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and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news" " the white house says it wants " answers from israel amid conflicting reports of mass graves discovered in gaza. a political flashpoint. another showdown over abortion rights goes to the supreme court. ♪ welcome to "world news america." we begin in the middle east. the israeli military said it intends to move forward with a ground offensive saying the city

is the last stronghold for hamas. airstrikes have continued but aid groups and allies have warned israel a full-scale ground invasion without plans to protect civilians would be age military disaster. more than one million displaced people are taking shelter in rafah. there are signs israel is planning to -- satellite imagery shows tents popping up north of rafah. the country has purchased 40,000 tent with a capacity for 10 to 12 people. >> we have a very clear indication from an israeli government spokesperson today that israel is moving ahead and planning for what is expected to be a full-scale military incursion into rafah.

israel says the remnants of hamas fighters and leadership are still based there. israel says it has destroyed 19 hamas military battalions meaning there are four or five remaining in southern gaza with the hamas leadership. israel has had to respond to these criticisms and appeals from allies including the u.s. in recent weeks not to undertake this full-scale military invasion because of the humanitarian consequences. there are thought to be one million people in and around rafah in southern gaza. people in dire circumstances. some are worried about the growing humanitarian crisis. there is evidence that tents and other shelters are built in preparation for the invasion to move some people away from rafah .

one million people is a lot of people to move in the event of a military operation. egypt has been thought to be having talks about the consequences of the military operation. it is also worrying for israeli families. about 130 hostages are thought to be still held in southern gaza. the is really families of the hostages are increasingly worried that a military operation in this area might jeopardize the lives of the remaining hostages. >> as mentioned israeli officials believe hostages are being held in rafah. on wednesday hamas published a video purportedly showing an israeli american hostage, a 24-year-old, in captivity. the bbc has not independently verified the video or when it was taken. israel study believes hamas is holding as many as 129 hostages in gaza. it is unclear of their

condition. they have been held in captivity since october 7 when hamas launched a surprise attack on israel, killing 1200 people. in gaza 34,000 have been killed in the last six months. israel says it has every intent to protect civilians but the united nations estimates 70% of those killed in gaza have been women and children. israel is under pressure by the u.n. to explain mass graves. the palestinian civil defense of the number of bodies has risen to 330. the idf calls reports they buried bodies as baseless and unfounded. the bbc has been investigating completing claims. and warning, some might find images distressing. >> blasted into brokenness. a world of rubble and death. the city from above and on the

ground and below the ground. searching of the grand spirit. for four days, she has moved through the overpowering stench of the mass graves at the hospital. she is a mother of a 21-year-old who was killed in january. >> i have been coming here over time until now until i found the body of my son. my son, my cherished little boy. he lost his father when he was 12 and i raised him. >> the graves are now at the center of conflicting claims between hamas and local aid workers on one side and the israeli 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 described these allegations as baseless, saying they would open existing graves to check for dead hostages. >> examination was carried out respectively while maintaining the dignity of the deceased. bodies were examined that did not belong to hostages and were returned to their place. >> colleagues at bbc have confirmed the existence of graves at the hospitals before the idf began operations. buried like this because staff could not reach a cemeteries due to fighting in the area. today that u.n. human rights director told me there had to be an independent investigation to get to the truth. >> we still do not have evidence. we have information. that information needs to be corroborated. that information needs to be

corroborated from different sources. that is exactly why we do need an independent international investigation. but we cannot allow in this current situation where we have seen in gaza numerous grave human rights violations, many of them potentially war crimes. we have potential atrocity crimes that this becomes another blip. the intensity has been massive. >> she retrieved her husband's body from the hospital and was able to bury him with his relatives. his daughter is struggling to understand his absence. >> he loved me, she said, and used to buy things for me and take me out. they will be searching and burying people for days. all over gaza, the dying continues.

>> protests against the war in gaza are taking center stage on college campuses across the u.s. skirmishes broke out at the university of southern california. also a heavy presence at the university of texas in austin. pro-palestinian and antiwar protests at columbia university smart demonstrations at other universities reviving the debate about free speech and the right to protest. there have been reports of anti-semitic remarks at some, something columbia's president said was unacceptable. speaker of the house mike johnson visited the columbia university campus. he accused people of failing to protect jewish students. >> we cannot allow this kind of hatred and anti-semitism to flourish on our campuses. those who are perpetrating this

violence should be arrested. i am here today, joining my colleagues, to call on the school president to resign if you cannot immediately bring order to this chaos. >> the white house has been under pressure to respond to the campus protests. here is the press secretary speaking earlier today. >> this is a deeply painful moment for many communities and we understand that. but the president believes free-speech debate and nondiscrimination on college campuses are important american values. protest must be peaceful and students must be safe. when we see violent rhetoric, we have to call that out. >> we can discuss this now with a professor and princeton university author. you are the author of a new book. thank you so much for joining us. i noticed in this book you are advocating for people to be the

leaders they want to see. part of that is grassroots activism, advocating, campaigning. is what you are seeing on college campuses, does that align with what you are advocating for? >> absolutely. what we are seeing is a cultural shift. there is a moral question here. will you stand by and witness unimaginable horror? 13,000 babies dead? how will you respond to a situation you might think is morally reprehensible? how do you defend the defenseless? there are questions. there are those who support israel. we have to think about october 7 and the 1200 people killed. at the heart of this, students are trying to make a moral decision. how can i put it -- with each

moment we allow ourselves to be comfortable with people in our midst, something corrodes in the soul. >> we heard the white house seeing it embraces the right to free speech and protest but at the same time wants to protect the safety of students on campus. >> of course. >> what is the limit of free speech and protesting? >> it is important for us to understand our students are having a debate in the country has forgotten how to disagree. we expect students to do something washington, d.c. cannot seem to do. the nature of the question in front of them, it will be impassioned. i think it is important for us to understand that just as people have a right to argue for the position israel is taking, people have the right to argue for the position around palestinians. just as people have the right to

argue for a position, vis-a-vis around affirmative action, people have the right to argue against that position. it seems in the u.s., free speech is lifted up to protect the speech of those who come from the right. it seems to be a value to protect a certain kind of speech. the rest of us are expected to simply shut up and be grateful. >> you said it is time for people to take democracy into their own hands. . and be more active you said it is no more about outsourcing to politicians but people taking responsibility for saving their country. how does not align with the being a representative democracy? we voted supposed to put people in power that represent our beliefs. >> we have to be better people. if we are going to be the leaders we are looking for, we have to become better people. when we become better people we

send better people to washington, d.c. >> what does that mean? >> reach for higher forms of excellence. be clear about your commitment to justice without exception. justice is not just for you and your kin and your tribe, it applies to every human being. what i am suggesting is the students, for me -- i am a college professor who has been around college campuses for 20-plus years -- these students are taking a stand for the world they imagine. it seems not only wrong but reprehensible for me for universities and administrators to unleash the police on them when they are organizing nonviolently. >> you talk about in the book some heroes who inspired you with their activism. i wonder what your message is to people who feel they do not have the capacity, resources, time to

reflect some of the activism of the heroes you mentioned. >> part of what we have to understand is the issues that confront us are often right in front of us. if you are concerned about education, get involved with the schools. if you are concerned about mass incarceration, there are issues right in front of you. we often think we do not have power. there are folks out here that one us to believe we do not have power because they know how powerful we actually are. if democracy is going to survive, is american democracy is going to survive, americans will have to secure their salvation. unless we understand that the forces that threaten to undermine our way of life, they will win. >> thank you for joining us. >> appreciate you. >> here in washington on wednesday, president biden signed a foreign aid bill into

law that unlocks $61 billion worth of military assistance to ukraine. after months of delay, fresh aid could be on its way in hours. the initial $1 billion in weapons apply for ukraine is set to be shipped right away. u.s. shipments will start with the delivery of rocket systems. artillery rounds, air defense missiles, armored vehicles and other weapons that can immediately put to use on the battlefield. mr. biden's signature comes a day after a foreign aid package was approved. abortion rights are back in front of the u.s. supreme court nearly two years after justices overturn the constitutional right to an abortion, leaving it up to individual states. most republican-controlled states have started enforcing abortion bans since roe v. wade was overturned. 14 states now ban abortions at

all stages of pregnancy. idaho is one of them. the state's near-total ban is now before the court. whether federal law requiring that care supersedes them. we can speak to a national reporter for the washington post who is covering abortion and is with us today. great to have you back on bbc news. tell us what you made of the hearings in court today. >> it is really hard to say what will happen. you heard a lot of the justices, particularly the liberal justices, the three women, talking a lot about the consequences of these abortion bans, the harrowing medical consequences. you heard them in explicit detail talking about women who have life-threatening pregnancy complications who have been showing up at emergency rooms ending turned away. you had justice sonia sotomayor

asking the attorney for the state of idaho, what do you make of those situations? how does that fall into this law that is supposed to have an exception for the life of the mother? >> idaho's attorney general said the state does allow exceptions for lifesaving abortion. what exactly is the biden administration suing on here? >> the difference that everyone was talking about today is between an exception for the life of the mother and exception for the health of the mother. those are two very different things when it comes to the hospital and the decision doctors have to make. there our letter pregnancy complications that fall in a gray area. they know that if a woman's water breaks early, she will be exposed to increased risk of hemorrhage, sepsis. maybe that is not quite qualify for her life being at risk but certainly her health is at risk. these doctors are in emergency

rooms trying to wrestle with how sick the someone have to be to qualify under this ban? that is the issue here. the biden administration is arguing any a woman's health is at risk that she needs to be cared for, whether or not there is an abortion ban in place. >> can you tell us more about what the stakes are? >> i have been talking with doctors in idaho and across the country who are watching this case extremely carefully. this is going to determine how many patients they feel they can safely treat without risking their license or going to jail and how many they feel the need to transfer out of state. any time they have to transfer a patient with a pregnancy complication out-of-state, it is risky. these things are oftentimes sensitive. >> what are the implications for

other states in the u.s.? >> across the country, this is going to have bearing on how the abortion bands play out and whether this federal law is seen as a protection for a wider range of circumstances. across the country, people are looking to see how the supreme court will rule in this case. >> i want to ask you about a development in arizona. democrats succeeded in their third attempt to repeal the state's civil war ban on abortion. what do you make of this? >> i was in arizona last week and spoke to a lot of republicans, many of whom said this is the most difficult decision of my career. these are people who are deeply, personally antiabortion and have been publicly for a long time

but many are also in swing districts and recognize this 1864 abortion ban is not what their constituents want. they have been wrestling with this. you did see today, finally, the third time they tried, enough of them were able to cross over that this repeal was able to move forward. now it goes to the state senate. >> really interesting to talk to you. . about this big story thank you so much. >> thank you for having me. >> a british mining company is facing allegations of damaging the environment and local communities in brazil. . the company describes itself as a sustainable mining company and set it a world leader. dozens of local residents are launching a claim in a u.k. court accusing the firm of damaging their health, environment and water supplies. are south america corresponded has more from brazil. >> this hole in the ground in

brazil is the center of a legal battle in the u.k. until last year a u.k.-own company was mining here. now it wants a license to carry on. a few hundred meters below, this was once a river. the community took -- the company denies. drying up their water supply and with it their livelihoods. >> this was a lake three meters deep where we had a project to raise fish. it was already full of water. after the mines, waste fell into the spring and buried the entire link. three more meters of silt in our project went down the drain. [explosion] >> others claim explosions from the mine crack their houses and

dust pollution affected their crops and health. >> it was an exploratory issue with my daughter. she had pains she did not know before. she practically did not sleep the whole night trying to scratch her throat. i had to take her to the doctor, who gave her an inhaler. >> the traditional way of life is protected by law. it is a community divided. >> i joined the company in 2019. i had the opportunity to learn about heavy vehicles. i asked for the opportunity to learn machines. one of the main benefits the company brought and the opportunity to work with a contract, was the opportunity to live close to family. it is something money cannot buy. >> the company is based far from here in london and funded by shareholders. it says the allegations it faces are untrue and could hurt the local economy.

>> the mine had no impact. we will need to check the water sources. there is an open communication channel with these communities. the company always has its ears open. >> brazil iron claims it is in a unique location that can produce steel that does not produce a lot of carbon. we all need steel, it is in our homes and cars, so there is reasons to make it more environmentally friendly. the question is is that coming to the -- >> there are two realities. do we need to sacrifice everyone in rural areas for the city where people have a 600--year-old way of life? i believe communities should be respected. is it clean to kill a river?

>> this is an issue playing out around the world. other resources are causing tensions with the environment where they come from. bbc news, brazil. >> before we go we want to show you some amazing pictures from greece. skies over the south of the country turned orange. that comes after a strong southerly wind carried dust from the sahara desert across the mediterranean sea. people with respiratory illnesses were urged to stay indoors. with temperatures shifting, we are told the skies are beginning to clear up. that is our program. head to our website, bbc.com/news. you will find various stories, more on the war in ukraine and the latest aid package from the u.s. expected to head to ukraine right away. you will also find more reporting on our top story with

the israeli military sang it incense to move forward with a ground offensive in rafah and more about protests on college campuses announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james. bdo. accountants and advisors. 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. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz. on the "newshour" tonight. the supreme court weighs whether federal protections for emergency medical care override a near-total ban of abortions at the state level. geoff: after months of wrangling in the house, president biden signs a major foreign aid package that includes tens of