live from washington. this is bbc news. israel says it's moving forward with preparations for a ground operation in gaza's southern—most city, rafah. lam in i am in los angeles where pro— palestinian protests led to clashes with police as tensions escalate on campuses across the us. arizona's attorney general announces charges in an investigation into a scheme to re—elect former president trump in 2020. hello, i'm caitriona perry. you're very welcome. israeli officials have confirmed they are moving ahead with plans for a military assault on the city of rafah in southern gaza. israel says it hopes to launch an assault on the several hamas

battalions remaining in rafah. however, aid groups and western allies have warned israel not to carry out a full—scale attack. in rafah, more than a million displaced people are taking shelter. as part of its invasion, israel is planning to evacuate civilians out of rafah. satellite imagery shows tents popping up around khan younis, north of rafa h. an israeli official told reuters that the country has purchased 40,000 tents, each with the capacity for 10 to 12 people, meant to house palestinians evacuated from rafah. the bbc�*s wyre davies has more on israel's plans. this we got a very clear indication from an israeli government spokesperson to day that israel is moving ahead and planning for what is expected to be a pretty full—scale military incursion into rafah, which is the city in southern gaza with israel says the remnants or significant remnants or significant remnants of hamas fighters and

leadership are still based. israel says it has destroyed i9 israel says it has destroyed 19 of the hamas military battalions, there are four or five battalions, hundreds of heavily armed men remaining in southern gaza with the hamas leadership. israel has had to bear and respond to these criticisms and appeals from its allies, including the united states in recent weeks not to undertake this full—scale military invasion, principally because of the humanitarian consequences, there are thought to be a million people in and around two t in southern gaza, people in pretty dire circumstances and the americans and british and others including aid agencies are worried about the growing humanitarian crisis there. there is some evidence tents and other shelters are being built in preparation for the invasion to move some people away from rafah but a million people as a lot of people to move in the event of a military operation. egypt and israel are

thought to have been holding talks about the consequences of a big military operation right on the border with egypt. it's also worrying for israeli families, remember, 130 hostages are thought to be held in southern gaza, 100 of them still remain, and israeli families of the hostages are increasingly worried the military operation in this area mightjeopardise the lives also of the remaining hostages. israeli officials believe hostages are still being held in rafah. on wednesday, hamas published a video appearing to show an israeli—american hostage, 24—year—old hersh goldberg—polin, in captivity. the bbc has not independently verified the video or when it was taken. meanwhile, the un's human rights chief says he is "horrified" by the destruction of two of gaza's main hospitals amid reports of mass graves being found at the sites. palestinian officials say they have discovered the bodies of almost 300 people at nasser and al—shifa hospitals. the israel defence forces described reports that they

buried bodies as �*baseless and unfounded.�* our special correspondent, fergal keane reports. and a warning, some viewers might find images distressing. bombed into brokenness, khan younis today from above. and down among the ruins, a mother and sister search for a missing son. nabil, aged 23, was killed injanuary. his mother and sister have been searching for nabil�*s body ever since. for two weeks since israeli forces left here, they've come to the nasser hospital. translation: even if he's a dead body, i want my son. just bring me my son.

my heart has been broken for the past three months since i lost him. this is a place where nobody comes in hope of finding the living. only if they're lucky — the dead, and an end to searching whose trauma is difficult to comprehend. translation: i saw bodies that had signs of torture. they were executed. some had their hands and legs tied together and were executed. how long will this continue? the graves are now at the centre of conflicting claims between hamas and local aid workers on one side and the israel defense forces on the other. hamas claims some of the dead were executed, had their hands tied and were dumped in mass graves. the israelis describe these

allegations as baseless, saying they'd opened existing graves to check for dead israeli hostages. the examination was carried out respectfully while maintaining the dignity of the deceased. bodies were examined and which did not belong to israeli hostages, and they were returned to their place. colleagues at bbc verify have confirmed the existence of graves at the hospitals before israel began its operations in both complexes. buried like this because staff couldn't reach cemeteries due to fighting in the area. today, a senior un 0fficial told me there had to be an independent investigation to establish the facts. what we cannot allow in this current situation, where we have seen in gaza numerous grave human rights violations, many of them potentially war crimes, and where we have raised alarm

of potential atrocity crimes, that this becomes another blip. the intensity of violations have been massive. it is early afternoon at al nasser hospital, and nabil�*s mother has been directed to this section of the graveyard. nabil might be here. "i swear it's him, it's his jacket. "my son, my son. i found him," she says. "my life, my heart, my son". to rejoice that your dead child has been lifted from an anonymous grave... that is a measure of the agony engulfing gaza. fergal keane, bbc news, jerusalem. protests against the war in gaza have been taking centre stage at college campuses across the us.

on wednesday, skirmishes broke out between protestors and police at the university of southern california in los angeles. we're looking at live pictures now of the scene at usc. and there was a heavy police presence at the university of texas in austin. the university said the protest was not authorized. pro—palestinian and anti—war protests at columbia university in new york sparked demonstrations at several other universities this past week — reviving a debate about free speech and the right to protest. there have also been reports of anti—semitic remarks at some of the demonstrations — something columbia's president has condemned as quote, unacceptable — and will be met with appropriate action. on wednesday, speaker of the house mikejohnson met withjewish students at columbia. he called on the university's president to resign, and accused administrators of failing to protectjewish students from antisemitism.

we just can't allow this kind of hatred and anti—semitism to flourish on our campuses and it must be stopped in its tracks, those perpetrating the violence should be arrested. i am here todayjoining my colleagues in calling on the president to resign if she cannot immediately bring order to the scales. we have reporters at universities across the us. first, the bbc�*s bernd debusmann is at columbia, where he's been looking into claims of anti—semitism. i'v e i've spoken to some of those jurisdictions and some did tell me they have expressed an thai semitism on campus, one man told me he was assaulted, others say they are fearful of wearing the yarmulke around camas, protest organisation tell me those incidents are overblown and they fear entire semitism as being weaponised to the protest. —— and our los angeles correspondent, emma vardy has been reporting on the

demonstrations at the university of southern california. number of points of tension especially on this campus, one of them is that the valid corian of usc the top graduate of the year that the university has hand—picked her speech was cancelled at the graduation ceremony, accused of anti—semitism and the university here trying to de—escalate tensions which have escalated cancelled her speech and cancelled a number of other speakers too. it seems that had the effect of galvanising support for this protest today, there were protesters here old and placard saying let her speak in relation to that cancelled speech. earlier, i spoke to former us state department middle east expert wa'el alzayat about the protests and the accusations of anti—semitism made against some of those protesting. many of the student movements including columbia have issued statements denouncing entire semitism being very clear on

where they stand on hatred towards any people especially the jewish people, towards any people especially thejewish people, in fact, what is really frustrating as these movements include many jewish students. thejewish students at columbia have celebrated the jewish students at columbia have celebrated thejewish holidays with other students on campus, at these encampments and it is an utter rejection of these accusations i do think there are some bad actors mixing with the protesters but we should not absolutely be painting all of them with the same brush. those who are coming there to instigate or to harm others should be kicked out. but those who are there to protest freely and exercise their first amendment and exercise theirfirst amendment should be and exercise their first amendment should be allowed and be protected. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. a teenage girl has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after two teachers and a teenage student were injured in a stabbing incident at a secondary school in southwest wales.

pupils were locked in classrooms for about four hours as police investigated the incident in ammaford. 0fficers recovered a knife. three people have been arrested by police investigating the deaths of five migrants, including a seven—year—girl, in the english channel on tuesday. the men, who are from sudan and south sudan, are being held on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration and entering the uk illegally. at least 6,265 people have crossed the channel in small boats since the start of 2024 — almost a quarter more when compared with the same period last year. the skies of athens turned orange on tuesday after strong winds carried dust from the sahara desert across the mediterranean sea, shrouding the acropolis and other famous landmarks. on wednesday, the winds shifted and move the dust, as temperatures dropped. you're live with bbc news. an arizona grand jury has

indicted 18 people on charges they took part in a fake elector scheme to re—elect former president donald trump in 2020. court papers list a "former us president," presumably mr trump, as an unindicted co—conspirator. us media outlets, including the associated press, report that former new york mayor and attorney rudy giuliani and former trump white house chief of staff mark meadows are among the names of seven defendants redacted within the indictment. the state's attorney general says the plot undermined arizona citzens�* voting rights. whatever their reasoning was, the plot to violate the law must be answered or and i was elected to uphold the law of this state. this scheme had it succeeded would have deprived arizona's voters of the right to have their votes counted for their chosen president. it effectively would have made their right to vote

meaningless. meanwhile, arizona has moved one step closer to ending a 160—year—old law banning abortion, after state house lawmakers voted to repeal it. three republican state representatives broke ranks to vote with democrats , with the repeal passing 32 to 28. the bill now goes to the state senate, where it could pass. on wednesday, the us supreme court heard arguments about how close to death a woman must be to receive an abortion in states where there are strict bans. the case centres on a federal law requiring hospitals to provide stabilising treatment to any patient who arrives with an "emergency medical condition". the question before the supreme court is whether federal law covers emergency abortions, even in states where the procedure is banned. it's been nearly two years since justices overturned the constitutional right to an abortion. 1a states now ban abortion at all stages of pregnancy — some with limited exceptions. idaho is one of them, and that state's near—total ban is now before the court.

earlier, i spoke to dr alison haddock, president—elect of the american college of emergency physicians. thank you forjoining us. idaho has a near total abortion ban with an exception for the life but not the health of the mother. from your perspective as an emergency physician, what are the sort of risks to the health of a woman in an emergency pregnancy complication, short of a risk to her life?— complication, short of a risk to her life? the challenge we have in the — to her life? the challenge we have in the scenario - to her life? the challenge we have in the scenario it - to her life? the challenge we have in the scenario it is - to her life? the challenge we have in the scenario it is very difficult to say when an emergency crosses from being a threat to someone's health to a threat to someone's health to a threat to someone's health to a threat to their life, for example someone can have an infection and that infection can be a threat to their health, we treat a permanent disability, the infection worsening and surgery being required to remove organs, they might survive all that, when does that infection become a threat to the light, the same

thing can be true with bleeding, how much haemorrhage is a threat to your health and how much is a threat to your life, where is that line, i'm just not sure in most cases we have a definite answer to that question. fin have a definite answer to that cuestion. ., ,., ., question. on that point and idaho at the _ question. on that point and idaho at the moment - question. on that point and idaho at the moment what | question. on that point and i idaho at the moment what are the options to the pregnant woman and for the physicians treating her who presents and that sort of emergency situation where you have to make those decisions? it’s situation where you have to make those decisions? it's a really challenging _ make those decisions? it's a really challenging position . make those decisions? it's a l really challenging position for a position to be in, because they have conflicting responsibilities when they have diagnosed an emergency medical condition and are obligated to provide stabilising treatment and obligation to follow state law risk criminal charges. a lot of times what additions are doing are looking to options to transfer patients out of state, if they are in a serious condition where termination of the pregnancy is the best option, that is the kind of treatment plan they are developing as a treatment plan to get the patient to somewhere they can safely receive the

care they need. i they can safely receive the care they need.— they can safely receive the care the need. ., . care they need. i would imagine in some scenarios _ care they need. i would imagine in some scenarios time - care they need. i would imagine in some scenarios time does - care they need. i would imagine | in some scenarios time does not allow for the transferring across a state line? correct, there can — across a state line? correct, there can be _ across a state line? correct, there can be very _ across a state line? correct, there can be very difficult i there can be very difficult situations, emergency positions will be working with colleagues in those situations, we do our best not to take things on alone, that being said the hospital closures in rural areas and states with substantial rural areas like idaho, dean there may be maternity care deserts where there is not any positions to be part of the care, emergency positions facing the challenge themselves, and also may be needing to call up even the illegal staff as they try to figure out how to transfer a patient and the transfer centre to get them where they get the care they need. for to get them where they get the care they need.— care they need. for positions if they are — care they need. for positions if they are making _ care they need. for positions if they are making that - if they are making that decision between how —— saving the health or life of a woman and potentially facing a criminal prosecution themselves, should the woman pass away and die is the

position liable for a medical negligence case?— position liable for a medical negligence case? yes, it is a trianule negligence case? yes, it is a triangle of — negligence case? yes, it is a triangle of situations - negligence case? yes, it is a triangle of situations where l triangle of situations where you have potential criminal charges and malpractice, and you are kind of stuck trying to navigate that the best that you can. what i want to proposition as they be able to ethically provide the best care they can to their patients and malpractice should protect them in those cases, is just now with the balance of state laws and in tala is getting more complicated for physicians to do the right thing.— complicated for physicians to do the right thing. should the su - reme do the right thing. should the supreme court _ do the right thing. should the supreme court when - do the right thing. should the supreme court when it - do the right thing. should the supreme court when it hands| supreme court when it hands down its decision in early summer when it is expected, should that ruling favour that in tala does supersede state laws will that be the end of the matter? i laws will that be the end of the matter?— laws will that be the end of the matter? i certainly think that will be _ the matter? i certainly think that will be helpful - the matter? i certainly think that will be helpful to - the matter? i certainly think that will be helpful to get i that will be helpful to get those two things lined up, however, we still have the challenge in a criminal prosecution is sought, my understanding not being a lawyer, you then can be taken

to a criminal trial and it is yourjob to defend yourself using in tala, using the state law that protects the health and life of the mother is your defence. criminal trials are not covered by malpractice insurance as physicians, it is putting positions in a tough position having to analyse the staples and wonder how sure they can be if they can safely provide that best care to patients. if provide that best care to patients-_ provide that best care to atients. ., ., ~ ., , ., patients. if we look at state laws in arizona _ patients. if we look at state laws in arizona we - patients. if we look at state laws in arizona we saw i patients. if we look at state | laws in arizona we saw today lawmakers take a major step towards repealing in 1864 law banning abortion except in the case of a risk to the life of the mother which was revived by the mother which was revived by the arizona supreme court to meet weeks ago and given what we have seen in many states since the repealing of roe v wade with reproductive rights being peeled back whatever decision comes with this case, doesn't have the potential to have an impact on those dates as well? i have an impact on those dates as well? . , , ., as well? i absolutely think it does, as well? i absolutely think it does. and — as well? i absolutely think it

does. and i _ as well? i absolutely think it does, and i hope _ as well? i absolutely think it does, and i hope the - as well? i absolutely think it| does, and i hope the decision will be made for states to realign themselves within tala but i would like to us go further make sure positions —— positions if there is any kind of help risk to them mother be able to make the same —— right kind of decisions in partnership with the pregnant patient they are seeing in the hospital. patient they are seeing in the hosital. ~ ., patient they are seeing in the hosital. ~ . . patient they are seeing in the hosital. . ., ., , hospital. what impact does it have on the _ hospital. what impact does it have on the lives _ hospital. what impact does it have on the lives of- hospital. what impact does itj have on the lives of american women and their health when there are so many different laws in different states here? it is incredibly confusing for the layperson to understand what is happening, and no—one thinks they will find themselves in this kind of situation, we see this in emergency medicine all the time, no—one thinks they will have two be in the car accident or have the occurrence of illness they end up having happened that lends them under our care and we're happy to provide that care but it is hard know when you are ending up hard know when you are ending up in that situation, it is a confusing situation and we see physicians want to practise in

places where it is the safest for them and they have the most clarity about the care they can provide. i am worried about worsening physician shortages in key areas as well. i worsening physician shortages in key areas as well.— in key areas as well. i will leave it — in key areas as well. i will leave it there. _ in key areas as well. i will leave it there. president i in key areas as well. i willl leave it there. president of the college of emergency positions, thank you for joining us on bbc news. the biden administration has confirmed that it sent long—range missiles to ukraine for use inside its territory. the us national security advisor, jake sullivan said the weapons known as army tactical missile system , or atacms, arrived in ukraine in march. he said the us provided the weapons because russia was attacking ukraine with long range—missiles it had secured from north korea. 0ne capability will not be the ultimate solution, is an amalgam of capabilities that come together and combined with the bravery and skill of the ukraine fighters which will make the difference in this conflict, it is good we can provide them but i don't expect

to stand before you and say one capability has been the silver bullet in this conflict. news of the delivery of long—range missiles came soon after president biden signed a foreign aid bill into law. the $95 billion package contains nearly $61 billion worth of military assistance to ukraine. us shipments of equipment will include high mobility artillery rocket systems known as himars, artillery rounds, air defence missiles, the us secretary of state antony blinken is in china aiming to put relations between the countries on a steadierfooting. mr blinken arrived in shanghai late on wednesday, for meetings with business leaders before heading to beijing for talks with foreign minister wang yi. though tensions have eased since last year, disagreements on issues such as trade and security remain. (pres) live now to stephen mcdonnell, the bbc�*s china correspondent. how has the visit been going so far? anthony blink and has been talking about managing their

relationship responsibly. he has relationship responsibly. he: has tried to kick off on a positive note, this is at a time of considerable tension between the two governments, he started off with some basketball diplomacy. this makes sense because this very american game is quite popular in china, and the game went down to the wire, that he went along to, the golden balls pipped the shanghai sharks by one point, all very exciting and he went along to this game was mentioned when he spoke to the shanghai communist party secretary. and at that meeting, at least the opening remarks were quite friendly, i will give you a taste of it, the shanghai communist party secretary said to anthony blink and, "whether china and the us choose cooperation or confrontation it affects the well being of people �*s both nations and also the future of

humanity. " not a small issue. then anthony blink and responded saying we have an obligation for our people and indeed an obligation for the world to manage the relationship between our two countries. so at least they are kicking off on a reasonably cordial note but there is a long way to go, and many more meetings to happen over the next couple of days. the visit comes as president biden signed off billions of dollars in aid to us allies in the indo—pacific. what bearing do you think this will have on the discussions?3. she i mean, the main thing both governments are criticising one another or i suppose their involvement in other regions, so for washington the big criticism is china's support for russia in the war in ukraine. for beijing it's big

criticism is washington's support for taiwan and increased tension in the taiwan strait, of course any involvement from either country involvement from either country in the pacific is also quite an area of mistrust and disagreement, significant disagreement, significant disagreement, so you would expect during these meetings if you are a fly on the wall and able to hear what is going on there will be some type talk, especially when the visiting us secretary of state meets his chinese counterpart wang yi and possibly meet the chinese number one leader xi jinping. we will wait to see what happens there. you will of course keep us up—to—date. before we go, an amazing discovery by archaeologists in italy during excavations for the construction of a future electricity station near the southern city of caserta. a pre—roman necropolis has been unearthed. archaeologists found tombs containing weapons, bronze, and amber ornaments. the ancient burial grounds dates from between the iron age and the 7th century bc.

that's it for now. thanks for watching. stay here with bbc news. hello there. some really chilly—feeling air for the time of year, and it's going nowhere for the next couple of days. but of course, the sunshine's helping to lift the temperature somewhat. lots of blue sky across many parts of scotland, 13 celsius in edinburgh, butjust seven degrees for these north sea facing coasts such as scarborough. lots of clouds, and a brisk, a bitter northerly wind blowing, too. and as we head through the rest of tonight, there's a little feature running southwards bringing the threat of some further showers, possibly wintry over the hills of scotland. temperatures dipping very close to freezing into thursday morning. watch out for some icy

stretches perhaps. and it's still blustery for those north sea facing coast, and across the northern isles as well. a mixture of sunny spells, but also some showers across many northern areas of england, scotland and northern ireland. more cloud and some showers pushing southwards across england and wales. temperatures again towards the east, just 8—10 degrees celsius, but a little milder again further south and west. now, as we head through thursday night, then there'll be a lot of clear spells around. again, it's another cold feeling night for the time of year, the snow levels again dropping across parts of scotland. another frost for many of us as we head into friday morning. again, watch out for some icy stretches here and there. friday, we'll start to see a few changes. this area of low pressure starts to push in to south west england, affecting parts of the channel islands as well, bringing some more showery outbreaks of rain here. and the winds will fall lighter as well, so it won't feel quite so bitterly cold towards those north sea facing coast. but still, the bulk of the showers will be here. a scattering of showers, also some sunny spells, probably sunniest out towards the north and the west again. but temperatures still very low for the time of year, below the average, 8—12 degrees celsius for most of us. things are set to turn a little less cold, though, as we head through the weekend.

some milderfeeling air. and it's going to be quite unsettled, tending to be drier in the north and the west. so, if we just look at this low pressure system. it's spinning in from the south. it's going to give plenty of wet weather, particularly towards the south and the east, but also some milder feeling conditions. temperatures will rise to more or less the seasonal average. so certainly no heat wave. here's the temperature outlook for our capital cities as we head through the weekend and into the start of next week. so not as cold, but really quite showery. bye— bye.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. last december, the world's highest court, the international court ofjustice, began considering a case which has stirred debate and controversy around the world. the state of south africa accused the state of israel of violating the genocide convention in gaza. in its initial ruling, the court overwhelmingly found

there was a plausible case to answer, but a finaljudgment