on the fate of our family members now, now! all hostages on both sides, yes. because there are 8000 palestinian hostages in israel, and the whole population of gaza today, 2.3 million people, are taken hostages by israeli bombardment. the israeli military has expanded its ground operation into "all areas" of gaza. the hamas—run health ministry says the death toll is now nearing 16,000. that is fuelling tensions across the region. we have a report tonight from our international editorjeremy bowen, who's been to a palestinian village in the occupied west bank. we will get the thoughts of un peacekeepers in lebanon, who are observing heavy exchanges of fire along the line, between israel and hezbollah. and how will the white house respond to the threat from houthi rebels in the red sea? joining us tonight, retired marine colonel brenday kearney. good evening. israel says it has all but completed its military objectives in the north of gaza and is proceeding "aggresively" with ground operations in the south. the idf has again urged people to evacuate from areas they're targeting. around 170,000 people in khan younis have been warned to leave for their safety, but a spokesman for the un children's charity, unicef, says there's nowhere safe for people to go. and just a few hours ago, there were reports by the hamas—run health ministry that 30 people had been killed at two schools where people were sheltering, including children. our diplomatic correspondent paul adams is injerusalem tonight. can we talk about operations on the ground first of all, paul? i have seen a variety of maps today. what new information at the idf giving to palestinians on the ground? the? new information at the idf giving to palestinians on the ground? they are basically saying _ palestinians on the ground? they are basically saying that _ palestinians on the ground? they are basically saying that if _ palestinians on the ground? they are basically saying that if you _ palestinians on the ground? they are basically saying that if you are - basically saying that if you are living in an area just to the east and north of khan younis are one of the largest cities in the southern part of the gaza strip, then you need to move west and get out of the way. that map that you are seeing on your screen, that red dotted line is that street which runs throughout the gaza strip from north to south. and that area, that red dotted area, is a stretch of the rotor that the israelis are saying palestinians should not get anywhere near. at the bottom end of that dotted line is of the city of khan younis. the yellow orange line is saying that this is the alternative route that you can take if you want to head to the south. i think what all of this suggests to me is that the israelis are probably going to try to cut across the north of khan younis towards the sea, to cut the southern part of the gaza strip off from the rest. we saw a similar tactic further north when they cut off gaza city from the rest of the gaza strip. so that seems to be the general direction of israeli military effort at the moment. and that will be a prelude to a battle that will be a prelude to a battle that will be a prelude to a battle that will probably concentrate on khan younis for the coming weeks. and obviously, that is leading to enormous concern and fear among people there. they are getting these new instructions, they are more detailed than they were up in gaza city, you can look at a map and see block by block which one is the israelis are talking about on any given day. but for people, some of whom have had to move several times already, this is exhausting and it is still confusing. find already, this is exhausting and it is still confusing.— already, this is exhausting and it is still confusing. and is there an aid operation _ is still confusing. and is there an aid operation of _ is still confusing. and is there an aid operation of any _ is still confusing. and is there an aid operation of any description i is still confusing. and is there an | aid operation of any description in the safe zones that they are directing people to? because they previously talked about this area, alma lassie, to the west of high newness. now they are saying there are other areas. are there safe areas away from the bombing rates that they are mounting? it is areas away from the bombing rates that they are mounting?— that they are mounting? it is a little early _ that they are mounting? it is a little early to _ that they are mounting? it is a little early to know _ that they are mounting? it is a little early to know that. - that they are mounting? it is a i little early to know that. certainly that specific area, i think that idea is gone now. it never worked, no one was heading in that direction. the israelis pretty much admitted that it didn't work, they still describe it as a safe area. what they are saying now is that you should go to areas, un schools, hospitals, where you are likely to be more safe. they are saying that these are well known... i am not sure if everyone knows what constitutes a safe building to sheltering nowadays, because even outside of the designated target areas there are still air strikes which are killing a lot of people. and we don't quite know whether aid is going to be able to reach what could be a myriad of locations. some aid is certainly getting in, 100 also tricks yesterday. i am not quite sure what the figure is today. but it is not enough, it needs to be on an infinitely bigger scale. all of the agencies are that, and i think everyone is bracing themselves for a very difficult few weeks, if not months. for a very difficult few weeks, if not months— for a very difficult few weeks, if not months. equally difficult for the families _ not months. equally difficult for the families of— not months. equally difficult for the families of the _ not months. equally difficult for the families of the hostages - not months. equally difficult for the families of the hostages in l not months. equally difficult for. the families of the hostages in this scenario, paul. wejust heard from some of them in our headlines full stop they want more information, particularly given that their relatives are most likely to be in the south, in the tunnels there. i understand that there is no negotiation ongoing at the moment, and hamas now saying that there will be no negotiation until there is a permanent ceasefire. what are these releasing to that? that permanent ceasefire. what are these releasing to that?— releasing to that? that is definitely _ releasing to that? that is definitely a _ releasing to that? that is definitely a nonstarter. i definitely a nonstarter. essentially, you do have a situation in which all of the negotiations have broken down. the israelis are saying that only extra military pressure got us any hostages out at all in the past that lasted until last friday. hamas are trying to go for a maximalist position saying that only a complete end to hostilities will see any more hostages released. we are down now, primarily, to hostages who are soldiers. male and female soldiers. there are still some civilians among the hostages being held under the israelis are extremely angry at what they saw as a breach of the agreement by hamas. but for the families involved who got used to the spectacle of people coming out night after night after night, they really wanted to see this continue, they really hoped that we would see further categories of hostages being released. i should further categories of hostages being released. ishould mention further categories of hostages being released. i should mention by the way that of course there are still plenty of older men, some very elderly men, who are still being held. and the families really want to see a process resumed where some of those people could come out next. paul, for the moment, thank you very much for that. the white house is going to great lengths, publicly and privately, to urge the israeli forces to take greater care in protecting palestinian civilians. there have been some strong words this weekend from the vice president kamala harris and the us defense secretary lloyd austin, who said it was a strategic imperative for the idf to do better. there's also been criticism of the increasing settler violence on palestinians living in the occupied west bank. over 250 palestinians have been killed there since october the 7th. the settler communities claim they are protecting themselves in land that religiousjews believe was given to them by god. our international editor jeremy bowen has been to an area south of hebron in the west bank where an entire village has been destroyed. palestinian farmers are using the donkey because of their neighbours — aggressive jewish settlers, who they say will steal or break their tractor if they use it. arabs and jews started fighting over every grain of soil in the land both sides believe should be theirs more than a century ago. in the west bank, it still comes down to that, in every rocky field. in susiya, in the south hebron hills, palestinians live under constant pressure from jewish settlers. but it's been much worse since the hamas attacks on the 7th of october. the settlers were watching. one of their leaders cancelled an interview with us at short notice. palestinians fear another 19118, when their society was destroyed by israel's independence, which arabs call the catastrophe, the nakba. translation: we have been passing| through one nakba to another through the palestinian occupation years. we cannot handle another one. we don't have any place to go. this is our land, this is our property. we need to stand here, here in this land. soldiers came to check what we were doing. one told an israeli colleague that he was a traitor for visiting palestinians. they filmed us, but took much less interest in what had happened a few miles down the road. the village of khirbet zanutah had been bulldozed, activists said, last night. zanutah�*s 200 palestinians left four weeks ago, after a barrage of threats from armed jewish settlers. the school was destroyed — britain helped fund it. the project was called supporting palestinians at risk of forcible transfer. activists said settlers did it to make sure the palestinians would never come back. someone drewjewish stars of david. we went there with a former israeli special forces soldier who now campaigns against the occupation. they are demolishing palestinian villages, beating up palestinian farmers, stealing their olives. they are trying to open a third front, an east front, against the palestinians. why? the palestinian west bank. why? because they want this without any palestinians, they want the land without any palestinians. palestinians see all this, and the rest of the settler violence on the west bank, as confirmation of their worst fears, that there are powerful elements inside israel, in the government as well as the settler movement, who want them out, and who are using the enormous crisis surrounding the gaza war as an opportunity to further their agenda. zanutah�*s palestinians have petitioned israel's supreme court and hope to return. it is going to be much harder now. jeremy bowen, bbc news, on the west bank. another area where tensions are high is further to the north on the border between israel and lebanon. the cross—border exchanges between hezbollah and israel resumed just hours after the week—long truce came to an end. these pictures from today show smoke rising around various towns and villages in southern lebanon as israeli forces responded. positioned not far from that border is the un observer force known as unifil. their mandate was first agreed by the security council in 1978 to oversee israel's withdrawal from southern lebanon, which reminds us how long this conflict has been bubbling. the current spokesman for unifil is andrea tenenti. thank you very much for being with us. could you tell me what you have heard today of the action across that border and what your men are seeing? that border and what your men are seeinu ? . , that border and what your men are seeina? . , , , . ., seeing? that is pretty much what we have seen for— seeing? that is pretty much what we have seen for the _ seeing? that is pretty much what we have seen for the last _ seeing? that is pretty much what we have seen for the last two _ seeing? that is pretty much what we have seen for the last two months. l have seen for the last two months. daily exchanges of fire along the blue line. this is not the first day and it has been going on for the last two months. that is with very concerning and tense situations. very much localised, because most of this shelling is around and very close to the blue line, four or five kilometres from the line of withdrawal of the troops. so far, the conflict has not extended to other areas of the country. maybe ou could other areas of the country. maybe you could tell— other areas of the country. maybe you could tell us, _ other areas of the country. maybe you could tell us, i _ other areas of the country. maybe you could tell us, i am _ other areas of the country. maybe you could tell us, i am always - you could tell us, i am always intrigued where your personnel are and what communication is between the two sides, what role they play in all of this.— in all of this. yes, we are located very much _ in all of this. yes, we are located very much along _ in all of this. yes, we are located very much along the _ in all of this. yes, we are located very much along the blue - in all of this. yes, we are located very much along the blue line. i in all of this. yes, we are located i very much along the blue line. most of our bases, around 50 of them, we have 10,500 troops from 47 different countries deployed along the blue line, and despite the shelling, we are still very much operational, but the important role of the mission at the important role of the mission at the moment is to keep this channel of communication with the two sides. the two countries are still at war and have no communications, so the head of unifil is keeping this communication ongoing, exchanging messages from the parties and trying to de—escalate the tension and prevent very dangerous misunderstandings. prevent very dangerous misunderstandinas. , , , misunderstandings. yes, because the concern always _ misunderstandings. yes, because the concern always is _ misunderstandings. yes, because the concern always is that _ misunderstandings. yes, because the concern always is that there - misunderstandings. yes, because the concern always is that there will - misunderstandings. yes, because the concern always is that there will be i concern always is that there will be a miscalculation. how real is that threat, do you think, today that a miscalculation on either side could trigger a much wider conflict? realistically, after so many weeks of conflict and large numbers of shelling every day, the potential for a wider conflict is increasing on a daily basis. also, the potential for mistakes or miscalculations is around the corner. although very much localised, it is also important to emphasise that both sides are using unifil to exchange messages and it means that somehow there is not a real appetite for a wider conflict, but again, as you said, a miscalculation can happen at any time. after two months, of course, the potential for a fiscal commission is increasing. the americans _ commission is increasing. the americans arrived _ commission is increasing. the americans arrived in jerusalem americans arrived injerusalem today. the vice president began the talks and the work on post—war gaza, and who will run it and what that might look like. ijust wondered might look like. i just wondered from might look like. ijust wondered from your perspective, whether you enforce like unifil could ever fulfil a role in gaza to keep the peace between the suicides? trio. peace between the suicides? no, unifil is a _ peace between the suicides? no, unifil is a mission _ peace between the suicides? fin, unifil is a mission that has been designed for the south of lebanon. any peacekeeping mission is different and of course you need the commitment of governments. you have to have the request from the israeli government for any peacekeeping missions and the deployment of troops, that means also the authority isolation and there will from member states. as i said, every peacekeeping mission is different and it needs to be decided by the security council, by the five permanent members, by member states. it is something that, as i said, unifil is very much designed for the south of lebanon and any other mission would be, if there is another mission, anywhere else it should be decided by the security council. ., ., ., ,, , ., council. food for thought. thank you for cominu council. food for thought. thank you for coming in — council. food for thought. thank you for coming in the _ council. food for thought. thank you for coming in the programme. i council. food for thought. thank you | for coming in the programme. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. british lawyers could be stationed in rwandan courts as part of a treaty to allow asylum—seekers to be sent there. last month, the uk supreme court ruled the plans unlawful, and downing street said it would publish a treaty with kigali to address the court's concerns about the rwandan justice system. the prime minister says the bbc should be "realistic�* about the price of the tv licence during high inflation. the fee, which is the main source of funding for the bbc, has been frozen for the past two years at £159, but is due to rise in april in line with inflation. hopes that the 2026 commonwealth games could be held in australia have been set back with the gold coast withdrawing its bid to host the event. organisers have said they may have to postpone or even cancel the games because federal and state governments have repeatedly ruled out supporting them. you are live with bbc news. the tiny south american nation of guiana says that venice whaler is on the wrong side of history and is risking an armed conflict over a long contested slave of their rainforest. over the weekend, venice whaler held a referendum on its claim to an area with massive oil deposits. the people diverted to establish a new state. the international court of justice has ordered venice well or not to risk anything that would change the current situation. there are fears that the president has taken the first steps towards a takeover, even though this referendum was non—binding and the turnout was low. joining us to talk more about this is our south america corresponded. good to see you. can we talk about the oil, first of all? what was found, who stakes a claim to it and what role is played in this? ~ ., , ._ , to it and what role is played in this? ~ ., , , , this? well, the role it plays is that that is — this? well, the role it plays is that that is why _ this? well, the role it plays is that that is why there - this? well, the role it plays is that that is why there is i this? well, the role it plays is that that is why there is so i this? well, the role it plays is i that that is why there is so much interest in this area. it is about two thirds of guiana, about a fifth of the population. this is a dispute that has gone on for more than a century. effectively it is said that it used to be under the ownership of the spanish colonial period but it was in 1899 when an arbitration court said that actually it belonged to british guiana at the time and that was at a time when the british ruled over. that has been the conflict. there have been lots of attempt to come to an agreement, nothing was done, it wasn't exactly controversial until 2015