going forward, again, it's important to understand the situation israel finds itself in. but i think it's also important to understand we will continue to encourage and expect our partners to take into account the laws of war and take into account the importance of the humanitarian situation in gaza. another message that was given very early on by president biden was this message of "don't" — to iran and other regional actors. i guess he was referring to hezbollah in lebanon and some others. we heard today from the head of hezbollah. do you think he has been successfully deterred from entering into this conflict? well, mark, right now, we see this conflict is contained between israel and hamas. it has been a key focus for our government and for our department of defense to prevent this from becoming a broader regional conflict. this is why we deployed additional capabilities to include two us aircraft carrier strike groups into the region, to provide us with a variety of options and capabilities, should we need to respond to a whole range of contingencies. and so, yes, we do see that, broadly speaking, a broader regional conflict has been deterred. and so we'll continue to do that. we do not seek any conflict with iran. we do not seek to have conflict across the region. 0urfocus here is on containing this and getting back to a stable and secure region as quickly as possible. thank you very much forjoining us on newsnight. thank you. with the northern front contained with low—level clashes, israel is free to focus on hamas — proscribed as a terrorist group by many western countries including the uk — in gaza city, where today there were intense battles. israel argues that defeating that organisation, as it shelters among civilians, is an inherently risky proposition, but blames hamas for that. so today, lives were lost when a palestinian ambulance was hit. israel said it was being used by hamas, and the strike came perilously close to the city's main hospital. meanwhile to the south, there are hundreds of thousands of displaced people, including foreign passport—holders. among them is mohammed ghalayini, a scientist who's spent the last 20 years in the uk, but was visiting gaza just before the events of october 7th. although his uk passport offers a way out, i asked him why, for now, he's decided to stay. i am exhausted. it's been 27 days, i think, of struggling for survival, having to carry water upstairs or try and track down donkey carts to fill up our drinking water, not knowing where we're going to get bread, queuing for 12 hours. so i had to think quite long and hard about my decision, but i think in the end what swayed it for me is i think this is a moment in history, where we're witnessing like an ethnic cleansing campaign by israel on the palestinians. and we... and i think it's very important for those of us who are able to stay and resist, and i mean resist in the civil sense of the word... support communities. get our voices out. make sure that we're not silenced. so that we are notjust taken like lambs to the slaughter like this. you were in... that's why i decided to stay. you were in gaza city, weren't you, before? i don't know if anybody is still getting out of there or whether you're still in touch with anyone in there now? i've been in touch with a couple of people. i spoke to a family friend who's in jabalia actually today. they've been under horrific bombardment injabalia refugee camp. and they're... you know, they're getting by. but it's not easy. they have to walk a few kilometres to fill a canister of gas to make their bread. i have had news from colleagues of my father, who are sheltering at his medical practice in gaza — they had bombings all around them. i think the news that we really fear is the news of loved ones who haven't been so lucky as to still be alive. although, i mean, it does bear a question, if you are lucky being alive in this... so, for example, just this morning, we've got news that overnight my cousin's family were killed by an israeli airstrike on their house. her uncle's wife, her cousin, his wife and children, all dead. and you know, dead for the crime of being palestinians, and making the choice to not leave their homes. why should people have to leave their homes to remain safe? that is not a choice that people should have to make in the 21st century. but do you feel that you are safer now in khan younis, that moving south did in that sense give you some greater sense of security or not? i mean, it's a relative sense, but honestly, no, i still have the same fears as i do in gaza, as i have in gaza. i know that there are areas of refugee camp that have been... i cycled through there yesterday and i just saw whole streets that have been devastated. i think block g of khan younis refugee camp has had some massive, massive strikes. and the refugee camps are very densely populated areas that if the israeli army drops a bomb in a refugee camp, it's guaranteed that it's going to kill civilians. you talked about ethnic cleansing. and i understand the fears of people that there's some kind of repetition of 191t8 going on for palestinians. but do you think egypt is doing the right thing or the wrong thing by saying, no, we're not going to enable that, we're going to close the border to palestinian refugees? i think the question that we should be asking is not of egypt, but rather of the british foreign office and the us state department, all the governments that are providing political cover and support to israel. notjust political cover — rishi sunak arrived in israel on a military plane carrying weapons. so basically, they are supporting israel's attacks and the killing of palestinian civilians. 0ur prime minister is supporting the killing of palestinian civilians, as is the... you know, mohammed, he would... yeah, you know, mohammed, the prime minister would dispute that. but listen, i'm very grateful to you for for sharing your experience and good luck. thank you, mohammed, forjoining us. 0k, thank you. goodbye. tens of thousands of people have arrived from pakistan to the mediterranean since january 2021. many of them have used people—smuggling agents, who are selling migrants illegal routes to europe by road, boat, plane and train. contact is often made over social media, with agents offering what they claim are low—risk journeys to the destination country. newsnight and bbc trending, in collaboration with bbc urdu, went undercover to expose how smugglers lure people into buying these journeys from pakistan. reha kansara has this report. one man's aspiration. translation: a few people i knew from my neighbourhood in pakistanj were living here and had a good life. i wanted that, too. another man's greed. brother, hello. hello. hi. yes, brother. we've gone undercover to expose the agents smuggling people from pakistan to europe. brother, all of this is illegal. the person who is taking them is a criminal and the person going is a criminal too. they advertise online in plain sight, promising people safe passage to europe. brother, i can tell you that from italy people go to france and from france people execute games for london and elsewhere. there is nothing to be worried about, brother. 18—year—old, 12—year—old, we also take guys this age. the thing is, you have to be calm and composed. immediate assistance is required, over. - but the reality is far more dangerous. had i known from pakistan that this would happen to me, then maybe i wouldn't have headed this way. chieti, an ancient city in the south of italy. it's two hours' drive from the capital, rome. here we meet a young man we're calling saeed. earlier this year, he came to italy by boat from pakistan to build a better life for himself. now he's waiting to see if his claim for asylum is accepted. translation: | heard _ that it's very simple to come here and we'd get here by boat and it would take about 15 to 20 days. but it was all a lie. it took me more than seven months. why didn't you take a legal route? the legal route is really difficult and it costs a lot of money. saeed's voyage to italy was complicated. last may, he left his home in kashmirfor islamabad. from there, he took a flight to karachi, where he stayed overnight, then on tojeddah in saudi arabia, alexandria in egypt, and finally benghazi in libya, where he says he was kidnapped by the libyan mafia. translation: when some of us tried to escape, - they had surveillance cameras everywhere and they caught us. they made us stand against a wall and then they started beating us. afterwards, they would drag us one by one onto the floor, and two of them would beat us so badly we couldn't walk. after that, they stripped us of our clothes. it felt as if it was the last day of my life. i thought they would kill us. three months later, he was freed. but it came at a price. his family paid just over £2,000 to secure his release. the costs were adding up. after three attempts, saeed made it onto a boat destined for italy, embarking on one of the most dangerous migrant crossings in the world. he arrived in sicily injanuary this year after several days at sea on a boat with more than 600 other people. translation: it felt like - it could capsize at any moment. that's the way it was moving in the water. they told my brother they were charging more because it was a big ship. but that was a lie. it was a fishing boat. thejourney to europe is hard, but finding a smuggler isn't. on facebook and tiktok, we've found posts like these. they used the words "game" and "donkey" to describe the route. donkey refers to boat crossings and game describes all types of journeys from start to finish. this video from a popular smuggler on facebook boasts seemingly glowing reviews from customers. some routes are more heavily promoted on social media. three stand out. they all start in pakistan, and they transit through places like libya, iran, egypt and end in europe. we've been speaking to a lot of smugglers, none of whom we paid. 0ur undercover bbcjournalist is posing as a potential customer who wants to bring his younger brother to the uk. the smuggler sounds like a true salesman. translation: there is nothing to be worried about, brother. _ 18—year—old, 12—year—old, we also take guys this age. the thing is, you have to be calm and composed. he's offering us a route from quetta in pakistan. translation: won't they get into trouble? no, no. nothing to be tense about. brother, are you sure? we take people daily, so we know. they cross the border on foot. then we take them in a truck and to a city in iran. he's proposing going to italy via turkey. so, brother, this is my road. from turkey, i can take you to bulgaria, to serbia. in serbia they take 4,000 euros and arrange a game for you to italy. italy's payment is taken there. after reaching italy, what should he do? from turkey to italy, the smuggler says the game will cost another 7,000 euros. he says he can't get our journalist's brother to the uk, but offers some advice. brother, i can tell you that from italy people go to france and from france people execute games for london and elsewhere. if he leaves today, he can reach quetta tomorrow. if he leaves tomorrow, he will get there the day after. like i told you, we take people daily. but what happens if he gets caught? even if he gets caught, he's only going to end up back home. no—one is going to kidnap him and ask for a ransom. the conversation goes on for 20 minutes. we ask for information, a guarantee. don't take it badly. but can i ask to see your id? you know, some sort of id card or passport? he becomes irritated. brother, all of this is illegal. the person who is transporting people is a criminal and the person going is a criminal too. how do i know who you really are? if you want to go, go. if you don't want to go, then don't go. we don't give away our identity. he comes to quetta and that's it. so this is a group i've been monitoring, and it describes itself as a travel agent. it links potential migrants to a whatsapp group with agents who are promoting their services online. as you can see, there are hundreds of people exchanging messages in pashto and urdu asking for routes out of pakistan. this is how we found our smuggler, through this message where he was advertising a game from pakistan to turkey by road. hello. with the help of our colleagues at bbc urdu, we call the smuggler again, this time revealing we are bbc journalists. people crossing the mediterranean from north africa illegally often reach the shores of lampedusa. many of them have fled war and persecution. at times, lampedusa's migrant holding centre becomes overwhelmed with arrivals. local politicians are calling for better coordinated help from other members of the eu. translation: something has to be done. either we intervene by cooperating with the african countries and trying to do something in their land, or if we don't manage to stop them and people continue to leave, it's our duty to help them in some way. but something has to be done. the un estimates over 2,500 people have been recorded dead or missing in the mediterranean since the beginning of this year. that's already higher than the total number recorded in 2022. this is the foredeck. so it's where we can fit the majority of the people that we rescue. ngos like sea—watch are patrolling, anticipating a rescue. scanning the waters from above to save lives at sea. most of the ones i've encountered at sea don't know how to swim, and the vast majority are not bringing any lifesaving equipment. they know they might die at any point. we could end it, we have the power to end it, but it needs to be political. it's not sea rescue that's going to do it. it's definitely not criminalisation of migrants that's going to do it. it's changing the paradigm. in total, saeed spent over £10,000 to get to italy. do you agree that you didn't need to do this? you didn't need to take this route? you aren't in any danger? translation: i'm from kashmir. my house is very close to the border with india. there are always tensions and clashes near the border. that was the reason for me to leave pakistan. there were always problems at home. kashmir is contested [and by both pakistan and india. however, pakistan is not a war zone. translation: when l was | there, i used to roam around with my friends. my childhood, i would say, was good, but now my friends have also left the country and i too have come here.
Related Keywords
Sunshine , Showers , Temperatures , Odd Shower , Fog , Scotland , Northern Ireland , Cloud , Band , Showery Rain Across Northern England , North Wales , 13 , Nine , Bit , South , Events , Shower , Balance , Bonfire Night , Sunday Night , South East Corner , Firework , Pressure , Winds , Area , Eastwards , Gales , Channel Islands , Lot , Weather , West , Ten , Way , Nothing , Colleagues , Bbc 1 , On Newsnight , End , It S Time , Regions , Thanks , Nations , Bbc Two , Ben , Bbc News At Ten , Two , 1 , Team , Netanyahu , Request , American , Israel , Hamas , Hostages , Pauses , Offensive , Hezbollah , Head , Speech , Crisis , Conflict , Pentagon , Powerful Shi Ite Militia Hezbollah , Movement , Military Deployments , On Gaza , Passport , Survival , Staying , British , 27 , One , People , Translation , Smugglers , Europe , Investigation , Advertising , On Social Media , Travel Agents , Boat , Lie , Middle East , Seven , 15 , 20 , Fears , Lebanon , Others , Leader , Justification , Powerful Hezbollah Movement , War Against , Israeli Army , Risks , Hospitals , Schools , Escalate For Now , Gaza Itself , Basis , Aid , Attempt , War , Military Threat , Firstjoe Inwood , Fighting , North , Outbreak , Strikes , Confrontation , Positions , Exchanges , Proscribed , Group , Hassan Nasrallah , Iran , Backer , Fighters , Missiles , Rockets , Terrorist Organisation , Tens Of Thousands Battle Hardened , Eyes , 100000 , Attacks , Operation , Lunchtime , October 7th , 7 , Question , Everyone , Palestinian , Decision , Secret , Implementation , Initiators , 100 , Nature , Factor , Threats , Actions , Developments , Behaviour , Enemy , Purpose , Sign , Lebanese Front , Confusion , Day One , Israelis , Region , Win , Tone , Countries , Brotherhood , All Of You , Ceasefire , Matters , Possibility , Secretary Of State , Wider , Aim , Antony Blinken , Escalation , Areas , Partners , Backing , Spread , Theatres , Role , Conversations , Focus , Terror Groups , Civilians , Trip , Hands , Failure , Second , Indifference , Destruction , Peace , Plight , Catastrophe , Some , Swathes , Memory , 2006 , Analysts , Concern , It , Something , Risk , Miscalculation , Remains , Patrick Ryder , Difference , Ceasfire , The Pentagon Spokesman , Refit , Simplyjust , Ability , Regroup , Support , Government , Danger , Pause , President , Talk , Order , Talk About , Account , Citizens , Victims , Bombardment , Corridor , Cruelty , City , Military , Challenges , Territory , Challenge , Infrastructure , Wall , Terrorist Groups , Threat , Terrorist Network , This , Course , The End , Strike , Word , Environment , Operating , Accusations , Hiding , Jabalia Camp , Couple , Operations , Terms , Side , Line , Restraint , Importance , Things , Understanding , Thinking , Needs , Laws Of War , Assistance , Safety , Casualties , Mitigation , Terrorists , Visit , Atrocities , Secretary Austin , Language , Right , Both , Phrases , Warnings , Solidarity , Revenge , Discussions , Forward , Situation , Message , Biden , Don T , Actors , Mark , Department Of Defense , Capabilities , Groups , Aircraft Carrier , Options , Variety , Contingencies , Orange , 0urfocus , 0 , Front , Clashes , Terrorist Group , Battles , On Hamas Proscribed , Lives , Organisation , Proposition , Ambulance , Hit , Mohammed Ghalayini , Passport Holders , Hundreds , Thousands , Hospital , Way Out , Drinking Water , Water Upstairs , Donkey Carts , Bread , Queuing , 12 , Ethnic Cleansing , History , Campaign , Sense , Voices , Support Communities , Lambs , Slaughter , Anybody , Anyone , Weren T You , Family Friend , Bombardment Injabalia Refugee Camp , Jabalia , Kilometres , Canister , Gas , News , Fear , Bombings , Father , Practice , Cousin , Haven T , Family , Example , Loved Ones , Wife , Choice , Uncle , House , Crime , Children , Airstrike , Dead , Homes , Safe , Block G Of Khan Younis Refugee Camp , 21 , Security , Refugee Camp , Streets , Refugee Camps , Bomb , Repetition , Kind , 191 , Thing , Border , Egypt , Refugees , Saying , Us State Department , Cover , Foreign Office , Notjust , Killing , Prime Minister , Military Plane Carrying Weapons , 0ur , Rishi Sunak , Experience , Luck , Forjoining Us , Pakistan , Mediterranean , 0k , Tens Of Thousands , Goodbye , 2021 , January 2021 , Country , Social Media , Many , Journeys , Road , Migrants , Contact , Routes , Agents Offering , Train , Urdu , Collaboration , Trending , Report , Reha Kansara , Life , Oman , Pakistanj , Aspiration , Neighbourhood , Greed , One Man , Brother , Person , Agents , Yes , Italy , Criminal , France , Passage , Plain Sight , Games , Age , Elsewhere , Guys , London , 18 , Reality , Drive , Capital , Chieti , Rome , Saeed , Claim , Asylum , Route , Didn T , Flight To Karachi , Voyage , Money , Home , Kashmirfor Islamabad , Last May , Benghazi , Libya , Mafia , Tojeddah , Surveillance Cameras , In Egypt , Saudi Arabia , Alexandria , Stand , Everywhere , Floor , Couldn T Walk , Price , Clothes , Three , Crossings , Attempts , Release , Costs , Embarking , 2000 , 000 , Sea , World , Sicily Injanuary , 600 , Fishing Boat , Water , Ship , Finding A Smuggler Isn T , Thejourney , On Facebook , Posts , Tiktok , Smuggler , Game , Donkey , Words , Types , Boat Crossings , Customers , Video , Reviews , Places , Three Stand Out , Brother , 0ur Undercover Bbcjournalist , Customer , None , Salesman , Quetta , Trouble , Foot , Truck , Turkey , Payment , Serbia , Bulgaria , 4000 , 4000 Euros , Journalist , Advice , 7000 Euros , 7000 , Reach Quetta , Conversation , Ransom , Information , Guarantee , Sea Don T , Kid , Id Card , Sort , Identity , Go , Then Don T Go , Travel Agent , Services , Whatsapp , Messages , Pashto , Help , Journalists , Shores Of Lampedusa , North Africa , Persecution , Politicians , Arrivals , Members , Times , Lampedusa , Migrant Holding Centre , Eu , Land , African , Estimates , Duty , Fun , 2500 , Majority , Foredeck , Patrolling , Beginning , Number , Ngos , 2022 , Rescue , Most , Waters , Ones , Equipment , How To Swim , Power , Sea Rescue , Point , Paradigm , In Total , Kashmir , 0000 , 10000 , Tensions , Reason , Problems , India , Friends , Childhood , War Zone , Good ,
comparemela.com © 2020. All Rights Reserved.