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n washington. n this is "bbc world news america." south africa urges the u.n.'s top court to stop israel's offensive in rafa. u.s. urges israel to increase humanitarian access to both southern and northern gaza is aid slows to a near halt. a strong show of unity between china and russia as vladimir putin continues his visit to beijing. ♪ hello and welcome to "world news america." i am caitriona perry. we begin at the hague, where south africa is asking the u.n.'s top court to order a halt to the israeli offensive in southern gaza.

and the first of two days of hearings at the international court of justice, south africa's lawyers called the rafah operation the last step in the destruction of gaza that threatens the survival of palestinians. israel is expected to make its defense before the court on friday, but has since responded to what it calls south africa's biased and false claims. israel's foreign ministry says israel asks -- acts in accordance with humanitarian obligations while implementing measures to minimize harm to civilians, and civilian facilities, it is calling on the human's top court to reject south africa's appeal. south africa's legal tame accuses israel of behaving with legal impunity, something israel denies. >> israel is excellent -- is escalating its attacks on palestinians in gaza. and in so doing, his wheat cash is willfully breaching the binding orders of this court. israel breaches the binding resolutions of the united nations at security council. >> you have heard boasts that

israel's army is the most moral army in history. and we have her denials that there is famine in gaza -- we have heard denials that there is famine in gaza. for months,. -- for months, people in the west have not accepted that the accusations are true. caitriona: our foreign correspondent sent this report. reporter: south africa's lawyers were unequivocal. they said palestinians did not need words or diplomacy, they needed an urgent intervention by this court to ensure palestinians right to life under the genocide convention was protected. the reason why they are focusing on rafah in these provisional measures requests is because they say it is the last refuge which has not been destroyed. the only remaining center of humanitarian aid, host of one of the only functioning hospitals in gaza.

therefore, they said rafah is central to sustaining palestinian life. without, there is no possibility of reconstruction. caitriona: let's talk about what is happening in the hague. we speak to the former chief prosecutor of the international criminal court. thank you for joining a spirit south africa is bringing a separate case accusing israel of committing genocide in gaza. on this matter, is seeking an order from the human's top court to order israel to stop its offensive and allow unimpeded access to gaza for aid workers and investigators. what does south africa need to prove to the court? >> well, to prevent the crime, and something that we have to celebrate, the process is ongoing. imagine, you have south africa demanding the genocide convention. tomorrow, it will be lawyers making the arguments. and then, there will be 15

independent judges from every part of the world making the decision. that is unique. the only institution that could prevent a genocide in the area. caitriona: in terms of this case about ordering israel to stop the offensive in rafah and to let those individuals in, what does south africa need to break down to convince the court of its case? luis: as south africa says, when the court has already issued provisional measures, saying there is a possible risk of -- that the palestinians are under risk of genocide. that was a previous ruling. what south africa is demanding is, look, israel is ignoring what you request before. be careful. give us plans. now, south africa is requesting the judges to say halt, stop the

operations or that the only way to protect civilians in gaza. that's what they are saying. caitriona: israel has called the case wholly unfounded, morally repugnant. it will respond on friday. what do you expect to see israel argue? luis: i really like -- this is a very legal debate. it is a genocide. what should be done, how to prevent. south africa has great lawyers. and then, judges are trying to make it not late -- not political. stop a war, use the law to manage conflicts. caitriona: how soon could the icj make that order? luis: can you repeat? caitriona: if the icj finds it in south africa's favor, how soon would it make that decision, would it make an order? luis: they could do it in a few days. the real issue is up until now, the court was careful requesting

israel to submit plans. south africa is doing -- ok, that approach failed. you have the power. use it. stop the war. caitriona: ok. that is great. we will leave it there for the moment. former chief prosecutor of the international criminal court, luis moreno ocampo, thank you for joining us on bbc news. luis: thank you. caitriona: israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu said his operation in rafah is critical to defeating hamas. the way has expressed concern for the safety of civilians. and across gaza with 80 deliveries by land at a near standstill. in an effort to boost aid supplies, the u.s. anchored temporary floating off the gaza coast saying supplies will make it onto shore in the coming days. for more on gaza's worsening humanitarian crisis, i spoke with someone who worked for a humanitarian group delivering food aid in rafah. until she and her family managed

to evacuate using public donations and american connections. thank you for speaking to us on bbc news. tell me what life was like before you left rafah? you have been working as a chef and one of the charities kitchens that. >> that's correct. i was there and i distributed hot meals to displaced people in rafah. it was not easy at all;. -- at all. but seeing the children's faces, suffering, wanting food, makes me feel like i should do anything to help them. so just for the organization to start cooking and disk beating was necessary to me. that is why i decided to do this. it was only five to six meals.

not more, because we were all only receiving specific kinds of food. they were like, peas and pasta. caitriona: you and so many others displaced, where did you sleep? where will your family? lama: most of us and people around were staying in tends. i was staying in a small home of relatives with rafa. most people do not have relatives, and there was not enough space for all of them. so they were staying in tents and streets. like, empty land around. caitriona: and how did you spend the night? lama: it was really horrible. until now, i still have nightmares because of that night i had when i was in gaza. it wasn't easy. i couldn't sleep at night. when i wake up in the morning, it doesn't feel like -- i start

asking myself, am i really awake? am i really around my four family members? is it real? because it was horrible, and no one could stand what it was like living in facing. caitriona: your colleagues that stayed behind in rafah, how are they now? what are they doing? lama: after the last announcement to evacuate rafah to somewhere else, they are preparing their bags. some of them evacuated and some of them are staying because they don't know where exactly to go, what to carry. there is not enough food now. going somewhere to another cost them a lot, and no one has enough money to move, by a car, or evacuate. it is so hard. caitriona: you mentioned there

is not enough food. we have heard renewed concerns from international aid agencies about the level of starvation, the level of malnutrition. how worried are you about that for your friends and family and colleagues? lama: now that the border has closed in rafah, so nothing is entering gaza. or the south. and even north, no source of anything is entered into gaza. it happened actually in the beginning, we faced those kind of days where there was not any food. so we had to eat a little, because we have to keep food for the coming days. this is the thing that is happening now, what my friends told me. nothing is entering. i have to eat one meal a day.

some people don't even eat. caitriona: do you hope to return to gaza one day? what is left of your old life there? lama: of course, i hope. but thinking about this is not that easy. because we are life there. me on my family, we build our life there. we had our home. our great memories. but now, after leaving, no kind of life there in gaza. there is no life anymore. returning to gaza is not that easy because we have to also look for our lives. . i want to study in college, i want to start again. maybe one day, of course i still want to go back to gaza, because it is the city where i was born in, the city where i grew up with beautiful memories and beautiful friends.

but it is not that easy because there is no life in gaza anymore. caitriona: thank you so much for sharing your time with us, lama abed, former head chef at a rebuilding alliance in gaza, now in egypt. thank you for speaking to us on bbc news. lama: i pray that the borders can open as soon as possible. so that aid can enter into gaza. and that i can meet with people i love again. thank you so much. caitriona: donald trump's former lawyer and fixer, michael cohen, say -- faced a second day of cross examination at the criminal trial over an alleged hush money payment he made to stormy daniels. . the defense team is aiming to undermine his credibility, raising his history as a convicted liar. cohen is crucial witness for prosecutors. he received $130,000 check from donald trump that ultimately led prosecutors to indict the former

president on 34 counts of this is fraud. a contingent of far right congressional republicans attended thursday's trial, including mike gates andy biggs, and lauren bogart's. the latest in a -- the latest in ballast is to visit the courtroom. our reporter was inside the court for the trial and joins us now. thank you for being with us. another day of evidence from michael cohen. we will be back next year -- next week. what information did we learn from him today? >> look, a really -- it really struck me how composed michael cohen remained on to stand as he had to weather the most intense round of questioning yet from donald trump's lawyers. they certainly went on the attack about the numerous times that michael cohen has lied. really trying to paint him as not somebody who was interested in justice, that of somebody who

was out for himself. pointing out that he had been untruthful about the fact that he had tried to secure a pardon from donald trump while he was president asking his lawyer to look into it. again, trying to say that michael cohen only is interested in what benefits him. there was a real moment that i think everybody walked away from from the testimony. it was when todd blanche called out michael cohen, saying it is a lie that you spoke to donald through his bodyguard. instead, todd blanche pointing out that michael cohen has spoken about trump's bodyguard about harassing calls he had been receiving from a 14-year-old that he was concerned about at the time. michael cohen getting back, saying, he can't recall, potentially he spoke about both topics with trump's bodyguard and trump himself. it was a real moment when the

defense actually did land a blow against michael cohen. caitriona: it was another day as well where we saw a contingent's of donald trump supporters come to the courthouse, including that gave what of all of those -- what have all of those individuals been saying? nada: it was so interesting. this is the largest delegation yet. it business in the house over his -- it affected businesses in the house. ultimately, matt gaetz said they were here because donald trump given his limited gag order comic-con speak freely. they wanted to be a mouthpiece for donald trump. it was interesting that night gaetz went to social media and invoked language that was widely condemned by donald trump during the campaign in 2020 when he told the proud boys to stand back and stand by. matt gaetz, in a social media post, posted a picture of him

with donald trump in the courtroom saying, mr. president, we are standing back and standing by. certainly, donald trump has had many supporters come here from the court, and it is becoming routine for him to have those reinforcements with him in court. caitriona: this there any indication of what is still to come in this trial? are we getting near the end point? nada: michael cohen will be back on the stand when court resumes monday. the language coming from the defense team is even if they do call a witness, because they may not call any witnesses, they may not present a case. they don't have to, the burden is on the prosecution. if they call witnesses, they will be able to finish by monday. caitriona: nada tawfik for us at the courtroom, thank you for joining us. the russian and chinese leaders pledged a new era of partnership between their two countries as president vladimir putin visited beijing.

the two leaders banned -- vowed to work together against what they call distractive and hostile u.s. policies. the u.s. state department responded saying, china could not have it both ways, by courting russia and the west. our china correspondent has this report. laura: in the west, he is seen as a pariah. in china, president putin is a key partner, as beijing seeks a new world order. one not led by the united states. the red carpet was rolled out complete with a red army, as they walked together in a show of defiance against western pressure. mr. putin needs china. it has become an economic lifeline, write an isolated and heavily sanctioned russia. >> china will always be a good neighbor and a good friend of

military trust with russia. laura: mr. putin said he would inform president xi about the situation in ukraine. and he said he would welcome china's role as peacemaker. beijing put forward a 12 point piece clan more than a year ago, but it received a lukewarm welcome from ukraine and russia. while mr. xi is trying to play peacemaker, he is also accused of fueling russia's war. if the west wants to stop russia's advances in ukraine, they know here is one place they can do that beijing is not supplying moscow with weapons. but the west believes it is supplying russia with components that it can use in its war machine. the u.s. has a raft of new sanctions at the ready. this time, to target chinese banks. president xi has a decision to make. beijing does need a moscow. russia supplies it with cheap

oil and gas. this has soaring trade helps shield mr. putin from western sanctions. beijing is not likely to make any policy shifts. instead, the two pledged to deepen their partnership. mr. she -- mr. xi will be calculating how much he is willing to pay for mr. putin's war. caitriona: for more on this summit, i spoke with nina, professor of international affairs and the great-granddaughter of the former soviet union leader, nikita christopher. this is vladimir putin's first foreign trip since winning a fifth presidential election in march. is it entirely predictable he would make china his first stop? nina: hi, yes, it is protectable. he did not win his fifth term. he just took it. yes, they have been -- there have been conserve -- have been conversations from the kremlin.

he is speaking in china, said that it makes perfect sense that it is a china trip, his first one. because when xi jinping once again became the chairman, he also made a trip to russia first. but it is also obvious because this is a very soviet tradition. in the soviet union, the first trip after eating anything, the general secretary of the communist party would always go to china to cement the relationship, until the relationship actually collapsed in the 1960's. in this sense, it is absolutely predictable. caitriona: resident she has just returned from europe where he was pressurized against not supporting russia in its invasion in ukraine to the extent that china is so far. he finds himself back home, hosting vladimir putin.

how is president xi trying to straddle two sides of the fence here. nina: china, in recent decades, and many decades, has been quite good at that. because it deals with trading relationship with europe while russia is completely, almost completely caught up with sanctions. at the same time, we hear today that xi jinping was talking about the great friendship that both russia and china are special in relations to western countries, because they want security for everybody equal, and not creating any agreements or any alliances against anybody else. something that the west they say is doing. xi jinping has been clever. he just visited france and serbia and hungary.

also russia's allies, in a sense. emmanuel macron, being quite wishy-washy, i would say. caitriona: the two leaders vowed to work together against what they called the destructive and hostile u.s. policies. if china continues to bolster russia in this way in relation to ukraine, one is not going to mean for the russian offensive there? nina: china is wanting peace. we keep hearing that. xi jinping was talking about that. that they are looking. he said the way to resolve the conflict is going to have some sort of negotiations or some sort of a conference on that. but in which every side will be presented. so it -- every side would agree to be present. as long as he is talking about this, heat is on the side of peace. in the meantime, vladimir putin is advancing precisely because

china is not blocking any potential moves forward for the russian side. china is essentially complicit -- a complicit actor on putin's side in this relationship. and in relations to the war in ukraine. caitriona: when it comes to the western resistance to putin in that war in ukraine, we see today that nato is of the view that it is getting closer to a point where it will have to send nato forces to ukraine to train the troops there, as has been requested by the ukrainian military. would that represent a serious escalation of the proceedings there? nina: putin will certainly look at it this way. we know, and it has been already said numerous times, not necessarily too publicly, but publicly enough that they have been training forces, they may

not consider themselves or advertise themselves as nato forces, but they have been forces out there in ukraine. that has happened already. if now, it is an official policy, putin will take it as a sign of escalation. and what we really know about putin is that he escalates and reflects escalation in any escalatory manner. so we can be sure that to any such advance on the western part, putin will have his own advances. caitriona: all right, we will leave it there. nina khrushcheva, thank you for joining us on bbc news. nina: thank you. caitriona: that is it for today. you can keep up-to-date with all of the days news at bbc.com/news. that is "world news america" today. i am caitriona perry.

for announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james. cunard is a proud supporter of public television. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: get the free pbs app now and stream the best of pbs.

geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz. on the “newshour” tonight, former trump lawyer michael cohen returns to the witness stand in the former president's hush money trial.