claims its largest victory in almost half a century. a new hate crime law comes into force in scotland, but is it protecting minorities or blocking free speech? and germany semi legalises cannabis. we have a special report on a how the government is trying to tackle the black market. hello, i'm sarah campbell, welcome to bbc news now — three hours of fast—moving news, interviews and reaction. we start this hour with the news that israel's military says it has completed its operation at gaza's biggest hospital, al—shifa, and has withdrawn its troops from the area. the hospital had been under siege for two weeks. the hamas—run health ministry and palestinian witnesses had earlier reported tanks pulling back from the heavily bombarded hospital complex in gaza city.

the hospital and its surrounds have been left in ruins following the two—week operation. buildings have been reduced to rubble and the few remaining are little more than shells. these pictures obtained by news agency reuters show what is left inside the complex. israel has previously said it was carrying out precise operations against hamas and islamichhad fighters, and had killed two hundred of them. reuters reports that hundreds of people returned to the area around the hospital after the troop withdrawal. they said they found a sea of rubble. one medic saying that destruction is �*far and wide�* in the shifa compound. a spokesman for gaza's civil emergency service told the news agency that bulldozers were used to dig up the grounds of the complex and exhume bodies. meanwhile, hundreds of israeli protesters have spent the night in tents outside parliament injerusalem to press their demand for prime minister benjamin

netanyahu to step down, and seeking a deal to have the hostages held in gaza released. thousands of people rallied injerusalem for what they're calling the largest anti—government protest since the war in the gaza strip began, nearly six months ago. the protests took place on sunday as mr netanyahu had surgery for a hernia. his office later reporting that the procedure had been successful. middle east correspondent, yolande knell, has more from jerusalem. there are videos are now circulating on social media that show this vast medical complex now as a set of burnt—out buildings. many of them heavily damaged, on the verge of collapse. and the area around it, much of that has been razed, apparently, by israeli air strikes over the past couple of weeks, the duration of the raid. of course, the second was carried out by the israeli military on al—shifa hospital, which it has been calling a command and control centre for hamas in the past. it said hamas returned to the site

after it earlier withdrew, and it was acting on precise intelligence, they sent forces in there two weeks ago and they say in the course of operations, one of the most successful, they say, of the war, so far, they killed some 200 palestinian armed gunmen, members of hamas and islamichhad. they rounded up several hundred, including, they say, senior members of both of those organisations. they say they have important intelligence as a result of all of this. for palestinians, though, they say that many innocent lives have been lost in the course of this operation. hamas said doctors and patients were killed. certainly, we could see at various points there were large numbers of displaced people, hundreds of them that were caught up in the fighting that went on at close quarters in the hospital and the area around it, before most of those were able to flee. there were residents of the area who were complaining that they were unable to get any water, they were unable to get food,

and that was leading to dire conditions in the area around the hospital as well. yolande knell, in jerusalem. for more on the situation in gaza we can speak now to bushra khalidi, the policy lead for the occupied palestinian territory for oxfam. let's talk about the aid situation. how is ade getting in at the moment? at the moment, we are getting aid in through the two open crossing points israel has opened, but unfortunately, this is not enough. it is not enough for the scale of need where we are seeing families starving. we are seeing children

dying of starvation and seeing people in the north living in famine like conditions. it is absolutely harrowing and making ourjob really impossible with israeli restrictions that have obstructed our ability to work in the way that we would want to work. furthermore, it has been a week since the un security council called for a ceasefire, and that is something we as humanitarians have been pleading world leaders to impose. because that is what would allow us to do ourjob properly. not delivering aid under relentless bombardment. the delivering aid under relentless bombardment.— delivering aid under relentless bombardment. the un top court ordered israel— bombardment. the un top court ordered israel it _ bombardment. the un top court ordered israel it said _ bombardment. the un top court ordered israel it said to - bombardment. the un top court ordered israel it said to enable l bombardment. the un top court l ordered israel it said to enable the unhindered flow of aid into gaza. is there any sense that aid has speeded up there any sense that aid has speeded up and any of those restrictions you

talk about are being reduced? yesterday, again, only... about an average of 200 trucks a day. before 7th of october, it was an average of 500 trucks a day so you would have days where you would have 1000 trucks into gaza and that was when there were not famine like conditions and children dying of starvation. we are talking about an upscale that is insurmountable that is needed and not happening. 230 trucks will not meet the needs of 2.2 million people basically... the majority of which are on the brink of starvation. another portion of them on their way to famine. we are lookin: at them on their way to famine. we are looking at pictures _ them on their way to famine. we are looking at pictures of _ them on their way to famine. we are looking at pictures of the _ them on their way to famine. we are looking at pictures of the rafah - looking at pictures of the rafah crossing and the point is what is and is not allowed in and the

consistency. and is not allowed in and the consistency-— and is not allowed in and the consistency. and is not allowed in and the consisten . ., , ., , consistency. not 'ust the dual use materials, consistency. not 'ust the dual use materials. we — consistency. notjust the dual use materials, we have _ consistency. notjust the dual use materials, we have had _ consistency. notjust the dual use materials, we have had many - consistency. not just the dual use i materials, we have had many items rejected where often it is arbitrary so when we appeal decisions, it might pass but that has already caused a delay and already caused this. everything in the truck might pass but one item might be considered dual use and the entire track is rejected. also the fact there is minimal operational hours on the crossings is causing a delay. also the fact that trucks cannot be full to maximum capacity, only half way. that is causing a lot of trucks a huge queue of trucks because they are not all fall, they are not allowed to be full which is another requirement from the israeli authorities. israel continues to keep boarders close. it is an

occupying power. it has a duty to protect the civilian population in gaza because it occupies gaza. and this population is now at the brink of famine. it does not choose to protect it. it of famine. it does not choose to protect it— protect it. it is on the contrary. we will have — protect it. it is on the contrary. we will have to _ protect it. it is on the contrary. we will have to leave _ protect it. it is on the contrary. we will have to leave it - protect it. it is on the contrary. we will have to leave it there. | we will have to leave it there. thank you for speaking to us. to turkey now, where president erdogan�*s governing party has suffered its biggest defeat in local elections. the main opposition party, the chp, won in the six largest urban centres, including istanbul. mr erdogan has promised to respect the decision of the nation. before the election, he had said that this would be the last time he led his party into municipal elections. his term as president is due to end in 2028. translation: we will not disrespect our nation's - decision in any way,

we will avoid being stubborn, acting against the national will and questioning the judgment of our nation, as we have done so far. we will take the necessary steps by analysing the messages given by the nation at the ballot box, most accurately and objectively within the reason and in our inner conscience. this vote was held in all of turkey's 81 provinces, but it won't affect the parliament. in the last general election, nine months ago in 2023, president erdogan�*s party narrowly retained power, but it seems his support is starting to wane. the main opposition chp retained control of ankara, istanbul, izmir, adana and antalya, and won control in bursa and balikesir. it now appears to have growing support across the country. among the key reasons perhaps, turkey's stubbornly high rate of inflation, which stood, according to some measurements, at an annual rate of 67

percent in february. this latest set of results would seem to strengthen the position of the chp mayor of istanbul, ekrem imamoglu. he won that city with more than 50% of the vote, and told his supporters that the outcome signalled a very important message to the world. translation: in this world, unfortunately,| democracies were weakening, while these democracies were weakening authoritarian regimes came to power. many articles around the world asked we were coming at the end of democratic regimes. 31st of march 2024 is the day when democratic erosion and turkey ended and democracy is rising again. let's speak to freelance journalist victoria craig in istanbul. these were local elections but have

importance on a national level. exactly. so many people i spoke to before the vote said there are local issues in the 81 provinces but really, this comes down to a national political identity and the future of turkish politics. that was at stake experts said in these elections. in istanbul especially, that was the case. as we saw ekrem imamoglu winning the election with 11 and a half percent of the vote here and many people see this as i guess an affirmation of his continuation in politics. he has been long seen as the opposition�*s opportunity to potentially take control of the presidential palace and that is the case now he has won re—election here by such a wide margin. in the next election in four years he will be the one to go up against whoever from the ak party

who is put up. huge things at stake for both sides.— for both sides. what was in voters' mines? we — for both sides. what was in voters' mines? we talked _ for both sides. what was in voters' mines? we talked about _ for both sides. what was in voters' mines? we talked about inflation i for both sides. what was in voters' l mines? we talked about inflation of 67% which is extraordinarily high. yes. inflation officially atjust under 70% and at the same time interest rate at 50% with the central bank raising the benchmark interest rate to 50% two weeks ago. what is ironic is the economy is the biggest issue for voters and was in the election last year when they sent president erdogan back to the presidential palace. this time they said enough is enough. many voters in this city particularly said inflation, the cost—of—living crisis was too much because when interest rates rise credit is expensive and it is harder to offset the inflation

rises on credit cards. the irony part is president erdogan, when he won re—election, he put in a new finance minister and for the past year they have been working to bring down that high inflation rate but the president was implementing fiscal policies including raising the minimum wage by 49% injanuary which puts more money in people's pockets but they have to spend the money which only pushes prices up higher. the president last night acknowledged this and said the economy is an issue and something they will work on. he said they will see positive change in the second half of the year starting with inflation. that is something he acknowledges and is taking into account. ., . , , acknowledges and is taking into account. ., . , , ., account. how much is this a personal blow to the — account. how much is this a personal blow to the authority _ account. how much is this a personal blow to the authority of _ account. how much is this a personal blow to the authority of president - blow to the authority of president erdogan? fit, blow to the authority of president erdo . an? �* ., blow to the authority of president erdouan? �* ., ., , blow to the authority of president erdouan? ., ., , ., erdogan? a lot of people say... you can see it on — erdogan? a lot of people say... you can see it on the _ erdogan? a lot of people say... you can see it on the campaign - erdogan? a lot of people say... you can see it on the campaign trail. - can see it on the campaign trail. every time i looked at social media, the president would pop up in a

different province and city talking to thousands at rallies. these elections mattered a lot to him personally. he was campaigning on behalf of the ak party candidate in istanbul and held a big election rally last weekend. winning back istanbulfrom rally last weekend. winning back istanbul from the opposition, which took power in 2019 from the ak party, winning control back was going to be a personal victory for the president. and you can tell that. when he finished voting he said people in the country are tired of elections, three in less than a year. we had two rounds in the general election and now this. you could tell when he was voting you could tell when he was voting you could sense the fatigue among voters and may be the balance of power is shifting. but winning back control would have been crucialfor shifting. but winning back control would have been crucial for him personally as well.— around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

welcome back. a new and controversial hate crime law has come into effect in scotland. the law creates a new offence of stirring up hatred in relation to personal characteristics, including age, disability, religion and sexual orientation. the government says it will protect minority groups from prejudice and hatred. but critics argue it will undermine freedom of speech, and police fear the legislation could be weaponised for political purposes. we arejoined by dr lucy hunter blackburn, a policy analyst for murray blackburn mackenzie, who gave evidence when the bill was going through parliament three years ago. hello. we gave outline of what is in

the bill but perhaps you can expand on what exactly this will mean. part ofthe on what exactly this will mean. part of the bill are _ on what exactly this will mean. part of the bill are not _ on what exactly this will mean. part of the bill are not a _ on what exactly this will mean. part of the bill are not a problem, they re—enact things we have had for years that protect people who are subject to something like an assault because of who they are. what is new is the idea of stirring up hatred against groups, other than race. that has been around a long time. it extends into transgender identity, very contested and controversial, and huge disagreement about what constitutes hate. that is the core problem we are facing and the worry is the bill, the act, will have a chilling effect on speech and discussion in that area. this came about because — discussion in that area. this came about because there _ discussion in that area. this came about because there was - discussion in that area. this came about because there was a - discussion in that area. this came about because there was a sense | about because there was a sense these groups were not being protected enough from hate crimes and hate speech.— and hate speech. interestingly, not exactl . and hate speech. interestingly, not exactly- when _ and hate speech. interestingly, not exactly. when you _ and hate speech. interestingly, not exactly. when you look _ and hate speech. interestingly, not exactly. when you look at - and hate speech. interestingly, not exactly. when you look at the - exactly. when you look at the rationale for doing it, the existing

legal protection, called aggregators in law, that was understood to be messily scattered around different laws and was brought together, consolidated. the extension of stirring up when you look at justification is pretty thin. it is a tidying up, it was presented as a bureaucratic exercise to make things tidier. advocates keep an hour saying it should not change very much. it is quite a strange argument for it. ., , , ., ~ much. it is quite a strange argument for it. ., ,, ., ~ ., for it. the groups we talked about due to be protected, _ for it. the groups we talked about due to be protected, including - due to be protected, including things like age, disability, religion, sexual orientation. there has been discussion that women are not included in that list. absolutely, we were concerned when the act was going through about what to do for protection of women from hateful conduct is... was batted off

into a review, which has reported and it is now not clear how long it will take for what it proposes to come forward. what it proposes will not necessarily do a parallel protection to the sort available for other groups. the protection to the sort available for other groom-— other groups. the scottish government _ other groups. the scottish government saying - other groups. the scottish government saying they i other groups. the scottish i government saying they have secondary legislation that will deal with this issue. it secondary legislation that will deal with this issue.— with this issue. it remains to be seen what _ with this issue. it remains to be seen what comes _ with this issue. it remains to be seen what comes out _ with this issue. it remains to be seen what comes out of- with this issue. it remains to be seen what comes out of that . with this issue. it remains to be| seen what comes out of that but with this issue. it remains to be - seen what comes out of that but the main point, after three years since this went through, it is still the case there is an unequal degree of protection across the population. [30 protection across the population. do you agree there is any need for legislation of this type and this may be just is not worded in the way you would like? do you feel that this legislation is not needed at all? . , this legislation is not needed at all? ., , ., ., this legislation is not needed at all? ., ., , ., all? that is a great question. i think the existing _ all? that is a great question. i think the existing law - all? that is a great question. i think the existing law that - all? that is a great question. i | think the existing law that says all? that is a great question. i i think the existing law that says if you attack somebody, do something it would be illegal to do to anybody but you do it because you dislike something about them, that law i

think would probably be seen as useful, useful in communicating to vulnerable groups they can go and seek help if they find themselves in that position. i do not think that is controversial law. there are questions about who it covers. stirring up provisions, extension beyond racial hatred is controversial i think and it was when it was done in england for religion and sexual orientation, two characteristics in england and wales that are covered. i think there is legitimate debate about this and how it does other things to come back to behaviours that as a society we do not want to see. also how does it function in areas such as transgender identity where hate are contested and controversial idea? complex, indeed. thank you. an interesting subject.

from today, people in germany can legally smoke cannabis in public. hundreds of people filled berlin's brandenburg gate at midnight for a "smoke—in" as the new law came into effect. the part—decriminalisation follows decades of contentious debate. the rules around medical marijuana are also being relaxed. our berlin correspondent, jessica parker, reports from dresden. it's out in the open. adults in germany can now possess up to 25 grams of cannabis in public — enough to make dozens ofjoints — and grow up to three plants at home. while people like marcel are planning newly permitted cannabis social clubs. not for tourists, though — just german residents. every gram from cannabis which goes from the cannabis social club is one gram that's not on the black market. what do you say to people who say, look, cannabis is addictive and it is harmful, especially to young people?

everything has dark sides. and you have to know about the dark sides and only when it's not illegal, you can freely talk about these dark sides. but these cannabis clubs in cities like dresden won't pop up overnight, and come with their own rules — exacerbating fears that demand will quickly outstrip legal supply. translation: we assume that the black market - will be strengthened, particularly at the beginning in the chaos phase, when demand would be great because of the signal this law sends. the black market and criminal networks will adapt and they will also infiltrate the social clubs. into the highly secure halls of a medical cannabis grower, who are also seeing some deregulation. cannabis will not be a narcotic any more in germany. it will be just as any other pharmaceutical product, which makes it much more easier

for patients to get it from a doctor and to get it from the pharmacy. they keep this room at around 23 degrees, but it's also really quite humid. now, there are 650—ish plants in this room and they are almost ready to be harvested. the benefits of medical cannabis are debated, while the relaxation around recreational use has been contentious. this is an argument in germany that likely hasn't yet reached full maturity. jessica parker, bbc news, in dresden. germany isn't the only country reviewing its laws surrounding cannabis. rachel mcadam has been looking at how the drug is regulated in different parts of the world. the laws around cannabis are complicated and varied across the world and they are also regularly changing, like we have seen in germany today. in 2024, where is it legal across the world? we will

start in canada. cannabis was legalised here in 2018 and is one of the only countries in the world that federally allows manufacturing and consumption of recreational marijuana. moving into the us and almost half of states there have legalised cannabis but it is still illegal at a federal level. if we look at the map, the bright green states have legalised recreational and medical marijuana. the dark green have legalised some form of medicinal cannabis. the light green states allow cbd or some form of low thc. those are the chemicals found in cannabis. thc is the psychoactive substance that produces a high. the grey states, idaho, nebraska and kansas, have no public programme. in south america, uruguay was the first

country in the world to legalise the production, sale and consumption of cannabis for recreational use. a lot of south and central america has legalised the drug for medicinal use and decriminalise the possession of small amounts for personal use. in europe laws vary. in the netherlands, cannabis is not legal but there is a tolerance policy that means the law is not enforced in relation to retail sale of small quantities for personal use in cannabis cafe is. in malta and luxembourg, cannabis is legalfor aduu luxembourg, cannabis is legalfor adult use and in other european countries like spain, portugal and italy, they have decriminalised possession of small amounts. if anyone is caught, they may face a punishment such as a fine rather than criminal sanctions. in asia, legalisation is less common and thailand became the first country in the continent to legalise cannabis in 2022. but now it's the continent to legalise cannabis in 2022. but now its government says it will ban recreational use as

a drug by the end of the year, claiming it had a negative impact on thailand's children. fascinating. rachel mcadams. stay with us on bbc news. hello again. the weather this week remains fairly unsettled. it will be wet and windy at times. but it is going to turn that a bit milder. but it is going to turn that bit milder. you can see how we have the yellows and then the ambers across much of the country. still the blues across the north of scotland, until we get to the end of the week, then you can see the yellows and the ambers pushing that bit further north as it turns a little bit warmer. what we have today across the central swathe of the country is a lot of cloud and some rain, slowly edging northwards. to the south of that, some sunshine. but some showers, some of them heavy and thundery. the dry and sunniest conditions will be across the far north and north—west of scotland. feeling cool in the breeze, coming in from the north sea.

top temperatures today up to about 15 degrees. through this evening and overnight, that band of rain continues to push northwards across scotland. cloudy and damp for northern ireland. for england and wales we have some clear skies, some mist and fog patches forming and breezy with showers, moving across the english channel. temperatures falling away under the clear skies to one or two across northern and eastern parts of england, as well as wales. into tomorrow, we start off with this rain across scotland, brisk winds here. variable amounts of cloud tomorrow, with one or two showers and some sunny skies. we also have the next batch of rain coming in from the south—west, where the wind will also pick up. temperatures six to 15 degrees, north to south. as we head to the middle of the week, we've got low pressure pushing eastwards, dragging rain with it. as we push further north, we are looking at a fair bit of cloud. rain on and off and snow in the mountains. come south, there will be some brighter skies, but also some showers and temperatures five

to about 14 degrees. heading into thursday, quite a messy picture. for scotland, the cloud and rain will be on and off. for england, wales and northern ireland we're looking at cloudy conditions, with some rain or, indeed, some showers. temperature—wise, five in the north, 16 in the south. slowly, temperatures are starting to rise. as we head into friday, it looks very much like its going to be wet and also very windy, and the forecast beyond that does remain unsettled, but slightly warmer than it has been.

this is bbc news. the headlines. after two weeks of heavy bombardment, the israeli army says it has completed its operation in gaza's largest hospital, leaving the site in ruins. and a lower energy price cap comes into force, taking bills in england, wales and scotland to their lowest level in two years. and singer billie eilish hits out at musicians who release multiple vinyl versions of records, due to its environmental impact. energy prices in england, wales and scotland have fallen

to their lowest level for two years today, as the regulator's