Some black smoke has been on the horizon. Western and arab leaders have repeatedly warned against a major Ground Operation in rafah, because of the large numbers of palestinians sheltering there. Israels Prime Minister, benjamin netanyahu, insists the move is necessary. 0ur middle east correspondent, yolande knell, has the latest. Already were seeing people fleeing from this area in the east of rafah. Theyre getting into their cars with their belongings, into donkey carts as well, some of them heading to the west. Others may be heeding the israeli order to go to these two tent cities, al mawasi and khan younis. And the Israeli Military is stressing that what is planned here is a limited offensive, that it will happen in a gradual way. Now, hamas has come out already, though, saying that this is a dangerous escalation that will have consequences. We had understood that a hamas delegation had left cairo, where it had been involved in the negotiations with egyptian mediators on a new ceasefire and hostage release deal that they were heading to doha to meet hamas leaders. Although we had the Israeli Defense minister coming out in a statement saying he had spoken to the us Defence Secretary and that this Military Action in rafah was needed because he said that hamas was refusing to accept the latest framework for a new deal. So were having warnings already from the un that this could have serious consequences. Theyre very worried about the fact that the Kerem Shalom Crossing into southern gaza, a key Crossing Point for aid, has now been closed. This happened after hamas fired rockets apparently from inside rafah towards what they said was an Israeli Military base. They actually killed three Israeli Soldiers and wounded about a dozen others close to that Crossing Point. And israel launched retaliatory action last night for that, for those soldiers being killed. So things do seem to be, again, at a very tense moment. And this is really an area where the International Community has been so worried because you have more than a million displaced palestinians crammed up next to the egyptian border, and theyve worried that a Wider Scale Ground Offensive by israel, if that was to go ahead, as israel has threatened, saying its needed for total victory over hamas, then that could lead to high numbers of civilians being killed. Ghada al kourd is staying in south gaza in a shelter run by unwra the Un Relief Agency still operating in gaza. She says she doesnt know where shell go. Im so confused, just to be honest. Im so confused, just to be honest. I have no place to go. This was the last place i know. Actually, if i want to come back, there is no place, it is alljust destroyed. Some areas are crowded and i cannot live inside a tent any more, it is so hot and my health, it is no good to be in that situation. There are a lot of air strikes, i have been there and it is very dangerous. James elder, whos a spokesperson for the United NationsChildrens Fund also known as unicef told me what he thinks the impact will be of the evacuation. Absolutely devastating. You have families in rafah. Their Coping Capacity has been smashed. This is six months of enduring this war, moving many times, probably having lost a home already. They are. Children are malnourished. Theyve already been living in conditions with one showerfor 3,500 people. Theyre being told to move, quote, to a humanitarian zone. Thats a unilaterally declared humanitarian zone. Thats not a humanitarian zone where humanitarians have been able to provide the services they need to. So ive been talking to colleagues and friends in rafah this morning and theyre terrified. I was speaking, lauren, to a young woman. Shes like, i know this has been coming. I just dont know what to pack. Theyll go to an area in the middle zone, where there is literally raw sewage in the streets or maybe to al mawasi, which is a beach. Same story applies. Nowhere is safe, but as unbearable as this is, its happening and its going to be horrific. And is it your understanding that there are only specific areas that people have been allowed to move to . Or can they can they choose . No. There are specific areas, without a doubt. Partly they will have to choose based on those people who have the means to leave. A lot of people have injured children with them. Hospitals, as ive seen, hospitals cannot cope with the number of injuries. Theres a lot of children who have had amputations, who are back living in tents. Those families will find it hard to move. But geographically, logistically, no, you still cant. A lot of families will not be able to move to the north if theyd hope to. Khan younis is impossible, thats another city bordering rafah. That is rubble, not a little bit, but street after street of rubble. So theyll be pushed into this area called mawasi, lauren, which is a beach area. Its sand. It has next to no sanitation or hygiene. Its getting hot right now in gaza. Its raining today, but its getting hot. So theyll be in tents side by side, five or six times the Population Density of new york city. But all on the ground, not a high rise to be seen, with no hospital care. The last remaining hospital of size is in rafah, european hospital, so named because it was donated by the people of europe. Its got 20,000 people hiding there and thousands more in care. They will have to move somewhere without the medical care that they need. Tell us, you said that the israeli army had set up these areas without assistance from the humanitarian community. What can you now do in terms of providing help if people are moving . Is there anything you can do . Yeah, its, its a great question. The whole Aid Operation has been so fragile because of denials and restrictions and insecurity and bombardments. Lets not forget our colleagues from the world Central Kitchen who were killed. A week later, a unicef vehicle came underfire. Now, of course, that crossing in rafah, that is the lifeline of aid. If we are going to get close to meeting the the needs of people, that crossing will now be closed for, i dont know for how long. So, no, we have to be clear. You cant unilaterally declare a safe zone firstly because the other side wont be considering it as that, and secondly, because the United Nations needs time to actually try and support a million or two people. I said this in november. Unicef and the un has said this from the very start, in november and december, this Safe Zone Narrative is very dangerous because a safe zone legally must also provide water, food, sanitation and protection. These zones dont have that for people. And quite frequently, as the people in rafah will tell you, safe zones also get bombed. These are the pictures coming in from the area where palestinians have been asked to move to buy the Israeli Military. This morning, there was a statement that this Military Action in rafah is required due to hamas� s refusals for a truce, under which hostages would be released. The idf havent put anyone up released. The idf havent put anyone up to speak to us as yet. We will keep you posted on that story as it develops. French president Emmanuel Macron has welcomed chinas president during a rare visit to the elysee palace. Its xi jinpings first state visit to the region in five years. Emmanuel macron greeted his chinese counterpart, before they both headed inside for talks. Top of the agenda is expected to be the war in ukraine and trade relations with the eu. European Commission President , ursula von der leyen, is also attending. The discussions come amid growing trade tensions. 0ur Paris Correspondent is hugh schofield. He has more on the wider tensions between china, france and the us. Asi as i was saying, the europeans are increasingly aligned with the United States on china. They have accused europeans for being soft on china not waking up to the reality of the new china and that is exact what the europeans are doing. Certainly president macron said last week, quite blatantly concerned about the rise of china and europes naivety and unwillingness to see china for what it was. There is, in a way, the possibility of an American European alignment here and i think what xi jinping is trying to do is break that, and he is doing it with traditional chinese diplomatic manners, coming here, being very fulsome in his praise for france and its historical importance and its grandiose and there role of Charles De Gaulle in recognising china in the 60s. This is the way they talk to the french, flattering france with a sense of its own destiny. I talked to they took to germany rather differently, purely focusing on business. So the chinese interests clearly to split the europeans from each other and from europe. That is what is going on here. The former deputy First Minister of scotland, john swinney, is set to become the Scottish National partys new leader after his only potential challenger withdrew from the contest. The deadline for nominations is in less than an hours� time. 0ur reporter ben philip has more. As you can tell, i am sad that my time as First Minister is ending. But i am so grateful, i am so blessed for having the opportunity that afforded to so few, to lead my country. A week is a long time in politics. Last monday, an emotional humza yousaf resigned, leaving the snp looking for a new leader and scotland a new First Minister. Focus quickly turned to who would replace him. In the frame, john swinney and kate forbes. I want to unite the snp and unite scotland for independence. Shortly Afterjohn Swinney entered the contest, kate forbes said she wouldnt stand. Technically, the deadline for nominations is at midday and as the only current contender and with the Clock Running down it was widely expected that john swinney would become the next snp party leader and the countrys seventh First Minister unopposed. That was until last minute twist over the weekend. Snp activist Graeme Mccormick was hoping to launch a challenge for the leadership position. It is thought he collected signatures at a Pro Independence march in glasgow at the weekend. But no sooner had the bid launched, it was over. In a statement late last night, mr mccormick said he had met the nomination� s threshold to enter the contest, adding that after a lengthy and fruitful conversation withjohn swinney, they had agreed on the challenges which the snp, the Scottish Government and people face. He described it as a fresh start to deliver scottish independence. He said, i have therefore concluded that i will not proceed with my nomination for party leader, throwing his support behind john swinney. Over the weekend, mr swinney insisted he was the right man for the job. I feel physically and mentally ready to become the leader of the snp and the First Minister of scotland and i will give absolutely everything i have in me to make sure that my party succeeds and my country succeeds. Events could move quickly again this week, with the path now clear, it is all but certain that john swinney will be in the top job in the coming days. Around the world and across the uk. This is bbc news. President putin has ordered the Russian Military to hold Nuclear Weapon drills, involving the navy and troops based near ukraine. Meanwhile, front line ukrainian soldiers have told the bbc the army needs to re think how it conscripts men to fight. They say a failure to train and mobilise enough recruits means some have been fighting without a break since russias full scale invasion more than two years ago. 0ur ukraine correspondent, james waterhouse, has the story. Under the green canopy of a ukrainian spring, an Artillery Unit waits for their next order. Some of these men have been fighting for months, if not years. Translation my men know each vehicle, says their commander. I its like a woman with her own characteristics. As Russian Forces inch closer, theyre hunkering down and waiting for billions of dollars� worth of long delayed american ammunition to finally be delivered. This time last year, ukraine was preparing for a counter offensive, but this time its different theyre preparing for what might be coming. This ammunition will help but ukraine is also grappling with trying to mobilise enough men to replace these ones. Kyiv is widening the call up age but Radio Operator 0leksandr, who works and lives in this bunker, thinks its more than just a numbers game. Translation if we all go home, | inexperienced soldiers might be | able to hold the line, but a lot of them will die. In the nearby city of kramatorsk, ilya, a frontline medic, tells me officials are not honest with recruits, who are thrown into the front line indefinitely with little training. He thinks there should be a limit on the toughest deployments. It would be more truth and effective if military Recruitment Office would say, right, you will have super hard job infantry but for, for example, for half a year. Then, youll go to next level training and youll got more specific tasks to do. Ministers are trying to restore trust in the way the army recruits, whilst turning up the pressure for men to sign up. Inna sovsun is a kyiv mp, whose partner is fighting, and she thinks there are enough men to swap in and out from the front line. There are more people, who are not serving than those who are serving. And the numbers is not even one to one, its a much bigger ratio. Just how much by the fact, you know, the fact your husband, your partner is serving, how much has that shaped your view . Of course, my understanding is shaped by who i am, by the fact that i, you know, spend countless nights worrying about where my partner is, if he is ok and so on and so forth. Its an anxiety shared by millions of ukrainians. Tired soldiers are torn between needing to defend their country and wanting to go home. James waterhouse, bbc news, the donetsk region. Argentinas new president , javier milei, has denied that ordinary argentines are paying for his radical austerity measures. In an interview with the bbc, mr milei, who campaigned with a chainsaw to symbolise his desire to slash public spending, insisted that it was false to suggest the public were bearing the brunt of Steep Spending Cuts and the devaluation of the currency. Ione wells started by asking him what he would say to a pensioner who told the bbc people like her were paying for his changes. That is. The impact on pensions is only 0. 4 of gdp. I that is. The impact on pensions is only 0. 494. Of gdp. That is. The impact on pensions is only 0. 496 of gdp. Only 0. 4 of gdp. I want to know specifically. Only 0. 4 of gdp. I want to know specifically, what only 0. 496 of gdp. I want to know specifically, what would only 0. 496 of gdp. I want to know specifically, what would you only 0. 496 of gdp. I want to know specifically, what would you say l only 0. 496 of gdp. I want to know| specifically, what would you say to people right now, would you say sorry or thank you to people who were having to pay a lot more than they were previously as a result of they were previously as a result of the adjustment that is happening . The mass media will deliberately lie, and people will believe those lies from the media. You cannot make a macroeconomic evaluation based on the situation of some people. You are taking one of the parts rather than a whole. In a particular situation, it may be influenced by the sort of information that an individual has access to. Itruiitll individual has access to. With res ect, individual has access to. With respect. The individual has access to. With respect, the information individual has access to. With respect, the information that people have access to is the prices in supermarkets. Do you know how much a litre of milk costs now . Do supermarkets. Do you know how much a litre of milk costs now . Litre of milk costs now . Do you know how many goods litre of milk costs now . Do you know how many goods and litre of milk costs now . Do you know how many goods and assets litre of milk costs now . Do you know how many goods and assets exist how many goods and assets exist within an economy . You dont do economics based on the price of an individual asset. I economics based on the price of an individual asset. Individual asset. I ust want to make h individual asset. I ust want to make sure we individual asset. I ust want to make sure we are individual asset. I just want to make sure we are speaking i individual asset. I just want to make sure we are speaking in| individual asset. I just want to make sure we are speaking in terms that ordinary people understand, because our audience are not economists. How does somebody who has seen the price of milk double since you came to office, what reduce i do them specifically, the people who are struggling and feel like they are paying for the adjustment . Even if you believe it is the right one, what would be your message to them right now . How long should they wait for things to feel better . In should they wait for things to feel better . ,. ,. ,. , better . In the last month, salaries have started better . In the last month, salaries have started to better . In the last