for displaced palestinians, but did not reveal the date. mr netanyahu said invading the area is critical to reach his country's goals and releasing all hostages and destroying hamas. but as many as 1 million people are believed to be sheltering in rafah, more than half of them children. mr netanyahu faces international pressure including from the us to not invade the city without a specific plan as to how to keep civilians safe. here is us state department spokesman matthew millar responded to the prime minister. we have made clear to israel that we think a full—scale military invasion of rafah would have an enormously harmful effect on those civilians and would ultimately hurt israel's security so it is notjust a question of israel presenting a plan to us, we've made clear to them

that we think there is a better way to achieve what is a legitimate goal which is to degrade and dismantle and defeat the hamas battalions. displaced palestinians returned to complete ruin in khan yonis on monday. it comes as the israeli military withdrew its troops from the area temporarily on sunday. lucy williamson reports. for months, khan younis was a city of targets, its apartment blocks and hospitals seen by israel as hiding places for hamas. residents returned today searching for their city homes inside the concrete mountains as israel continued talks with hamas on a ceasefire deal. translation: the| destruction is huge. khan younis has been destroyed. it all needs to be rebuilt now. it's not suitable for animal to live in, let alone human being.

translation: | wasn't . expecting this destruction. our biggest request is that they withdraw from our land. it's better for us to have tents on the rubble of our home rather than being displaced. hamas launched rockets from khan younis, the army said, even as its troops withdrew. it hit back with airstrikes. israel's prime minister has promised total victory in this war, but hamas is still fighting and the withdrawal leaves just a skeleton israeli presence across the middle of the strip. this is being presented as a temporary tactical withdrawal and that buys benjamin netanyahu more time. under american pressure to agree a cease fire deal and pressure from his own cabinet to keep the war going, he's framing this as a pause, not an end in the fighting, keeping both foreign and domestic allies on track.

translation: we are working constantly to l attain our objectives. first and foremost, the release of all of our hostages and the achieving of total victory over hamas. this victory requires entering rafah and eliminating the terrorist battalions there. this will happen, there is a date. returning residents to their homes could smooth the path to a ceasefire deal, but it could also help those in israel who want to continue the war. israel is facing tough us demands to move refugees out of rafah before any ground offensive there. a day after the israeli withdrawal, it's clear how much the face of khan younis has changed, much less the face of the war. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. hamas says the proposal from qatari and egyptian mediators

did not meet any of their demands of palestinian factions, howeverthe demands of palestinian factions, however the group addedin factions, however the group added in a statement it would study the proposal and respond accordingly. i spoke to andrew steinfeld, a former foreign advisory polyps are for more on the talks and the potential offensive in rafah. we heard from benjamin netanyahu that there is a date set for the offensive in rafah, we know there are more than i million palestinians sheltering there in the us said they do not want to see a full scale invasion. what do you think will happen in this upcoming fight? i think this uts in this upcoming fight? i think this puts president _ in this upcoming fight? i think this puts president biden - in this upcoming fight? i think this puts president biden in i in this upcoming fight? i think this puts president biden in a| this puts president biden in a difficult position because he has agreed from the start of the goal of this operation should be the destruction of hamas and, of course, the israelis believe you cannot leave rafah the way it is without destroying hamas. previously we requested a formal plan from the israelis about how they intend to

protect i about how they intend to protecti million plus people as they go into rafah and i do not believe that has been provided to us. we're in a moment of great uncertainty, i would say, as is the situation in israel very tim rogers at the moment.— in israel very tim rogers at the moment. ~ ., ., .,~ ., the moment. what do you make of the moment. what do you make of the increasing _ the moment. what do you make of the increasing split _ the moment. what do you make of the increasing split between - the increasing split between the increasing split between the biden administration and the biden administration and the israelis? it the biden administration and the israelis?— the israelis? it is inevitable that that — the israelis? it is inevitable that that will _ the israelis? it is inevitable that that will happen - the israelis? it is inevitable that that will happen given | the israelis? it is inevitable i that that will happen given the brutality first from the 7 october events and our unbelievably six months ago, and subsequent tough israeli policies in reaching out hamas in gaza. i think in some ways for me this points to a lot of what the institutional problems are in the bilateral relationship, a certain dependence on the us from the israeli side, the $3.5 billion which is actually less than i% of their gdp more than that it

is the political support they continually from the administration. the biden administration. the biden administration is in the middle of a election year and is being pulled in many different directions.— pulled in many different directions. ~ ., ., directions. we heard from the white house _ directions. we heard from the white house social— directions. we heard from the white house social security . white house social security spokesman over the weekend saying they could be alternatives to a full ground incursion into rafah. what are some of that look like? having sent some of that look like? having spent time _ some of that look like? having spent time in _ some of that look like? having spent time in afghanistan, - some of that look like? having spent time in afghanistan, i i spent time in afghanistan, i think that the view in washington, when you are trying to root out a terrorist organisation, one of the guiding principles are the american generals have always had is to protect the people. the view in washington is that the israelis have done everything but that in a gaza. the situation is obviously different in gaza for israel and i was in afghanistan for the us but i am sure that a lot of our generals are talking to

the israelis about much more pinpointed strikes in rafah to root out whatever is left of hamas but again, if they are in tunnels and there are i million people above them in a tense, it becomes extremely difficult to do which is probably what the israelis are arguing back to the americans.— the israelis are arguing back to the americans. what we have auoin on to the americans. what we have going on at _ to the americans. what we have going on at the _ to the americans. what we have going on at the moment - to the americans. what we have going on at the moment is - to the americans. what we have going on at the moment is talks| going on at the moment is talks over the weekend in cairo of a possible hostage swap, a ceasefire going forward. the washington post has reported that the hamas delegation left cairo on monday to discuss the proposal which includes hundreds of palestinians being swapped for a0 israelis, a spokesman telling the proposal is a setback. obviously because the leadership is it takes a while to conduct these negotiations. do you think there is an agreement that israel and hamas might agree to? ., , israel and hamas might agree to? . , ., ., ., to? that is the million-dollar

question- _ to? that is the million-dollar question- i — to? that is the million-dollar question. ithink— to? that is the million-dollar question. i think it _ to? that is the million-dollar question. i think it is - to? that is the million-dollar question. i think it is very - question. i think it is very difficult to conceive that at the moment. you have to understand that as awful as this is an ascetical as it is, the longer and the more hostages that my crew one keeps, them more leveraged they have, leveraged for what purpose in the end one might ask. from the israeli point of view, it is clear now that the prime minister and his government are under increasing domestic pressures the hostages back one way or the other, and that seems to be increasingly in conflict with hamas demands for hostage release, which includes things like it sounds like a much longer ceasefire than israel is willing to grant. the return of palestinians to the north, which seems to be a big issue for the israelis because they seem to have created all they seem to have created all they seem to have created all they seem to want to create a kind

of inaudible in the entire north, so they're all sorts of problems. when you from hamas today telling al—jazeera and others they are not there yet, i think what needs to believe there is still distance between there is still distance between the parties. there is still distance between the parties-— the parties. thank you very much for — the parties. thank you very much forjoining _ the parties. thank you very much forjoining us - the parties. thank you very much forjoining us this - much forjoining us this evening. much for “oining us this evening.— much for “oining us this evenina. ., ~' ., ., evening. thank you for having me. millions _ evening. thank you for having me. millions in _ evening. thank you for having me. millions in north - evening. thank you for having j me. millions in north america was the solar _ me. millions in north america was the solar eclipse - me. millions in north america was the solar eclipse at - me. millions in north america was the solar eclipse at the i was the solar eclipse at the sky went dark on monday afternoon where the sun experience a total blackout. also known as the point of totality, that is when the mood perfectly obscures the sun. on this map the red line shows the path of totality outside of the track view only saw a partial eclipse. there were cheers as the totality hits in mexico where people camped out on sunny beaches to catch a glimpse behind the safety of solar viewers. the fog and mist around niagara falls made it tough to see the eclipse but it

did not stop the crowds from trying. the bbc had correspondence all over north america taking it in. here are some of the reactions. it is a multisensory experience but you want to see the corona. you want to see that moment and the weather lucked out for us, thankfully. cheering and applause everybody...just taking that moment in. it is incredible. there it is! it's peeking through the clouds! mother nature is teasing us! there it is! wow! that is spectacular! oh wow, that is fabulous! our reporter has more on the excitement from ohio. the word people used to describe how they felt about this total solar eclipse in ohio time and time again is �*awesome' and they describe it in the truest sense of the word. that feeling of awe — saying they felt

connected to something bigger than themselves, feeling part of the universe, wondering how small they are being part of that universe, and i think here in ohio we have one of the best seats in the house for totality. we came here early in the morning, there was quite a bit of cloud cover but you can see behind me all of that cloud burnt off to leave a beautiful clear blue sky over lake erie and when we had that moment of totality, over four minutes, i think one of the best ways to describe it is it was a combination of the ltth ofjuly here in the united states and new year's eve. we had a beautiful dusky like sunset, fireworks going off across the lake here, over lake erie. cheers among the crowd and then just that moment of quiet as people marvelled at the sky and what was happening and it certainly is a rare event here. this part of ohio hasn't seen a total solar eclipse since 1806 and it

won't see another one for some 400 years. that said, this solar eclipse really connected people right across the united states. 99% of them being able to see it whether it is partial or total and it will be a talking point. "where were you during the great solar eclipse of 2024?" and i think everybody feels very, very lucky to have been here to witness it. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at another story making use. researchers have found that people living with long covid have information in their blood which could provide clues for treatment. a study looking at hundreds of people seriously ill with covid found the immune system remains over active long after catching the virus. the study volleyball is 650 patients in the uk who had

been treated in a hospital with severe covid, and six—month—old two in three were still experiencing symptoms, including heart and lung problems such as shortness of breath, fatigue, gut issues, anxiety and depression and brain fog. the research has analysed their blood and found that these proteins, which are markers for inflammation of the immune system, which are useful while the body is fighting an infection not one the virus is gone. scientists say there is strong evidence that long covid is caused by different types of post viral information. you are live with bbc news. russia says it has shot down a ukrainian drone attempting to attack a power plant on monday, a day after the plant was damaged by three direct hits. zaporizhzhia is the largest power plant and has been occupied by russian

troops since the invasion in 2023. it was the subject of attacks early in the war but sunday was the first time since november 2022 it has been directly hit. kyiv and the kremlin have denied being behind the attack. the director—general of the international atomic energy agency told the bbc that the attack on sunday was unacceptable.- attack on sunday was unacceptable. attack on sunday was unaccetable. ., ., ., unacceptable. you cannot attack a nuclear power— unacceptable. you cannot attack a nuclear power plant _ unacceptable. you cannot attack a nuclear power plant in - a nuclear power plant in whatever way, a nuclear power plant in whateverway, in a nuclear power plant in whatever way, in whichever way because the consequences are indiscriminate. no—one can conceivably derive any military or political advantage by targeting a facility like this. earlier i spoke with the director of nuclear power safety at the union of concerned scientists. given we are talking about one of the reactors that we understood was attacked, how much damage could an attack by a dream like this have caused?—

an attack by a dream like this have caused? unfortunately the capabilities _ have caused? unfortunately the capabilities of _ have caused? unfortunately the capabilities of the _ have caused? unfortunately the capabilities of the drones - have caused? unfortunately the capabilities of the drones that i capabilities of the drones that are being deployed in the war is increasing and the payloads on the size of the explosive and the charges they carry in their designs are increasingly damaging to structures, including potentially the nuclear power plant containment structure. i think there is great concern that the drones in this war, if directed towards sabotaging or damaging this plans, could actually cause a catastrophe.- this plans, could actually cause a catastrophe. the un international _ cause a catastrophe. the un international atomic - cause a catastrophe. the un international atomic energy | international atomic energy agency has warned that this could lead to some kind of major nuclear mistake. what is the worst—case scenario we are talking about? the worst-case scenario we are talking about?— talking about? important to remember _ talking about? important to remember that _ talking about? important to remember that the -

talking about? important to - remember that the zaporizhzhia plans, all six reactors have been shut down for 18 months or more and that provides a lot of extra time in case there is a loss in cooling to those reactors. the risk is lower rights the fact is a catastrophe could happen, it is still possible that a combination of events could lead to poor melt or damage to fuel and to containment structures around the reactors are the only things protecting are the only things protecting a large release to the environment. this is why it is troubling that these increasingly capable drones, if penetrating a containment structure at the same time, the damages done to the cooling system of the reactors, you could talk about an event much worse than the fukushima accident injapan in 2011 and even approaching that in chernobyl.— even approaching that in chernobyl. even approaching that in chernob l. ., , ., ~ chernobyl. how should we think of this? how— chernobyl. how should we think of this? how does _

chernobyl. how should we think of this? how does it _ chernobyl. how should we think of this? how does it compare i chernobyl. how should we thinkj of this? how does it compare to other attacks on this powerplant? the last direct hits was in 2022. 50 powerplant? the last direct hits was in 2022.— powerplant? the last direct hits was in 2022. so far there has not been _ hits was in 2022. so far there has not been any _ hits was in 2022. so far there has not been any damage - hits was in 2022. so far there has not been any damage to l hits was in 2022. so far there i has not been any damage to the plant that could actually threaten the safety systems in a significant way. there was a fire originally when the russians first invaded in 2022 but they did not fortunately spread to the systems that actually protect the reactors. there have been random artillery shells but these are relatively small munitions, so again the advent of bigger, more damaging it drones, if it does add a new element of danger to the plant that we should be concerned about. certainly it demonstrates they needs to be a greater effort to insulate this plant from the

military conflict surrounding it and increasingly threatens its own. ., ., , its own. the united nations bean its own. the united nations began distributing - its own. the united nations began distributing food - its own. the united nations began distributing food in i began distributing food in sudan for the first time in months since the year long war began. it comes as the country risks triggering the wells largest hunger crisis, according to the world food programme. many charities left sudan after heavy fighting broke out in the conflict started when the head of the sudanese army and the leader of a powerful rebel group fell out and began battling for control of the country. our correspondent visited a neighbouring country to speak to some of the victims. on a street in sudan, five unarmed civilians are threatened by an arab militia at gunpoint. what happens next is too graphic to show. gunshots ahmad is one of the men in the video. incredibly, he survived the street execution. the 30—year—old shows us this exit

wound where a bullet ripped through his body after they were shot at point—blank range. translation: l was hit| in the shoulder and i also have some other wounds. three of us survived. we laid down as if we were dead, then someone told us, "anyone who is just injured should get up and run away." like so many survivors of the darfur violence, ahmad now lives here in one of the camps across the border in neighbouring chad. 20 years after accusations of genocide, the memories are still fresh here, and now the un is opening up a new investigation into the latest war crimes and ethnic cleansing. the violence continues to spread across darfur. this group of men were abducted and forced to run to a local airport by the rapid support forces, where they were beaten and tortured. some disappeared, never to be seen again. here we have heard story after story of people being killed, kidnapped or abused — targeted, they say, because of their ethnicity.

it comes as little surprise that these sorts of allegations and others in the wider sudan conflict have made the international criminal court say it has grounds to believe that war crimes are being committed. this is a genocide. it is 100% genocide. if i had other terms to use, i would use. but i think some of the international communities, they are silent. they don't react, or theyjust condemn but there is no intervention. shouting reports of alleged crimes committed by both the rapid support forces and the sudanese military continue to grow. the rapid support forces told us the majority of accusations against it are untrue, that its troops are held accountable when incidents occur. everyone in these camps knows someone who has been killed, injured or is missing, but survivors like ahmad still believe there will be an end to this brutal war.

translation: we know one day - it might not be today _ or tomorrow, but one day — justice will come. despite the international outcry over the hundreds of thousands of deaths 20 years ago, no—one has ever been convicted. the victims of this conflict are likely to face a similarwait. merchuma, bbc news, on the chad—sudan border. rescue workers in mozambique are searching for survivors from a boat that sank off the northern coast with dozens of people on board, some passengers are found alive at almost 100 are known to have drowned. the authorities say most were trying to reach an island following a panic caused by the wrong information about a cholera outbreak. former us president donald trump lost baby to delay the start of his 15 april criminal trial on charges stemming from harsh money payments immediately former adult film star. mr

trump clarified his policy position on abortion, saying theissue position on abortion, saying the issue should be left for individual states to decide, effectively ruling out a national abortion ban if he becomes president. tom bateman has more. what we saw today was donald trump rejecting some of the hard—line positions that his republican colleagues have been arguing for — that being a nationwide ban on abortion. that is significant because donald trump has sold himself as the architect of the supreme court decision a couple of years ago stop to overturn roe v wade. that was a landmark ruling from 1973 that enshrined protections, constitutional protections for women across america to abortion. what donald trump is doing here is being strategic when it comes to the presidential election. he has seen that some of the harder positions on the issue of abortion haven't played well for many republicans, most notably in the mid—term elections a couple

of years ago. he is very aware of that in an election that will be decided to a certain degree in the suburbs of several marginal swing states. so i think a lot of this is about the electoral politics and he is saying it will basically be up to states themselves to decide how far to go on abortion bans. but already he is being severely criticised by pro—life groups — one of the leading ones said it was deeply disappointed in his decision. as for the democrats, well, joe biden intends explicitly to make this an issue that he is going to attack donald trump over and already his campaign had come out and said that donald trump was responsible for ripping away the rights of women. it said that women in america were, in their view, in the extraordinary position of having fewer rights today than their mothers or grandmothers because of the policies enacted after donald trump was president.

let's turn to some important news around the world. the us center for disease control and prevention said on monday the risk of bird flu to the public remains low even as it asked public health officials to be prepared to respond. the agency requested plans to test and provide treatment to potentially impacted farmworkers after an outbreak among dairy cows. what is that people are on trial for money laundering in connection with the panama papers tax evasion scandal, revealing how many of the worlds wealthiest people stashed their offers in offshore companies. it includes the founders of a law firm that is since shut down. but rather selected to continue until april 2026. joe biden announced on monday new plans to ease student loan debt that would benefit at least 23 million americans. addressing a key issue for voters who support him as he seeks election in november. the us supreme court last year struck down an

earlier proposal to cancel several hundred billion dollars of debt. that is all we have time for, you can catch up on more of our latest top stories on our website. stay with us here in bbc news. hello. monday was quite a quiet day of weather, really. we had some sunny spells breaking through the cloud, for example, here in cambridgeshire. and across large parts of england — it was a warm day for april, with temperatures topping out at 19 degrees celsius at kew in london. these temperatures are around five or six degrees above average. it's going to be a much cooler kind of day for tuesday. notjust cooler — it's going to be wet and windy for many as well. the change is down to an area of low pressure. this area of cloud you can see swirling to the south—west of the uk and that's essentially pushing northwards and eastwards over the next 12 hours. we already have quite a bit of rain with us at the moment and the rain across northern ireland and scotland could be heavy enough to cause some localised flooding. 20—1t0 millimetres of

rain, not a huge amount in the grand scheme of things. however — edinburgh, for example, has already had over one and a half times the april average rainfall, even though we're onlyjust over a week into the new month. so this extra rainfall could be enough to cause some localised flooding. the weather will tend to brighten up from the west as we go through the day. sunshine and showers follow our main band of rain through. it's also going to be a windy, gusty kind of day. particularly for england and wales, gusts widely running into the forties of miles now, but could reach around 50 or 60 miles an hour around some coastal areas, with the rain reluctant to clear away from eastern scotland and parts of northeast england. our temperatures are about 10 to 12 degrees for most. that will clear through and be left with some colder air as we head into the first part of wednesday. potentially chilly enough to give an odd nip of frost for the early part of wednesday morning. should be a fine start to the day with sunshine. then it clouds over with the next weather system moving in from the west, bringing more rain. now, even as the rain pushes through across wales and south—west england, it probably will stay rather cloudy. the weather that follows, however, it will start to turn a bit milder

again with south—westerly winds, temperatures around 13—15 degrees. and that warming trend continues as we head into thursday. again, we've got south—westerly winds with us, but this time after a cloudy start, the clouds should tend to thin and break up and we'll see some spells of sunshine coming through quite widely. yeah, there'll be a few showers for the north and west of scotland, but otherwise it's mostly dry. and those temperatures, 17 for aberdeen, 17 for belfast, but highs could reach around 19 or 20 across parts of eastern england. it stays pretty mild then towards wales and england as we head into the weekend. temperatures could reach the low 20s for some.

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. welcome to hardtalk from edinburgh. i'm stephen sackur. for most of the 21st century, scottish politics has been dominated by the scottish national party, the pro—independence party seeking a divorce from the united kingdom. but right now, well, storm clouds hang over the snp.

they're facing a police investigation of their financial affairs, their polling numbers are down and they stand accused of breaking a host of political promises. my guest is the leader of the snp and first minister of scotland, humza yousaf. has his party lost its way? first minister humza yousaf, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. by any measure, first minister, it's been a pretty difficult first year for you as first minister. why do you think the going is so tough? look, we've been in government for 17 years. over 17 years, you have challenges, of course, as a government.

but in the last year... i often get asked that question about challenges.