More on the bbc news website and app. Hello, i m martine croxhall. The us secretary of state antony blinken is travelling to middle east as cautious optimism grows amongst israeli negotiators about the possibility of reaching a deal on gaza. It comes after president biden said that a ceasefire deal was closer than ever. But senior hamas figures have dismissed such optimism as an illusion. Meanwhile, there have been more israeli air strikes in gaza and israel also said it had struck targets inside neighbouring lebanon. The us feels the stakes are so high with the threat of an all out regional conflict that wider peace is essential. That s according to our middle east correspondent, sebastian usher. Let s take a listen. I think we have got three messages coming out in a way from the us, very strong, very urgent, very much pushing the ceasefire negotiations. They have broken down a number of times before. But i think the us feels the stakes are so high this time with the threat of a regio
Hello, i m catherine byaruhanga. The us secretary of state antony blinken has arrived in israel on his 9th visit to the region since the war in gaza began to push once again for a ceasefire and hostage release deal. The us and israel have expressed careful optimism about a deal since talks resumed last week. But hamas denies progress is being made and accused israel of adding new conditions to the agreed proposals. This afternoon, the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu insisted israel could not be flexible on all issues accusing hamas of being obstinate. Jenny hill sent this report. There s a crushing familiarity to gaza s grief. Funerals for those killed overnight in israeli airstrikes. Israel insists it s targeting hamas fighters. This was an entire civilian family, mohammed says. A woman and her six children. As the human cost of this conflict surges, so too does the risk it will spill over into all out regional war. Urgent diplomacy is under way. The us secretary of
hospitals are asked to find 4,000 extra emergency beds in england to deal with a potential wave of 0micron patients as admissions hit the highest levels since march. and a government promise has been made to get 8 million lateral flow test kits into pharmacies by tomorrow after reports of shortages. is the premier league title race over already? victory over brentford puts manchester city eight points clear at the top as one of their biggest rivals falters. it may be the end of december but at six o clock this morning it is 15 degrees in some parts of the country. exceptionally mild weather continues and will continue to see the year out. the full forecast here on breakfast. it s thursday, the 30th of december. our main story. ghislaine maxwell has been found guilty of grooming and trafficking underage girls for the convicted paedophilejeffrey epstein. jurors found her guilty of five of the six charges she faced. it means she could spend the rest of her life behind bars. alee
the earthshot prize, which prince william is awarding tonight. newcastle lose to tottenham 3 2 in the first game after the club s takeover. good evening, and if you havejust joined us welcome to bbc news. in the last half hour, the family of sir david amess have released a statement. our hearts are shattered the family of mp sir david amess call on people to set aside hatred, show kindness and love, and work towards togetherness. the home secretary, priti patel, says she is looking at a whole spectrum of measures to better protect mps, including on social media. the family of the conservative mp sir david amess have said there hearts are shattered by his death, adding in a statement that they were trying to understand why this awful thing has occurred. the home secretary, priti patel, is considering a range of measures to protect mps at constituency surgeries in the wake of sir david s death, killed in a knife attack on friday. a security review is looking at whethe
owners on cloud nine not for long. stjames is owners on cloud nine not for long. st james is parked owners on cloud nine not for long. stjames is parked back down to earth. wasn t far away although harry kane s goal was disallowed for offside. only for va are to intervene and prove otherwise, his first new goal of the season. then a moment more important than the occasion a medical emergency in the crowd saw the match suspended. and when it resumed there were still seven minutes of the first half laugh. something tottenham used to their advantage. laugh. something tottenham used to theiradvantage. it laugh. something tottenham used to their advantage. it hurricane. while the first half was action packed the second half was anything but. shelley was sent off before dyer gave newcastle some late hopefuls there would be no recovery though, just another dose of reality. and the owners have plenty of work to do. we have to do better. we try to be out bit more adventurous and be mo