Live from london. This is bbc news live from london. Israel continues to issue Mass Evacuation orders to palestinians as airstrikes on the gaza strip rage on. Meanwhile, the Foreign Office is investigating a hamas claim that british israeli hostage Nadav Popplewell has been killed in gaza it is switzerland cheering after one of the most controversial Eurovision Song Contests, switzerland are crowned this years winners. Emergency teams step up Relief Efforts to those hit hard by devastating flash floods in Northern Afghanistan. The un says more than 300 people have died. This is the scene live in barcelona, where people are voting in regional elections. The un says more than 300 people have died. This is the scene live in barcelona, where people are voting in regional elections. Israel has continued its airstrikes on several parts of the gaza strip even as it continues issuing controversial Evacuation Orders to palestinians. The Israeli Military said its troops had found many tunnels used by hamas at the Rafah Crossing into egypt. Had found many tunnels used by hamas the Israel Defense had found many tunnels used by hamas forces have declared a narrow coastal strip at al mawasi to be a safe humanitarian zone, but the un says it has no Running Water or proper sanitation. Israel says that since monday, about 300 thousand palestinians have already fled rafah. The us is still urging israel not to mount a full scale assault on the city. To mount a full scale assault and in the north there are evacuations in the city of jabalia as the idf says that it has been carrying out air strikes. It says hamas fighters are regrouping there. Meanwhile a top eu official, charles michel, has condemned israels Evacuation Orders, saying people are being directed towards unsafe areas. 0ur middle east correspondent Yolande Knell reports from jerusalem another desperate exodus. Palestinians fleeing in their thousands, as israel signals it is now set to push further into the gazas southernmost city, issuing new Evacuation Orders. What should we do . Hanan asks. Do we wait until we all die on top of each other . Weve decided it is better to leave. Israel has said its taking action against hamas in one of its last strongholds and trying to bring home hostages. Meanwhile, with israels capture of one main Border Crossing and another blocked off by fighting, no aid is getting into southern gaza. There are now severe shortages of food, deepening the humanitarian crisis. So far, israels military is describing its offensive in rafah as limited but the world is watching, to see if this turns into the full scale invasion that the countrys allies have been warning against. And as israeli tanks and troops await orders near the gaza border, there has been another strong statement from washington. It says that with some of the strikes in gaza, israel may have used American Supplied Weapons In Breach of international law. Israel has consistently denied any violations and yet, the new report may have an impact on plans back here in rafah, where there is already a growing sense of emergency. Yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem. The uk Foreign Office is investigating claims by hamas that a british israeli hostage has died in gaza. Nadav popplewell was seized with his mother on october 7th from the nirim kibbutz in southern israel. Hamas claims that mr popplewell died of wounds sustained in an israeli airstrike more than a month ago. The Israeli Military is yet to comment and a foreign 0ffice spokesperson said it was urgently seeking more information. Like everyone else, i watched the video on twitter last night, put out by hamas of nadi out of answering a question as to who he was, and you watch the video and you just think of the callous people that they are to do that, to play with the familys emotions in that way. I met his family and his sister, and i know the heartbreak they have been going through for over 200 days and when you see what hamas are prepared to do you realise that the terrible, dreadful, inhuman people frankly we are dealing with. Are dealing with. David cameron the re are dealing with. David cameron theyre speaking are dealing with. David cameron theyre speaking to are dealing with. David cameron theyre speaking to laura theyre speaking to laura kuenssberg. 0ur diplomatic correspondent, paul adams, has more. These were claims that emerged yesterday when hamas, as it has done repeatedly throughout this crisis, released a video in which they said that Nadav Popplewell, whos 51, was killed in an israeli airstrike. Now, we have absolutely no way of verifying that. We dont know when the video that they released yesterday was shot. We need to be extremely careful about any assertions that hamas is making about the circumstances surrounding his death or indeed whether indeed Nadav Popplewell is dead. But that is what hamas said. We know that his brother was killed on 7th october. They were both attacked on 7th october. Their mother was also abducted, but she was released later in the first of the ceasefire hostage negotiations. The Foreign Office, as you say, is looking into this. But this kind of goes to the heart of one of the issues that still divides israel and hamas during these torturous negotiations aimed at getting a ceasefire organised, which is how many israeli hostages and dual National Hostages are there, how many are still alive, how many are dead . Over the months, tragically, the number of dead hostages has risen, while the expectations for the number of live hostages has diminished somewhat. And this is a very live issue because the israelis want much more clarity about what they can expect from hamas in terms of the release of hostages alive and dead in return for a ceasefire deal. Many parents in gaza are waiting to get their children out of the strip for medical treatment. Israeli forces continue to control the Rafah Crossing, Halting Travel and humanitarian access to the strip. Ru abbass reports on the case of one child who is hoping to make it out and is currently in a hospital that is running out of fuel. Somaya is ten years old and suffering with pain in her abdomen. She is in an overwhelmed hospital. Israel has directed 100,000 people from rafah to relocate around the city. The idf says it is chasing down hamas fighters. Somaya was at her home when the impact of shrapnel from an israeli strike On The House Next Door severed her left arm. Somayas doctors say her recovery is slow due to a lack of staff and medical equipment. Despite her obstacles, somaya remains hopeful about herfuture, and dreams of receiving medical treatment in the united arab emirates. With no prospect of a ceasefire, such freedoms remain out of reach, not just for somaya, but so many other children like her. Ru abbass, bbc news. And forfurther coverage and for further coverage of the israel and gaza war, visit the bbc news app and you can also go to the website Forfurther News app and you can also go to the website for further updates. The taliban say 315 people have now died in devastating flash floods in the north of afghanistan. A spokesman for the Interior Ministry told the bbc that most of the casualties were in the province of baghlan. Emergency teams have been sent to rescue those stranded by the floodwaters. On friday, a massive torrent of water swept away hundreds of houses in several villages. Dozens of people are still missing. 0ur south asia editor Anbarasan Ethirajan has more. Emergency teams have intensified the relief to thousands of people who have been displaced by this calamitous flood and on friday rivers carrying water and mud and storms tore through villages sweeping away houses, livestock and vital infrastructure and the aid agencies estimate that nearly half a Million People have been severely affected and dozens are still missing and pictures on social media showed how desperate the situation was where people were totally drenched in mud and were rescued, women and children, from these flood waters and at the same time people were crying after seeing their entire houses wiped away. One resident said his wife and four children were swept away by this torrent while he was watching helplessly from the other side of the river, so there have been very tragic all coming at a Time In Afghanistan where the economy is in tatters after the taliban took over in august 2021, so this repeated disaster has put the entirety of Northern Afghanistan in a difficult situation. ,. ,. , situation. Extremely and harrowing situations, and situation. Extremely and harrowing situations, and in situation. Extremely and harrowing situations, and in terms situation. Extremely and harrowing situations, and in terms of situation. Extremely and harrowing situations, and in terms of the situations, and in terms of the taliban, are they able to cope in any way with this . Any way with this . They are struggling any way with this . They are struggling because any way with this . They are struggling because they any way with this . They are l struggling because they have any way with this . They are struggling because they have not been recognised by the International Community and have deployed helicopters to bring relief but the scale is huge, the enormous scale of the relief operation, they will struggle to get all of the aid which is why even the aid agencies are asking for more help to bring first of all food and water and also clothes and some temporary accommodation for those who have been displaced by these floods and afghanistan, the economy is in bad shape and there are sanctions and afghan money is still stuck in many western countries and not been released because of the talibans record of human rights, particularly on womens rights where they have banned women in schools and universities in most places of work, so these are hampering the Relief Efforts which is why aid agencies are calling for more International Effort and help for those people affected in places like Herod Provinces in Northern Arras GuardNorthern Afghanistan. Provinces in Northern Arras GuardNorthern Afghanistan. Northern afghanistan. Since the taliban takeover, Northern Afghanistan. Since the taliban takeover, remind Northern Afghanistan. Since the taliban takeover, remind us, i Northern Afghanistan. Since the l taliban takeover, remind us, our foreign aid organisations able to offer Aid Assistance in the country . There are many agencies still working in the country. There are certain restrictions. For example, with some agencies all of the Women Workers accepting core areas like health and other sectors are being asked to stay away from work and there are restrictions, even though there are restrictions, even though the aid agencies say they find it difficult to work but because the people of afghanistan need help and the taliban alone cannot manage the administration of the entire country and there are millions of people all facing a very dire situation. Food aid is required and medical help is required and various Health Centres are being managed previously by the aid agencies and Theyjust Cannot leave and walk away from afghanistan which is why they are still engaging with the taliban and they are also asking, the taliban, aid agencies to help them but the economy has not really grown in the last few years because there are no businesses in the taliban also face the problem of returning people from countries like pakistan and afghanistan where undocumented people without proper papers, afghans are being sent back, so there are very difficult situations both for the taliban authorities and also for the people. That was our south asia editor. Voting is under way in catalonia where Pro Independence supporters wanting to break away from spain are hoping to maintain their majority in the regional parliament. Catalonia made a failed attempt to break away from spain in 2017, and the election comes as the parliament in madrid is expected to approve a controversial amnesty law for separatist catalans facing legal action. 0ur correspondent, guy hedgeco, is in madrid. I asked him what choices the voters have in these regional elections. Well, catalonia has quite an unusual Political Landscape because you have a division between the left and the right, which you see across the rest of the country. But it also has that division between those who want independence and those who dont. So, for example, the party of Prime Minister, spanish Prime Minister pedro sanchez. The socialist party, which looks like it could win this election, is opposed to independence and self determination. So that could mean that it makes it very difficult for it to form a new government after the election. Even if it wins. There are two major Pro Independence parties vying to be the main nationalist party in the region. But the big question is whether, together with those parties, together along with other smaller nationalist parties, whether they can hang on to that Pro Independence majority, which Pro Independence parties have had for about a decade and a half. 0k. Just talk us through, in your opinion, how much appetite is there for independence for the region . Well, certainly support for independence is lower than it was back in 2017. You mentioned that failed attempt for independence back then, led by carles puigdemont. Around that time, support for independence was close to 50 . Recent polls suggest its more like a1, 42 . So there is less support for it. And weve seen that reflected in a way on the Campaign Trail. Independence has been talked about to a certain extent by the nationalist parties and that territorial issue. But there have been other issues which have sort of muscled in on the campaign agenda. Theres a very serious drought in catalonia, the most serious drought the region has ever had. And that has been an important issue which the parties have had to talk about. Also, theres a Housing Crisis in catalonia, the same as a Housing Crisis across the rest of spain. And the issue of education has been talked about a lot as well, because their concerns about catalonias performance in education. So other issues have been muscling in on the Campaign Trail and that has pushed independence to one side slightly. So its still there, but its really not a not the dominant issue. 0k. And when it comes to carles puigdemont, he, of course, you mentioned after that ill fated attempt back in 2017, he had to leave spain. Wheres he watching the results from . Well, hes been based in belgium ever since 2017. But just for the last few weeks, he has been campaigning as a candidate for his together for Catalonia Party from just across the border in france, in the south of france. Hes been holding Campaign Rallies there pretty much every day for supporters whove been bussed over from catalonia, from spanish, catalonia into france to see him talk. So hes been there and hes hoping that this amnesty, which were expected to be approved by the Spanish Parliament quite soon, will allow him to return to spain. And hes hoping hell perform well enough in this election to not just be able to return, but also to become the next president of catalonia. And when do we find out whether thats been achieved . Because, of course, polls have onlyjust opened. Well, thats right. Weve got voting throughout the day closes at 8 00 tonight. We may not have a clear result until quite late on tonight. And because of the fragmented nature of catalan politics, it could be quite some time before we know exactly who will form the next government. And it is possible that there could be some kind of impasse because the parties cant agree on the formation of a new government. If that were the case, then we would have new elections. And im sure catalans dont want to see that, but it is seen as quite a real possibility. At the Eurovision Song Contest final pro Palestinian Protesters have clashed with police over israels participation and the israeli entrant, eden golan, was booed at the malmo arena in sweden. The build up to the show also saw the dutch entry disqualified for a backstage incident. But ultimately, switzerland were crowned the winners of this years competition one of the most controversial song contests of recent times. 0ur arts correspondent, david sillit